SUSTAINABLE HYDERABAD PROJECT

14 | THEMATIC SECTION
2
http://news.rediff.com/slide-
show/2009/jul/04/slide-show-
1-hyderabad-prays-for-rain.
htm#contentTop [Accessed
07.07.2010]
3
Dwivedi, O. P. (2000): Dharmic
Ecology. In: Hinduism and Ecology:
The Intersection of Earth,
Sky, and Water. Ed. Christopher
Key Chapple und Mary Evelyn
Tucker. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press:
3-22.
4
White, Lynn (1967): The
Historical Roots of Our Ecological
Crisis. Science. Vol. 155 (No.
3767): 1203-1207.
priests have commented that lack of rains is a
punishment from God for the increased sin in
the world. 2 However, the collective action of
citizens tends to stop after performing these
rituals, reflecting their satisfaction that they
have done enough. Precisely at this point, external
intervention is necessary to alert them
to continue their efforts further by examining
their lifestyles to reveal actions detrimental
to the environment and adapting them to be
climate friendly. The involvement of religious
scholars, such as Hindu gurus, Islamic Moulanas
and Christian priests, could be helpful to
motivate citizens to work individually and collectively
against climate change.
The objective behind this project is to study
the philosophies of the three major religious
streams – Hindu, Muslim, and Christian – represented
in Hyderabad in the light of ecology
and communicate the principles/guidelines
concerning ecology laid down therein to people,
thereby appealing to their religious sentiments
to act against climate change. Motivating
citizens to act against climate change
through such a strategy could be promising,
since the successful chipko movements in India
in the nineteen seventies to save ecology were
guided by religious beliefs. The inspiration for
chipko movements was the dedication of the
bishnoi community in Rajasthan, which has
been practicing environmental conservation as
their religious duty. 3
As part of a qualitative survey, interviews
with religious scholars as well as citizens were
conducted and analysed. The scholars are in
varying degrees aware of climate change and
the suffering of people under its impacts. Except
one scholar belonging to a Christian religious
stream, all are of the opinion that people
are suffering due to climate change as well as
increased sin in the world. One Hindu scholar
stated that the “effects of both GHG emission
and Kaliyuga are there”. The nature of both
sufferings is different, however, as the returns
for personal “misdeeds” will be different than
the hardships they face or losses they incur due
to climate change. This reveals that they are
very open to scientific explanations about climate
change and accept them.
The just-mentioned scholar continued that,
today “wherever you look, wherever you go,
sin has increased. In olden days greenery used
to be worshipped and nowadays it is quite opposite
to it. Now, wherever a tree is seen, it is
being cut off and pillars are erected and buildings
are built quickly. Subsequently it will be
checked whether they can be extended further.
Only such thoughts do people have now.
There is a connection between famines and
such things”. He concluded that “only when
there is positive thinking in human beings they
will avoid GHG emission”.
All interviewed scholars stated that various
guidelines exist in different religious texts
such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata,
the Vedas, the Quran and the Bible and gave
references. Some also mentioned corresponding
narrations recorded in some texts contain
moral lessons for human beings. The personification
of the elements of nature Ether, Earth,
Water, Fire and Wind as gods in Hindu philosophy,
as evidence of the highest regard being
given to nature, was highlighted.
On being asked how such guidelines would
influence people, they mentioned that people
in Hyderabad are basically religious and the
guidelines would influence them positively.
The positive effect on people of the “spiritual
TV channels” belonging to various religions has
been that, in the words of one Hindu scholar,
that since “their arrival people are becoming
cautious. From the time scholars (Gurus) are
teaching ‘good’ in different channels of different
religions things are improving”. These
channels could therefore serve as a useful medium
to communicate ecological guidelines in
religious texts to people.
In their opinion, primarily religious scholars
have the responsibility to communicate such
guidelines to people. One Christian scholar
mentioned that, according to Lynn White,
man interpreted the words “have dominion”
in Genesis 1:26 from the Bible wrongly as “to
conquer”, thus acting as if he was the owner
of the earth and exploiting it. 4 Instead, through
understanding these words correctly, humans
should have become stewards of the natural
environment. He therefore opined that it is the
responsibility of Christian churches to play a
leading role in the matter, as misinterpretation
of this verse was the root cause of a false human
attitude towards nature, which ultimately
caused the ecological crisis.
The primary analysis of citizens’ interviews
so far indicates that citizens belonging to the
Islamic religious stream see a cosmic regulation
behind the calamities taking place today as a
result of the increased sin in the world and believe
that things will improve if human beings
change inwardly.
After analysis of the interviews, during the
last phase of research it is planned to compile
SUSTAINABLE HYDERABAD PROJECT ISSUES 09 AND 10