Ahrens, Laura Susann. "Know this to be the enemy": desire in the Bhagavad Gītā and environmental destruction. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-cz0v-zb86
DescriptionThis thesis examines the correlation between desire in the Bhagavad Gītā and the consumption inherent in present-day environmental destruction. Engaging scholarship in the fields of philosophy of religion, environmental science, psychology, and yoga philosophy alongside my own philology of Sanskrit primary texts, I will argue not only the connection between desire and consumption, but that the Bhagavad Gītā remains perennially pertinent in its application to modern day issues. Specifically, the Bhagavad Gītā is able to offer pivotal advice for the current environmental crisis. Eliminating desire would doubtlessly have far-reaching positive environmental effects. Considering yoga’s worldwide popularity, with millions of yoga practitioners in the United States alone, I assert that the Bhagavad Gītā’s doctrine of desirelessness is evergreen and significantly applicable to environmental issues thousands of years after its authorship.