ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a reflection on the intersections between spiritual imageries, environment, sustainability, and practices within changing socio-political contexts. The mother goddess, Durga, who is worshipped in Bengal, India and across the world by Hindu Bengalis, is most often presented as the central figure in a tableau of five goddesses and gods along with their attendant animals and plants, and a prone male figure near her feet. Durga is shown astride a lion, which represents her regal valour and power, and its oneness with the goddess. Durga Puja is widely celebrated as a sarbojanin puja, or one that is held in public spaces within temporary edifices called pandals that are dismantled after the puja. Sustainability is attained through consciousness and action that reflects the indivisibility of humans animals plants in animate objects within a holistic universe; at the same time the message highlights the importance of diversity and heterogeneity. Spiritual practices rarely exist apart from their socio-political contexts.
