Vol. 24 No. 1 (2015)

This verse from the Vedic literature might be seen as the ultimate statement in Vaishnava environmentalism. That is to say, embedded in Vaishnava thought is respect for the earth and its accoutrements as the property of God. Consequently, practitioners endeavor to use all natural resources in His service. What’s more, they acknowledge that every living being has a quota, or a share in the Lord’s bounty, according to necessity, and they are ready to relinquish all extraneous items, respecting that others, too, have needs—whether those others are humans, animals, birds, trees, insects, and so on.