Concluding Reflections: Yoga, Animals, Environment
摘要
I conclude this—more generative than conclusive—study, drawing together the themes discussed in previous chapters to consider how yoga thought and practice can contribute to environmental ethics, as inseparable from yoga-related animal ethics. From a devotional (bhakti) yoga perspective, I consider the Bhagavadgītā’s “sacrificial wheel” as a model for appropriate human engagement with the environment when performed in a yogic—and hence nonviolent—manner. Then, returning to the narrative teaching approach of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, I consider Krishna’s famous Govardhan līlā as a modeling of “servant-leadership,” necessary for meaningful positive change in human culture for the sake of the environment. I then reflect on yoga as cultural renewal, available for everyone to deepen anticipatory community life. Finally, I revisit the three approaches to animal ethics outlined by Matthew Calarco, all perceivable in aesthetic terms from a yoga perspective, inspiring “beautiful action” that serves the well-being of all beings.