Human activities harm the environment, deplete resources, and reduce biodiversity, leading to species loss, deforestation, and climate change. This unsustainable development is self-destructive. The Hindu perspective of the cosmos is 'organic' and 'holistic,' preaching a rejection of materialism and the purpose of life being emancipation from cravings and bonds. Consumption was managed in Hindu Sanskriti through Samskaras and mind training through Sadhana and Yoga, and nature is preserved through Tyaga and a controlled manner of life. The principle of reciprocal sustenance and sharing is also mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. In a similar vein, Native Americans have a collectivist tendency to perceive the world in an integrated and holistic manner, putting group well-being over individual well-being. They do not see themselves as separate from nature, and their perspective embodies the concept of sustainability, with key characteristics such as respect for all life forms, equilibrium, proportionality, and integrated contemplation. Ancient Indian and Ancient Native American civilizations were a picture of prosperity as the technologies in all fields at that time were most appropriate, non-polluting, decentralised, simple, and non-enslaving. They were technologies with a human face. However, over time perversions crept into this ancient way of life. The hurricane of materialism and consumerism invaded and brought individual, social and environmental problems. The present paper illustrates tremendous similarity of both the worldviews and consequently compels to implore their links. The ancient traditions have the strength and capacity to put forward solutions and set everything right, including the prevention of global environmental catastrophes.
N. R. Gopal (2024) studied this question.