The Brahmanic view of the universe is one in which human beings play an intimate and essential part in the natural cycles and systems of our world. We cannot be just consumers, and yet we can produce nothing by ourselves. We are full participants in the processes of creation and destruction. These processes depend upon us, but not only on us.
In the brahmanic universe, it was not only a question of planting seeds, waiting for rain and sunshine and then harvesting crops. There was the necessity to give something back. This giving took the form of a reverential relationship toward all life. It involved sacrifice and gratitude. Such an attitude affects the way in which we treat animals, the soil and the resources we need to survive upon the planet.