“How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? Every part of the Earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods… is holy in the memory and experience of my people… We are a part of the Earth and it is a part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters, the deer, the horse, the eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the same family. The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath- the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath… This we know- the Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons and daughters of the Earth. We did not weave the web of life. We are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves.”

This is a part of a speech made in 1984 by Chief Seattle, head of a native American tribe, in response to an offer made by the US Government to buy his tribe’s territory. The belief of feeling expressed by Chief Seattle is echoed in our ancient books. The Vedas, for example, have this to say:

“The sky is like father, the earth like mother and space is their son. The universe consisting of the three is like a family, and any damage to any of the three throws the universe out of balance. Rivers occasion widespread destruction if their banks are damaged, and therefore, trees standing on the banks should not be cut down… Don’t uproot nourishing trees. Others would die consequently. The food chain will break and the entire universe will come to an end… One should take from the rivers, mines, mountains and seas what is useful and according to one’s need and without injuring them, for if one fails to do so the Earth begans to tremble.”