THE EARTH IS THE ESSENCE OF ALL BEINGS: Eco-Phenomenology in the Upaniṣads

In premodern Indian philosophy, encounters with nature are articulated as experiences of close embodied engagement and reflective praxis. In the texts called Upanishads, which are parts of Vedic corpus, one of the oldest resources for Indian philosophy, the entire cosmos is seen as interconnected, with human beings often learning the cosmic philosophical truths from the environment. Two of the earlier Upanishads, called Āranyakas-meaning “of/from the forest” are embedded in the natural landscapes of the wilderness. The text depicts many phenomenological encounters with nature and captures experiences of reflections on nature-human interactions through symbolic myths and narratives. The reflections of cosmic oneness for the students in the texts contain many descriptions of nature such as the rains, earth, birds, animals, and landscapes. Philosophical truths seem to be embedded in the landscape and the bodyscape together. This chapter captures the eco-phenomenological hermeneutics of these texts to unpack a rich conceptualization of nature that is more than a habitat for humans.