Environmental Consciousness and the Nine Schools of Indian Philosophy

Vandana Sharma Diya

Sep 2023 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

About this ebook

This book presents an analytical exposition of the ‘Nine Schools’ of Indian philosophy, extrapolating ‘Environmental Ethics’ from the profound metaphysics of these Nine Schools, which serve as the cornerstone of a life lived in wisdom.

This book uses the popular contemporary word ‘Environment,’ with the meaning expounded by the Vedic texts. Therefore, it includes the internal, external and cosmic states of all the creatures of the world, and relates them to the universal laws of creation, preservation, and annihilation of every existence following the path of the cosmic order (Ṛta). It argues that realization of the fact that all entities in the world are illuminated by the same Universal Spirit is also necessary.

While the book emphasizes the external environmental woes of the world, such as deforestation, animal cruelty, pollution, climate change, and more, it also underscores that these are merely manifestations of humans’ internal perverted environmental states. Thus, humankind should not look at external issues that are limited and temporary, but should focus on the longer-lasting internal transformation.

About the author

Dr Vandana Sharma Diya is a well-known scholar of Advaita Vedānta Darśana. She received the Swami Pranavananda Philosophy Book Award 2020 for her translation and commentary on Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s classic work Praśnottara Ratna Mālikā. In October 2021, her book Śāṅkara Vedānta for Environmental Harmony was published and received appreciation from the former Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu. Dr Sharma is currently a Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in Shimla. She was also a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research (ICSSR), and a Junior Research Fellow at the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR), Government of India. She has conducted independent research under the Ministry of Culture for the Kedarnath Dham, India. Further, she represented India at the World Congress of Philosophy 2018, held in Beijing, China.