Cusco, Pero – Machu Picchu – The Ways of the Inca
As much as I have studied the great traditions and their mystical components, being in Peru, the Incas and shamans embrace the dualities in nature, the cosmos and in humanity. Humanity is the creation and product of the universe, so the expression “as above, so below” holds truth here. Except they would explain it as the rights of the mother (earth), Pachamama. That human beings are not the central and most important entity of the world.
The rights of the mother, Pachamama the earth mother, is the vision of the people in the Andean region of South America. This indigenous vision entails a deep respect for nature, not only at the level of human livelihood but also as a social organization and our vision of the universe – spirituality. In this vision, everything on Earth and in the universe has life, and a right to life. Humans are not superior beings who are above plants, animals, or mountains. Humans exist with non-human beings to form an Earth community.
Pachamama holds a variety of meanings. It is not the result of science, but the manifestation of the knowledge of the ancestral Inca culture, it is the complete coexistence of the people with all living things. It represents the whole of the human and non-human entities, from the human to the animals… from the plants to the rivers, oceans, and the rocks and the stars. She is the Mother Goddess… Pachamama. It is though understanding of our inner selves, our unique selves, and our own bodies, where it’s then possible for us to hear and listen to the Universe calling us, to realize our own laws of nature.
Western philosophy of today portrays itself as hedonistic, individualistic, and utilitarian thinking, and is only concerned with consumerism. It seems to neglect a lot of the importance of human socialization, physical and mental well-being, of solidarity as a collective, of love and mutual aid and rejects any idea of interdependence that humans might (or need to) have with nature. The human centered point of view displayed by western society sees humans as the only moral subject, the only bearer of dignity and intrinsic value… that it is humans who are the only central agent that can regulate actions, values, and ethical models. Western culture has transformed nature into a place where humans can proclaim themselves master.
Western culture is treating the earth as a thing, a grocery cart of items, that can be dominated, subdued, and exploited, with little concern at all for all animal and plant life and its suffering. It’s in our self-proclamation as the great ruler of the living world, that we have lost our way, away from our roots. We have forgotten that Nature is not just a marketable resource, but the matrix of all life – including human life. It is earths ecosystem that cradles us, feeds us, shelters us and keeps us alive. And yet, we are in perpetual war against life, with permanent dissatisfactions, consumerist appetites, and major human misunderstandings. Capitalism and the logic of for-profit business has taken precedence over any other societal objective. Threatening earth’s limited natural resources, biological diversity, ecosystems, and landscapes. The liberal-capitalist system is in the process of destroying the biological and physical conditions of existence. Pollution is raging, and while the climate is going crazy, the biodiversity of the planet is crying out for help. Nature has been stripped of its substance; it is not considered to be a source of metaphysical and spiritual meanings to which we are to understand, to feel, to symbolize aesthetically and spiritually, that nature has become a resource to be exploited, a “natural resource”, violated and abused.
A key concept attached to this indigenous philosophy is that of “Buen Vivir”, which is Spanish for “good living” or “living well”. In this concept I am talking about, it refers to the paradigm of living in harmony between human beings and nature. It implies a holistic and integrated vision of the human being, immersed in the great earth community that includes water, air and soil, mountains, trees, and animals. It is in fact a true harmonious symbiotic relationship, it is the affirmation of a deep communion with Pachamama, with all the energies of the universe and with God.
There is a rising new paradigm for change. A change to the world and its rules to build a democratic society more sustainable, fair, egalitarian, free and maybe, even, more human.
