Nature as sacred

Hindu traditions and many folk and tribal beliefs go further: they see parts of Nature as sacred: mountains, rivers, trees, plants, animals, sometimes even stones.

In Hinduism, many mountains, rivers and forests are worshipped as gods; many rivers are goddesses (devīs), and some trees, animals and plants are especially holy.

Behind this is the feeling that the divine is present in all of Nature. In the end, the whole Earth is sacred: Mother Earth, or Bhūdevī. At the Belur temple in Karnataka, Viṣhṇu in his boar form rescues Bhūdevī, who sits on his elbow: the Earth as someone to save, not just use.

Imagine a tree with a red tilak and threads tied round it. Would anyone cut it down? Hardly! Calling something sacred is also a rule: don't harm it. Three real examples:

1. Niyam Dongar hill, in the Niyamgiri range of Odisha, is sacred to the Dongria Khond tribe. They believe it's the home of Niyam Raja, their supreme god, who gives them everything they need. So cutting trees there is forbidden, a sign of disrespect.

2. In the early 2000s, the Government of Sikkim listed sacred mountains, caves, lakes, rocks and hot springs to be protected from all damage. A modern government turned an old belief into law!

3. In the Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), the Todas, a tribal community, see many mountain peaks as sacred homes of their gods. Their sense of sacredness reaches plants (used in rituals), Shola forests, wetlands, even particular stones and single trees.

In all three, the belief and the protection are the same thing.