Most parts of North Karnataka are dry lands with scanty rainfall. Farmers take hardly one crop in a year as rain fed farming. As the soils are deep black, good moisture holding capacity covers for the scanty rainfall in the region. Farmers loosing crops due to droughts has been common in the past. But last time they lost their crops and livelihoods for unbelievable events. The year 2009 witnessed a weather unthinkable for the people who have been living there. Flash floods submerged a number of villages destroying lakhs of hectares of crops. Drought prone areas were witness to floods.
Climate change is now a reality as impacts are seen in many places around the world like North Karnataka. Though many factors can be listed for climate change phenomenon, it is the lifestyle of the societies around the world which is the mother of all those factors.
Take for example consumerism. Consumerist lifestyles are encouraged by urbanization, long distance transport, industrial goods, etc. which are the features of industrial economy at the cost of natural resources. Both are complemented by globalization, today.
Culture verses Religion
It is interesting to analyze how these lifestyles and concepts of industrial development are related to religions and cultures! Prior to the birth of monotheistic religions, there were no religions but cultures around the world. Religion is a way of worship while culture is a way of life which includes worship. Culture promotes diversity, decentralization and localization while religion promotes uniformity, centralization and globalization. Hinduism and its offshoots like Jainism, Budhism, etc are cultures while Christianity and Islam are religions in this sense.
Multiplicity of God Promoting Natural Resources
Cultures practice and respect multiplicity of god as the way of worship. The basis is diversity because way of life is dictated by local conditions. It is an instrument of respecting different components of an ecosystem such as land, soil, water, air, vegetation, animals, birds, etc. This ensures that they are not exploited or polluted (for greed) due to emotional bonding we humans develop with them. In India, gods embody the components of nature. Lord Shiva adores crescent moon and holy ganga atop his head, and reptile cobra around his neck. His vehicle is Nandi, a bull and every god has one or the other wild creature as its vehicle. Elephant is for godess Laxmi, mouse for lord Ganesha, crow for Lord Shani, tiger/lion for godess Durga, etc. Cow, closely connected with Krishna and Rishis, is holy because of its importance in agriculture. He-buffelo is the vehicle of Lord Yama. Lord Ganesha represents elephant and Hanuman represents monkey. Rural communities worship forest by creating the concept of Devara Kaadu means God’s Forest to protect forests around them.
And remember, every temple has a sacred tree in its premises and gods are worshipped with the leaves and flowers of trees and plants commonly found in that particular region. Even the grass, which is a weed, is holy to gods in Hindu culture. Most homes worship tulasi (Ocimum) as scared at home.
Festivals are meant to worship one or the other forms of nature. Sankranti is the festival of harvest showing gratitude to crops for bountiful harvest. People worship soil on a festival day called Bhoomi Hunnime. Every river is named after a goddess in India. Nagarapanchami is the festival of cobra. Ayudha pooja is the festival of weapons and implements. Initiated by Pandavas during Mahabharath times, every sphere of life has adopted it to suit their occupation like farmers worshipping agriculture implements. Remember again, there is no uniformity of practices in any of the festivals. They are unique to locations evolved on local conditions. If Ugadi is the new year for South Indians, Deepavali is for North Indians. Ways of worship and food cultures of festivals are also different from location to location.
Food cultures are based on the major cropping systems in an area determined by the agro climatic conditions there. Each district has its own food culture in hindu way of life. If it is millet based in southern Karnataka, it is jowar based in northern districts, and rice based in western ghats and coastal belts. Again within a food culture, they are diverse and unique to a particular region.
Imagine the festivals in religions. They are celebrated more or less uniformly around the world. There are specific ways of worships and celebrations in them. Rose cultivation is done in different parts of the world for export during Christmas season. As it cannot be grown in all locations, it is done under greenhouse conditions (with semi-artificial conditions like temperature, sunlight, humidity, and fertilizers and pesticides to grow). Similarly, cake is prepared all around the world irrespective of the food systems. Ramzan is celebrated by sacrificing animals universally in different parts of the world irrespective of the local conditions (there are practices of animal sacrifice in hindu festivals but they are restricted to locations, not an universal practice). Such uniform lifestyles get promoted because of single god concept which cannot encourage diversified worships, localized practices or decentralized social systems.
An example of birthday celebration is worth quoting here. People celebrate their birthdays by praying to a god in temples, lighting an oil lamp (with the widely used oil of the region) to a god at home, etc in hindu culture while cake and industrial candles are used in western lifestyle.
Culture and Climate Change
Diversity and localization, a feature of cultures, insure against commercialization of life support systems and monopoly by market forces. It prevents exploitation and control of communities by large industrial forces and multinational companies. Diversity promotes only local and small enterprises. When the economic activities are localized and decentralized, large scale industrialization, urbanization and related destruction of natural resources are minimized. Commercialization of lifestyles invariably promotes industrialization as it spreads uniformity. But uniformity in lifestyles is not practical nor is it sustainable due to diverse natural resources and climatic conditions. Monotheistic religions spread uniform lifestyles. If humans promote lifestyles, it seeks to create semi-artificial or artificial conditions to facilitate development, destroying natural resources for infrastructures. As it is well established, industrial models of development are the cause of climate change. Climatic conditions should promote or dictate lifestyles. If so, then humans have to respect forms of nature around them and live harmoniously with its components. Multiplicity of god concept is the only practical way of life to promote love and respect for the components of nature. That is possible in cultures not religions. This model of development can arrest the climate change phenomenon besides establishing peace and harmony.
Uniformity is the greatest threat to the world. What world needs today are not religions but cultures and globalization of cultures.
Climate change is now a reality as impacts are seen in many places around the world like North Karnataka. Though many factors can be listed for climate change phenomenon, it is the lifestyle of the societies around the world which is the mother of all those factors.
Take for example consumerism. Consumerist lifestyles are encouraged by urbanization, long distance transport, industrial goods, etc. which are the features of industrial economy at the cost of natural resources. Both are complemented by globalization, today.
Culture verses Religion
It is interesting to analyze how these lifestyles and concepts of industrial development are related to religions and cultures! Prior to the birth of monotheistic religions, there were no religions but cultures around the world. Religion is a way of worship while culture is a way of life which includes worship. Culture promotes diversity, decentralization and localization while religion promotes uniformity, centralization and globalization. Hinduism and its offshoots like Jainism, Budhism, etc are cultures while Christianity and Islam are religions in this sense.
Multiplicity of God Promoting Natural Resources
Cultures practice and respect multiplicity of god as the way of worship. The basis is diversity because way of life is dictated by local conditions. It is an instrument of respecting different components of an ecosystem such as land, soil, water, air, vegetation, animals, birds, etc. This ensures that they are not exploited or polluted (for greed) due to emotional bonding we humans develop with them. In India, gods embody the components of nature. Lord Shiva adores crescent moon and holy ganga atop his head, and reptile cobra around his neck. His vehicle is Nandi, a bull and every god has one or the other wild creature as its vehicle. Elephant is for godess Laxmi, mouse for lord Ganesha, crow for Lord Shani, tiger/lion for godess Durga, etc. Cow, closely connected with Krishna and Rishis, is holy because of its importance in agriculture. He-buffelo is the vehicle of Lord Yama. Lord Ganesha represents elephant and Hanuman represents monkey. Rural communities worship forest by creating the concept of Devara Kaadu means God’s Forest to protect forests around them.
And remember, every temple has a sacred tree in its premises and gods are worshipped with the leaves and flowers of trees and plants commonly found in that particular region. Even the grass, which is a weed, is holy to gods in Hindu culture. Most homes worship tulasi (Ocimum) as scared at home.
Festivals are meant to worship one or the other forms of nature. Sankranti is the festival of harvest showing gratitude to crops for bountiful harvest. People worship soil on a festival day called Bhoomi Hunnime. Every river is named after a goddess in India. Nagarapanchami is the festival of cobra. Ayudha pooja is the festival of weapons and implements. Initiated by Pandavas during Mahabharath times, every sphere of life has adopted it to suit their occupation like farmers worshipping agriculture implements. Remember again, there is no uniformity of practices in any of the festivals. They are unique to locations evolved on local conditions. If Ugadi is the new year for South Indians, Deepavali is for North Indians. Ways of worship and food cultures of festivals are also different from location to location.
Food cultures are based on the major cropping systems in an area determined by the agro climatic conditions there. Each district has its own food culture in hindu way of life. If it is millet based in southern Karnataka, it is jowar based in northern districts, and rice based in western ghats and coastal belts. Again within a food culture, they are diverse and unique to a particular region.
Imagine the festivals in religions. They are celebrated more or less uniformly around the world. There are specific ways of worships and celebrations in them. Rose cultivation is done in different parts of the world for export during Christmas season. As it cannot be grown in all locations, it is done under greenhouse conditions (with semi-artificial conditions like temperature, sunlight, humidity, and fertilizers and pesticides to grow). Similarly, cake is prepared all around the world irrespective of the food systems. Ramzan is celebrated by sacrificing animals universally in different parts of the world irrespective of the local conditions (there are practices of animal sacrifice in hindu festivals but they are restricted to locations, not an universal practice). Such uniform lifestyles get promoted because of single god concept which cannot encourage diversified worships, localized practices or decentralized social systems.
An example of birthday celebration is worth quoting here. People celebrate their birthdays by praying to a god in temples, lighting an oil lamp (with the widely used oil of the region) to a god at home, etc in hindu culture while cake and industrial candles are used in western lifestyle.
Culture and Climate Change
Diversity and localization, a feature of cultures, insure against commercialization of life support systems and monopoly by market forces. It prevents exploitation and control of communities by large industrial forces and multinational companies. Diversity promotes only local and small enterprises. When the economic activities are localized and decentralized, large scale industrialization, urbanization and related destruction of natural resources are minimized. Commercialization of lifestyles invariably promotes industrialization as it spreads uniformity. But uniformity in lifestyles is not practical nor is it sustainable due to diverse natural resources and climatic conditions. Monotheistic religions spread uniform lifestyles. If humans promote lifestyles, it seeks to create semi-artificial or artificial conditions to facilitate development, destroying natural resources for infrastructures. As it is well established, industrial models of development are the cause of climate change. Climatic conditions should promote or dictate lifestyles. If so, then humans have to respect forms of nature around them and live harmoniously with its components. Multiplicity of god concept is the only practical way of life to promote love and respect for the components of nature. That is possible in cultures not religions. This model of development can arrest the climate change phenomenon besides establishing peace and harmony.
Uniformity is the greatest threat to the world. What world needs today are not religions but cultures and globalization of cultures.
