Deep Ecology lessons from our ancestors.

The Eastern/Asian cultures penchant for frugality foreshadowed the concern for the earth’s sustainability and conservation that is now one of the defining issues of our time. Today everyone talks of global warming, protecting the earth and going green. In India the older generation recycled whatever it could and their ability to lead a rich life with meaning while minimum resources, is not a spiritual trait, but the result of an elaborately constructed grand design, which is itself loosely designed to be sustainable. However many of us have thrown the wisdom of our ancestors to embrace the new gizmos of technology. In those days everyone walked to the grocery store, children rode bicycles, not gas guzzling cars, people took a bath in pond and rivers, not fancy bathrooms and no Jacuzzis. They climbed stairs, no lift or elevators, washed clothes and hung them to dry on a clothes line, no Laundromat or washing machines. Siblings wore hand me down clothes, there was only 1 Radio for the news and music, one the switch for the light not a bank of outlets to power 3dozen gizmos. The milk and soft drink bottles were recycled; the cut throat razor was used for shaving and push lawn movers for the garden. All this exercise made them healthy, no fancy health club or gyms where treadmills run on electricity. People used coal or wood stoked fireplaces for cooking and heating, no microwave or induction ovens. In India in some villages people still use burnt husk or red paste to brush, no fancy electric toothbrushes or toothpaste, gel, mouth fresheners or perfumes that destroy the ozone layer. With the shift of ages, this wisdom went down the drain, should we not recycle this wisdom to save planet earth.? In a world struggling to come to terms with a ecologically sensitive view of human progress, there are many lessons we can draw from our past.