Environmental Protection from a Baha'i Perspective
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Arthur Lyon Dahl, Environmental Protection from a Baha'i Perspective, bahai-library.com.
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Environmental Protection from a Baha'i Perspective

Arthur Lyon Dahl
published in Naturopa83

Council of Europe, 1997

The essence of the Bahá'í approach to the environment
is founded in the fundamental principle of the harmony of science and religion,
which must be in balance. Science without religion tends to materialism,
while religion without science can fall into superstition. Science can
give us tools to help us live in the physical world, but only religion
can tell us how to use those tools for good rather than for evil.
Bahá'u'lláh, the Prophet-founder of the Bahá'í
Faith, described nature as God's Will and as its expression in and through
the physical world. For Bahá'ís, nature and all the creation
reflect the qualities and attributes of God, to be contemplated and admired
in all their diversity. The beauty and verdure of the country are seen
as the world of the soul. Mercy and compassion must be shown not only to
human beings, but to every living creature, and cruelty to animals is prohibited.
The Bahá'í writings refer to the natural world as a unified
system in which all beings are connected together, such as in the dependence
of plants on carbon dioxide produced by animals and microbes, and of animals
on the oxygen produced by plants. Co-operation and reciprocity are seen
as essential properties of nature.
Humankind has a special place in the natural world. While the human
body has a physical reality that is, like animals, subject to nature's
laws, it is endowed with a second rational or intellectual reality, which
can guide, control and overcome nature. Then there is a third human dimension,
the spiritual reality, that delivers us from the material world to find
illumination, transcending the limited human reality to attain to the infinitude
of God.
Our physical, social and spiritual environments are all interrelated.
We are organic with the world, and cannot segregate the human heart from
the environment outside us. Our inner life moulds the environment and is
itself also deeply affected by it. Therefore, Bahá'í communities
are called upon to assist in conserving the environment in ways that blend
with their rhythm of life, and many undertake tree planting, organic gardening,
and other practical environmental projects. The Bahá'í International
Community maintains an Office of the Environment as part of its United
Nations representation.
Material development is important to free us from the captivity of the
world of nature; for as long as man is captive to nature he is a ferocious
animal struggling for existence. However, over a hundred years ago, Bahá'u'lláh
warned about the hazards to the planet of too much material civilization:
"If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of
evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation."
Bahá'ís see the world as evolving rapidly towards a global
society as technology breaks down barriers between nations. The problems
of the environment are symptoms of the larger imbalances in society, and
the barriers to their solution are largely economic, social and political.
Changes in behaviour, sacrifices of individual interests in the common
good, and major social adjustments will be required. Even where solutions
have been agreed, as at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the will to apply
them has been lacking, and this lack of will is fundamentally a spiritual
problem. Changed values and a restoration of moral and ethical principles
are needed.
Society needs to be reorganized on a more organic pattern to reflect
the diversity and decentralized nature of planetary environments. Local
problems should be addressed at the local level, but with a sense of global
responsibility. At the same time, the planetary scale of certain environmental
problems escapes from the control of national governments. A rapid transition
to a world society, with the establishment of the appropriate institutions
of a world federation or commonwealth, will be necessary to address these
global problems effectively. All humanity needs to recognize its oneness
and develop a sense of world citizenship. The central aim of the Bahá'í
Faith is to help to lay spiritual foundations for such a world civilization.
As Bahá'u'lláh has said, we should become like the leaves
of one tree, the flowers of one garden, the waves of one sea.

* The views expressed are the author's own and do not
necessarily reflect those of the United Nations Environment Programme.

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-- Environmental Protection from a Baha'i Perspective (Used by permission of the curator)