An Environmental Guide for Hindu Temples and Ashrams Green Temples Guide An Environmental Guide for Hindu Temples and Ashrams “Mata bhumih putroaham prithivyaha” – the Earth is my mother, I am the Earth’s son. -Atharva Veda Contact: Jayshree Balachander, Green Pilgrimage Network, India [email protected] © 2015, The Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) ARC 6, Gay Street Bath BA1 2PH United Kingdom Telephone +44 (o) 1225 758 004 Internet www.arcworld.org E-mail [email protected] This booklet is for discussion and inspiration worldwide. Please distribute as widely as you wish, crediting ARC where possible and keep an eye on the ARC website www.arcworld.org for the latest version. While the copyright remains with ARC, our policy has always been to ofer to anyone and any organisation of good will, the right to use the material contained within. We ask that they honour all credits regarding the origin and source of each quote. Book Design, Calligraphy and Illustration by Salil Divakar Sakhalkar Guidebook Outline Foreword 01 Introduction 03 How to use this guide 06 Section I. Getting started: the vision for a green temple 07 Starting where you are 07 Section II: Toolkit 11 1. Green pujas, worship & celebrations 11 2. Awareness and education 14 3. Greening the temple landscape 15 4. Improving energy efciency 20 5. Conserving water resources 22 6. Waste management 25 7. Protecting animals and wild places 31 8. Faith & food 33 Two case studies from Rishikesh 36 Section III: Resources 39 1. Key hindu and environment calendar dates 39 2. List of resources and organisations 40 3. Other faiths’ guides to greening their places of worship 40 4. Tackling waste 41 5. Making sure food is sustainable and compassionate 42 6. Making energy sources faith-consistent 42 Section IV: Hindu statement on the environment 43 Section V: Checklist. How green is your temple? 53 01 Foreword he Alliance of Religions and Conservation The Green Temple Guide is a valuable toolkit for T(ARC) and the Bhumi Project are delighted to any Hindu community that wishes to take up this join our Indian partners in launching this Green challenge. It has been created after consultation Temples Guide. ARC is an international secular with more than 30 Hindu temples across India, NGO that supports the world’s major faiths in with consultations in Dwarka, Mumbai, Shirdi, developing environmental programmes based Varanasi and Vrindavan. on their core teachings, beliefs and practice. The Bhumi Project, based in Oxford, UK, works in Within its pages you will fnd a range of partnership with all members of the international practical and sustainable solutions for greening Hindu family to encourage Hindus worldwide in temple grounds and buildings and developing the care and protection of Mother Earth. environmentally sound ways to manage waste, water and sanitation as well as advice about Both of our organisations understand the vital developing green themes for celebrations and role that Hindu temples and pilgrim sites can faith-based environmental education. Many of play in meeting the environmental challenges the suggestions can be adopted at once and cost facing India today. For millions of people these nothing, and by starting on the path to becoming places are the gateway to spiritual practice, a Green Temple you will be joining a growing providing guidance on how they can live moral network of sustainable and earth-friendly lives in keeping with their religious beliefs. temples across India, together addressing the When temples and their communities exhibit a environmental challenges of the world in a spirit deep care for the planet and the natural world of co-operation, devotion and service. that sustains us, pilgrims and other visitors are able to share in this ethos. As these sacred towns Martin Palmer, Alliance of Religions and and temples become environmentally friendly, Conservation the ripple efect of their example across India Chantal Elkin, Green Pilgrimage Network could be substantial. Gopal Patel, Bhumi Project 02 03 Introduction The Hindu temple and the environment Everything in the universe belongs This has been the tradition for thousands of to the Lord. Therefore take only years in Hinduism, and yet today, at this time of global ecological crisis, the natural world is what you need, that is set aside for sufering in ways we have never experienced you. Do not take anything else, for before. In India we see it dramatically. Where you know to whom it belongs. nature was once bountiful, we now see bare -Isa Upanishad hillsides, polluted rivers, piles of untreated waste, the receding of wild places and the subsequent loss of wildlife. All of these bring The Isa Upanishad reminds us that God pervades problems for human communities including lack everything on Earth. There is nowhere, no being, of clean water, air and other natural resources, whom He does not pervade. and unforeseen natural disasters such as foods and landslides. Yet although God is everywhere, Hindus believe that God’s presence and energy is particularly The environment in many holy places and focused in shrines and temples, the devasthana, pilgrimage centres is also being adversely where the Divine is honoured. Temples strive afected by large infuxes of visitors. These to maintain a clean and pure, or sattvic, impacts typically include stress on basic services atmosphere, to ensure prayers and oferings are such as water and sanitation, accumulation accepted. Environmental deterioration within of huge quantities of solid waste, high levels any devasthanam’s boundaries would surely be of pollution due to increased trafc, open- displeasing to the deity, and would be taken as a defecation, clearing of land and forests for sign of waning Divine powers. temporary accommodation facilities for pilgrims, and disturbance to wildlife and habitat by crowds of people straying into national parks. 04 Generally, there is a very low level of awareness impact of your temple and to create a vision among visitors to temples and holy sites and action plan that will enable your temple about keeping sacred sites and the broader to manage energy and water resources more environment clean. As Hindus we have a duty to efciently, protect animals and wild places, care for wild areas that are home to innumerable integrate environmental themes into prayers animals, birds, and plants as well as to many and celebrations, and to raise the environmental groups of indigenous peoples - and this care consciousness of pilgrims and community extends into our own backyards in towns and members. By taking part in this initiative, your cities and to our temples and holy places. As temple will join hundreds of others across India responsible temple leaders, we have a duty to in a national network, linked to an international ensure the sattvic consciousness created in the network of places of worship that are aligning temple extends beyond the temple gates, into their practices with the beliefs and values of the towns and communities we serve. their spiritual traditions. The temple is a place to be humble in the It is expected that the Green Temples Initiative presence of the Divine, and to meditate on will: how to live as a devout believer. If, when we 1. Create a network of sustainable and earth- go to temples, we encounter a space that has friendly temples across India taken care to be a blessing and not a burden 2. Join existing networks of international “green” to the Earth, it can inspire us to bring a little places of worship bit of that blessing home to our communities, 3. Encourage the sharing of best practice schools, houses and businesses, and to change between temple sites in India, and with those our relationship with the Earth for the better. Let around the world our temples, as guardians of our Hindu religion, 4. Create a theological basis for environmental refect the Divine by transforming into green, action healthy spaces that support and honour the sanctity of life. 5. Encourage Hindu temples to work with government agencies, NGOs and private companies to make their holy places more The Green Temple Initiative environmentally friendly 6. Create practical action plans for promoting The Green Temple Initiative was launched sustainability and care for the Earth by ARC, GPN and the Bhumi Project in 2014 7. Share stories, wisdom and traditions to develop a network of environmentally 8. Ask pilgrims and visitors to walk lightly and conscious temples across India. Thirty temples travel responsibly in the spirit of their religion were consulted when developing the Green Temples Guide, which will be updated regularly and provided as an online resource. This guide has been developed to inspire you as temple authorities to assess the current environmental 05 Our vision is that all Hindu temples and The second section is the toolkit gives examples ashrams act responsibly towards the natural of tried and tested methods used in other environment, in line with their tradition temples and religious places to improve their and beliefs, and that they inspire pilgrims, sustainability. You can use this section to help visitors and the public to do the same. make your Green Temple action plan. For more information on the Green Temples The third section is a list of resources that can Initiative please contact: Jayshree Balachander provide more information and ideas to help [email protected] your temple become more environmentally conscious. This includes a faith statement on the environment written by three distinguished How to use this guide Hindu theologians, and issued in 1995 when ARC was launched by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh The guide is designed to help you and your and in the presence of religious leaders from all temple community understand the relationship the major faiths, and a checklist for carrying out between Hindu traditions and the need for green an environmental assessment at your temple.