HONOR OF NATURE
The Prophets, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammad, as well as a myriad of philosophers, artists and scientists throughout history, all taught the interconnectedness between natural elements and how we should protect genetic diversity and life supporting systems of our natural world. Conspicuous consumption and competitive consumerism abuse and exhaust our natural resources and is the direct threat to conservation.
In ancient texts of the world, humanity is authorized to supervise his physical environment, not destroy it. The awareness of maintaining balance in our environment is one of the first basic teachings by Buddha some 25 centuries ago. Buddhism represents the way of compassion and manifests respect for all beings. Buddha taught that those who wish to follow his Path should practice loving-kindness and not harm life. He saw all beings in the universe as equal with nature, reliant on each other for existence.
The Bible praises and glorifies nature in the poetry of Psalms devoted to oceans, winds, forests, rain, clouds and animals. In Romans 1 we can read how nature holds symbols that reveal the nature of the Divine.
Likewise, Mohammed's environmental principle is holistic. The three most important principles of Mohammed's philosophy are based on the understanding of tawhid (unity), khalifa (stewardship) and amana (trust). The Quran explains that mankind holds a privileged position on earth as a “viceregent” and carries the responsibility, based upon knowledge, of caring for the environment. As explained in Quran, 2:31 humanity was educated for the task "... He taught Adam the nature of all things…"
We need to cultivate wisdom, the wisdom of understanding the intimate interdependence of all living things. Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not for every man’s greed”.