Ecology and Hindusim - their downfall

**** wrote it as one blog but separated it due to change of subject********

Anyway so back to the book, which has raised some thoughts in my mind, specially in context of current globalization. He addresses this issue as well. I haven't finished this book yet. This book provides me a good perspective based on the whole history of Ecology in World. It took ages in the US/UK/Europe as well to accept Ecology as a Science, and how you do it! Where is India in that context?

Conservation and Nature is not new to India. Although thats how it has been presented or practised in India. We have history of nature worshippers and still persisting in may tribes for more than 3000 years. It is the basic philosophy you come across in Vedas, or I can say 'Hindu Religion' or Hinduisim'. According to me 'Hinduism' is just a way of life, a philosophy, unlike what it is viewed as or currenly presented to the society.

So traditionally the sages, saints, philosopher's in and from India have suggested the connection between people, plants and animals. Everything is eventually connected to this one origin. Who knows what that is, but that was the premise. And the concept of Karma, suggests flow between and within them! So as a race 3000 years back if we taught and believed in this connection, when is it that the transition or the break up happen? When is it that we started using and looking at animals and plants just as resources, only to extract. People led a life dependent on these resources for ages. But some how this dependence or interdependence never led to a situation of crisis or extinction.

As I read the book I was curious to know the transition which introduced 'Conservation' or 'Ecololgy' as a new concept in India instead of it existing in Historical India. Today we have problems with population and poverty, and Ecology definately takes a back seat under the current scenario. How about globalization? How does it affect the progress of this science in rest of the world and also in India?

Population, poverty, resource crunch according to me are very recent problems in India, if I look at its history. Knowledge and resources were prevalant during the period of Chanakya, Nalanda, Ashoka! Ashoka, one of the great kings from India, too talks about conservation in his period. It just makes me wonder how and why did we loose such richness? Sometimes I wonder if it was the 200 years of rule and invasion by East India company, Mughal Empire and others which changed our basic principles? It just bothers me, both for my profession and history! How and why did we loose the richness? How many years will it take to return to what we were? Will another 200 years undo all the damage we went through?

I don't know. Disappoints me a bit and also focuses me on what I want to do, for the time I am here!