INDIA, June 3, 2011: (by Chelsea Cooley, greenanswers.com) Those in the Chipko Movement are commonly referred to as “tree-huggers.” “Chipko” means literally “to embrace,” and these activists, a group made up mostly of village women, practice Gandhi’s method of non-violent resistance, satyagraha, by standing between trees and loggers, often literally embracing the trees. Chipko began in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh region on March 26, 1974, as a spontaneous protest. Members have since been integral in protecting forests against clear-cutting and in lobbying for a more conservative use of natural resources.
Although an anti-logging protest in 1974 birthed the Chipko Movement, the group traces its pious, tree-preserving roots to 1730, when 363 Bishnoi Samaj people in the Jodhpur district were killed by loggers attempting to protect a forest of Khejri trees.
Scholar Pankaj Jain, Ph.D., explains that environmentalism is an integral part of the Hindu belief system, and he summarizes several Hindu environmental teachings to prove this point. One of these is prakriti, best understood as the energy force shared by all life forms. Prakriti represents the interconnectedness and interdependency of all life, as well as the five elements of space, air, fire, water, and earth. According to this belief, living things are connected to the divine energy that permeates the universe, and therefore harming any part of the universe harms oneself.
Dr. Jain further elaborates on the ideas of dharma, meaning duty, and karma, meaning action. In this line of thought, it is the duty of all people to protect the earth and its life forms. The “environment” is not an issue separate from everyday life and its tasks. By treating the earth, its ecosystems, plants and animals with respect and compassion, a person is both doing her dharma and practicing good karma.