What do Hinduism and Yoga Philosophy have to say about ecology and the environment? Christopher Key Chapple provides an in-depth analysis of the traditional texts and ideas that relate to modern concerns and conversations in the environmental movement. Chapple explains what ancient Indian texts, including the Vedas and Upaniṣads, tell us about the centrality of earth-awareness in early India. Chapple then also examines how contemporary eco-activists, such as Vandana Shiva, M.C. Mehta, and Sunderlal Bahuguna, are applying traditional teachings and methods to current environmental crises.

Embodied Ecology highlights how Hindu and Yoga ideals can address pressing environmental problems including global consumerism, the proliferation of plastic waste, species extinctions, and climate change. Chapple offers insights on how Yoga ethics can help us create guidelines for the modern ills of over-consumption and how meditation practices can help foster a greater connection to the environment, as well as alleviate distress brought about by eco-anxiety.

Under Chapple’s guide, students will gain familiarity with primary Hindu texts describing methods for understanding and connecting with the five primary elements and learn Yoga practices and lifestyle changes that can be applied to bring about positive change on both a global and individual level.

“Christopher Chapple is a distinguished scholar of Hinduism and Ecology. This book represents years of scholarly reflection, careful translations, and engaged practice in the rich landscape of Hinduism. It is an invaluable guide into the ways that Hinduism offers insights into nature, ecological ethics, and yogic practices that will illuminate our world.” -- Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-founder and co-director of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
“In a period where limitless greed and limitless growth is driving collapse of ecosystems and social systems, Embodied Ecology provides insights into making peace with the earth, in society, with the self. Christopher Chapple dives deep into Indian ecophilosophy and practice. Cultivating harmony and interconnectedness is yoga—joining, nonseparation. Embodied Ecology is Yoga of the Earth.”  -- Vandana Shiva, environmental activist and anti-globalisation author 
“The author has been a leading voice in the study of Hinduism and ecology for decades.  Embodied Ecology is a treasure house of wisdom drawn from the ancient Vedas to contemporary environmental activists, many inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. It invites the reader into serious reflection on current environmental perils, a deep love of nature, and consideration of what the vast religious literature and practices within Hinduism have to offer as possible pathways to a healthier human presence on our precious planet.” -- David L. Haberman, professor emeritus of religious studies, University of Indiana Bloomington and author of People Trees: Worship of Trees in Northern India  

Christopher Key Chapple is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology and founding director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He has published more than twenty books, including Karma and Creativity; Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions; Yoga and the Luminous; and Living Landscapes: Meditations on the Elements in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Yogas. Chapple serves on the advisory boards for the Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale), the Jaina Studies Centre (SOAS, London), the Dharma Academy of North America (Berkeley), the South Asian Studies Association (Los Angeles), and the International School for Jain Studies (Pune).

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies is an academy for the study of Hindu cultures, societies, philosophies, religions, and languages. The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Mandala Publishing Series offers authoritative yet accessible introductions to a wide range of subjects in Hindu Studies. Each book in the series aims to present its subject matter in a form that is engaging and readily comprehensible to persons of all backgrounds – academic or otherwise – without compromising scholarly rigour. The series thus bridges the divide between academic and popular writing by preserving and utilising the best elements of both.

General Editor: Lucian Wong
Editorial Board: John Brockington, Avni Chag, James Madaio, and Valters Negribs

For information on Continuing Education Courses at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, visit www.ochsonline.org