Some years back, a cover article in Time magazine warned it's readers that with the loss of the tribal cultures comes the loss of much knowledge, as well as scientific and medical wisdom. Interesting. There was a time, which we may prefer not to remember, when we were taught that these very same cultures were backwards, primitive and superstitious. We were lead to believe that our Western technology would be the saving grace of mankind, leading the hungry and uneducated to a world of peace and prosperity.

Today the tune is slightly different. Now we realize these cultures have something important to offer. But we're not interested in preserving their cultures; rather, we want to save their knowledge for ourselves before they completely disappear. If we are to really understand the wisdom of indigenous cultures, we would see something sublime. Native cultures are of course much romanticized. But still, there are many things we can learn, among which are two basic principles. The first is a reverence for the world around them. There balance and order in the world. One of the key injunctions of the Native American tradition is to consider how one's actions effect the next seven generations.

Understanding this perspective, Emerson reflected: "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." Thus, Mother Earth is constantly honored and, as the source of our nourishment, is protected. The exploitative, colonial mentality, on the other hand, sees the world in disorder until, of course, they come along and set everything right (right according to them). We consume without a thought to the consequences. We take things for granted and are disconnected from the resources of the earth. To get water we turn on the tap. To get fire we turn the knob on our stoves. To feel well we take synthetic pills. For food we go to the local supermarket. If we did not have trucks and ships supplying us we would probably starve before we could identify half a dozen wild edible plants. We ruthlessly pursue the good life at a frightful expense to the earth and our neighbors. We fail to appreciate how the necessities of life are provided for us by nature.

The second lesson is a holistic lifestyle. Work and worship, recreation and education are happily interwoven. Each one of these elements is preciously connected. We cannot separate these four activities in our lives without disastrous effects. In our modern society our lives are fragmented. We view work without worship, and recreation without education. Work means making money to live the good life, and all the while we are not so much living as looking forward to living. Our recreation is often leisure time in front of the TV, or time to just lounge around. Of course, education and worship are wrenched apart as if they were the worst thing in the world for each other. We get an "education" up to a certain age, and after that its time to make a living. And we relegate worship to one morning a week. When work, worship, education and recreation are marked off as distinct periods of the calendar, our lives become fragmented and devoid of meaning. From the indigenous cultures we can understand the importance of the totality of our daily experience. There is much to learn from them, and the lessons would come to us in joyful bounty if only we left aside our desire for gain. But what do we do instead? We try to siphon out the knowledge from these cultures to aid us in our own pursuit of happiness, without ever getting to the essence of their perspective. If we are to respect any part of life, we can only do so by respecting all of life, for when we destroy any small part, we are only destroying ourselves.

The great powers of the modern world need to realize that if they are to escape the punishment that lies ahead, what they are doing to the native peoples around the world must be corrected. Those who accumulate power at the expense of the native peoples think they have a God-given right, but in doing so they are increasing the threat to all life. And although they now recognize that threat, they are powerless to reverse it by any means unless they stop preying upon the native peoples. . . . Soon they will see how little power and authority they really have. Martin Gashweseoma, Keeper of the Hopi Fire Clan Tablets

Excerpt from a talk at the New Mexico State Capitol Dec. 1990

Ask the beasts of the forest, they will tell you; And the birds of the skyway, they will let you know; Or speak to the earth, she will teach you; And the fish of the sea shall declare it unto you.

Job 12: 7-8

"You only see the boundaries of nature from there, boundaries God created, not those that are manmade. . . . You don't see barriers of color and religion and politics that divide this world. You wonder, if you could get everyone in the world up there, wouldn't they have a different feeling."

Gene Cernan, Astronaut

"The earth is the property of God, but we, the living entities, especially the so-called civilized human beings are claiming God's property as our own, under both an individual and collective false conception. If you want peace, you have to remove this false conception from your mind and from the world."

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, The Peace Formula, 1969

"Each individual has a right to the resources of the earth, but only as much as will keep body and soul together. If a person takes more than what he needs, then he is a thief, and will surely be punished by the laws of nature."

Bhagavat Purana

How The Problem Started

(compiled from African Mende, Ila, and Mubunda tales)

Once upon a time long, long ago, God actually lived amongst the human beings. In those days death could not come to earth. Even when he tried God sent His dogs out to chase him away. All the animals and humans lived together in friendship. They made no distinctions and they respected each other. When human beings first came to the earth God gave them an abundance of grain and corn. Now the humans were hungry, but they didn't know how to control themselves. So they ate, and they ate, and they ate. After eating all day and all night they felt sick, so sick that they never wanted to see another bit of food again. There was much grain and corn. "This food is useless," they complained, "it just makes our stomachs ache." So in anger, they burnt it all up.

Then about a day later they realized they had made a mistake. A lot of people were coming to God and asking for his help. A lot of mistakes were being made in those days. But you have to remember this was in the early, experimental stages of human culture. After a while God was getting tired for being pestered about very little thing. People always came to Him to complain or to demand this and that. "Take it, take whatever you want," He said, quite frustrated with man. So "Take Whatever You Want" is another name attributed to God.

He decided He'd had enough, so He moved away - into the suburbs. But still that wasn't far enough. He moved further and further away. It was hard for him to get away from people. They were multiplying so fast it seemed that they were everywhere. Finally, He moved away from the world altogether. He wondered where he could go to be left alone. So God settled in the hearts of man, for He knew that most people would never think of looking into their own hearts. But still He wanted people to know His will. He wanted people to treat each other with kindness. So He made a great mountain. The people were able to pray to the mountain and the mountain would reply. He thought that if people grew sensitive enough to hear the voice of the mountain and understand it's message, then in due course of time they would come to hear and appreciate the voice of it's creator. Such a mountain is Mount Kenya, or Kere Nyaga, the mountain of magnificence.

Something Terrible In The Lake

Once there was this particular merchant. Sometimes he lied. Sometimes he cheated. Sometimes he was just plain mean. Sometimes he even smiled. He only thought about one thing: how to separate people from their money. He thought everybody cheated to make their money. He thought "What can I do? That's the way the world is. The most important thing is to think about yourself. That's what the rich do. And well, why not me?"

Throughout the year he performed many bad deeds. But sometimes the bad deeds you do get so heavy you can't carry them with you anymore. And every so often, the merchant put his bad deeds in a sack, and in the dead of night, when no one was looking, he dumped the sack into a nearby lake. He did this year after year. And every year the lake grew darker and darker. And every year he grew richer and richer. Soon he had a big beautiful mansion on a hill. He had a big fat bank account. He had everything he wanted, except for one thing. He and his wife never had any children. For years they wanted a child. One day, the merchant went to see a wise man to seek his blessings in the matter.

"Go home, and by next year you'll have a beautiful son," the wise man assured him. "And such a boy! He'll be the source of great happiness for you and your wife."

The merchant cried for joy.

"But," the wise man warned, "your child will also be the source of great sorrow. There's a lake near your home. Some strange creature lying at
the lake is very angry with you. On the day your child becomes thirteen years old, the creature will wake up and something terrible will happen."

"No," the merchant gasped. "What can I do? How can I prevent this terrible thing from happening?"

The wise man said, "When you leave here you'll completely forget about my warning. But on that ill-fated day in the future, you'll get a sign to remind you. You'll put both of your socks on your left foot. On that day, keep your son away from the lake."

So it was. When the merchant left the wise man, he forgot all about the warning. A year later a child was born, and he was a delight to his parents. And year after year the merchant continued to put his bad deeds in a sack and in the dead of night, when no one was looking, he dumped the sack into the lake.

The waters of the lake had became murky and slimy. It seemed as if some eerie thing was taking shape deep within it's waters. This eerie thing vowed to teach the merchant a lesson that he would never, ever forget.

By and by, the merchant's boy grew up and he loved to swim in the lake. The summer when the boy reached his thirteenth year was a hot summer. And the day of his birthday was especially hot. He decided to go for a swim. His father, the merchant, had fallen asleep on his couch. When the man awoke, he absentmindedly put both of his socks on his left foot. Then he began to look for the sock to put on his right foot. He searched high and low, and as he searched for his missing sock, his wife watched him. "What are you looking for?" she asked. "My other sock," he said. "There's no need to look very far," she said. "When you woke up you put both socks on your left foot."

With this, the merchant suddenly remembered the warning he had received years ago from the wise man. "Where's our child?" he fearfully asked his wife.

"He's gone for a swim in the lake."

With these words, the merchant's heart was struck with terror. "We must stop him. We must stop him," he cried as he ran out of the house and down the hill toward the lake. In the distance he saw his son getting ready to go for a swim. And in the middle of the lake, he saw some fiendish creature watching the boy's every move.

The merchant ran in desperation as fast as feet would carry him. And as he ran, his mind filled up with images of what he had done for all these years. How he lied to people. How he cheated people. How he had put his bad deeds in a sack and in the dead of night, when no one was looking,
he dumped the sack into the lake. And as he ran, the merchant saw the wise man in his mind's eye. The merchant pleaded, "if only I can reach my son before he steps into the lake. If only I can save him, I promise you, I will change my ways. Please, give me chance. I promise I'll change."

Then he saw his son by the lake. The boy was about to go into the water for a swim. A ghoulish form rose menacingly from beneath the waters. This fiend spotted the boy and moved toward it's prey. It had been waiting for years for this very moment.

But then something strange happened. When he saw his son by the lake, it seemed that the boy began to move in slow motion. The ghoulish fiend who was heading toward the boy also moved in slow motion. But the boy's father, he ran as swift as the wind.

In slow motion, the boy was about to step into the water. And in slow motion, the ghoulish fiend stretched out it's long slimy tentacles. It wanted to drag to boy into the water and devour him. When suddenly, the father swooped up his son and carried him to safety. Just then the wicked creature, which was made up of the bad deeds of the merchant, broke apart and sank beneath the waters, never to be seen again.

That night the boy's friends came over for his birthday party. And his father and mother happily served them all tea and cake and cookies. And the merchant did more than make good on his promise. He never lied or cheated anyone again, and whenever he could, he helped those in need.

Once, at the beginning of this age, Mother Earth assumed the form of a cow; and Dharma, the Lord of Righteousness, took on the form of a bull. In the Vedas, Mother Earth and Mother Cow are both respected, for they provide humankind with so many gifts. And the four noble pillars of society - sacrifice, cleanliness, compassion, and truth - are represented by the four sturdy leg of the bull. The cow and the bull, Mother Earth and Dharma, wandered through the meadows in a playful mood. It is said when they are happy, the whole of society is happy. But Kali would not allow them to roam happily. He approached them in an isolated place. Kali appeared to be a king. He wore a crown and was dressed in royal garb. With a vengeance, he began to beat the bull with a club. He beat him unceasingly. Mother Cow was wailing, lamenting Dharma's cruel beating. Kali soon broke three of Dharma's legs - and now the bull stood on one leg only - the leg of truthfulness - and even that was trembling.

King Pariksit, who was passing nearby, heard the cries and appeared on the scene with sword in hand. He challenged Kali saying, "Never in my kingdom, nor in the time of my father, nor grandfather, nor great grandfather, has a cow or bull had to suffer due to royal negligence. Whoever you are and from whatever kingdom you hail, it does not matter. Prepare to meet your death." King Pariksit drew his sword.

With that, Kali threw off his crown and ripped off his silken garments. His royal visage gone, Kali fell to the ground pleading for his life. "Look at me. I'm no king. I just put these clothes on to fool you. Please, spare me. It would not become a hero like you to kill a beggar like me." In Vedic times the code of a warrior did not allow him to kill a man who has surrendered himself, and thus the king told Kali, "Do not fear, I will let you live, but you are unfit to remain in my kingdom." "Your kingdom spreads throughout the world, then where am I to stay?" Kali asked in bewilderment. "You can stay wherever there is gambling, intoxication, illicit sex and the slaughter of animals." "You mock me for there are no such places," Kali replied, "Give me some other place." "Then stay wherever there is hoarding of gold, for there you will also find greed, lust, falsity and hatred." Kali was not interested in changing his ways. He only wanted to find a place where he could continue his mission of exploitation and violence. Fearing King Pariksit, he immediately departed, vowing that some how, some day he would get back at him. Under King Pariksit's protection, Dharma's legs were healed and Mother Earth's fear was alleviated.

Time passed. The kings were no longer powerful enough to keep Kali at bay. Kali's influence spread. Compassion, memory, truthfulness and the good qualities of men and women, even their longevity, began to diminish. In previous ages men lived a thousand, or even ten thousand years. They had keen memory, and were of great strength, and lived their lives with integrity. Soon it all changed. This age, the Kaliyuga, abounds with quarreling, greed and lies.

"The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization."
Emerson

"If the devil himself wanted to cut people off from the earth and from one another he couldn't have thought up a more effective system than the conventional development we are now actively supporting and spreading around the world."
Ancient Futures, Helena Norberg-Hodge