Indian Culture and Environment Protection

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Indian culture believes in co operation and co-existence with Nature and not in hostility towards it contrary to the consumeristic western culture.

Indian Vedant visualizes the supreme power God in all constituents of Nature including animals and plants. That is why unnecessary killing or even harming the smallest plant or animal is considered prohibited. Not only the living but the non living objects like mountains, rivers, lakes, etc are considered integral part of the Divine and attempts have been made to protect them.

Experiencing oneness even with the minutest particle of Nature and harming Nature the least as far as possible has been the ideal of Indian life. That is why the ancient Indians were contented with whatever little they had. When the desire to get more, hoard more and consume more becomes strong, the exploitation of natural resources begins. Let us take out only that much from Nature which does not disfigure it. Nature has extraordinary power to renovate and rejuvenate itself. The stories of ancient scriptures are full of the inter-relationship between Nature, divinity, man, animals and plants. Matsya, Kurma and Varah. incarnations of Lord Vishnu are represented by animal forms. Many birds and animals are the vehicles of our gods and goddesses. Many plants and trees are adorable for us.

Indian culture believes in Live and Let Live. Let us be sensitive towards nature and take care of it. Nature will reward us handsomely for our well being.

Professor Kishori Lal Vyas, the original author of the book Bharatiya Sanskriti Aur Pariyavaran Sanrakshan written in Hindi, an eminent environmentalist, awardee of Acharya Anand Rishi Sahitya Puraskar was born on 31 July, 1947 in Nizamabad (Andhra Pradesh). He passed M.A. Hindi in 1972 and M.A. English in 1977. In 1979 he was awarded his Doctorate. In 2007 he retired while working as the Professor and Head of the Hindi Dept., Osmania University, Hyderabad. He has authored two novels - Naya Savera and Razakaar. Razakaar has been translated into English also. He has produced five collections of poems -Andhere Ujale ke Dweep (1982), Behes Jari Hai (1985), Mutthi Bhar Dhoop (1995). Jungalon Ko Gaane Do (2000) and Ladkiyan Dastak Deti Hain (2007). His latest book Praja Tantra Ki Palaki (2009) is a long poetic satire on our administrative machinery.

His book, Amavad Ke Vividh Ayam pertains to the art and science of translation work. He is one of the founder members of Indure Hindi Samiti, Nizamabad and member of Poetry Society, Hyderabad. During his total teaching experience of 32 years, he guided 12 M.Phil. and 13 Ph.D scholars. His areas of special ization are literary criticism, translation, comparative literature and history of Hindi literature.

Such a precarious situation has never arisen in the history of the Earth. Human interference for the past two hundred years has distorted its entire self driven natural balance. It seems as if the sick mother Earth is wailing. Polluted poisoned air is being trans ported all around. It seems as if all its elements soil, water and air have turned poisonous. Life sustaining Oxygen is decreasing and unwanted gases are increasing in the atmosphere. Tonnes of chemicals are being poured into the water resources. Not only the rivers, lakes, ponds and seas, but underground water resources have also become polluted. Forest areas and wild animals are fast dwindling in numbers. The factors responsible for this aweful situation are urbanization, industrialization, war and the blind greed of man.

Consequently, the generations to come will have life full of difficulties, sufferings and scarcities. The moot question now is, how to overcome the problem of environmental imbalance? And what is the solution to these problems?

The solution to these problems can be found in the ancient Indian way of living, philosophy, thought, religion and culture. It seems the world surely has to follow that Indian life style. A feeling has to be inculcated that the Earth has to be shown the affection given to a mother. We have to re-kindle the thoughts of our co-operation, ideals of co-existence, sympathy and equanimity. And we have to make these ideas universally acceptable.

Translation is the bridge to enlarge communication. Best of the literature must be translated into other languages. In a multi-lingual country like India, translation work becomes still more important. Criterion of a good translation is that it should be closer to the original and at the same time its linguistic perfection should also be maintained. I have tried hard to keep it up taking liberty only where unavoidable. I am sure the English translation of Bharatiya Sanskriti Aur Pariyavaran Sanrakshan into "Indian Culture and Environment Protection' will prove useful to the English readers.

This translation is based on the 2007 edition of the book in Hindi. However, subsequent to the publication of the original book, some printing errors were detected and a few new facts also emerged during this period. On the advice of the learned author these were updated during the translation work so as to keep the information up to date. However the updation has been kept to the bare minimum.

The original work contained a lot of material from Sanskrit texts. Where exact English equivalents could not be ascertained for the Hindi names of some plants and trees, botanical names have been used. Real challenges were experienced while translating Sanskrit Shlokas, Indian rituals and customs, dialectical words and a few technical terms. Some Hindi words have been used as such in English. These are written as spoken in Hindi to give the desired feel e.g. Snatn Dhrm, Krishn, Shrimd Bhagwi, Upnishd. Despite my best intentions, some inaccuracies might have occurred in certain phrases in the translation work.

**Contents and Sample Pages**