Global Warming and Christianity, Islam, Capitalism, Socialism
Introduction: If God is an integral part of any ideology that governs the human mind, then we need not worry about problems like global warming. This small article is to provoke some thoughts in the readers’ minds about the effects of Christianity, Islam, Capitalism, and Socialism on global warming. It is not an argument. It is a humble suggestion to scientists and those who are genuinely concerned about global warming to study Hinduism and other ideologies from this point of view. This is an excerpt of an article from http://www.hindujagruti.org/ from Dr. Durgesh Samant (Spokesperson, Hindu Janajaguti Samiti).
Our understanding about global warming has reached a definite mode when scientists across the globe (Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Changes) have declared a few things in unequivocal terms. They are as follows:
1. The global temperature is going to rise by 6.4 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, resulting in great human misery.
2. It is not nature but man (human activity) himself who is responsible for the problem. They have clearly stated that the impending doom is not because of natural cyclical phenomena.
3. They have asked man to be alert and respect nature.
All these points, particularly the second one, need to be taken into consideration seriously, not only to find remedies or solutions to limit human suffering, but also to think about the root causes responsible for this tragedy. Here when I say root causes, I do not mean the causes like increase in the atmospheric CO2 etc, but the causes, which have made man so destructive and irresponsible so as to create a problem of such great magnitude. I think we shall provide serious attention to this particular aspect of global warming, obviously not only for academic interest.
The human mind expresses itself through various actions. Scientists tell us that ultimately these actions are the causes of global warming. So it is a must for any serious person to find out, “Why were human actions in the wrong direction for so many years?” This is because of the human mind that dictated man to do such actions. But why has the mind failed to take the right direction? Here lies the key to this issue. Many times it is the ideology of a person that guides his mind to act in a certain manner. The mind decides what is right and what is wrong according to the ideology that influences it. In this manner, he decides upon the course of action to be adopted. So it is better to analyze the ideologies, which influence the human mind to find out why human actions in this case were in the wrong direction.
If we study this issue closely, we understand that man went on exploiting Mother Earth for his needs. And his needs were and are unending. To get more material comfort and prestige he wanted to earn more. Yesterday’s leisure items became today’s essentials. There is no end to it. The creation of wealth became the sole aim. And then there were wars, intolerance, etc. All this happened without paying any attention to Mother Earth. And why does he have to pay any attention to Mother Earth? He was sure that nature, the non-living entity, is not at all going to say anything to him about her exploitation. So when we study global warming, we actually understand a story of unlimited, unscrupulous exploitation of the planet by man. Man has shown absolutely no respect towards nature. He felt that such exploitation is necessary for his happiness. So the lack of respect for Mother Earth and an unending quest for happiness in material things are two peculiar qualities of the human mind, which should be analyzed with respect to the various ideologies which influenced the human mind. As we can see, the combination of these two resulted in human actions responsible for global warming.
We will take into consideration the major ideologies that shaped the human mind over the last 200 years in those countries, which are said to be mainly responsible for problem of global warming. The main actors in the list are Christianity, Islam, Capitalism, and Socialism. These are the major ideologies that have contributed to the thought process of the human mind in those developed countries, which are considered as mainly responsible for global warming. There is also a fair amount of agreement on the point that since the advent of industrialization i.e. over last two hundred years, things have started worsening.
History tells us that before the ideology of Christianity started prevailing over the human mind in Europe and elsewhere, there were some other cultures or ideologies. And these ideologies taught their followers to worship nature. But Alas! Christian missionaries worked relentlessly to wipe out this culture. ‘Pagan’ is the term they used to identify these people. Details of where, when and how this took place is not the point of our discussion here. Then came Islam, an ideology that has no concept of worshipping nature. Both these ideologies were extremely intolerant towards everybody who were not willing to accept their God as the only God and their way as the only way. History is full of stories of violence by their followers in the name of their Only True God! These followers kept on increasing their numbers by conversion, many a times by force. For them the concept of spiritual upliftment of an individual meant bringing him to adopt their faith by whatever means including force.
So technically speaking, although perpetrators of such actions might have done this with what they call as non-materialistic intentions, but their actions and the thoughts were definitely very materialistic i.e. to increase the number of their followers. Imperialism was an integral part of these actions. So the ideologies which inculcated such so called ‘non materialistic’ intentions, had no concept of inward journey within one’s mind to reach God or to find bliss within. If at all such a concept did exist, then it was very primitive in nature, as the history of bloodbath created by these two ideologies to gain numerical superiority just negates any existence of such a concept put seriously in practice by the mind they influenced. Along with such thoughts of intolerance, no teachings to find bliss or God within and lack of the concept of viewing nature with reverence were qualities imparted to the mind by these important ideologies. Such was the state of the human mind, which then came under the influence of various other ideologies like Capitalism, Liberalism, Socialism and Communism, especially after the industrial revolution.
None of these new ideologies have any concept of worshipping nature. Nor have they cared for finding bliss or happiness inwards as stated earlier. So the results have been devastating. E.g. an average person in developed countries takes material worth 20 times his weight everyday from the planet and then 99 % of it becomes waste! As a result the consequences have been devastating. If others have to use American living standards then we will require many more earths! In the past half century, the world has a lost a fourth of its topsoil and a third of its forest cover. In the past three decades, one-third of the planet’s resources, its “natural wealth,” has been consumed. Humankind has inherited a 3.8-billion-year store of natural capital. At present rates of use and degradation, there will be little left by the end of the next century. The mind that is already convinced that happiness lies in some material aspect of life then goes in that direction with no limit. Destructive nature of communism and socialism is well known to history. For both these ideologies, worshipping nature is out of question. They too attempt to find happiness for man through material fulfillment.
A mind influenced by such ideologies then just cannot think of preserving mother earth with conviction nor can limit her exploitation. Someone may question, “Why is finding bliss or happiness inwards and worship of nature important? Is it not sufficient just to be careful about nature? The answer is ‘No!’ Here to be careful about nature is a thought at a superficial level or an attempt made by the mind after some explanation or understanding about the problem. Whereas worship inculcates not only the quality of taking care of nature but also a sense of gratitude towards nature. One can understand the ocean of difference between the effort made by the mind, which takes care of its unwanted actions affecting nature, and the efforts made by one whose actions affecting nature are governed by gratitude towards it. This when coupled with an ideology directing the mind to realize God i.e. ‘Bliss’ within, by using nature for basic needs honestly makes a big difference. The mind that seeks happiness in material things or achievements will always end up in performing some action detrimental to nature. If these two principles, viz. seeking bliss or the God within and nature worship becomes an integral part (akin to faith in religion) of any ideology which governs human mind, then we need not worry about problems like global warming for generations to come.
In contrast to all these above-mentioned ideologies, Sanatan Hindu Dharma (Hinduism) shines with its peculiarities. There is nature worship in various ways in Hinduism. e.g. Hinduism tells its followers to pray to Mother Earth every morning before placing their feet on the ground. Hinduism places a non-materialistic goal i.e. God Realization in front of every individual in clear words in day to day life. There are well-evolved disciplines in this regard and masters who actually practice them. They are free to decide which way to follow. It is a unique wonder that we find some small areas of forests (called Devrai meaning God’s garden!) absolutely untouched for centuries together because of such qualities of Hinduism.
The author, Somnath Paramshetti, is a volunteer for Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (www.hindujagruti.org). The aim of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti is to bring awareness on current issues and to unite Hindus around the globe. By profession Somnath is a software engineer and works for ConAgra Foods Omaha, Nebraska.
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October 2nd, 2009 10:45
the effect of Global Warming these days is even worst. i think every government should pass stricter laws on Carbon Emissions. we should also concentrate more on renewable energy sources and avoid fossil fuels.
November 5th, 2009 03:24
- We should be more concerned about Global Warming and Climate Change because Typhoons are getting much stronger and there are greater incidence of Flooding. take for example the recent Typhoon Ketsana which devastated some countries in South East Asia.
February 15th, 2010 05:40
Global Warming and Climate Change is the biggest environmental issue that we face these days. the long term effects of these environmental changes to a nations economy is quite damaging. there would be a shortage in food supply as well as on water supply too.
March 23rd, 2011 16:41
This militarization of everyday Muslim life was noticed with keen interest by Count Keyserling (1880-1946 CE) during his travels in Islamic countries. He summed up his over-all impression in his The Travel Diary of a Philosopher. “Islam is a religion,” he wrote, “of absolute surrender and submissiveness to God - but to a God of a certain character - a War-Lord who is entitled to do with us as he will and who bids us stand ever in line of battle against the foe… The ritual of this belief embodies the idea of discipline. When the true believers every day at fixed hours perform their prayers in serried ranks in the mosque, all going through the same gestures at the same moment, this is not, as in Hinduism, done as a method of self-realization, but in the spirit in which the Prussian soldier defiled before his Kaiser. This military basis of Islam explains all the essential virtues of the Musalman. It also explains his fundamental defects - his unprogressiveness, his incapacity to adapt himself, his lack of invention. The soldier has simply to obey orders. All the rest is the affair of Allah.” “In the early days of Islam”, writes Professor K.S. Lal, “the main features of the Friday service were prayers in congregation with worshippers standing in straight linear rows. Attendance was compulsory and military discipline was maintained. The sermon was like the order of the day; it comprised advice, reprimand and directions on religious and political obligations of the faithful. A sense of awe pervaded - raising the number of worshippers…” Small wonder that great importance is attached to congregational or Friday prayers in Islam. “The ahadis declare that namaz said in congregation is twenty-five times superior to namaz said alone at home. Muhammad was very strict about attendance in congregational prayer.”4 The Prophet is reported to have said that he felt like burning down the houses of those who did not attend the Friday prayers. In the history of Islam in India, Friday “sermons result in working up the feelings of the namazis, and sabre-rattling and street riots generally take place on Friday after the afternoon prayers
March 23rd, 2011 16:42
Mughalistan (or Mughalstan) is the name of an independent homeland proposed for the Muslims of India. This Mughal-Muslim state in the Indian subcontinent will include all of North India and Eastern India, and will be formed by merging Pakistan and Bangladesh through a large corridor of land running across the Indo-Gangetic plain, the heartland of India. This Mughalistan corridor will comprise Muslim-majority areas of Northern India and eastern India that will be partitioned for the second time in history. The comprehensive plan for a second partition of India was first developed by the Mughalstan Research Institute (MRI) of Jahangir Nagar University (Bangladesh) under the patronage of the two intelligence agencies, Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and Bangladesh’s Director General of Forces Intelligence, DGFI. The “Mughalistan Reaserch Institute of Bangladesh” has released a map where a Muslim corridor named “Mughalistan” connects Pakistan and Bangladesh via India. The Pakistani Punjabi-dominated ISI’s influence on MRI is evident even in the Punjabi-centric pronunciation of the word ‘Mughalstan’ (without the “i”), instead of the typical Urdu pronunciation (Mughalistan). Islamic Jihadis in India have been well-armed and well-funded by the neighbouring Islamic regimes, as part of Operation Topac – the late Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq’s grandiose plot to balkanize India. Not surprisingly, Osama Bin Laden has thrown his support behind the concept and creation of this Greater Pakistan to “liberate” the Muslims of India from the Hindus. The Mumbai underworld (led by Karachi-based don Dawood Ibrahim who executed the gruesome 1993 Mumbai bombings), Jamaat-e-Islami, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen have declared their unified support for creating this undivided Islamic nation in the Indian subcontinent. The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Indian Mujahideen are working in tandem with the aforementioned organizations to waged Jihad against the Hindus of India. It is important to note that in its “holy war” against India, the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba has openly declared Hindus to be the “enemies of Islam” who should all be converted or killed. The Lashkar-e-Tayyaba group has repeatedly claimed through its journals and websites that its main aim is to destroy the Indian republic and to annihilate Hinduism. Jaish-e-Mohammed has vowed to “liberate” not just Kashmir, but also to hoist the Islamic flag atop the historic Red Fort after capturing New Delhi and the rest of India. SIMI has championed the “liberation of India through Islam” and aim to restore the supremacy of Islam through the resurrection of the Khilafat (Islamic Caliphate), emphasis on the Muslim Ummah (Islamic) and the waging of Jihad on the Indian state, secularism, democracy and nationalism – the basic keystones of the Indian Constitution – as these concepts are antithetical to Islam. The Indian Mujahideen have sent several emails claiming responsibility for several bombings in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad (in Uttar Pradesh), Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and New Delhi in 2007 and 2008. The emails refer to notorious Islamic conquerors of India (Mohammed bin Qasim, Mohammad Ghauri and Mahmud Ghaznawi) as their role-models, refer to Hindu blood as “blood to be the cheapest of all mankind” and taunt Hindus that their “[Hindu] history is full of subjugation, humiliation, and insult [at the hands of Islamic conquerors]“. The Indian Mujahideen’s emails warn the Hindus to “Accept Islam and save yourselves” and or else face a horrible fate: – “Hindus! O disbelieving faithless Indians! Haven’t you still realized that the falsehood of your 33 crore dirty mud idols and the blasphemy of your deaf, dumb, mute and naked idols of ram, krishna and hanuman are not at all going to save your necks, Insha-Allah, from being slaughtered by our [Muslim] hands?” An indian says:
March 23rd, 2011 16:45
Wherever the Europeans find an opportunity they exterminate the aborigines and settle down in ease and comfort on their lands and therefore think that the Aryans have done the same. But where is proof? Guesswork! In what Veda, what Sukta, do you find that the Aryans came to India from a foreign country? Where do you get the idea that they slaughtered wild aborigines? What do you gain by talking such nonsense? Well, what is the Ramayana? The conquest of the savage aborigines of Southern Inda by Aryans? Indeed Ramachandra is a civilized Aryan being and with whom is he fighting? With the king Ravana of Lanka. Just read the Ramayana, and you will find that Ravana was rather more and not less civilized than Ramachandra. The civilization of Lanka was rather higher and surely not lower than that of Ayodhya . And then, when were these vanaras (monkeys) and other Southern Indians conquered? They were all on the other hand Ramachandra’s friends and allies. Say what kingdoms of Vali and Guhaka were annexed by Ramachandra? And may I ask you, Europeans, what country you have ever raised t better conditions? Where ever you have found weaker races, you have examined them by the roots, as it were. You have settled on their lands, and they are gone for ever. What is the history of your America, your Australia and New Zealand, your Pacific Islands and South Africa? Where are those aboriginal race today? They are all exterminated, you have killed them outright, as if they were wild beasts. It is only where you have not the power to do so, and there only that other nations are still alive. But India has never done that. The Aryans were kind and generous, and in their hearts which were large and unbounded as the ocean and in their brains gifted with superhuman genius, all these ephemeral and apparently pleasant but virtually beastly processes, never found a place. The object of the peoples of Europe is the extermination of all in order to live themselves. Te aim of the Aryans is to raise all up to their own level, nay, even to a higher level than themselves. The means of the European civilization is the sword,of the Aryans ‘ the division into different varnas. This system of division into different varnas is the stepping stone to civilization, making one rise higher and higher in proportion to one’s learning and culture. In Europe it is everywhere victory to the strong, and death to the weak. In the land of Bharata every social rule is for the protection of the weak[Swami Vivekanada]
September 29th, 2011 18:44
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