Spirituality and sustainability: Spiritual Counsel For Rio Plus Ten  

By Anil Rajvanshi  

Spirituality and sustainability go hand in hand. Living in a sustainable manner helps in spiritual growth. This week, representatives of more than a hundred countries are congregating in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss and perhaps come to an agreement on how to create sustainable living on Planet Earth.

However, none of the information handouts made available so far have given any indication that there will be discussions on the subject of spirituality and its effects on sustainability.

A truly spiritual person is one who has attained a certain state of mind, who understands that the Truth lies beyond the barriers of worldliness like caste or geographical boundaries. Truth is universal in nature and a great spiritual thought is cause for worldwide celebration. It connects us to universal Consciousness, endowing us with an enlightened perspective of life.

A spiritual outlook helps in keeping our greed for materials and resources in check. Sustainable development can only take place when we use the resources for our needs and not for our greed, as Mahatma Gandhi once said. Also, a compassionate view of nature will prevent us from over-exploiting it.

As we evolve spiritually, we begin to get tuned to things around us, including nature. We start enjoying the beauty of nature and we appreciate it. This helps us in preserving it as much as possible. Hence, it is a big step towards sustainable living.

As we progress on the path of spirituality, our priorities in life also change. The focus shifts towards achieving personal happiness through mental peace rather than through satiation of material desires. By cultivating a sense of vairagya or detachment, we tend to become less interested in a materialistic life - and this marks the beginning of sustainable development since we learn to reduce our needs.

Mahatma Gandhi and Einstein, both recent examples, have shown that with very few needs and by living very simply, they could produce the highest quality of thought. This has also been the tradition of our great saints.

Technology helps us do things more efficiently - our needs are satisfied with less materials and energy and sooner. This helps in conservation of resources and in sustainable development. Worldwide, technological advances have often helped reduce water and materials consumption in production of steel, aluminium and other products, and now there are also automobiles which are able to go longer distances with less fuel.

Eventually, we might successfully emulate nature, carrying out all processes extremely efficiently, with even fewer materials. This way, the system remains in equilibrium with the surroundings.

So sustainable development is a process in which we use recyclable materials, resources and energy in an environmentally sound manner. Spirituality also helps us live in harmony with each other and this enables everyone to work together for the common good.

If only we work towards achieving this, in the future, we could well become a fully rural based sustainable society, driven by very advanced technologies, creating goods and services from the raw materials available in the society’s geographical area. With the availability of the Inter- net, desktop manufacturing, small renewable energy powerpacks and other advanced technologies, we could make multiple products from the same raw materials.

True, we human beings have changed the very tapestry of nature with our intervention, creating several problems for Planet Earth. Fortunately, we also have the ability to take corrective action once we get to know that we’ve gone too far. An increasing awareness around the world in the renewable energy and environmental fields and now the establishment of a world forum on sustainability attests to this fact.

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See also: Spirituality and sustainability, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)