Judicious use and lokasangraha

For non-renewables, the aim is simple: use them so they last long enough for humanity to find more sustainable alternatives. And where we can, switch to renewables now.

India's own example is the International Alliance for Solar Energy, launched with France in 2015: a group of sunshine-rich countries committed to using solar power.

India has helped direct billions of dollars into solar projects in developing nations, shared technical know-how, and made affordable ways to pay for them. The Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan is the symbol of these plans.

Then the chapter adds something easy to miss. Even as we solve these problems, access to resources, even basic ones like water and clean air, is often unfair to some groups in society.

In cities, many areas do not get enough drinking water, regularly. Air pollution from industries and fossil fuels hurts most the people who cannot protect themselves from it or move away.

So sustainability and fairness are the same problem seen twice. The chapter ends with stewardship again, and with lokasangraha from the Bhagavad Gītā: the idea that everyone should rise above personal wants and act for the wellbeing of all.

After the chapter comes a short note on history's darker periods. Read it carefully, because it explains how the rest of this book is written.

Historians face a choice: should dark periods be left out, mentioned quickly, or faced and understood? The book chooses the third, with detachment and sensitivity: studying them calmly, without blaming anyone living today. Its example is World War II and Nazism: it would be wrong to blame today's Germans, but we must understand what made it possible, so that similar ideas can be defeated. The same rule applies to the 'Tapestry of the Past' chapters ahead.