Economics Of Mahavira: [05.13] Environment and Economics - Two Important Directives

Among the directives that Bhagwan Mahavira gave to his devout society, two are:

• Vanakamme - Forests should not be cut
• Phodikamme - Earth should not be excavated

These two directions are very vital from the point of view of environmental protection. Vanakamme and phodikamme can become the foundation of the new economics, although there is a problem to reckon with. At that time, the population was small. Today, it has grown enormously. There comes a time when population expands, and there comes a time when population gets reduced. As the population increases, there is a corresponding expansion in needs.