Loving Water: In Service of a New Water Ethic

• Main Author: Elizabeth McAnally
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: ARINA, Inc. 2013-06-01
• Series: Integral Review
• Subjects: love; bhakti yoga; karma yoga; service; seva; water ethic; water crisis; Yamuna River.; Elizabeth McAnally
• Online Access: http://integral-review.org/pdf-template-issue.php?pdfName=vol_9_no_3_mcanally_loving_water.pdf

In this paper, I argue that a new water ethic is needed in light of the global water crisis, an ethic that responds to contemporary water issues as it draws from the values embedded within the rich religious and spiritual traditions of the world. This paper explores how a new water ethic could gain much from the Hindu concept seva (loving service) that arises from the traditions of bhakti yoga (loving devotion) and karma yoga (altruistic service). Drawing from David Haberman’s work with the Yamuna River of Northern India, I investigate how the concept of seva has been recently used in the context of environmental activism that promotes restoration efforts of the Yamuna River, a river worshiped by many as a goddess of love.