Prospects of Arne Naess'secosophy T. in Connection with The
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Prospects of Arne Naess’sEcosophy T. in Connection with The Bhagavad Gita Reshmi P.A. M.Phil English Research Scholar Amrita School of Arts and Sciences Kochi India Abstract Usually, in the Hindu mythology the belief is that our life and existence on earth onlybecause of the blessings fromtheMother Earth (Prithvi).It is one of the five elements namely earth, water, air, fine and space. Our life on earth is possible only because of these five elements.Prithvi thegoddess is the mother earth and represents the creative, transformative and feminine energy of the Universe.Prithvipreserve and replenish our life possible and retain it.But in reality, we human beings acts are not favourable to her nourishment. Believing that nature is there to fulfill human needs i.e., anthropocentric and there is the importance of Deep Ecology a term propounded by Arne Naess a Norwegian philosopher and later turned to Ecosophy T. The key concept of Ecosophy is Self-realization.This paper examines some of the quotes from BhagavadGita and Naess‟sEcosophy T in the terms ofphallogocentrism in Ecosophy T and the gynocentrism in ancient Indian works such as BhagavadGita and Vedas. All the new ideas related to ecology related with philosophy and ancient Indian teachings taught us to save our Earth for future generations and let the place to be live and prosper. www.ijellh.com 242 Prospects of Arne Naess’sEcosophyT.in Connection with theBhagavad Gita Calm and beautiful nature will always solace our mind and rejuvenate our thoughts.In Atharva Veda there is a beautiful hymn called Prithvisuktam in praise of the earth: Earth in which lie the sea, the river, and other waters in which food and corn fields have come to be in which lives all that breathes and that moves, may she confer on us the finest of her yields Earth my mother! Set me securely with bliss in full accord with Heaven. (12.1) (Bloomfield 85) Ancient Indian mythology considers all the things related with nature as feminine. The rivers, trees and all that is above the earth itself havea feminine image.Mother, who is not a submissive image in Ancient Indian mythologies inotherway she represents strength, power, courage, conceive and above all concern about her children.Our concern for nature is gynocentric.Conserve the Earth with all its purities without diminishing the prospects of future generations‟ leads to a sustainable development. In western thought of literature, the two sides of the binary carry gendered values, Culture as Masculine and Nature as Feminine.The images like Mother Nature helps naturalize women and feminize nature.They considered nature as a woman and whose basic duties include reproduction and nurture. By assuming nature as mother the basic function of nature is to sustain and provide for the human race. Ecofeminists arguethat patriarchal society‟s values and beliefs have resulted in the oppression of both women and nature.The works of Ariel Salleh, Vandana Shiva, Mary Mellor and others have generated nuanced readings of the relationship between gender and nature. Deep Ecology has been perhaps the single most influential philosophy for environmental activism worldwide.Deep Ecology provokes us to think about the need of urgency to become eco-biocentric.The term Deep Ecology was propounded by Arne Naess, who made a distinction between deep and shallow ecology (Naess 96).His idea is that human life forms an integral part of the earth.Both human and non-human life forms have intrinsic values.Deep Ecology believes in the fundamental interconnectedness of all life forms and natural features. Fritjof Capra in his Web of Life states that “Deep Ecology recognises that the intrinsic value of all living beings and viewshumans as just one particular strand in the web of life. www.ijellh.com 243 Ultimately, deep ecological awareness is spiritual or religious awareness. Deep ecological awareness seems to provide the ideal philosophical and spiritual basis for an ecological life style and for environmental activism.”(140) Development of modern philosophy in relation to the natural world involving cross cultural studies of world views which emphasize ecocentric values have been referred to as Ecophilosophy.The task of Ecophilosophy is to examine a diversity of perspectives on human nature contexts and interrelationships.It enriches deeper and more harmonious relationships between self, community, place and natural world. Arne Naess definesEcosophy as a: … Philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium.A philosophy as a kind of Sofia (wisdom) is openlynormative; it contains norms, rules, postulates, value priority announcements and hypotheses concerning the state of affairs in our universe.The details of an ecosophy will show many variations due to significant differences concerning not only the „facts‟ of pollution, resources, population etc. but also value priorities” (Drengson 8). The focus of Ecophilosophy is a total comprehensive view of our individual and human perception. A variety of philosophies, religions can have this function but many of them are anthropocentric.The key concept of Ecosophy T is self-realization.The concept of self-realization in Naess‟ philosophy evolved from his lifelong engagement with the philosophy of Gandhi and his belief in the unity of life. Gandhiji once stated: Today Gita is not only my Bibleor Koran it is more than thatit is my mother.I lost my earthly mother who gave me birth long ago; but this eternal mother has completely filled her place by my side ever since when I am in difficulty or distress I seek refuge in her bosom.The Gita is the universal mother.She turns away nobody; her door is wide open to anyone who knocks.And it‟s my spiritual dictionary. (87) Many verses from Gita tell about the self-realization especially verse 6.29.It shows the interconnectedness and interdependence of all living beings. Naess‟s personal ecosophy is called Ecosophy T. The T stands for the mountain Tvergastein and points to the personal nature of ecosophies. Naess himself connects with the www.ijellh.com 244 origin of central values of Ecosophy to hischildhood experiences.At the age of four he used to spend hours by observing the ecosystem on the coastline.From about the age of eight, he became attached to a particular mountain.Then the mountain became for him a symbol of a“benovelent, equiminded, strong father or of an ideal human nature” (Naess1983:304).His attitude towards the mountain as a strong father shows phallogocentrism. In critical theory and deconstruction, the word phallogocentrism is a neologism coined by Jaques Derrida to refer to the previleging by the masculine (phallus) in the construction of meaning.Examining by this notion, Naess perception about the mountain can be consider as phallogocentric. The Bhagavad Gita is seven hundred verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit which is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharatha.The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue betweeenPandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteerKrishna.The aim of teaching Gita is salvation.It is through action without any self-centered motive that one attains salvation.Whatever is pleasant to oneselfispleasant to all creatures and that whatever is painful to oneself is painful to all beings. The wise man who realizes all beings as not distinct from his own self as the self of all beings does not by virtue of that perception hate anyone. In Bhagavad GitaKrishna says to Arjuna about self-realization and sama-darsanah in the following lines: Sarva- bhuta-stham-atmanam Sarva- bhutani-catmani Iksate yoga-yuktama Sarvatrasama-darsanah (6.29) A true yogi observes God in all beings and also sees every being in God.Indeed the self-realized person sees God everywhere.Thesimilarity between one self and other selves, when they separated from prakriti (the body) all selves are by themselves only the nature of knowledge. An inequality stands only in prakriti (body) they were embodied in.The verse 6.29 describes yogin who “sees himself in all being and all beings in himself”i.e,sama-darsanah.It expresses the idea that all is connected to everything else and therefore the self-realization of any living being is part of the self-realization of each one of us. „Ahimsa or nonviolence is the highest duty‟ is a well-known saying of the Mahabharatha.The will to freedom and love is in accordance with reality.When man rejects this will for his own interests, he is rejecting himself.The concept of self-realization in Naess‟ www.ijellh.com 245 philosophy has developed from his lifelong engagement with the philosophy of Gandhi.HisEcosophy has a close connection between non-violence (Ahimsa), the philosophy of oneness (advaita) and the goal of self-realization in the religious thoughts of Gandhi. Usually Bhagavad Gita is considered as a Hindu religious text.If we neglect its relegiousaura then it becomes a universally accepted solution for all our problems.Bhagavad Gitabegins with an invocation towards the mother Bhagavad Gita itself. For us everything associated with nature is feminine. Sama-darsanahleads us to an insight that every living thing in this universe has the same power.This insight leads to self-realization this is what Arne Naess called Ecosophy T. Mountains, consider as the symbol of a strong father not only in Naess‟ philosophy but also in Indian philosophies. If we think in another way the Mother Earth who nurtures or bears the mountains as the mother bears her children in her womb. Prejudice, self-contained hatred always forms a sense of seperatedness.The sense of seperatednessgives rise to all kind of selfish desires, the desire to exploit, overuse and so on.It also vanishes and living their place a feeling of universal attitude, self-realization and benevolence towards our fellow beings.