From Egocentric To Ecocentric: Revere All Life

In the wake of the recent 'stray dogs' controversy that raised vital questions about preserving fragile ecosystems, we must turn to ancient Bharatiya Jnan Parampara (Indic wisdom traditions) for humane, reverential, compassionate, practical win-win solutions to prevent human-animal conflict and re-examine the Protagorean notion that 'man is the measure of all things'.


Indic wisdom traditions teach not merely 'compassion' but reverence for all life, born of realisation of interconnectedness of cosmos, unambiguously proven today by modern science through the quantum entanglement phenomenon. This truth, discovered by our ancient rishis in Vedas and Upanishads ages ago, is not just a theoretical concept, but integrated into daily practice through the pancha-maha-yajna, five great sacrifices: Dev Yajna, sacrifice for forces of nature, called gods; Pitru Yajna, for our ancestors' legacy; Brahma/Rishi Yajna, for rishis and Vedas, sources of wisdom; Nri/Manushya Yajna, for all human beings; Bhuta Yajna, for all living and non-living beings.


Cosmic rhythm described in the Katha Upanishad as rtam brhat - the great Cosmic Order - informs and envelops all life and existence. Rabindranath Tagore captured this ideal in his essay Sadhana through the Vedic dictum: prano virat, 'Life is immense!' This ancient vision aligns with ecocentric, as contradistinguished from egocentric vision of modern times. Aldo Leopold emphasises that every being plays a unique, irreplaceable role in the ecosystem's stability. From time immemorial, India has emphasised interconnectedness of all life , reflected in daily practices like offering food first to cows, dogs, birds, and guests before a family sits down to their meals.


Indian epics, Mahabharat and Ramayan, offer several instances of the kinship between humans and animals. The Mahabharat's story of a mongoose, half of whose body turned to gold when it rolled on the remnants of the gift of food by a poor family that embraced starvation, and eventual death resonates with heartbeats of Bharat.


Yudhishthir refused to enter heaven without his loyal dog, who was later revealed to be the veritable embodiment of dharm. Ramayan narrates how Nature grieved and mourned Sita's abduction. Such tales are endless in Hindu lore, and they loudly proclaim humans' profound emotional and spiritual bonding with Nature. When the world is awakening to and revering India's ancient wisdom of 'One Earth, One Family', it is tragic that we allow ourselves to think and speak in terms of fragmentation and division. The World Health Organization's 'One Health' approach - a 'collaborative, multi-sectoral, and transdisciplinary' vision - recognises interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. When one sees Life in its immensity, illusions of separateness dissolve in Oneness.


This universal empathy echoes in Jeremy Bentham's timeless question: "The question is not, can they reason? Nor can they talk? But can they suffer?" Ecologists such as Bill Devall and George Sessions assert that all forms of life have intrinsic worth as inextricable parts of an interconnected whole.


Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant exhorts love and oneness, whereupon life blossoms - birds sing, animals rejoice, children exult and bliss flows endlessly.


Authored by: Paromita Roy
The writer is asst professor, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational & Research Institute, Belur Math