K. L. Seshagiri Rao, Ph.D., LL.D. (Hon.), Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, teaches environmental policy and law and public administration. He has published twenty-six books and many articles and chapters in books. From 1986 to 1989 he was a member of a judicial tribunal, the Environmental Assessment Board of Ontario, Canada. He is a past president of the Canadian Political Science Association; a former vice president of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration, Brussels, Belgium; and chair of the Research Committee on Technology and Development, the International Political Science Association.

Abstract of paper given at Hinduism and Ecology conference:
The Five Great Elements (Panca Mahabhuta): An Ecological Perspective

This paper will explore the five great elements as sources for ecologicla awareness in India. The five great elements, which first appear in the Vedas and serve as building blocks of reality in Samkhya metaphysics, are earth (prithivi), water (jala), fire (agni), air (vayu), and space (akasha).

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Hinduism and Ecology conference participants