To find out more about why trees are worshipped in Hinduism, I visited Sri Maha Mariamman Temple at Yishun to interview a Hindu priest. I was lucky to be approached by the Chief Priest, Mr. Rajasekar, who was very kind to share his perspectives with me. We had a very insightful discussion about the connection between religion and nature, and I have summarised some of the key points below. (Disclaimer: Do note that these points are from a Hindu Priest, and hence they may not apply to all religions.)

Picture: Chief Priest of Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Mr. Rajasekar, and me

Mr. Rajasekar introduced to me this belief known as the Sanathanadharmam. He mentioned that religions are just names or labels given to the presence of a higher being. For example, Hinduism is the name given for the practices originated by the people who lived along the Indus River. The name ‘Hindu’ was derived from the word “Indus”, which made it easier to refer to the practices of the people of the Indus River.

Image by Rajesh Balouria from Pixabay

The central idea of Sanathanadharmam includes the worship of the five elements of nature, which are earth, water, fire, air, and space. What we are ultimately worshipping are our environment and universe, and it is through the elements of the environment where we can reach God. He mentioned that nature is the foundation for most religions around the world. The environment speaks to us via these mediums, where we can sense things in our surroundings.

Photo depicting the fire and water elements by Adam Kring on Unsplash

He also added that in the past, when man was one with the wild, we were able to directly connect with these elements – but not anymore ever since the rise of technology. Animals however are still in touch with nature, which explains why they have the intrinsic ability to sense when danger is approaching. “For instance, long before a natural disaster occurs, animals will be able to predict the impending doom and get themselves to safety. Be it via sensations from earth to feel an imminent earthquake, the changes in water movement in the sea to sense an upcoming tsunami, or hearing the sounds of the wind to predict a hurricane, wild animals still have the innate capability to receive these signs from the universe. Humans were also able to do so in the past, but ever since the development of technology, we have lost our abilities to connect with these elements of nature”, he said.

Photo by Adam Kring on Unsplash

This is yet another striking perspective on how man has divided himself from the wild. These five elements of nature were hence how the environment communicated with humans, which gave rise to the notion of a higher being, or God. Therefore, when we worship God, we are actually worshipping nature and the universe – and we should hence develop a sense of appreciation and respect for the elements of nature. 

He also added that the five elements can be also be attributed to the human body, where “our feet represents the earth, the flow of liquids in our body represents water, thermogenesis (generation of heat) represents fire, breathing represents air, and our head and thoughts represent space.” Hence, humans are indeed one with nature, and it is sad that we are separating ourselves from it. 

Image by 4144132 from Pixabay

All in all, the discussion I had with the Chief Priest was extremely fruitful, and I gained many new perspectives about how religion is connected to nature, demonstrating how humans were incredibly intertwined with nature in the past. As nature could have been what most religions emerged from, it is now clear why many religions have references to the environment hence advocate care and respect for the environment. 

Next, I explore how various religious texts have portrayed animals, and how these portrayals may influence the notions humans have about nature and animals. Click here to continue to the page.