Reflections on Climate Change Rod Duncan, Alan Race, Herbert Bronstein, Sachin Nandha, and Gusharan Thandi “Reflections” is an occasional section in Interreligious Insight. Pieces draw on various traditions to unfold an important theme in spirituality, phillosophy, or interreligious work. We hope that readers will make their own fruitful connections for dialogue and engagement. This issue offers Reflections on the Earth’s climate.
A Baha’i Response Rod Duncan
W e stand at a unique moment in human existence. It was only Baha’i Star; original art,
a few decades ago that the human race acquired the capacity to annihilate itself through nuclear war. And in this decade we Gary E. Stewart
REFLECTIONS have come to a certainty that continuing to pump greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere will derange the equilibrium of the global climate. These are not age old problems taken to a new degree. They are fundamentally new. They are global. Writing in the nineteenth century, Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, wrote: “The wellbeing of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.” This unity has outer, material, and organisational aspects. It also has an inner, ethical, spiritual aspect. The solution to the global problems we now face must include both. If the problem of climate change were restricted to one city, if that city produced all the greenhouse gasses and the pain of climate change were to be visited on it alone, the citizens would undoubtedly do all in their power to find a solution. Every individual and every household would make the necessary changes in lifestyle because all would know the terrible consequences of inaction. Similarly, if the problem were confined to one nation, the government and the people of that nation would work together to solve it. Laws would be passed. Lifestyles would be changed. Rod Duncan is a novelist, screen-writer, poet, teacher of creative writing, and member of the Baha’i community of Leicester, UK. Alan Race, of St. Philip’s Center, Leicester, is Editor in Chief of Interreligious Insight. Herbert Bronstein is Senior Rabbi Emeritus of North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Illinois. Sachin Nandha is founder of the Institute for Global Change, which aims to facilitate public debate on how education can properly enhance human capacities and equip people for holistic living. Gursharan Thandi is a member of the Sikh community of Leicester and a representative of the Leicester Council of Faiths.
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But the problem of climate change the organic oneness of the entire human is global and the nations have so far race. failed to act with the unity required to solve it. Achieving a degree of material, A Christian response organizational unity sufficient to com- Alan Race bat global climate change will require new institutions and a new way of thinking. The Baha’i writings call for the establishment of an international I t is often said that the Christian Bible legislature and a comprehensive code of begins in a garden international law adequate to combat (Eden) and ends the global problems we now face. In in a city (new the words of Baha’u’llah: “The Earth Jerusalem). If the is but one country and mankind its Christian Cross; photo, movement from citizens.” But that alone is not enough. Cetta Kenney garden to city is Indeed, without an inner unity it would a metaphor for the journey from simbe impossible. This inner unity requires plicity to complexity, from countryside us all to widen the circle of our loyalty to urban environment, then in relation beyond our race, beyond our nation and to climate change we have a problem. even beyond our religion. It calls us back For while there is no returning to the to the fundamental meaning of the word countryside-garden innocence of pre- “religion” – to bind together. industrial human living, the urban-city In this day the highest manifesta- has become so compromised as an image tion of religion should be our being of human flourishing that we are left bound together as one human family, scrabbling around for an image that unified in all our rich diversity. might be worthy of a future worth Of course, there are those who say inhabiting. that human nature is incorrigibly self- Yet the garden lives on in the city ish and that we will therefore never and the city invades the garden. The be sufficiently united to resolve these question is one of balance: how to celissues. Paradoxically, this belief tends ebrate the city without the romanticism to push people towards a paralysis of of the garden and how to honour the will and itself becomes an obstacle to garden without losing the vitality of progress. On this the Baha’i writings the city. I believe that this balance can point towards hope. Just as the human be achieved by contemplation of three race has progressed in the past, widen- guiding values: mutuality, interconnecting circles of loyalty from the tribe to edness and responsibility. Let me take the city state, from the city state to the each in turn. nation, so, Baha’u’llah states, will we First, mutuality. A new phrase has progress again, towards a realisation of been coined in Christian circles during 58 | V8 N1 January 2010 Alan Race
the environmental campaigns of recent spiritual way of capturing this sense of years – climate justice. We think of interconnectedness. God’s beauty, truth justice as a relationship between human and goodness – spirit and wisdom, if beings within and between communi- you prefer – are reflected in all life and ties, establishing access to the world’s not just in human life. To reconnect goods and services and sharing their with a basic attitude of praise might go a benefits. In the light of struggles for long way towards moderating our baser justice between cultural, ethnic and reli- exploitative instincts and policies in relagious groups, nationally and interna- tion to the earth itself. tionally, we are learning that the same Third, responsibility. The basis for struggles are inherent in the dynamics this lies in the notion of stewardship. of human-made climate change. The In the rush to blame all dualisms (egs. rich world has produced the carbon and separations of God and World, of perthe poor world bears the negative conse- sons and nature, of economics and comquences with their loss of livelihood and passion) for our current climate change sustainability. To be set free from the dilemmas, let us not dismantle that ravages of climate change is a cry for jus- sense of self-transcendence, with its joys tice. The language of justice at the heart and its tragedies, which is also part of of all Christian liberation theologies has human experience. We are one with all entered the environmental lexicon and life, but also self-consciously aware of is binding all of earth’s communities in the flow of all life. This is the origin of relationships of mutual accountability. our responsibility for how the earth is Second, interconnectedness. In the treated, how we think of our place withlight of cosmological and evolution- in it, and how we should behave accordary sciences the Christian doctrine of ingly. A hurting world deserves being creation ex nihilo is undergoing major listened to and climate change is its cry re-evaluation. The extension of creation for recognition. Would it be too much backwards in time and sideways in space to call up compassion as our approprientails that human consciousness is part ate ethical response to the hurting earth of a story which we have hardly begun to itself? Stewardship entails much more comprehend. A belief in creation, any- than simply ‘managing’ from some supway, was always more about an intuition posed point of superiority in a hierarchy. that the world is not its own explana- Both garden (basis of life) and city tion, and that we are part of something (flourishing of life) deserve their place in much larger than we might imagine, a balanced view of responding to climate as it was about a beginning point in change. The 3-fold cord of mutuality, time. That ‘larger’ is underlined now interconnectedness and responsibility by the sense of interconnectedness of will surely be part of any new human which climate change has made us dra- future which may emerge from the commatically aware. The theme of the whole ing transformations brought about by created order giving praise to God is a climate change.
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A Jewish Response ancient rabbis had a phrase: “We are Herbert Bronstein partners with God in the work of creation, in Tikkun Olam, the preservation and repair and perfecting of this our W e are seeking the all
resources of the spirit earthly habitation. The massive destruction of forests in Thailand, in Brazil, in the American Pacific Northwest, the in our confrontation forests which both absorb CO2 and prowith climate change, duce oxygen, the killing of the forests in a chaos-monster of Colorado by invasive beetles, the melt- Jewish Star; photo, our own making, ing of glaciers and the polar ice caps, Cetta Kenney which has been tipthe loss of many species are all part and ping our earthly home into a possible parcel of the effects of climate change. downward spiral of potentially inexo- The threat to this beautiful earth is so rable deterioration. great as to require nothing less than the We turn to an ancient parable: response of multitudes of the children of “God says to Adam (“Humankind”): ‘I Adam, humankind, world-wide. have made many worlds before this one. The first century Palestinian sage, This one is especially good and beauti- Rabbi Joshua the son of Hananiah proful. Take care to protect it and preserve vides another parable which compleit because, if, through you, it comes to ments the first: “Two men are in a boat ruin, there is no one to repair it after out on high waters. One begins drilling you. And besides, you will be responsia hole in his side of the boat. The other, ble for the passing of many, many thoufrightened, remonstrates: ‘What in the sands of my creatures. (Kohelet Rabbah world are you doing!?’ the other answers on Eccles. 7.14). ‘” bluntly: ‘This is my side of the boat!’” This homily-nugget is found in an Our society is captive to a privatis- 8th century CE collection of sermons tic hyper-individuality, each person out on verses from Ecclesiastes. In this case for himself, for his own personal gain, the verse is: “Who can (is to) repair that with an accompanying atrophy of “the which has been distorted?” sense of the other”. An oil refinery, for Some say that climate change is example, dumping toxic effluents into a either not taking place or, if it is, it is Great Lake claims “this is my side of the an aspect of nature’s cycles with which lake. I own this property.” But we are human activity has nothing to do. in the same boat and ancient Scriptures Science disagrees with this viewpoint. says that the earth is the Lord’s and Just as in the parable, the vast majority the fullness thereof….You are merely of scientists in the world tell us that we sojourners on it.” The earth is not just a must accept responsibility and accountresource for private gain or a dump for ability for climate change and thus, the private refuse. well being and healing of nature. The And this brings us to the third
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and last archetypal story: Moses on the A Hindu response mountain receives the moral law. But Sachin Nandha down below the people are worshiping the Golden Calf. When we look to find the source-causes of climate change, we often find the worship of the Golden T he Vedic traditions of Hinduism Calf, the greed for material gain. And offer imagery everywhere we find opposition to plans that values the or programs or laws which mitigate the power of the negative affects of climate change again Hindu Om; photo Cetta Kenney natural world. we often find the Golden Calf. Or we Scholars of the find the ignorance or misinformation Vedas have held forth various texts and promoted by worshipers of the Golden rituals that extol the earth (bhu), the Calf. atmosphere (bhuvah), and sky (sva), as Science and technology give us the well as the goddess associated with the tools needed to stop climate change and earth (Prthivi), and the gods associreverse its negative effects. What we ated with water (Ap), with fire and heat need is a spiritually ethically based con- (Agni), and the wind (Vayu). They have sciousness and values to build a worldnoted that the centrality of these gods wide coalition of energy and will to put and goddesses suggests an underlying those scientific tools to use. ecological sensitivity within the Hindu On the Jewish High Holiday of the tradition. In later Indian thought, these New Year which celebrates the creation Vedic concepts become formalized into of the world, we are given a metaphor. the Samkhya denotation of five great Imagine a large scale of balances; on one elements (mahabhuta): earth (prthivi), side are put all the single good deeds water (jal), fire (tejas), air (vayu), and of all of humans and on the other side space (akasa). The meditative and ritual of the scale, all the destructive deeds processes of Hinduism entail awareof all human beings. One deed of one ness of these constituents of materialperson can tip the scale to one side or ity. Daily worship (puja) employs and the other. The well being of the world is evokes these five powers. in the balance. Every life preserving act Hinduism has long revered the tree. we do counts for the perfecting of cre- Early seals from the Indus Valley cities ation. Whatever wasteful, destructive or (c. 3000 BCE) depict the tree as a powheedless act can tip the scales of climate erful symbol of abundance. References change to more destruction. to India’s trees can be found in a wide The Prophet Isaiah put it: “Not for range of literature, particularly in epic chaos, destruction, did God create the and poetic texts. India has a long history world. For habitation God formed it! of forest protection, from the edicts of (Isaiah 45.18).” Asoka, to the individual work of various
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Rajas, to the modern Chipko move- the body and the vitality of the senses. ment, wherein women have staved off Other spiritual paths advocate renunforest destruction by surrounding trees ciation of all sensual attachments to the with their own bodies. world. However, even within the paths Rivers have been and continue to that relegate worldly concerns to a status be an integral part of Hindu religious of secondary importance, the doctrine practice. More than fifty Vedic hymns of Dharma emphasizes a need to act praise the Sarasvati, a river (now dry) “for the sake of the good of the world”. associated with the goddess of learning Particularly in regard to such issues as and culture. The Ganges River which the building of dams in the Narmada flows through northern India likewise is River Valley, this requires taking into referred to as a goddess originating from account social ecology or the need to the top of Siva’s head in the Himalaya integrate environmental policy with the Mountains, giving sustenance to hun- daily needs of tribal and other marginaldreds of millions of modern Indians. ized peoples. Traditionally, the rivers of India have The current worldwide ecological always been considered pure. Modern crisis has come to our attention during industrial contaminants and human the past four decades and its effects have wastes have fouled the rivers, though been felt within South Asia more recent- Ganges water still plays an important ly. As the region copes with decreasing role in India’s ritual life. air quality in its cities and degraded Hinduism offers a variety of cosmo- water in various regions, religious thinklogical views which may or may not situ- ers and activists have begun to reflect on ate the human in the natural world in how the broader values of Hindu tradian ecologically friendly manner. On the tion might contribute to fostering greatone hand, the agrarian and often near- er care for the earth. Gandhi’s advocacy wilderness images of India found in the of simple living through the principles Vedas, Upanisads, and epic texts present of nonviolence (ahimsa) and holding a style of life seemingly in tune with the to truthfulness (satyagraha) could give elements. The Samkhya and Tantra tra- some Hindus pause as they consider the ditions affirm the reality and efficacy of lifestyle changes engendered by conthe physical world. On the other hand, temporary consumerism. Most of the the Advaita Vedanta tradition asserts Hindu population lives within villages that the highest truth involves a vision that, barring natural disasters such as of oneness that transcends nature and, flood or drought, are self-sustaining in a sense, dismisses the significance of and use resources sparingly. However, as the material world by referring to it as the population of South Asia increases, illusion or maya. and as the modern lifestyle continues to One model of Hindu spirituality demand consumer goods, the balance of encourages physicality through yoga sustainability can shatter. With apprepractices that enhance the health of ciation and acknowledgment of the five
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great elements, with a new interpreta- Two of our fundamental beliefs are tion of social duty (dharma) expanded service to the community and equality to include the ecological community, between people, values which encourand with remembrance of its ethic of age a spirit of co-operation and sharabstemiousness, the Hindu tradition can ing of resources equally. This is seen develop new modalities for caring for in our community kitchens which are the earth. maintained by voluntary service. Many According to Hindu religion, “dha- farmers in the Punjab grow their crops ranath dharma ucyate” – that which organically because they feel that the sustains all species of life and helps earth must be respected and treated well. to maintain harmonious relationship Water is a primary link between human among them is dharma. That which beings and nature. disturbs such ecology is adharma. Hence Ten years ago, Sikh communities we can say: around the world celebrated the inauguration of “The Cycle of Creation”. As the unwise act attached to Sikhism follows three hundred year action, Bharata, cycles – the most recent of which ended so the wise should act unattached, in 1999. In 1699, a time of terrible perintending to maintain the world ... secution of the Sikhs, the coming cycle was named “The Cycle of the Sword”. The three hundred years that followed A Sikh response were certainly dominated by armed Gursharan Thandi struggles. But the Cycle of creation, which we have just entered, has already
A s Sikhs, our ties to led to dramatic changes in environmental practices by Sikh Gurudwaras. Sikh Symbol; original Art
the environ- It has also led to a launch of a new Swami Tapasananda
ment around initiative called EcoSikh. This is the us is very Sikh community’s contribution to the important and, United Nations Alliance of Religions in a sense, it is and Conservation (UNARC) Seven Year spiritual. The Plan project, whose aim is to help histories of our Gurus tell us tales of the the world’s major religions create long places where they sat in meditation, in term plans to improve their relationdeep forests and high upon mountains ship with the environment. The plans, and beside rivers. There is something in which each tradition celebrates its magical and transcendent about praying unique relationship with the environin nature’s spaces – the connection and ment and puts its teachings on ecolthe feeling of oneness is very apparent – ogy into action, were launched at a a life that suggests mastery over oneself major event at Windsor Castle, UK, rather than over nature. in November 2009, and were used to
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inform the UN Framework Convention would make a wonderful statement to on Climate Change in Copenhagen the wider society that changes for the better following month. can be made. The EcoSikh Five Year Plan is a his- The Eco Sikh Five Year Plan contoric decision of commitment by Sikh tains many ambitious proposals – for communities around the world to make instance, for mass educational work our children’s future greener. It contains around the world on how eco principles many far-reaching ideas for improving are reflected in Sikh understanding, and eco practices at different levels – indi- for twinning projects to help share and viduals, Gurudwars and links with the embody best practices. wider community. For example, the Sikhism teaches us that we create fact that all Gurudwaras run a langar the environment around us and that (communal kitchen) involves them in our surroundings are a reflection of our the production of food on a massive inner state. The increasing barrenness scale. If the whole system of sourcing, and the desolation of our planet reflect purchasing, preparation and cooking a spiritual emptiness within us. The became a self-consciously green process solution, according to our Gurus, lies in this would make a substantial difference prayer and caring for the world around to the way energy was being used. And us – the very principles of eco-theology such self-conscious attention to detail laid down by Guru Nanak Devji.
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