Review on the book

Hinduism And Nature Paperback –

Import, 13 Dec 2017
by Krishna Nanditha (Author), Nanditha Krishna (Author)

Where is the voice from the other side? When we think of reading on Hinduism, why we get either books
that were written a few centuries back or we get an outsiders point of view? This was something I thought
about until recent years. And then slowly I started seeing new books on bookshelves. This time they were
not written with a single agenda of creating a sensation, with the aim to sell more and more copies. Quite
a few of these were genuine attempts to understand what this centuries-old religion was all about.

Initially, the authors were not scholars on religion, they wrote on what was everyday practice around
them. So when I picked up “Hinduism and Nature” my doubt was – whether it would have references from
the scriptures? What it might be about, based on beliefs, or based on documented evidence? Thankfully
the book had more direct references to original texts than I ever expected. Knowing I could cross check
what is being written gives a lot more confidence in the author.

Author, Nandita Krishnan holds a Ph.D. in ancient Indian culture and is associated with C.P.R.
Environmental Education Center which definitely gives her an added advantage of knowing the questions
beforehand. It must have been easier for her to guess what the next question her reader might have. This
probably also helps her, in keeping her writing simple enough for an average Indian English reader. The
book is lucid and not in a very scholarly language.

Not counting the Introduction and Conclusion, the book is divided into five chapters each spanning thirty
to fifty pages. As forests and man-made groves both find numerous references in Hindu scriptures the
initial chapter on groves, forests, and gardens is little longer. Since water bodies are considered equally
sacred in Hinduism, they find a mention in the second chapter. As some might want to believe, Hinduism
might have started as nature worship.

Reading through this book raises a new question. There can’t be a sustainable development until
equilibrium with nature is maintained. So what might have been the reason for nature worship in
Hinduism? Was it because this is how religions start or was it adopted by seers of old ages to make the
development sustainable. Was this one of the reasons for surviving so long when all others failed over
centuries? The book raises and answers similar questions for its readers.

It not just provides insights on the names and how they came from some older Sanskrit names but also
provides information on how plants were considered not the only abode of gods. They were shelters for
objects of worship, fetish, and even weapons. Trees are not only present on Saraswati river basin seals,
they are used in philosophical metaphors too. Vedas refer to the ‘cosmic tree’ embracing the universe.
Bhagwad-Gita compares the world to an inverted tree. Of course, planting trees is considered among one
of the most pious deeds in Hinduism.

For animals, the instruction of not killing helpful animals comes directly from Vedas. A preference for
vegans, and not killing even for food finds a mention in the book. Tamil literature, which is often ignored in
references to Hinduism, do find a place in this book. This adds to the advantage of non-Tamil readers.
Not only the reader gets to know what is written, and where to find further information on it, this also helps
to understand the unity that is visible in Indian diversity.

There’s a long list of animals is there which are considered to be vehicles of gods and goddesses and
revered across India. Even rats are often not poisoned or killed in India as they are treated as the vehicle
of Lord Ganesha. A gentle reminder of such facts, which reiterate how Indian values are in congruence
with nature surely makes one feel good about Hinduism. The best part is that it not only tells about
ancient Hinduism, it continues till religious gurus like Guru Jamboji (death 1536). So not only ancient is
covered recent views of Hinduism towards nature is also touched.

The last part of the book goes towards mountains. Only in recent times, activists became aware of how
mountains support ecological balance. Not much was done to save mountains until a few decades ago.
Mountains were becoming barren or unchecked mining challenging the very existence of a hill, never
made the news. Somehow Hinduism was so connected to nature that not only unknown “Meru” or
“Sumeru” are well engraved on coins, known peaks and ranges are also pilgrimages. Saving and
betterment of such places find a place in Hinduism.

To sum up, even Indian agriculture keeps in mind to not savor all the exploits of nature alone. Festival
marks the abundance which has been provided by nature. Among things that interested me were the
name of mountains considered sacred in every state of India (I knew of just Kailash in Himalaya and
Vindhya ranges). A small thing which might be made better would be the size of photographs in the book,
larger illustrations would have been better. In the end, I would say it’s essentially recommended to youth,
and in most cases, even the elderly would learn from this wonderful work of Nanditha Krishna.

Another reviewer

The book is divided into various categories for simpler and easier tracking. If you wished to, at a later
point, recheck something or reference something that is mentioned here it would be a very easy thing to
do. And the amount of research, painstakingly done, is evident in the numerous examples, translations
and stories she gives us from various religious texts, folk tales and local sayings (proverbs). She does
cover all of the country, even what originally was starting with what we worshipped and what rules were
laid down to protect the environment, but disguised as orders from gods and sages.

It is a bit hard to review a book that reads a bit more like an academic textbook with bits of fun than an
actually engaging non fiction book. I suppose each has their own writing style but based off the great
reviews this had I expected it to be a lot more engrossing than this turned out to be. Nevertheless, it is a
very interesting book, one that has a lot of information for those who are particularly interested in this
topic.

WHAT I LIKED

The book, though repetitive, is thorough. As I mentioned earlier she leaves no stone, leaf or twig
unturned. There is an example for every kind of tree, water body, animal, bird, snake, amphibian, even
insects. There is a story for everything and an explanation for most things. Well what one might consider
an explanation if one were so inclined. She more or less takes us through the ages, compares the then
and the now and tells us what effects ignoring the instructions of our forefathers and our gods has
resulted in.

I particularly liked her thoroughness in comparing Jainism, Buddhism and others isms with Hinduism and
showcasing the similarities and dissimilarities between them. I loved knowing how much we have in
common and how different we are. And vegans will love to hear that the Rig Veda (X.87.16) condemns all
killing and chastises even vegetarians who drink milk (well it says their heads should be chopped off but
whatever)
WHAT I DISLIKED

Well, the repetition and dry language sort of killed it for me. If I weren’t trying to prove a point to a few
friends about Hinduism I might not have kept on reading and I am glad I did, I just don’t recall most of it
with the enthusiasm that I would have had it been written in a more engaging manner.

IN CONCLUSION

This is more of a book that spiritual seekers will enjoy. Or academics of religious topics. For the normal
person, if you are that “only non fiction please” kind of reader give this a go. Else, maybe as someone to
summarise it for you. Now let me go back and look up that list of things I have to plant to make sure I
never go to hell.