Nandini
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“Vaisnava philosophy leads us to be activists,” Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON GBC member, and Global Communications Director, said, citing Isopanisad Mantra 1, which states that everything within the universe is owned by the Lord and therefore, one should accept only what is necessary for His maintenance.
“This is a very heavy philosophical statement about how we are supposed to live in the world. Nothing in our tradition says the world was created for us to have dominion over. Everything belongs to Krishna, and He’s giving it to us as a gift. It is His property, His energy. He is the creator, the owner, the proprietor, and the enjoyer. In addition to the world being His energy, it is nondifferent from Him. It is sacred to us.”
The IEI Team invites you cordially to participate and find out more about what you can do to protect and sustain the Lord’s gift to us: Earth.
The ISKCON Environmental Initiative (IEI) held its first-ever global online workshop on November 18, 2022. The two-hour session was attended by 25 participants from North America, Europe, Australia, and Africa and was led by IEI co-directors Anuttama Dasa and Shyamananda Krishna Dasa. The Global Workshop can be viewed online in its entirety at https://iskconenvironment.org/.
Anuttama Dasa, one of the founders of the initiative and host of the event, opened the workshop with a keynote speech highlighting three environmental activism aspects: Vaisnava philosophy, Krishna’s pastimes, and Srila Prabhupada’s personal example.
The IEI’s core document, the “Three Tiers of Environmental Sustainability,” aka “Three Tiers” is a stepwise guide for local temples, communities, and congregations. It enables them to independently conduct environmental audits in the categories containing guides in five areas: Food, Energy, Waste Management, Water, and Education/Outreach/Culture. Tier One efforts begin with lower-level standards for the abovementioned categories, which focus on reducing resource waste, which Tier Three efforts include advanced dedicated to sustainable practices. Communities may opt to take a Three Tiers audit and create action items that align with their budget and staffing resources to reduce their environmental impact. Participants were suggested to take the next steps by creating a Green Team in their temples and taking the Assessment Form, which is available on the website.
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