On a Baha'i Perspective on the Environment: A Seeker's Inquiry and Lev's Elucidation
In a recent email to me as part of her investigation of the Faith, a reader makes several observations related to the environment. She distinguishes between religion and spirituality and sees the "Big 3" religions, at least, as being essentially anti-environment. What is the Baha'i position toward the environment? Lev's post "Carbon Cycles" provides a marvelous Baha'i view on the subject. -gw
Wintegreen: The three contemporary BIG 'religions' (Chiristian, Judaism and Islam) seem to put Mankind as the top of some perceived order. Whereas 'spirituality' reflects a constant awareness of a primal relationship to all things and the equality all things share. ...
For people who live in natural environments that are full of wildlife and extensive flora, a spiritual connection to ALL things is a natural perceptual response to 'being part' of something rather than 'being a part' from the environment. 
Lev: The regional sustainability seminars were held at Baha’i schools around the country in commemoration of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. For myself, it was an opportunity to dig into what the Baha’i Faith has to say about sustainability. (An added bonus was getting to meet Baha’i organic gardeners, farmers and foresters.) Historically, there is a potential disconnect between environmentalism and the faith community, which goes something like this: Am I of the world, or am I of God? If I am of God, I owe no allegiance to the world, or its creatures. Furthermore, the special attention paid to human beings seems to place us above other organisms and systems in creation. If I am more important than the sea urchin, the burr oak and the prairie grass, so the argument goes, then what great harm is there in destroying a few habitats? In other words, the centrality of humankind in the revealed religions of the world seems to excuse the environmental havoc we have wrought on other organisms. 
Like many conflicts between secular and religious perspectives, this is an oversimplification and an inflated/invented binary opposition. We are both material and spiritual, and the Writings make it clear that humanity’s material well-being relies upon that most humble of substances: In ... a tablet revealed by Baha’u'llah and addressed to Shaykh Muhammad Taqíy-i-Najafí (the Son of the Wolf), He writes, “Every man of discernment, while walking upon the earth, feeleth indeed abashed, inasmuch as he is fully aware that the thing which is the source of his prosperity, his wealth, his might, his exaltation, his advancement and power is, as ordained by God, the very earth which is trodden beneath the feet of all men. There can be no doubt that whoever is cognizant of this truth, is cleansed and sanctified from all pride, arrogance, and vainglory” (Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 44). While the importance of the spiritual station of human beings is reiterated in the teachings of Baha’u'llah, we are also reminded that all of our health and security depends on the earth, that extremes of materialism will lead to ruin, and that we have a duty to show kindness to animals (whether a domesticated pet or an endangered keystone species).
As we address what the Baha’i Faith has to say about environmental sustainability, the concept of unity must take a central role. The Baha’i Faith is fundamentally concerned with recognizing the unity of humankind. Unity is a spiritual reality between human beings, but also encompasses the absolute oneness of creation. Abdu’l-Baha, the son of Baha’u'llah, writes: “Reflect upon the inner realities of the universe, the secret wisdoms involved, the enigmas, the inter-relationships, the rules that govern all. For every part of the universe is connected with every other part by ties that are very powerful and admit of no imbalance, nor any slackening whatever” (Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 157). If I take Abdu’l-Baha’s words as Truth, then I cannot replace an entire prairie ecosystem with invasive species and then expect interlocking systems to behave as though nothing has changed.
At its root, the principle of unity must encompass environmental sustainability. If we are truly unified, in the sense of ubuntu (I am human because you are human, and my actions have an effect on you), then every act of pollution, every product that puts organochlorines and dioxins into the food chain is an affront to this most sacred guidance: Be united. 
Environmentalism was my religion for 7 years. When I first investigated becoming a Baha’i, I had trouble figuring out how to marry these two parts of myself. It helped when I read Abdu’l-Baha’s elucidation of the difference between the physical world and “the world” as all those things which distract us from our spiritual journey. If you want, I can try to find that reference over the next few days. I read it when I was first investigating the faith, and it helped me see that my love for the world of creation was not the same as being drowned in a “worldliness” that distracts from the Search for the Beloved. After studying the Writings at the sustainability seminar, I can now go a step further, and state that I no longer see a disconnect between serving humanity as a Baha’i and working to live in a more sustainable world. The two goals are coincident and entangled.
Lev, "Carbon Cycle," anonymous cowgirl
{Re-posted with permission}
1 comment:
That is very interesting that Wintergreen thinks that Christianity is anti-environment. On the contrary most Christians believe that the world we live in and everything that lives in it are created by God therefore we are to take care of God's creation. When God created man in the Garden of Eden He gave man the responsibility to take care of His creation. But He did also make very clear that man is above the animals and plants. When God created man God breathed His own breath into them. When He made animals He did not do this. The Bible says that God made man in His own image, He did not make animals in His image.
God's entire creation is precious to Him but man is the most precious. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for the whole human race, not the animals and trees. Of course the animals and trees are very important and we are to take care of them (as I said before)but in light of eternity what happens to a man's soul after he dies is much more important than whether or not a certain bird or fish goes extinct. This is not arrogance or pride, it is the way God has ordered things.
What I find very heartbreaking is there are millions of unborn babies being murdered every year in our country and people are concerned about a certain animal on the brink of extinction. What is more important, the precious innocent babies, or a fish? Yes, let's take care of the environment, but in doing so let's not neglect God's most precious creation.
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