Reverence for life, awareness of nature’s forces (earth, sky, air, water, and fire), and awareness of the various orders of life (plants, trees, forests, and animals). These are the beliefs embedded in the Hindu perspective of nature.

Nature is seen by Hindus as a gift of God which can heal the soul. Early Hindu temples were thus built in areas surrounded by trees and rocks, with flowers and fruits sometimes offered in prayers.

Hindus also have the greatest respect when dealing with plants and animals. All plants and animals are believed to have a soul. Hence, Hindus have to perform a daily repentance for killing plants and animals for food, called visva deva. This respect is linked to the idea that all life on earth contributes the maintaining earth’s ecological balance.

Hindus also believe that there is a need to give up some comforts of everyday life, a concept called Yagna, or sacrifice, in relation to the ‘modification of actions in consonance with the cosmic order’, in order to achieve harmony with nature. For example, a sacrifice would be leaving behind a plot of forested land, usually used for agriculture, in its natural state. Leaving it would benefit the environment as natural vegetation would grow there.

Goddess Earth, or Bhoodevi, deserves the reverence of humans because she feeds us, gives us shelter, and provides materials to be used in our daily lives. If we do not take care of her, she will not take care of us. This is something increasingly seen in today’s time as people continue exploiting the environment for profit.