'Lord Shiva A Great Environmentalist' Says Paper Presented At Indian Science Congress

Science Congress promised not to allow throwback to Hindu mythological claptrap in this edition but a paper titled 'Lord Shiva as a great environmentalist in the world' was presented today.

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Lord Shiva is the most powerful God among the trinity who "has given a strong message of sustainability of the environment long ago", vouches a paper presented at the 103rd Indian Science Congress on Wednesday.

"This shows ancient Indians were very much aware about ecology and sustainability," concludes the paper titled Lord Shiva as a great environmentalist in the world and written by Akhilesh K Pandey, chairman of MP Private University Regulatory Commission, Bhopal.

This year, despite claims by the Science Congress authorities that such papers will not be allowed to be presented, this paper on Shiva is a part of "invited" lectures.

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The two-page abstract of the paper, says, "Environmental degradation is largely a modern concern, but religious practitioners demand guidance about what to do, that is grounded in ancient scriptural precedent. The world is witnessing environmental upheaval. There seems to be total disconnect with the nature, which gets manifested in the form of climate change, global warming and natural disasters." This is only an extract; the full presentation today could be the clincher that will convince the world.

It holds forth: "Hinduism is an ancient and highly complex religion because it is practised in so many varied ways by such a large population. It's nearly impossible to give it one precise description. However, one thing is common in all Hindu mythology, that is, philosophy of conservation of environment. They realised well in advanced the importance of clean and healthy environment."

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The paper is part of a symposium on the assessment and mitigation of air quality in major cities of India in terms of organic and inorganic pollutants, where environmental management is a sub-topic.

Last year, a paper titled 'Ancient Indian Aviation technology', which was presented at the 102nd Indian Science Congress at Mumbai University, had generated a lot of controversy. The paper had said that according to ancient Sanskrit text, the science of building and flying a plane was recorded by Maharishi Bharadwaj, centuries before the Wright Brothers Orville and Wilbur.

The abstract on Shiva further says that the lord is almost always shown as wearing a necklace having 108 heads, made with seeds of the rudraksha tree and the beads represent the elements used in the creation of the world. "The rudraksha necklace points to the rudra aspect of the lord, which is also his other name. The word rudra means strict or uncompromising and aksha means eye. It illustrates the fact that Shiva is firm about his cosmic laws and strictly maintains law and order in the universe.

Thus we can say that ancient Indians were very much aware about ecology and sustainability. It helps in solving specific environmental problems and the modern principles of sustainability were adopted at that time. Unfortunately, we have forgotten those golden principles laid down by them. Therefore, the objectives of the article are to create awareness about the conservation of environment without causing harm to others."

The author says that river Ganga is the most sacred river for 'pious Hindus' and that according to a legend, river Ganga has its source in Shiva and flows from his matted hair, which is symbolically represented by depicting Ganga as a jet of water sprinkling out of his head and falling on the ground. "Legend has it that the lord allowed an outlet to the great river to traverse the earth and bring purifying water to human beings. Hence, Shiva is often referred to as 'Gangadhara' or bearer of river Ganga. The river also denotes fertility, one of the creative aspects of the rudra. It further indicates that Shiva is not only the lord of destruction, but also the bestower of knowledge, purity and peace on the devotees," it states.

The author says that the lord sitting on tiger skin indicates that he has conquered lust. It elaborates saying that Shiva is the source of the creative energy that remains in "potential form during the dissolution state of the universe" and that he activates this energy using his "own divine will" to project the universe in endless cycles. The paper also describes the meaning of his eyes and how in the Hindu epic 'Mahabharata' Shiva is depicted as a three-eyed God.

"When the lord opens his eyes, a new cycle of creation begins and when he closes them, it signifies the destruction of the universe for creation of the next cycle. The half open eye signifies that creation is going through an eternal cyclic process, with no beginning and no end," it says.