LANCE E. NELSON

They have conquered nature, even here .... Therefore, they are established in Brahman. Bhagavadgita 5.192


How is one to regard a sacred text that contains much wisdom, offers a deep spirituality, informs the religious life of millions, and yet teaches (as at 5.18) that we are established in the highest spiritual goal only when we have "conquered nature"?87 What do this and the other teachings of the Gila that we have considered imply for the future of India-and the earth? And what is the future of those teachings themselves? In the process of investigating these matters, Hindus will move further toward articulating their own core vision for environmental ethics.88 Meanwhile, they will certainly not be alone in their questioning. In light of the ecological crisis, the validity of spiritualities of transcendence and detachment, in whatever religious tradition they occur, can no longer simply be assumed. Their truth must be evaluated and argued anew