Chapter 1: The Historical Bond

Since ancient times, a profound connection has existed between humanity and nature. Nature, often perceived as a mystical feminine essence, has served as a vital force for human existence. Throughout various cultures, the Earth has been revered as a nurturing mother. In India, she is known as Prithavi or Bhoomi, embodying maternal care, while in China, the mother goddess Tao represents a similar nurturing spirit. The Greeks honored Gaia, the embodiment of Earth, as the sustainer of all life.

However, in the modern era, nature has been commodified. It is now often viewed merely as a resource to be exploited rather than a living entity deserving of reverence. For most individuals, apart from a few indigenous groups who see themselves as part of the land, the Earth has become a property to own and utilize.

Scholars attribute this shift in perspective to the influence of Abrahamic religious ideologies, which depict God as the ultimate authority who created the world and granted humanity dominion over it. This separation fostered a disconnection between humans and nature.

As science emerged as a dominant form of understanding, the reverence poets and philosophers once had for nature was supplanted by a more reductionist view. Empiricists like Francis Bacon suggested that it was humanity's duty to conquer nature and unlock its secrets, reducing it to a mere subject of study through experimentation.

This Western modernity, driven by scientific inquiry, rendered alternative philosophical approaches obsolete. The mysteries of nature became topics for dissection, while traits such as intuition and emotion were disregarded.

Industrialization and colonization further compounded these issues, fueled by the quest for profit. Colonizers viewed new lands as territories to exploit, disregarding the beliefs and rights of the indigenous populations. The scientific methods that supported both industrialization and colonization became the primary means of understanding the world.

Consequently, humanity, armed with reductionist analytical methods and a belief in dominion over nature, has pursued unchecked authority over the natural world. This utilitarian perspective, rooted in colonial attitudes, has spread globally, leading to the environmental crises we face today.

The exploitation stemming from Western colonialism has fostered a monocultural outlook, where the intrinsic value of nature and its diversity is overlooked. In this worldview, nature is merely an object to fulfill human needs, and the divine connection between humanity and the natural world has been severed.

Continued from Who will save us? Us — taking responsibility | by Neera Handa Dr | ILLUMINATION | Sep, 2022 | Medium

Part 3 in a series of chapter extracts from my book Education for Sustainability through Internationalisation: Transnational Knowledge Exchange and Global Citizenship

Extract from the chapter One Dark Night of the Full Moon

“Mild, gracious, sweetly odorous, milky, with nectar in her breast,

May Earth, may Prithiv? bestow her benison, “… Earth, my Mother, set thou me happily in a place secure. Of one accord with Heaven,” (Hymns of the Atharva Veda, by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1895])

In Tao, the influence of motherly love shapes Chinese philosophy. (Chen 1974, p. 51).

The Gaia theory views the Earth as a self-organizing organism, not merely an object, but a subject. (Verhagen 2008, p. 7).

In Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the separation of God and nature began with an anthropomorphic conception where God created nature and assigned its stewardship to humanity, marking the onset of patriarchy. (Merchant 2004, p. 27).

For settlers, Indigenous peoples were obstacles, and over time, their claims to land were transformed into property rights under settler regimes. (Tuck and Yang 2012, p. 6).

Francis Bacon aimed to reclaim the “dominion over creation” lost after the Fall from Eden, benefiting humanity materially while imposing significant costs on nature. (Merchant 2008, p. 734).

Recognizing the “standard associated with Western scientific legacies” entails adhering to a “single minimalist universal epistemology.” (Harding 2008, p. 215).

Chapter 2: The Consequences of Disconnection

In this official lyric video, "Paradise Lost - Enchantment," the deep emotional ties to nature and the subsequent loss of that connection are poignantly expressed. The lyrics emphasize the enchantment once felt in a symbiotic relationship with the Earth, now overshadowed by modernity's demands.

The official audio of "Paradise Lost - Enchantment" further explores themes of longing and nostalgia for a time when humanity and nature coexisted harmoniously. The music encapsulates the essence of this lost enchantment and invites reflection on the current state of our relationship with the natural world.