United Nations: Ancient Harmony is Natural Heritage

http://motherearthrights.org/2010/08/18/harmony-with-nature-report-of-the-un-secretary-general/

III. Harmony with nature: The ancient heritage of humankind

17. Around the world, ancient civilizations have a rich history of understanding the symbiotic connection between human beings and nature. Ancient sites, many of which UNESCO has recognized as part of the World Heritage, have a part to play in the spiritual and material life of the twenty-first century.

18. Egyptian civilization recognized the vital links between humans, nature, and the divine. As the Nile flowed north, the ancient Egyptians believed the sun rose on one side of the river and set on the other and passed through the underworld to begin the cycle again the next day. The bright star called Sirius announced from the heavens the annual floods which brought irrigation and crop-enriching silt. This marker of time, crucial in the development of the ancient calendar around 5,000 years ago, provided a cyclical background to life’s rhythms.7

19. The Wudang Mountains in China’s Hubei Province are known for their concentration of Taoist monasteries. Taoism, based on the Tao Te Ching, written in the 6th century BC, began teaching people to follow the patterns of nature. Tao in fact means “the way of nature”, and the 1995 Taoist Statement on Ecology declares that Taoism judges affluence by the number of species. Taoism believes that nature itself is divine and that we should live in harmony with nature’s cycles and systems.8

20. At Fuji-San and the Kii Mountains of Japan, monastic complexes and shrines recognize the powers of nature, harnessed and magnified through living in harmony with natural cycles.

21. The Vedic philosophy of India has always emphasized the human connection with nature. Vedism is a way of life based on scriptures called Aranyakas, or forest books, which were written by sages who lived in the forest. The Mahabharata, Ramayana, Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas and Smriti contain some of the earliest messages on ecological balance and the need for people’s ethical treatment of nature. They emphasize harmony with nature and recognize that all natural elements hold divinity.9

22. In the Americas, indigenous cultures, such as the Incas, have a long tradition of respecting the connection between humans and nature. Throughout the Andes, Pachamama is the most widespread name for Mother Earth, normally used in Quechua, Aymara and even in Spanish. Anello de Oliva recorded the term in its fundamental sense: “They also worshipped the fertile earth, which they call Pachamama: which means fertile and fruitful Mother Earth”. 10 The Andean concept of Pachamama conveys the symbiosis between humankind and nature, thereby giving nature its due respect.

23. Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learnt from the wisdom of sacred traditions is also the simplest; to honor creation by nurturing a kinship with nature. This assertion is most revealing in how ancient civilizations viewed the human body in relation to Mother Earth and how harmony with Nature was the essence of good health.