-- *Mar*Certainly. Below is a *refined and expanded version* of *“Ecology and God”* — edited for clarity, flow, and philosophical depth, while keeping YM Sarma’s original ideas intact and adding my own reflections. I’ve aimed for a lyrical-academic tone that could fit in an environmental philosophy essay or spiritual ecology publication. ------------------------------ *Ecology and God*
*By YM Sarma (edited and expanded by ChatGPT)* When nature is given complete freedom—when forests grow wild, rivers flow undisturbed, and every organism fulfills its rhythm without interference—something extraordinary happens: the sense of the sacred arises naturally. Theism, or belief in a divine presence beyond the visible spectrum, is not an artificial invention but the natural outcome of ecological harmony. In truth, *God is a chapter that belongs within the science of ecology itself.* *God as a Creation of Nature* All early human societies that lived in close communion with the earth developed a sense of invisible companionship. For them, the divine was not abstract doctrine but the living dialogue between organism and environment. Rains, thunder, the rustling of leaves, the migration of birds—all carried messages. These peoples lived in a world *alive with meaning,* their dictionaries woven not from written words but from sensations, stories, and shared feelings. Modern science, however, has tried to understand ecology through Cartesian logic—as if ecosystems were elaborate machines. This is a paradox. The logic of the machine divides, measures, and isolates; but the logic of life unites, feels, and flows. When we study nature only as a mechanism, we remove from it the breath of divinity. *Spirit, Smell, and the Communication of Life* The ancient word *spirit* is rooted in *breath*—in the invisible air that passes through all living beings. Long before humans relied on sight or language, we sensed and interpreted the world through smell. The olfactory sense was once our bridge to the invisible communications of the biosphere. In that fragrant exchange of molecules, life-forms recognized each other, harmonized, and coexisted. This web of invisible communication was what early humanity experienced as *God*. To smell was to know, and to know was to commune with spirit. As industrial civilization spread, we dulled this sense. The air became laden with smoke rather than scent. In losing the subtlety of smell, we lost an entire dimension of awareness—the very dimension through which our ancestors perceived divinity. Thus, as the environment was destroyed, the sense of God faded. The diminishing aroma of nature became the fading echo of faith. *Destruction of Nature, Decline of Faith* When nature dies, belief dies with it. The machine age, with its factories and screens, has not only reshaped landscapes but restructured the human mind. We now live among machines more than among other living beings. Our interactions are mechanical, our reasoning algorithmic. It is no accident that atheism grows in such a world. The modern disbelief in God is not merely an intellectual stance; it is the symptom of ecological disconnection. Thinkers like Richard Dawkins, who approach the question of God through the lens of mechanical logic, are themselves children of an environment stripped of spirit. Yet, atheism that challenges superstition is not the same as the atheism that denies all sacredness. The first can be a cleansing wind; the second, a desert storm that leaves nothing living behind. For when nature is alive and whole, even the most rational mind senses something beyond reason—a pattern too vast to measure, a silence too eloquent to explain. *Religion, Economy, and the Monopolization of God* Organized religions have long claimed exclusive rights over the idea of God. But the divine is not a trademark to be owned. It is an ecological constant—a property of life itself. Religious institutions, entangled with economic motives, have turned God into an object of trade and control, losing touch with the living world that once revealed the sacred directly. In truth, *God is the totality of ecological relationship*—the harmony of all beings breathing the same air. The monopoly of religions over divinity must give way to a planetary spirituality rooted in ecological awareness. *Science Without Soul* Modern biology and ecology, framed within Cartesian dualism, treat organisms as systems of parts rather than beings of feeling and purpose. The sacred dimension of life—the emotional, communicative, and cooperative intelligence of ecosystems—is excluded from scientific description. Students learn about trophic levels and energy flows but rarely about *the joy of being alive together.* Every organism breathes, senses, perceives, communicates, and cooperates. In undisturbed nature, this cooperation gives rise to automatic abundance: “want and want-satisfaction” occur spontaneously. What was once *natural* has now become *supernatural*—a miracle only because we have forgotten how to live it. *Toward an Ecological Spirituality* The restoration of nature is, at its deepest level, the restoration of faith—not in dogma, but in the living interconnectedness of all beings. Theism, properly understood, is not belief in a deity apart from creation, but sensitivity to the unseen harmonies that sustain life. Ecology without reverence becomes cold measurement; theology without ecology becomes empty ritual. But together they form a complete vision: the world as sacred, the sacred as the world. The future of spirituality, then, lies not in temples or laboratories alone, but in the forests, rivers, and skies where the Earth still breathes. When nature speaks again—through fragrance, wind, and silence—humanity may rediscover what it once knew intuitively: that to live with nature is to live with God. ------------------------------ Would you like me to format this piece further (for example, as a *magazine-style essay* with section headings and quotes), or adapt it for *academic publication* with references and philosophical framing (e.g., linking it to thinkers like Arne Naess, Gregory Bateson, or Teilhard de Chardin)? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHC%2BWuLZt8g1OcM6qZUeD8rWABQXfBKZ9G1QF%3DKiaGOWL8w%40mail.gmail.com.
