Karen Armstrong. Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World

Today it is hardly possible to write about any theme that involves significance of the concept of sacredness, especially in spiritual or religious context, without discussing facets of modern civilization that have cast a tick shadow over the very essence of the cosmic hierarchical existence, including that of natural environment. Although a number of scholarly works in this regard have been written much earlier by authors such as R. Guenon, F. Schuon, M. Lings, S.H. Nasr and others, it was not until recently that problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, ecological pollutions, resource depletion to name but a few, have been actualized all over the world, and thus received a serious attention worldwide. However, additional concerns questioning not only the ecological threats but the future of humanity have emerged with the development of advanced technologies and increasing disorder on socioeconomic and geopolitical arenas. In the midst of that, Karen Armstrong’s latest work entitled “Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World” may serve as a reminder for humanity to rethink their orientation relating to the purpose of their very existence. The book invites readers to reconsider their relationship with nature, including themselves, urging them to either look back to ancient wisdom or within their own souls in order to find a straight path forward. In other words, the book is both a call to reawaken human reverence for nature and thoughtful exploration of how different religious traditions have long realized and maintained the sacredness of the natural world from within and without.