Our learned member Nair-ji mentions in another heart-warming post on
Bhakti ...

(For the primitive man, bhakti in its very primeval form arose from
the fear of the elements. He was constantly exposed to the fury of
Nature, whose unpredictable wrath he wanted to appease. Thus, he
personified Nature as a mysterious power and began offering his
obeisance to it in the hope that that act would protect him in his
unsafe and insecure world.)

Nair-ji, may i add that the so called 'primitive' man worshipped
Mother Nature ( Prakriti MAA ) not only out of *fear* but also out of
reverence, gratitude and enormous Love for the Wonder, Beatitude ,
Majesty , Grandeur and Manifold Mystery of Mother NAture .

The so called 'PRIMITIVE' man regarded The Rivers, Mountains, Plants,
Animals, and other elements such as Fire, Wind, Rain, the Ushas (
dawn), the Earth, the sky and also the Moon , the sun and the stars
etc as manifestations of God/ess . Therefore, vedic Texts like Rig
veda and atharva veda abound in hymns in praise of all these
elements of Nature !

Take the Prithvi Suktham (Bhumi Suktham) from the Atharva veda . In
this devotional prayer , the blessings of Mother earth are sought for
prosperity in all endeavours and fulfillment of all religious
aspirations.

Earth, in which lie the sea, the river and other waters,
in which food and cornfields have come to be,
in which lives all that breathes and that moves,
may she confer on us the finest of her yield.
Earth, in which the waters, common to all,
moving on all sides, flow unfailingly, day and night,
may she pour on us milk in many streams,
and endow us with luster,
May those born of thee, O Earth,
be of our welfare, free from sickness and waste,
wakeful through a long life, we shall become bearers of tribute to
thee.
Earth, my mother, set me securely with bliss in full accord with
heaven,
O wise one, uphold me in grace and splendor!

in the great rig vedic text also, there is great celebration of
Nature and its glory.

The Rig Veda 1.6.3 states:

"Nature's beauty is an art of God. Let us feel the touch of God's
invisible hands in everything beautiful.
By the first touch of His hand rivers throb and ripple. When He
smiles the sun shines, the moon glimmers, the stars twinkle, the
flowers bloom.
By the first rays of the rising sun, the universe is stirred; the
shining gold is sprinkled on the smiling buds of rose; the fragrant
air is filled with sweet melodies of singing birds, the dawn is the
dream of God's creative fancy."

(http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Nature_Worship.htm - 215k )-

As the noted writer Madhu Khanna observes ...

"In the Rg Veda, for example, the crimson streak of day-break is
portrayed as Usas, the Mistress of Dawn whose brilliant effulgence
spreads out piercing the formless black abyss (RV, 10.127). Night and
day are the two celestial sisters that bring rest and awakening to
the world. In their lap, gods recline and enact their roles. The much
celebrated mother of the gods, Aditi who claims as many as sixty
hymns in the Vedas is the infinite and the womb of the cosmos.
Goddesses such as, Kuhu, Sinivali, Anumati and Raka are lunar
divinities symbolizing the waxing and waning of the lunar-cycle. The
rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati mentioned in the Vedas are
goddesses who preside over the facundating waters of life. The hymn
dedicated to Aranyani (RV, 10.146) or the forest goddesses
(Vanadevis) celebrated the spirit of the forest and groves. They are
joined by an innumerable number of goddesses who preside over village
territories and specific sacred centres (Ksetradevis). The life
sustaining foods also have their goddesses in the personifications
such as, Annapurna, Sataksi and Sakhambari. Thus from the sky
wandering celestial bodies to the sprouting plant were conceived of
as a manifestation of the feminine principle."

as per Devi Bhagvata purana,

"They (the gods) saw the goddess's superanal cosmic Form. The
Satyaloka is situated on the topmost of Her head; the Sun and Moon
are her eyes; the quarters, Her ears; the Vedas are Her words; the
Universe is Her heart; the earth is Her loins; the space between
earth and sky is Her navel; the asterisms are Her Thighs; the
Maharaloka is Her neck; the Janarloka is Her face; Indra and the
Devas and then Svarloka is her arms; the sound is the organ of Her
ears;. . . . The fire is within her Face; day and night are like her
two wings; the mountains are Her bones; the rivers are Her veins, and
the trees are the hairs of Her body. O King ! youth virginity, and
old age are Her best gaits, the two twilight are Her clothings; the
Moon is the mind of the Mother of the Universe.

[Devibhagavata Purana, VII. Chap. 33.1-21ff]

http://www.ignca.nic.in/ps_05011.htm - 54k - Cached

So Nairji - i bow down to the 'wisdom' of the 'primitive' man - he
caommands my respect more than the so called 'modern' man ( is this
civilization?) who is wreaking a havoc on the ecological balance and
the environment ?

AS Dr. Karan Singh observes ...

Dr. Karan Singh states:

"In our arrogance and ignorance we have destroyed the environment of
this planet. We have polluted the oceans, we have made the air
unbreathable, we have desecrated nature and decimated wildlife. But
the Vedantic seers knew that man was not something apart from nature,
and, therefore, they constantly exhort us that, while we work for own
salvation, we must also work for the welfare of all beings."

(source: Essays in Hinduism - By Dr. Karan Singh p. 47).

Let us join the primitive man and revive the worship the 'rising'
sun, the flowing rivers, the majestic mountains, and the patient
mother Earth, and all of living creatures on this planet earth! Be
environmentally friendly and maintain the ecological balance !

As Swami Sivanada says " the Himalayas is my father; Ganga is my
Mother."

Nair-ji, on another note ... regarding Bhakti In advaita ...

Kanchi Periyavaal observes ...

" Isvaraanugrahaadeva Pumsaam Advaita Vaasana. We begin with a
feeling of distinctness from God. The predicament of worship is one
of duality of Deity and Devotee. But even then the devotee does not
feel that God is external to him and to the Universe; He has the
consciousness that God is imminent in himself and in every particle
of the world, in-dwelling every where and in everything, how ever
minute. Our duty is worship Him in this way with devotion, and if we
do so, He reveals His true nature to us. Bhagavan says :

BHAKTYAA MAM ABHIJANAATI YAAVAAN YASCHAAMI TATVATAH

The word, BHAKTYAA, meaning through devotion, shows that bhakthi is
the means for the realisation of the truth of God's nature. Advaita,
Visishtadvaita, and Dvaita are one in this emphasis on Bhakti to
obtain God's grace. To whatever school we belong, we should invoke
that grace through Bhakti, leaving it to Him to reavel the truth of
His nature. All Achaaryas have stressed this need for Bhakti. "

http://www.kamakoti.org/acall/ac-bhakti.html - 14k - Cached

Aum sree Matre Namaha !!!!!






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