Date of Award

Spring 2007

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Liberal Studies

Degree Name

Master of Arts

First Advisor

John Carroll

Abstract

The world, in which we live, stands at a precipice. Ecological disasters now threaten the very existence of human civilization. The so called "shallow' environmental initiatives that continue to dominate the political and social landscape have proved ineffective in dealing with this problem. It is crucial that all of humanity actively embrace radical change in regards to how we go about our lives. No where is this more apparent than in the Indian subcontinent. Two radical ecologies that have emerged from the West, Deep Ecology and Social Ecology, offer a vision as to the nature of that change.

This document examines Advaita Vedanta, the dominant form of Hinduism, in order to identify those aspects of the religion that facilitate radical ecological change among believers. Activists working in the subcontinent can then utilize these aspects of Advaita to engage the Indian population regarding ecological matters in a "Hindu" way.

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