Week 8 Lecture 1: From Prayer to Protest: Religious Ethics in Environmental Movements

Food Sovereignty and Environmental Activism

Bhagavad Gītā

6th Chapter of the Mahabharata

“Song of the Lord”

Focused on Krishna (avatar of Vishnu the preserver)

Ecological activists have continually drawn from it

Mahabharata

Large-scale narrative

Nearly 100,00 verses

Compiled early in the Common Era

Dharma

Righteousness, duty, justice

From dhr (that which sustains)

• Krishna voluntarily comes down to preserve dharma and nature from greed and overconsumption

Focus on Dharma in the Mahabharata: 39 chapters focus on “dharma in times of trouble”

“When dharma declines, humans beings despoil nature”

Era after the Mahabharata is one of destruction

Ahimsā

Non-violence

The paramount dharma

Krishna as the protector of perpetual dharma, describes himself as part of nature

Chipko movement

Predominantly female peasant movement to prevent logging in the Himalayas (very sacred landscape, Krishna described himself as the Himalayas in the Gītā)

Gained popularity through nonviolent protection

Notion of ahimsā at the core of the Chipko Movement

Chipko translation

Hindi word meaning “to hug” or “to cling to”

The Bhagavad Gītā and the Chipko movement

1977- 500+ came to the Advani forest on a padyatra (foot pilgrimage) to protect the forest

1977 - female Chipko leaders tied yellow rakhis (symbols of kinship and protection) around trees and organized a reading of the Gītā

1978 - another reading of the Gītā for 3000+ people who participated in non-violent non-participation

Chipko leader Sunderlal Bahuguna cited the Gītā and called efforts dharmayuddha (righteous battle)

Invocation of Gītā = reverence for the forest, notion that the landscape is sacred as Krishna’s body

Chipko focus on dharma and the Gītā

• Environmental action upholds dharma and nonviolence

Chipko results

Won control of resources from corporations

Evolved into the Save Himalaya movement

UNEP Religious environmental protection

The Faith Hope Initiative

• In 2008, UN focused on religion and the environment together

• Spiritual values are very impactful on general values for over 80% of the population

In 2016, UNEP noted that the Chipko movement sparked a socioeconomic revolution

Vandana Shiva

Gandhian eco-activist

Ecofeminist

Volunteered with the Chipko movement in the 1970s

Founder of Navdanya

Food is a weapon - owning IP rights on seeds is an attempt at “seed dictatorship”

Gandhian activism

Ghandi advocated for non-cooperation with the British

• i.e. boycotting, etc

Swaraj (own rule)

Influenced MLK Jr, Nelson Mandela, etc

Gandhi and the Gītā

Common belief: Religion is opposed to material good/ aspects of life

Gandhi argues that the Gītā says the religious must rule all parts of life

Gandhi and Ahimsā

Argues for nonviolence if there is a choice

Non-violence as a natural part of humanity

• Equates British colonial rule to the nature of a “brute”

India Salt Act

1882 - British Colonial law

Making salt was a criminal act

All salt had to be bought from a government depot

• Prices increased after the act

50 years later, Gandhi led a 24-day march from his ashram to the sea protesting this law

• Led to ~80,000 arrests

• Inspired nationwide non-violent civil disobedience and promoted the Indian Independence Movement

Before the march, sent a letter to the Viceroy outlining the plan

Navdanya

Started as a movement that promotes biodiversity, conservation, seed saving, and seed sharing among farmers

Has created 20+ seed banks, seeds freely exchanged

If seeds are IP, saving and sharing them becomes IP theft

• Parallel to Salt Act, connects multinational corporations to British rule

Protecting cultural diversity via biodiversity

Shiva: Ahimsā, Dharma, Swadeshi

“Organic agriculture is the Dharma that sows the seeds of peace and prosperity for all”

Made plegde at Satyagraha Ashram - intentional parallel

Ahimsic Kheti (nonviolent farming)