Vaishnava Financial Independence

Krishna Devotees of Srila Prabhupada Transcend ISKCON

Self-Reliance and Self-Sufficiency

Forest Medicine: Health Benefits of Nature (Ecopsychology) - Vaishnava Agriculture

Chand Prasad, Ph.D.

key words: ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada

Advancement of civilization rests on reviving the potent spiritual instincts of the human being, in order to give humans the opportunity to return to the Kingdom of God. Perfection of human civilization is made possible by properly utilizing the gifts of nature. Srimad Bhagavatam describes an ideal city (Dwarka Dhama) as being nicely surrounded by flower gardens, parks, and fruit orchards, along with reservoirs of water where lotus flowers bloom. All of the residents of Dwarka Dhama depended on nature's gifts of fruits and flowers without any industrial enterprises promoting filthy huts and slums for residential quarters of the common man. The growth of mills and factories actually impairs the finer instincts of the human being. According to my Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada, development of factories and mills are actually a form of Ugra Karma or pungent activities. This Ugra Karma deteriorates the finer sentiments of the human being. In this way, modern “human” society has become debased into a dungeon of demons. [SB Canto 1, CH.11, Text NO.12, Purport]

The Vedic scriptures, which are infallible and complete, do not require validation from materialistic scientists. Nevertheless, it is interesting to observe that recent research has found evidence that nature’s gifts include key health benefits.

Memory-Promoting Effects

Several studies have shown that nature walks enhance memory. Walking in city streets do not lead to improved brain function. One study in particular, conducted at the University of Michigan, found an almost 20% improvement on a short-term memory exam after the test subjects walked around an arboretum. The participants who had instead walked in city streets did not consistently improve. A similar study found that these benefits also apply to depressed individuals—walks in nature enhanced working memory much more than walks in urban environments.

Stress Reduction Effects

Studies have found that unlike cities, spending time in forests lead to lower heart rates and lower levels of cortisol—a hormone often used as a marker for stress.

Lower Levels of Inflammation

Forests have been shown to reduce inflammation in both students as well as elderly patients, compared to those who spent time in urban environments. These findings are important because higher levels of inflammation have been linked to autoimmune disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and cancer.

Eliminating Mental Fatigue

Nature functions as a restorative force that counteracts mental fatigue. A study found that even when test subjects viewed pictures of nature, their mental energy recovered. In contrast, pictures of city scenes did not have this beneficial impact. Studies have also found that exposure to natural beauty can elicit feelings of awe, a positive emotional state that leads to enhanced mental energy.

Combatting Depression and Anxiety

Natural surroundings, especially when combined with exercise, have been found to ease anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Research results indicate that walks in the forest are associated with decreased levels of anxiety and bad moods, and another study found that outdoor walks could be "useful clinically as a supplement to existing treatments" for major depressive disorder. In addition, 10 studies focusing on "green exercise" indicated that "the mentally ill had one of the greatest self-esteem improvements." The results also suggest that the presence of water strengthened these positive effects.

Protects Vision in Children

Research shows that increased outdoor activity has been associated with reduced risks of developing nearsightedness (myopia) and its progression in children and adolescents.

Lower Blood Pressure

A number of studies have demonstrated that spending time outdoors lowers blood pressure and other factors associated with stress. For instance, one intensive study found that a walk in the forest decreased stress hormone concentrations by more than 15%, lowered participants' average pulse by almost 4%, and reduced blood pressure by just over 2%.

Ability to focus

Compared to simply relaxing or walking through a city, researchers found that nature walks have the strongest restorative impact on the ability to focus. Children with ADHD were able to concentrate better after 20 minutes in a park, which suggests that nature could be a tool for managing ADHD symptoms.

Creativity

Natural surroundings improve cognitive functioning as well as creativity. Performance on a creative problem solving test increased by 50% after test subjects were immersed in nature for 4 days.

Life Expectancy

Proximity to green space appears to be particularly important for people that reside in urban areas according to a Dutch study of 250,782 people, which found a strong positive link between green space and health— a wide variety of diseases were less prevalent among people who lived in close proximity to green space. Based on a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, greater exposure to greenness was associated with a 12% lower mortality rate, where the largest improvements were related to lower risks of death from cancer, lung disease, and kidney disease.

It is unfortunate that scientists are only now reporting the health benefits of spending time in forests, after supporting the rampant spread of industrialization and concrete jungles (cities) throughout the world, and cutting the ordinary man off from nature. Of course, the leaders of modern civilization select their own residential quarters in places where they are surrounded by natural beautiful gardens and reservoirs of water, while leaving the common men to live in congested area without any parks and gardens. The dungeons of materialistic society, comprised of mines, factories, and workshops, feed the demoniac propensities of the working class. The vested interests flourish at the expense of the working class—inevitably, severe, widespread conflicts erupt between the leaders and the common man. In the city of Dwarka, however, all of the residents, regardless of their status, had equal access to nature. [SB Canto 1, CH.11, Text NO.12, Purport]

It is interesting that the scriptures make a distinction between pious and impious trees. “Pious trees are those which produce seasonal flowers and fruits. The impious trees are useless jungles only and they can only be used as the supplying agent of fuels only. In the modern civilization such impious trees are developed in the matter of sowing them on the sides of the road.” [SB Canto 1, CH.11, Text NO.12, Purport]

Although we do not minimize the physical and mental health benefits of forest therapy, we have to put these issues into the proper perspective. Commercial agriculture, meat-centered diets, and industrialization have been mutually supportive of each other, leading to the destruction of natural ecosystems. Most importantly, material scientists do not recognize the true priority of human civilization— spiritual advancement and the key role of cow protection. As Srila Prabhupada explains, “Fruits, flowers, beautiful gardens, parks and reservoirs of waters with ducks and swan playing in the midst of lotus flowers and cows giving sufficient milk and butter are essential things for developing the finer tissues of the human body. Human energy should be properly utilized in developing the finer senses for spiritual understanding in which lies the solution of life.” [SB Canto 1, CH.11, Text NO.12, Purport]

The human race will continue to experience an array of social, economic, and environmental problems unless we accept the spiritual principles that were enunciated by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada. All the difficulties of material existence have a common source, i.e., we want the Kingdom of God without God. Fortunately, these problems also have a common solution, i.e., a society centered around the Supreme Lord.