Man and Nature

What has been the impact of man’s main religions, philosophies and streams of thought on life on earth? How has this affected our relationship with nature, reality, quality of life, society and our world?

A religion essentially represents a philosophy or psychology that provides the archetype patterns for thought and action for its followers.

In ancient times in the east, nature and god were one. Nature (generally viewed as a female principle) was understood as the manifestation of the infinite through the aid of a guiding force or energy (generally viewed as a male principle). Gods were symbolic representation of nature and the intent of man was to select the natural archetype that matched his physical and mental constitution and to use this to energize, direct and guide him through life. The guru and the deities aided the individual in the correct selection of his or her deity. Through this process, the individual became a protector of the manifestation in nature of the deity that he selected. In this manner there was harmony between man and nature in a child/ mother or husband/wife relationship. Animals and plants would be identified as sacred and this ensured their protection from exploitation. Temples largely had female deities across the world and there was respect and awe for nature as the female principle. The presence of male and female mediators to propitiate the animal and forest spirits and a profound unity between the human body, mind and nature were a significant aspect of this period which may well have stretched from more than about 30,000 years ago till about 3,000 years ago.

Through a number of significant events such as the Persian and Greek ascension, attempt at  world dominance by Alexander, the world domination by Islam, Christianity, Buddhism  there was a gradual replacement and an almost complete elimination of natural deities and female symbolism. The suppression of women has also been a parallel phenomenon during this male ascension. One of the significant changes in human philosophy during this period has been a desire to separate from the natural and physical world and to look for salvation in a world beyond. This world we live in was viewed as sinful and filled with desires and temptations that were evil and man had to constantly be on his guard to ensure that his future place in paradise was not compromised. Buddha took refuge in the forest, Jesus in the desert. Their philosophies found immediate mass appeal among a wide variety of audience – individuals who were genuinely disgruntled with the social, religious and economic set up at those times, rulers and businessmen who saw these ideologies as a way to conquer races and acquire their resources with minimum bloodshed, etc. Some of the significant effects of these times were the decline in female deities, a suppression of femininity. Gods of nature were viewed as pagan and worship of nature was equated to devil worship. Mediators between deities and humans, who were earlier viewed as medicine men, healers and wise people were now treated as sorcerers and witches. Man found a way to leverage the new call to shun nature and natural desires as a means to plunder the earth’s resources and destroy indigenous races who were the protectors of nature. Nature had gradually undergone a metamorphosis in human psychology from a mother and a lover to a prostitute and a slave to be suppressed and exploited at will. Military force, financial enticement and religious psychology were used as key weapons. The result was destruction of nature as well as destruction of the psychology/ideology that believed in the protection and love for mother earth as the main and only source for the sustenance of man. Native races across the world including India, North and South America, the Arctic, Siberia, Australia, etc  were decimated or taught that they needed to be frugal and to give all their resources to the religious, business and political organizations that now dominated their world.

Once the ideologies of the key male figures had served their purpose, man then decided that God does not exist or God is dead based on what he called profound scientific discoveries. With the elation of this conclusion, he was sure that there was nothing else that needed to be discovered and that there were no real mysteries left about life. Man now proceeded to spread the message that there is no god, that science is the only truth to the same peoples that he had earlier massacred to make them follow his version of god.

First we disconnected our bodies from mother earth and then our minds from God. Science was the new tool or technique to be used to efficiently strip the earth of its resources for the benefit of a few. It was also an effective tool to numb the human mind and control vast numbers. The new philosophies or religions were Communism, Capitalism, Fascism.  Man’s psyche has progressed from the worship of nature as his mother/lover, to the worship of male gods who suppressed nature through abstinence and penance to usage of science as a tool under man’s control. Each step killed the ideologies and philosophies of the previous step and has led man to a psychosis and a distancing from physical reality (possibly the only reality that our senses can collectively vouch for)

Man went on a world domination spree and lived in a period he called Modern Enlightenment based on scientific foundations and rationalism (18h century onward as compared to eastern enlightenment which is 2500 years ago for Buddhists and 10000 years ago for Hindus and probably infinity for nature worshipers). His unshakeable belief in science has in the recent past been rattled with contradictory discoveries such as quantum physics, dark matter, illnesses like cancer, phenomena like genetic expression, etc.

We are now at a stage where all life on earth not just man is endangered. The last three decades has seen the mass extinction of large varieties of reptiles, amphibians and birds. The climate has changed so much that we live in a period named after man’s impact on the climate – the Anthropocene. Famines, hurricanes, earthquakes and super volcanoes threaten our way of life.  Civilized man suffers from serious psychoses due to the disconnect with nature, death of god, mindlessness of science and the unquenchable thirst for money.

Where do we go from here? Can we now make mother nature our god again? Can we now train the entire human psyche to focus on anything other than money? Can we use science as a tool to live in harmony with our minds and nature and all of existence itself?

Some things we could do are:

·         Give back the control of natural resources to the people who understand its value and who will protect it as their god.

·         Get out of areas in nature where our presence is not necessary

·         Educate every single human being that nature is the most important reality not man

·         Recreate gods in our minds that direct our thoughts towards sustenance of life and protection of nature

·         Use science as a tool rather than as a philosophy

·         Stop the exploitation of life by the few for material gain

·         Focus more on this planet than on other planets that could support life

Can we do this? If not one thing is certain, our children and their children will be dead before their natural time, not just yours and mine but of countless living beings who exist solely in the joy and beauty of life.

What can the individual do? The individual is the source and the destination for all resources that we are extracting out of nature. The individual is the vital cog of the collective psyche and the engine that drives man’s philosophy and thoughts. The individual has determined the progress of mankind’s collective psyche and where it is today.  The individual needs to raise his consciousness and awareness and choose with wisdom.  We need to sift through the mountains of perceptions assailing us and find the truth that is most relevant to us. Can we do an intense scrutiny of what we really need and modify the way we live and teach our children as well?