Srila Prabhupada says that living in sustainable villages like Govardhan Eco Village is propitious to spiritual living. It’s living close to nature and close to God. Nature is inherently divine but it takes meditation on God in order to realize this.
At present the world is trying to modernize its cities and create more urban living facilities. Cities are not a sustainable way of living and tend to take one away from nature. The number of cities on Earth has to be reduced since cities consume a lot of the world’s resources. More eco villages are needed than cities and in this way we will ensure that nature is no more endangered.
Sustainability
According to Wikipedia (2024), "sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long time. Experts often describe sustainability as having three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social, and many publications emphasize the environmental dimension. Sustainability often focuses on countering major environmental problems... and the idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels."
The world is, at this time facing numerous environmental challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation and pollution. God can provide for your needs and not for your wants. Our ever-increasing wants are becoming problematic for our planet. If this continues at this pace, very soon we will see countries clashing to procure resources of this Earth. That being said, on another note, space is also a solution for the earth’s population to find a new home according to Elon Musk.
Ecotheology
Krishna Kishore Das (iskconenvironment.org) presents the ecotheology of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition in the following way:-
"Those who are ecotheological appreciate, revere, and express devotion through an understanding and experience of a Divine being/presence who is the source of creation, who as this source is profoundly beyond and different from creation, but who is also, simultaneously and inconceivably, deeply embedded and embodied within each and every element, each and every atom, each and every move of the dance of Earthly creation. Any element of any religious tradition which expresses care for creation, which encourages the practitioner to care for creation, and which allows the practitioner to experience Divine presence within creation is an ecotheological element."
Govardhan Eco Village
Govardhan Eco Village is an award-winning project by Iskcon and one of its leaders Sri Radhanath Swami. The ecovillage is composed of farms, animal shelter, yoga school, ayurveda center, community area and geo-tourism site, all nested in the setting of an ashram. It has created a village in a natural setting using sustainable homes and buildings. Its monks are educated engineers and have used natural sustainable materials in order to build the infrastructure needed for sustainable living.
According to Gauranga Das (gaurangadas.com) disciple of His Holiness Radhanath Swami, Govardhan Eco Village has researched and implemented various sustainability initiatives on its campus in relation to organic farming, green buildings, soil biotechnology, waste management, water conservation, alternative energy and animal care. The eco village is also running various rural initiatives including education, farmers support, and health care. It also runs a free food distribution programme for villagers and pilgrims who visit the village.
It has a wellness ashram for those who want to “escape the dreariness of everyday life” and adopt the spiritual lifestyle. It also has an ayurvedic center which treats diseases the natural way. It’s ayurvedic center focuses on “treating the root cause of the ailment, i.e the doshas, and bring perfect harmony between the mind, body and soul.”
We invite you to visit the website of Govardhan Eco Village in order to discover more about spiritual living. Watch its video here https://rb.gy/6imdkx
If you want to know more about divine nature, I invite you to read the book Divine Nature by Michael Cremo and Mukunda Dasa. Click here for more information https://rb.gy/5p3hlm
Following image credits: Govardhan Eco Village
Srila Prabhupada: Founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)