Peter Bindon has served as Grand Master of the English Language Jurisdiction for Australia, Asia, and New Zealand since July 27, 1996. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Supreme Grand Lodge of AMORC.
Frater Bindon joined the Rosicrucian Order in 1967. Over the years he has served the Rosicrucian Order in many capacities in Australia, and internationally he served as Supreme Legate (1989-1996). Peter and his wife, Nola, live in New South Wales and have an adult son.
Frater Bindon has drawn upon his talents as a botanist and anthropologist to design the new Rosicrucian Peace Garden in Rosicrucian Park, an authentic 18th Dynasty Egyptian garden. This educational garden, authentic to the period, features a temple, viewing dais, grape arbor, an array of historic plants, and a reflecting pond to mirror this very special setting.
Discourse
Humanity seems to consider itself apart from nature, and yet it stems from nature, and any description of humanity lies within the definition of the natural world. However, humans have not always had a generous and tolerant attitude towards nature, nor do all nations hold such a view today. In fact, the claim that nature exists solely to “serve man” can be traced back to Cicero.
I prefer a gentler and more humble view of our relationship with nature; namely, that humanity and all living things on earth are inextricably linked and are together connected with the forces emanating from the cosmos. In the framework of Rosicrucian thought, this concept of interconnectedness gives rise to the idea that the form and activity of the universal macrocosm is reflected in the human microcosm. If the adage “as above so below” is considered an acceptable explanation for certain occurrences in the human realm, then it is clear that the macrocosm reflected in humanity includes everything that we call nature. Thus contained within human existence is all that, in one way or another, also exists outside of humanity.
From time immemorial there have been differing theories concerning humanity’s relationship with nature. From ancient Taoism’s view of the essential unity of humanity with nature to the ancient Greco-Roman view of the superiority of humans over other species, and right on up to our present Western materialistic view, entire civilizations have been directed in their actions by one prevailing view or another. And although the “superiority of humanity” view has seemed dominant throughout history, there have been philosophers and philosophies that encouraged humans to think otherwise, such as Egypt’s Pharaoh Akhnaton, the Neoplatonists, the Renaissance rediscovery of the Corpus Hermeticum, alchemical theories, Copernicus’ ideas, the European Enlightenment and Romanticism, the American Transcendentalism of the 19th century, the writings of the naturalist John Muir, and right up to today’s exciting Gaia theories.
The Gaia hypothesis suggests that all of earth’s life forms are part of one immense whole—these myriad diverse forms co-evolving and contributing interactively to produce and sustain the optimal conditions for the growth and prosperity of the totality of life, rather than each part just looking after its own interest. Similar to Gaia theory is the Rosicrucian perspective that all living things are linked to each other and the Cosmos by vibrational energies that are necessary for growth and survival. We can sense these energies, for scientific research shows that animals, including humans, are sensitive to earth’s electromagnetic currents.
The importance of such ideas is that they testify to the operation in Western civilization of an attitude toward nature not reducible either to despotism or to stewardship. For example, according to the twentieth-century scientist-theologian Teilhard de Chardin, nature is still in the making and is capable, to a considerable degree, of developing itself through evolution.
Often we equate nature with wilderness, and although wilderness is part of everyone’s heritage, it is also a unique personal experience. Wilderness is needed, not as an alternative to, but as a contrast and complement to urbanization. For thousands of backpackers and walkers, wilderness is inspiring and regenerating, an escape from the tensions of urban life. For all of us, wilderness is a vital sanctuary, a place of hopes and dreams. After all, oxygen, clean water, nutritious food, and adequate shelter are the basics of existence, and nature is the ultimate source of these essentials of life. If for no other reason, we must protect wilderness so that nature continues to furnish these necessities.
