Saving Our Environment - A Native American and Baha'i Perspective
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Global warming, tornadoes, fires, floods, earthquakes are rampant today. We recognize the problem but come up short on how to solve it. Western thought often views our environment in material terms – What resources can we extract? How can we control it? Is there a better view?
“One of the root causes of the current environmental crisis is modern society’s ignorance of those spiritual principles and values which should sustain our relationship with the world around us. Traditional respect for nature, born of intimate contact with er power and immediate reliance on her bounties, has virtually disappeared. Int place has been taken by materialistic and exploitative philosophies which have given rise to the economic and political systems that are driving our plant to ruin. The rediscovery of those eternal spiritual and humanitarian principles which have inspired the rise of great civilizations at key points in human history can alone create the necessary ground swell for change and set our society on a new and more ecologically benigh direction.” ~ Research Department of the Universal House of Justice in Conservation of the Earth’s Resources
How can we better understand this perspective in order to create a better balance with nature? In this discussion, we will explore some Native American and Baha’i perspectives that might contribute to our understanding and solution of our environmental issues. Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Faith, spoke of a future in which humanity lives in unity and peace, supported by both material and spiritual prosperity. In that spirit, this is an open and inclusive space. Every perspective is welcome here—across all backgrounds, experiences, and identities. The aim is to explore together, with honesty and respect, what it means to see clearly and act wisely in the world as it is.
Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. ~ Bahá’u’lláh
We are all flowers in the Great Spirit’s garden. We share a common root, and the root is Mother Earth." ~ Hopi Proverb
Our first choice, of course, is to meet in person. Still, we’d rather have you attend — even if it is online — than not attend. So here is a zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88158217522?pwd=cGxNeDR2eCthN0k2d2tlSk1sMnViQT09