Abstract
Spiritual ecology is a relatively recent discipline that seeks to understand the complex relationship between faith systems and topics of ecology. As a budding field gaining greater traction, it is continually negotiating terminologies, developing investigative frameworks, reconciling boundaries, and identifying unexplored challenges. Even scarcer to the discipline are focused discussions involving individual faith systems, particular those pertaining to “Hinduism” and its exceedingly diverse darśanic traditions. Ecology in the darśanic world seems to be contested between dichotomies, with ecology establishing itself on world-affirming narratives while the darśanas advocating world-depreciating ones.
The Akṣara-Puruṣottama Darśana’s reading of the Bhagavad Gītā, however, presents a framework that reconciles these narratives through the practice of the yajña. Within this framework we discover a nuanced understanding of the yajña practice that presents a more inclusive rendering of ecology. Within it, ecological systems, their maintenance mechanisms, and the corresponding ethical imperatives derive their ontological status from divine ordinance and genesis. The yajña serves a dual function: beyond its ecological significance, it fundamentally operates as a soteriological mechanism facilitating mokṣa, thereby establishing an intricate yet essential correlation between environmental stewardship and spiritual praxis. The Gītā’s environmental ethos extends beyond ritual performance, advocating an axiological system predicated on selfless action, measured consumption, and proactive engagement—principles that demonstrate remarkable concordance with contemporary environmental ethics. The tradition of yajña, transcending its bounds of the vedī, encompasses a broad spectrum of activities grounded in theological convictions and ethical imperatives, including demonstrably humanitarian and environmental endeavors. Consequently, the Gītā’s conception of yajña establishes ecological consciousness upon theological foundations, extending its applicability across the entire spectrum of human activity. This spiritual reconceptualization of ecological and environmental discourse enables a more robust theoretical framework and broadens the scope of relevant dialogue.