This book is part of a series on world religions and ecology sponsored by the World Wide Fund for Nature which looks at how “each of five world religions has treated ecology in the past, what the teachings of each has to say on the subject, and how that is applied today….through poetry, stories, and pictures as well as ideas and theories.” (Preface)

The book achieves its goal and would make a good choice for a middle school or early high school introduction to a course focusing on religion and ecology or Hinduism in practice.

The first part of the book explains Hindu tradition through stories, descriptions of the Gods and Goddesses and rituals, particularly as they relate to the environment. There is a smattering of Vedic texts as well as examples and quotes from people in India today who understand their religion in ecological terms. The author makes a good correlation between village life, economy and traditional ideals. He also articulates differences between what we call Hinduism and western thought while pointing out some of the detrimental effects he claims the West has had on India and Hinduism.

The second part of the book focuses on Hindu men (yes, men) who have worked on environmental issues in India. It begins with a chapter on Gandhi's philosophy, his work and his recognition of the damage done to Indian culture and environment by industrialization and colonization. Following that is a succinct description of the Hindu ideal as expressed by Satish Kuman, founder of “the first international college exclusively devoted to teaching a spiritual approach to the environment. (p.71) There are a number of chapters focused on the journey and ecology programs of specific people. The last chapter is about the difficulties in the pilgrimage town of Vrinadan and what the World Wide Fund for Nature is doing to solve the problems.

Some of the chapters might make good case studies of Hinduism in action. But although the book's style and subject is easily accessible to students, it could not be used as a primer on Hinduism as it doesn't go into major themes in any depth but rather assumes some prior knowledge. For example, he says:

“Reincarnation is a good example of a teaching which has been largely ignored by Western civilization, despite the fact that it has existed in one form or another in the unofficial religions of Europe. It is important because it stresses the equality of all life forms and their transience too.” (p.5)

But Mr. Prime never really explains what reincarnation is from a Hindu perspective. The definition of karma, another important and complex idea, is simply defined as “All actions bring reactions, linking everything together in a seamless web.” (p31)

However, if students have been previously introduced to Hindu ideas, Mr. Prime's book would make a good resource for examples of religion in action.


review ©2004 by Jane S. Rechtman and RSiSS
The Masters Schools