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July 15th, 2013
The Spirituality of Hinduism, Environmental Beliefs, and Resulting Human Behaviors

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Uttarakhand is considered a sacred, spiritual land to millions of people around the world.
Uttarakhand is home to Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and people of
many other religions. It is a holy-feeling place for anyone; however the Indian state is seen as
especially sacred to Hindu spirituality. Uttarakhand boasts hundreds of spiritual locations. These
temples, natural wonders, and stops on religious pilgrimages dot the state, peppering the
mountainous landscape with the Divine. To quote Kusum Budhwar, author of “Where Gods
Dwell: Central Himalayan Folktales and Legends”: “Every mountaintop, every stream, every
lake, every town, every temple in the Himalayas has a story to tell.” Uttarakhand intrigues and
fascinates its population of a little over 10 million, as well as the almost 20 million tourists it
receives every year. The breathtaking environment goes hand in hand with the spiritual beliefs
that the state houses. These spiritual beliefs, which affect people’s actions environmentally,
dictate the very being of Uttarakhand. However, what happens when the “Land of the Gods”
suffers intense destruction? The case is real and the wound is fresh. Beginning on June 14th, in
the year 2013, Uttarakhand began to suffer severely heavy rainfall. Immense floods, devastating
landslides and natural destruction swiftly followed. The loss of spiritual sites, property, and life
is shattering. In light of my recent month spent in India, and the fresh destruction that has ripped
through Uttarakhand, I chose to explore the spirituality of Hinduism, and how this spirituality
creates beliefs about the natural environmental, and the human behaviors towards the
environment that result from these beliefs.
Kusum Budhwar’s book “Where Gods Dwell: Central Himalayan Folktales and Legends”
gives an illuminating perspective into the common spiritual beliefs about Uttarakhand held by
the Garhwali and Kumaoni, and other people residing in the state. It is believed that the deity
Shiva’s consort, Nanda Devi, maintains her heavenly home on India’s second highest mountain

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peak, appropriately called Nanda Devi. According to Budhwar, the peak is the location where
Nanda Devi sought shelter from a buffalo demon named Mahishasur, during a great war that was
fought between the two. Nanda Devi is referred to in countless Kumaoni songs and traditions,
and habitually worshipped along with her eternal love Shiva. Countless temples have been
erected in Nanda Devi’s name, and she appears to be the most venerated goddess in the modern
Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. In addition to the multiple mountain peaks that are seen as
divine in Uttarakhand, rivers are also revered. The river Saryu was created by the ultimate god
Brahma, the creator, and brought down to earth by Vashistha. The river was said to have run
from Lord Vishnu’s feet, and to this day Vishnu is viewed as incarnate in every drop of water.
Along with the river Ramganga, the Saryu river surrounds Gangolihat, a small hill town in
Uttarakhand. Gangolihat is a stop on many religious pilgrimages, and houses Shakti Peethas to
goddess Kali, worshipped in her tiger-riding form as Mahakali. Maybe people of the area feel a
special connection to Mahakali, and believe that in their most trying times she will come to their
aid. It is also believed that the area around the Shakti Peethas is where goddess Kali finally
defeated the evil buffalo demon. In her book, Budhwar examines the spiritual meaning of many
other locations in Uttarakhand, however the last I will mention are the caves of Patal
Bhuwaneshwar. The caves were discovered by a king named Rituparna. While hunting a boar,
Rituparna took shelter in the cave, and was lead to the thousand-headed serpent Shesh Naag, the
leader of the underworld. The serpent explained to him that the three gods of the Trimurti all live
in the cave within one form, and showed him all a manner of heavenly wonders with divine eyes.
The cave is still believed to hold mystical, heavenly power. Naturally, these spiritual legends and
folktales inspire beliefs about the environment that are very prevalent in Hinduism.

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The worshipping of the natural environment is part of everyday life for a Hindu living in
Uttarakhand. Ancient Sanskrit mantras, offering prayer to the mountains, rivers, land and trees,
are recited daily by “millions of Hindus” (Jain, Huffington Post). Garhwali women often sing
songs about the environment where they live and work. They may ask the mountains to bend
down, so that they may see their mother’s home, or thank the trees for their shade from the
midmorning sun (Capila, India: Ecology of the Mountains). I have previously studied Hinduism
on a collegiate level, and have found that the spirituality contains many beliefs about the
environment. In Hinduism, God is everything. God is the earth, the sky, the trees, the water;
everything on earth has a Divine essence. Thus, the earth should be revered as a goddess. The
Ultimate God, Brahman, is viewed as pure consciousness. This consciousness may have qualities
(Saguna-Brahman), which humans can tangibly view, or Brahman may be Nirguna-Brahman,
meaning without qualities. This ultimate consciousness takes form in the Trimurti, a trinity of
gods similar to the Christian Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Brahma is the creator god,
Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva the god of destruction. Brahma created the world, Vishnu
preserves it, and Shiva destroys the old to make way for the new. Thus, Hindus believe that the
earth experiences a continuous cycle of birth, existence, death, and rebirth. Not only do Hindus
believe in the ultimate god, and the Trimurti, but over 30 million gods are worshipped in
Hinduism (Mehra, India: Ecology of the Mountains). Vedic teachings reveal that everything
wonderful and terrible in life should be attributed to these gods and goddesses. The Vedas also
teach that these gods reside in three separate realms: the Sky Realm (where Varuna, the space
god, and Surya, the sun god reside), the Atmosphere Realm (home to Indra the storm god and
Vayu the wind god), and the Earth Realm (where Agni the fire god and Soma the wine of
immortality god dwell). The gods have always had a presence in the natural environment. In Dr.

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Pankaj Jain’s Huffington Post April 2011 article, the award-winning author explains 10 basic
Hindu beliefs about the environment. He cites another Hindu belief, Dharma, as being the source
of environmental responsibility. Dharma can be translated as one’s fated duty or one’s core
responsibilities in this lifetime, according to the natural order. Jain describes protecting the
environment as an “important expression of dharma.” What many Hindus do can be seen by the
modern world as “restoring the environment”; however in their minds, “they are simply
expressing their reverence for creation according to Hindu teachings.” Furthermore, Jain
explains that within Vedic, Upanishadic, and Puranic writings, a simple style of living is
encouraged. A minority of Hindus have extreme, ascetic practices, such as fasting frequently,
choosing a homeless lifestyle, and forgoing many of life’s conveniences. They exemplify the
Hindu strive to only live on what one needs. This belief leads to a sustainable lifestyle. Jain
views Mahatma Gandhi as a prime example of the ideal simple, sustainable, Hindu lifestyle. One
would think that these multiple positive, protective, and reverent beliefs towards the natural
environment would promote environmentally-friendly behaviors by all Hindus in Uttarakhand.
Unexpectedly, a paradoxical situation arises when one examines the actual behaviors towards the
environment demonstrated in Uttarakhand.
From June 14th through June 17th, the state of Uttarakhand in India received extremely
heavy rainfall. Though it is the rainy season in India, the rains were roughly 375% above the
normal amount of received rainfall (CNN-IBN, Uttarakhand). This caused a glacier to melt, and
that glacier caused phenomenal floods throughout all of Uttarakhand. These floods, in turn,
caused highly destructive landslides. What behaviors could have caused this natural disaster?
Sunita Narain has said in a recent article by the Deccan Chronicle that the situation has been
“exacerbated by the construction of buildings, dams, and roads in a fragile environment.”

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(Sehgal, Deccan Chronicle). In the aftermath of the 2013 North India floods, many people are
blaming “unregulated development and unregulated tourism [as] responsible for the scale of the
disaster.” (Shadbolt, CNN, 2013). As previously stated, Uttarakhand is the ideal state for
religious tourism. Hundreds of thousands of spiritual pilgrims venture to Uttarakhand yearly to
visit spiritual sites, and these people require roads for transportation, lodging, and use of natural
resources. Hydrodams are constructed all over Uttarakhand daily, forests are cut clear for their
resources and the earth becomes loose and unstable. The businesses, roads, and resources that
fuel the religious tourism industry are irresponsibly established, with little thought to their
potential effects on the mountain environment. As it were, Uttarakhand’s very spiritual nature, as
the “Abode of the Gods” makes it vulnerable to environmental instability and abuse. The
industry that has been created to bring people closer to the Divine is actually destroying the very
land that they hold so sacredly. The environmental beliefs held in Hindu spirituality do not
translate to this realm of thought. Instead of considering how these multiple factors will put
stress upon the environment, people believe that “The Mother God will take care of everything.”
(Bakhshi, India: Ecology of the Mountains). If one were to build a hotel to improve their lives
through business, or build a hydrodam to generate power for a village, it is seen as a positive
action to become successful in life. The aforementioned dharmic principles are set aside,
ignored, or forgotten. In Uttarakhand, the earth is revered as the Mother Goddess; however, if the
Mother Goddess is abused and neglected, She cannot support all of her children. Examples of the
attitude of an “invincible” natural world could be seen virtually everywhere during my time in
India. Locals and tourists from all over India and the world would throw their trash anywhere
they wanted. There is not a successful waste management system in place, nor are recycling
practices utilized. Hotels are built in random places within the mountains to house tourists, and

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create the image of a loss of sanctity of the land. When every single aspect of this treatment of
the environment combines together, it creates terrible aftermath for events such as the heavy
North Indian rains, wreaking havoc in The Land of the Gods. The results are disturbing.
As of July 11th, 2013, over 5,360 people have lost their lives in the aftermath of the heavy
June rains (Prashant, Business Standard). 4,700 people are confirmed missing, 1,200 of whom
are children (Bahuguna, The Times of India). 726 missing people have been confirmed as
religious pilgrims (Kunwar, The Times of India). Major non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in Uttarakhand have estimated that over 11,600 people are missing (Das, ND-TV).
Approximately 60,000 tourists and religious pilgrims are trapped around Uttarakhand
(“Uttarakhand floods, landslides leave 40 dead, over 60,000 stranded”, CNN-IBN). 110,000
villagers are still stranded within the state (Prashant, Business Standard). 760 villages are cut off
from the outside world; running out of food and water, and struggling to survive (Kunwar, The
Times of India). On July 10th, 239 new villages cried out for assistance (Prashant, Business
Standard). 110,000 religious pilgrims were already rescued from the Char Dham area (Prashant,
Business Standard), and another 81 pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh are reported missing
(“Uttarakhand: 81 pilgrims from Anhdra Pradesh missing”, Indo-Asian News Service). Heavy
rains continue to delay rescue efforts. Helicopters cannot reach desperate villages, and flash
floods continue to torture the lands and people of Uttarakhand (HT Correspondent, Hindustan
Times). More than 80 bodies have been found in rivers in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh
(“Bodies from Uttarakhand found as far as Allahabad” Hindustan Times). These numbers are
counts of the life-damage to the people of Uttarakhand. The articles I have researched have yet to
mention the amount of land damage, the number of houses, the number of destroyed villages, the

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number of dollars in damage, or which religious sites have been damaged by the floods and
landslides. Uttarakhand, The Land of the Gods, has been ravaged by nature.
The spirituality of Hinduism supports the idea that God will take care of the world, and
that everything goes according to Divine will. When this fatalistic idea is taken to heart, dharmic
Hindu principles that protect the environment are pushed aside, and seeming normal human
behavior, where people use the environment’s resources for the betterment of their businesses
and lives, as well as the strive to travel upon spiritual pilgrimages to reach God, ultimately has a
hand in destroying the holy land that they hold so dear. What is next for Uttarakhand? The relief
efforts have already begun, as helicopters struggle to bring villages supplies and to rescue
stranded groups of travelers. Lives will slowly, slowly be put back together, piece by piece.
Something must be done to prevent another catastrophe for the mountain people of Uttarakhand.
Experts have demanded that officials review Uttarakhand’s environmental policy. “Illegal
construction and corruption go hand in hand.” says Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan, who wants the central government of India to declare a state of emergency in
Uttarakhand. Karan Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, blames “extensive deforestation” and the
building of massive dams” for the devastating destruction that Uttarakhand has felt. Both men
are pushing for an intense review of Uttarakhand’s environmental policies, in hopes that these
policies can be improved and implemented more effectively in the future. There are many
barriers to this goal, however. Corruption exists on every level in India, manifested in powerless
laws and an all-too powerful government. A waste management system must be put into place,
and recycling must be utilized. Not only do the environmental policies need to change, but the
behaviors of the people of Uttarakhand, locals and tourists, must improve. People cannot
continue breaking environmental codes in the names of religious tourism and good business.

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Tourism can continue to occur in Uttarakhand, but it must exist in a smart way. Perhaps a
promotion of “green” mountain tourism would encourage people to protect The Abode of the
Gods. As we move forward from the 2013 North Indian Floods, Himalayan environmental
awareness will be raised, policies will be examined, communities will be rebuilt, and solutions
will come into existence.
From May 5th, 2013 until June 3rd, 2013, I traveled around Northern India with a study
abroad group from Michigan State University. Within weeks of my departure from India, heavy
rainfall descended upon the state of Uttarakhand. What followed after was terrible destruction,
caused by countless floods and landslides. In light of those recent disastrous events, I
investigated the spiritual principles held in Hinduism, the environmental beliefs that these
principles inspired, and the human actions towards the environment that occur as a product of
these beliefs. I slowly realized that despite Hindu beliefs and practices that encourage the
protection and preservation of the environment, the fatalistic attitude of many people prevent
these practices and beliefs from aiding the Uttarakhand environment. Instead, the environment is
ill-treated, which aggravates the after effects of an extreme few days of rain fall. The
Uttarakhand environment demands to be respected, and in the coming months after these
disasters we must work to examine the environmental policy of Uttarakhand, it’s enforcement
and the behaviors of its citizens and visitors to create a suitable land in which to preserve ancient
Hindu divinity.

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Bibliography
Budhwar, Kusum. Where Gods Dwell: Central Himalayan Folktales and Legends. New
Delhi: Penguin, 2010. Print.
Jain, Pankaj, Ph.D. "10 Hindu Environmental Teachings." The Huffington Post. N.p., 10
Apr. 2011. Web. 11 July 2013.
Capila, Anjali, Dr. "Images of Women in the Folksongs of Garhwal Himalayas." India:
Ecology of the Mountains. Lady Irwin College, New Delhi. Lecture.
Mehra, Manoj. "Mukteshwar and India." India: Ecology of the Mountains. Oak Chalet,
Mukteshwar. Lecture.
Bakhshi, Saloni, Dr. "Hindu Spirituality and the Environment." India: Ecology of the
Mountains. Kafni Valley. Lecture.
Prashant, Shishri. "Uttarakhand Death Toll at 5,360." Business Standard. N.p., 11 July
2013. Web. 11 July 2013.
Seghal, Rashme. "Human hand behind disaster." Deccan Chronicle (2013): n. pag.
Deccan Chronicle. Deccan Chronicle, 22 June 2013. Web. 15 July 2013.
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17 June 2013. Web. 11 July 2013.
Bahuguna, Vijay. "3 Killed as Rain Stalls Relief Efforts in Uttarakhand, 4700 Missing."
Times of India. N.p., 8 July 2013. Web. 11 July 2013.

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Kunwar, D. S. "Uttarakhand Flashfloods: Over 4000 People Continue to Be Missing."
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Das, Mala. "Uttarakhand: Can't Ignore NGO Estimates of 11600 Missing, Says Disaster
..." NDTV. N.p., 9 July 2013. Web. 11 July 2013.
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Urgently Review Uttarakhand`s Environment Policy: Karan Singh. N.p., 29 June 2013.
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`Environment Policy Needed to Prevent Uttarakhand-like Disaster`. N.p., 30 June 2013.
Web. 11 July 2013.