Lesson video

Hi, there.

My name is Ms. Marx, and I'm going to be your religious education teacher today.

And today, we're going to be learning about dharma, Bhumi, and the environment.

And these are really important Hindu concepts that might influence someone who's a Hindu to care for the environment more.

So we'll think about some of the problems that are facing the environment and some of the things that people are doing today.

So when you're ready, let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain why and how the concept of dharma and the figure of Bhumi may encourage Hindus to care for the environment.

First, let's start with our keywords.

Ahimsa, the principle of non-violence towards any living thing.

Atman, the soul, spirit, or self of every living being.

Bhumi, the Earth or Earth goddess, representing the natural world and all the life it sustains.

Dharma, the essence of things, the eternal laws that sustain the universe.

And sacred, something that's considered holy, divine, or deserving of great respect and reverence.

Our lesson today will have two sections.

Firstly, dharma and Bhumi, and secondly, the Piplantri village case study.

So let's start with dharma and Bhumi.

Does money grow on trees? Have a think about that question.

You can talk to me or talk to the person next to you.

We would probably argue that money doesn't grow on trees and that trees have a different kind of value, but perhaps by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to give me a different answer to that question.

Within Hindu teachings, all life has value and is interconnected.

All living things have a spark of the divine within them known as the atman.

This can be understood to be the true self of that being, but it's all connected and has this same spark of something divine and sacred within it.

For many Hindus, the whole world is divine and everything within it is part of one family, all different types of life.

So let's look at a piece of Hindu text, which can help us understand this a little bit more.

So the Upanishads are Hindu philosophical texts about the nature of reality, helping us to understand the world around us from that Hindu perspective.

And in the Katha Upanishad, we have this phrase, "Hidden in the heart of all beings is the atman." So within every living thing, there is this atman.

What's that text saying about the atman? Have a think and talk to the person next to you or you can talk to me.

This text is saying that all living beings contain the atman or the spark of the divine.

And that's not just humans, this is all living things.

So how could that possibly relate to how a Hindu might want to treat the environment? How might this influence a Hindu to care for the environment? Have a think about that.

Speak to the person next to you or talk to me.

Yes, that's right.

If all living things, not just humans have a spark of the divine within them and are all interconnected and part of one family, then that might influence a Hindu to really want to care for and understand more about the environment.

So whilst every living thing is connected through this spark of the divine or the atman within it, each living thing has its own unique essence or way to be, which then relates to its duty or role on how it should behave and what it should do.

So what could the dharma for each of these be? A fruit tree.

So what is the essence of a fruit tree? What is it that a fruit tree does and could do well in order to perform its dharma? Have a think about that.

You could pause the video or talk to me.

We could argue that a fruit tree's essence is to grow fruits, to grow big and strong, and to provide these juicy fruits for people to eat.

What about a dog? What could the essence of a dog be which could then relate to its role or its duty as its dharma? Yeah, so a dog's dharma could be to be a good companion to its family that it lives with.

Maybe it's there to protect livestock.

Maybe it's there to protect the home.

What about a human? What could the essence or dharma of a human be? What is their role and their duty and how to perform to be a good human? Have a think about that.

You can pause the video and talk to me or talk to the person next to you.

Some fantastic ideas there.

And most Hindus believe dharma for humans means acting in the following ways, being generous to others, serving others without expecting anything in return, being compassionate and kind, being fair and honest.

So these are all things that are part of the essence of humans and how we should treat one another.

Can you see how these could link to caring for the environment? So let's look at another sacred text within the Hindu Dharma to understand this a little bit more.

So this is taken from the Bhagavad Gita, and it's a sacred story that gives many ideas that are found within the Hindu Dharma.

And it has this phrase within it, "Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle, show goodwill to all." So we could see lots of ideas there about what the essence of humanity is and how humans should treat one another as well as every living creature.

So what is this text instructing people not to do and to do? And how could this link to the idea of the atman within all living things? So have a think about that.

Pause the video, talk to the person next to you, or you can talk to me.

Some great ideas there.

Yeah, this text is saying that no living creature should be harmed.

So it's instructing people to not harm anything but to show compassion and goodwill to all things.

So that could link to the importance of caring for the environment.

And it may also influence some Hindus to not to want to eat meat.

They might protect natural habitats of animals and protect biodiversity.

Because if the atman is found in every living thing, not just humans, then we need to care for the environment in ways that protect all living beings rather than just think about humanity.

Let's do a quick check.

What term means the essence and duty of every living thing? Is it dharma, Bhumi, or ahimsa? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've written in a moment.

Well done.

Yes, it's A, dharma as the essence and duty of every living thing.

So being compassionate and gentle to all things can be shown through the idea of ahimsa, and the word ahimsa comes from Sanskrit.

And we can see here the root of the word is hims, which means violence.

So ahimsa means without violence or non-violence.

We sometimes see this in words in English where an A at the start of the word sort of flips it to the opposite.

So it means without or non-violence.

So how might the principle of ahimsa influence a Hindu in their relationship to the environment? Have a think about that.

You can pause the video and talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Some great ideas there.

Well, the principle of ahimsa means that many Hindus choose not to eat meat as well as protect the environment in other ways.

So here, Het is explaining to us why he's a vegetarian.

"My family are Hindu and we don't eat any meat.

I believe my dharma is to show compassion to all living things.

So to kill an animal to eat it would not be following my dharma.

I also learned in school that some farming of livestock is contributing to the greenhouse effect.

So by being vegetarian, I'm also able to show respect to Bhumi or Mother Earth." So here, we really have two reasons why Het is vegetarian, firstly because he believes it's showing compassion to all living things.

So those animals also have the atman within them as a living being.

And secondly, the contribution that livestock and the farming of animals can have on the greenhouse effect can, in turn, damage the environment.

And so therefore, he's chosen not to eat meat for that reason too.

Every living thing is sustained by the Earth that we live on.

So here, I've got an image of planet Earth, and every single thing that is living is sustained by this Earth.

The survival of every plant, animal, and person depends on the Earth itself.

So we wouldn't be able to breathe, live if we didn't have the Earth here sustaining us.

So this is why in many cultures across the world, the same idea appears that Earth is nurturing and life giving and is called Mother Earth.

And this phrase comes up in many different cultures and religions and societies as the idea of Earth being something that sustains and protects like a mother may a child.

Within Hindu traditions, Mother Earth is seen as sacred and is often known as Bhumi.

So everything on the Earth contains within it a spark of something divine and sacred.

But the Earth itself as a whole system is also sacred and is known as Bhumi.

And many Hindus actually start their day with a prayer to Bhumi with this phrase, "Oh Mother Earth, who has the oceans as clothes and the mountains and forests as her body, which is the wife of Lord Vishnu, I bow to you.

Please forgive me for touching you with my feet." So again, reminding Hindus of that connection between us and the Earth and our impact that we may be having on the Earth.

How might the words of this prayer influence a Hindu to care for the environment? Have a think about that.

You can pause the video and speak to the person next to you or talk to me.

Yeah, some fantastic ideas there.

That phrase, "I bow to you," would remind a Hindu, wouldn't it, in the morning to kind of respect this Earth that sustains all of life and remembering that we are walking on the Earth with our feet and daily having an impact on the environment around us might influence a Hindu to want to care more and understand more about how they can have a better impact on the environment around them.

So let's do another check.

What term means without violence or nonviolence within the Hindu Dharma? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've written in a moment.

Yes, that's right, it's ahimsa, the idea of living without violence and without treating anything or anyone violently.

This is Vandana Shiva, and she's a Hindu environmental activist.

Vandana Shiva believes that Bhumi, Mother Earth, sustains all of life and that the Earth itself is divine.

She also believes that humans are part of nature and not separate from it.

So it's very important to Vandana Shiva to understand that everything's interconnected and there's a Hindu teaching that, you know, all of life on Earth is part of one family.

So we're not a separate thing to it, we're part of it.

And she thinks that we can work together with Bhumi to replenish and repair what harms humans have done.

So Vandana Shiva understands a lot about the damage that humans have done to the environment, but she's very hopeful that we can work together with the Earth to sort of repair this and undo some of that damage.

She's also really passionate about farming, which is obviously one important way that humans interact with the environment and have had an impact on it.

And she challenges many modern forms of farming by saying we need to use ahimsa agriculture.

So there's our word about being nonviolent or acting in a nonviolent way.

And so Vandana Shiva believes that we can farm in a way that's not violent, in a way that protects and doesn't harm the environment.

So do you know any ways that people could work with nature to repair the damage that's already been done? Pause the video and have a think.

You could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

So some examples could be using natural pesticides which aren't using chemicals and are able to help us grow plants without pumping harmful chemicals into the land.

Other things could be to do with planting many more trees enabled to capture carbon to help with the greenhouse effect or using renewable sources of energy.

So Vandana Shiva is passionate about ways we can do this as ahimsa agriculture.

Laura, Jun, Aisha, and Lucas are discussing how belief in Bhumi might influence a Hindu to care for the environment.

Laura says, "Perhaps Hindus will see all of life on Earth as connected to one another." Jun says, "Maybe Hindus will believe that humans have a duty to care for the Earth." Lucas says, "I think Hindus will be grateful for how the Earth sustains us." And Aisha says, "I think Hindus will want to learn more about the Earth and how to protect it." So there are many ways that a belief in Bhumi as sacred Mother Earth can influence a Hindu to care for the environment.

Time for another check.

Is this true or false? Most Hindus believe that Bhumi is the self or soul within each living thing as an expression of the divine.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think and we'll check what you've written in a moment.

That is false.

But why? Well, it's false because that's the atman, the self or the soul within each living thing.

Bhumi is sacred Mother Earth which sustains all of life on Earth.

So time for a practise task to see what we've learned.

Sofia is explaining how dharma and Bhumi may influence a Hindu to care for the environment.

For each point she'd made, give an example or a detailed explanation to develop it further.

So Sofia says, "The dharma for humans includes being compassionate to all life on Earth and this may influence a Hindu in how they care for the environment by." And she also says, "Bhumi is respected as the sacred Mother Earth and sustains all of life on Earth, and this may influence a Hindu and how they care for the environment by." So you are going to write an example or a detailed explanation for each of those to develop them further.

Pause the video, off you go, and I'll see what you've written in a moment.

Well done, some fantastic work there.

For each point Sofia made, I asked you to give an example or a detailed explanation to develop it, and your response might look like this.

"The dharma for humans includes being compassionate to all life on Earth.

This may influence a Hindu in how they care for the environment by wanting to protect biodiversity and use non-violent methods of farming using the principle of ahimsa.

Bhumi is respected as the sacred Mother Earth and sustains all life on Earth, and this may influence a Hindu in how they care for the environment by wanting to learn more about the varieties of life on Earth and work with nature to repair the damage humans have done." Fantastic.

So onto section two of our lesson, the Piplantri village case study.

So the village of Piplantri is found in Northwest India and has about 8,000 residents.

And in the past, it was surrounded by many natural forests.

So we can see it in the map here in the northwest of India.

And millions of people across India actually rely on natural forests for food, shelter, and water.

And the people at Piplantri used to have a really close relationship with the forest around their homes.

So they'd spend a lot of time in the forest, they'd gather lots of food and have shelter in the forest as well as all the different animals and different life that they found within the forest around them.

And the part of India where Piplantri is found is also known for its beautiful white marble stone.

And so you can see here an image of the marble stone being mined on the right.

And some of this marble was actually used in the construction of the Taj Mahal, which is a beautiful building that you might have seen in India.

The marble is mined from the ground though, and this causes many environmental issues such as deforestation where the trees have to be cut down to get to the land to get down to the marble.

Pollution from the very process of what's happening that the byproducts that created from how the land is mined.

Huge amounts of water consumption.

So there's massive amounts of water that's used in the mining of this marble, as well as the land afterwards is less able to retain water, so it's less, more water is used but also it's less able to retain the water that comes down from rainfall anyway.

And the land around Piplantri was sold to some mining companies, and the local residents began to suffer from noise pollution as well as deterioration of the land.

So life is starting to get quite hard for the people in Piplantri.

They've got lots of pollution happening around them and the land is deteriorating, less able to retain water and they are able to grow less and get less from the forest around them.

In 2006, in the village of Piplantri, the mayor suffered a family tragedy when his daughter fell ill and died, and he wanted to do something in her memory.

And so he planted some trees and found that looking after the trees helped him and others in the village who liked to care for trees too.

And he also noticed at the time that the girls in his village were not being treated equally to the boys.

Many families were finding the dowry, which is money paid when a daughter is married into another family, for their daughters as a financial burden.

And in addition, the girls were not expected to stay in school or go to college and were often married when they were young.

To help with this, with the status of girls in the village, he started a new tradition.

Every time a girl is born, 111 trees are planted for her on village land.

So I've got an example of one of the trees here as a mango tree.

At the same time, money from the family, the village, and donations is put aside for her.

And if by the time she's 18 years old, she's not been married, she's still in education, and she's looked after her trees, all 111 of them, then she can have that money which she could use to continue studying or it could be used for her dowry, for example, which we said was a financial burden on many families.

Now, many of the girls view the trees as part of their family and include them in the festival of Raksha Bandhan.

Now, this is a festival of siblings where girls traditionally tie threads on the wrists of their brothers, and these are a symbol of love and protection between siblings and often called rakhi.

So in the village of Piplantri, many of the girls tie that thread around the trees too.

And every year, the girls go and spend time with their trees and it's a big kind of village festival celebrating the trees as part of this festival of siblings.

The villagers also found that the trees were suffering from pests, things like slugs and snails.

And so they decided to plant aloe vera as a natural pest repellent.

So you can see the spikes here on the picture that help to prevent other, little creatures were crawling up and getting to the trees and into the different fruits that are growing on the trees.

So these are a natural way of controlling those pests without using chemical pesticides.

But also, aloe vera is used in many different skincare products and it's a great natural kind of moisturiser.

But also, the trees have helped to repair the land of Piplantri from some of the damage that was caused by that mining.

We've found that animals are returning to live in the forest and the land is more able to hold water, helping to prevent drought.

'Cause if you remember, the mining was using lots of water and also meant the land was less able to hold water.

But with all these hundreds of thousands of trees that have been planted now, the land is able to gather and retain the water more successfully to help the village protect against drought.

So how could the tying of the rakhi on the trees show a belief in the atman that we were thinking about at the start of this lesson? Have a think about your answer.

You could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Yeah, I would agree with that.

The idea that the trees are seen as a sibling, they're seen as having a spark of the divine within them just as humans do too.

They're seen as part of one family, and that is shown by the timing of the rakhi on the trees as well as any brothers that the girls may have.

And how could the planting of aloe vera be a form of ahimsa agriculture? That was the idea that Vandana Shiva spoke about earlier where we are treating the environment in a nonviolent way.

How could the planting of aloe vera be a form of that? Again, pause the video and have a think.

You could talk to someone near you or talk to me.

Yeah, some great ideas there.

The idea of natural pest repellent not being damaging to the environment but just warding off the pest and protecting the trees in a nonviolent way.

Time for a quick check.

Is this true or false? During the festival of Diwali, the girls of Piplantri village tie threads around their 111 trees.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've written in a moment.

That is false.

But why? It's during the Festival of Raksha Bandhan that many of the girls of Piplantri tie threads around their 111 trees as a sign of love and protection and that they view the trees as their siblings.

This tradition and initiative in Piplantri has had really great benefits for the people there.

Over 350,000 trees have been planted.

So since 2006, there is an enormous amount of trees that have been planted for every single time a girl is born.

This has meant there's more biodiversity in the area and less water loss.

So the trees themselves have therefore encouraged other species and other plants to be able to grow and exist there, and then that itself has caused less water to be lost, more water to be gathered and retained.

2.

5 million aloe vera plants are used as natural pesticides.

So they've been planted because of the trees, to protect the trees from pests in a way that is a nonviolent method of controlling those pests that were going into the trees.

And these have in turn become an income generator to help support the people of Piplantri.

And of course, the village is encouraged to keep the girls in education and unmarried until they're 18 because we know that that money was set aside for them at birth when the 111 trees were planted.

So many of these girls speak about now the educational opportunities they have and their aspirations to go to university that they have that they may not have had beforehand.

And also, the rate of girls being married under 18 has dramatically reduced.

So how can the case study of the village of Piplantri help us to better understand the importance of dharma and Bhumi for Hindus? Well, we've got all forms of life are connected, e.

g, the girls and the trees have that connection to each other.

If you remember by tying the rakhi threads onto the trees, it's showing that kind of connection of life that they have with one another.

Also, we have this natural pest control being used which shows that value of ahimsa.

If you remember Vandana Shiva saying about ahimsa agriculture, ways we can work with the land to repair damage done.

So by not putting the chemical pesticides into the ground but instead using a natural pest repellent, it's showing that value of ahimsa.

The case study of Piplantri also shows us that Bhumi sustains life because the aloe vera provides for the community as well, not just by preventing the pests and enabling the trees to grow, but this is also providing some financial support for villagers who were living in poverty before who are able to use those 2.

5 million aloe vera plants.

Also, the case study Piplantri shows us that plants like trees contain the atman too.

So they're treated as a living thing and the girls see them as a sibling, as something that's connected to them 'cause it's there from the day that they're born.

And this case study really shows that example, doesn't it? And we can also see the dharma of valuing all life being upheld through supporting the girls.

The mayor of the village was looking at how girls were being treated in the village and he didn't think that they were being as valued as much as they should have been.

And he wanted to bring in an initiative that would show that value and really help the whole village to value the birth of every single girl.

And this has shown really clearly through this case study of Piplantri.

Can you think of any other ways that this case study could show us the importance of dharma and Bhumi for Hindus? Have a think about that.

You can pause the video, talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

So time for another check.

Which two statements are correct about the village of Piplantri? The village of Piplantri is encouraging kindness and compassion towards the trees and environment.

The village of Piplantri is encouraging the rights of women and girls to be respected.

And the village of Piplantri buys 111 cows whenever a girl is born.

So pause the video and have a think and I'll see what you've written in a moment.

Well done.

Yes, A and B are correct.

C is not correct because the village plants 111 trees whenever a girl is born, not buys 111 cows.

So let's do a practise task to see what we've learned.

In the table below, there are three actions that are taken in the village of Piplantri that support the environment.

And what you are going to do is that each point, explain what Hindu belief might have influenced this.

So how might there be some Hindu beliefs that have influenced the people of Piplantri to do this tradition? So the three actions are, Piplantri village plants 111 trees when a girl is born, the girls of the village include the trees in the festival of Raksha Bandhan, and natural pest control in the form of aloe vera protects the trees.

For each of those, what Hindu belief might have influenced it? So pause the video, off you go, and I'll see what you've written in a moment.

Well done, some really good work there.

So I asked you to think of a Hindu belief that could influence each of these actions that were taken in Piplantri village as our case study.

And you might have said something like this, "Piplantri village plants 111 trees when a girl is born.

The whole of Earth is sustained by Bhumi and should be protected as a part of a human's dharma.

Planting trees helps to protect the environment.

The girls of the village include the trees in the festival of Raksha Bandhan.

All of life is connected and every living thing contains within it the atman.

And girls are treating the trees as part of their family by including them in the festival.

And natural pest control in the form of aloe vera protects the trees.

Human dharma is to show compassion to all.

And so by using a nonviolent form of pest control, the village are also following the principle of ahimsa.

Well done for your hard work there.

So let's summarise what we've learned today, dharma, Bhumi, and the environment.

In Hindu teachings, every living thing has value and has within itself the atman.

Dharma is the essence and duty that each living thing has.

The dharma for humans is to show compassion and care for all living things, and this leads many Hindus to care for the environment.

Mother Earth is known as the goddess Bhumi for many Hindus, and she sustains all life on Earth and should be respected.

And the village of Piplantri is an example of how one Hindu community is showing respect and compassion to all life through caring for the environment and members of the community.

I wonder if you could find some other case studies of Hindu communities caring for the environment.

Thank you for your hard work today.

I'll see you soon.

Bye-bye.