Worldwide awareness of the need for protection of the environment and prevention of ecological disaster has taken root, very slowly, only in the past 50 years or so.

Although human beings are considered the most intelligent life form on earth, they are responsible for most of the damage done to planet earth.

In India and elsewhere, as awareness of clean water needs, pollution of air, water and soil, global warming, species extinction, etc creates urgency for action, religious thinkers and activists have begun to reflect on how the values of Indian tradition might contribute to fostering greater care for earth’s ecology.
Environmental in Indian thought is not conceived as a physical, lifeless entity- it is very living mechanism where humans are one of the many living creatures. There is also a great emphasis on adaptation as one of the guiding principles for an interaction between human and non- human world.

It has been argued by ancient Indian philosophers that man being an intelligent creature should have the protection of environment as one of the fundamental duties. The fragility of the environment has also been carefully stressed in such discourses.

The principal cosmic-vision is fully integrated in two different but related traditions- the oral and textual. While the reflections of the oral tradition are more focused on practice, the textual tradition offers a complete and systemic analysis of the universe.

The Indian textual tradition assumes that, like the rest of the material world, man is made of elements which at death disintegrate and dissolve into nature. At the most general levels there are nine tatvas or elements; Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Sky, Time, directions, Mind and Soil. Indian mythology explains that elements originate in phases. Water, Earth and sky come first; aquatic animals and birds second; land third; air or wind fourth and finally fire.

Indian thought explains Environment as a given entity which is transcendental in nature. It perceives that there is life in all kinds of things, it might be biotic or non-biotic material. There is greater emphasis on mutual dependence where living in isolation was not possible. Environment has been perceived as a friendly abode.

It was considered very good to live in forest where one can experience environment in its purest form. Living in urban centers, which is natural- man made living, was given secondary position. It was perceived that nature can satisfy everybody’s need if one maintains harmony with the given environment.

Even in different stages of human life in Hindu philosophy, shifting to forest in older age was given importance which is commonly known as “Vanaprastha”. A Vanaprastha (Sanskrit ) is a person who is living in the forest as a hermit after partially giving