Altruism in Indian Religions: Embracing the Biosphere

Abstract

Many Indian religions preach the oneness of all living creatures and even the nonliving entities of nature, and recognize intrinsic value in them. Though the old brahmanical form of Hinduism relied heavily on large-scale animal sacrifice and other complex rites, the Upanishadic teachings upheld the importance of self-realization and recognition of brahman in all matter and energy. The main tenet of Jainism is nonviolence and the mutual interdependence of all living beings. Buddhism, which originated in India, also contributed to the spread of altruistic behavior to other species. The Maurya emperor Asoka, who embraced Buddhism, tried to spread the spirit of empathy towards other creatures in more formal ways by reducing the slaughter of animals and fish and declaring a large number of wild species as protected in his empire. His Rock and Pillar edicts also proclaim the principle of piety that brought into its fold all forms of life. The other major subscribers to a religious philosophy where altruism extends not only to all classes and castes of humans but also to the other forms of life involved the bhakti movement throughout India, and the neo-Vaishnavite tradition of Srimanta Sankaradeva of Assam in particular. Most indigenous ethnic groups in India traditionally follow lifestyles that embrace altruism towards other living beings through the maintenance of sacred groves, taboos on harvesting and hunting, and other mechanisms. Many tribal cosmogonies acknowledge the significant role played by different nonhuman species in the creation of the world. From an evolutionary perspective, extending altruism to nonhumans along with the accompanying privations and other rituals in these religions might comprise costly signals for attracting adherents and maintaining intragroup solidarity.