World Environment Day: Awareness and Recourse to Sanatan Values

World Environment Day: Awareness and Recourse to Sanatan Values

environment

Till the idea of sustainability emerged around 1987 the experts tried to ‘maximize’ the resource exploitation fully focused on economic development. Later, more particularly with ‘NITI Aayog’ replacing ‘Planning Commission’ that the value-based normative approach began to gain prominence. With that gained significance, the ‘Behavioral economics’ ; and, so also, the ‘ sense of duty’ along with the already predominant ‘sense of rights ’. Being organized lately as the national events what we see ‘Yog-Diwas’, Swachh Bharat Mission ; Ayk Vruksha Maan Ke Naam and several others are nothing but the outcome of the same.

It’s like coming back to Sanatan way of life, indeed. Look, last year what President Draupadi Murmu delivered in her speech on the environment, evocative of the Sanatan spirit : “ My background had been that of the village . From the inception I had deep affinity with the greenery, the natural landscape around . In the home also that the timber had been the only source of fuel, which parents would collect from the surroundings. They used to cut it into the pieces , making it inflammable then. I was a small girl and saw every day that my father used to pay salutation in all sanctity to the dry wood before striking blow to it. One day I asked him that why did he use to do so ? He answered, ‘When being a part of tree it had generously given all its life the flower, fruits, fresh air , and water to us . And now it has fallen sapless and dried up still that is serving us . Hence , he added , before striking blow I pay salutation and seek pardon from him for there being no other substitute !”

Different arms of governance , so also, began to think and execute there of according to the reviving spirit of Sanatan Dharma at large in the estate of affair. See how : The city of Gwalior (MP) is marked by the natural landscape being abode of the forest laden hills around. Sadly, though, it succumbed to loss much of its greenery due to excavation and encroachments caused by unbridled expansion of the colonies into it. So much so that the division bench of High Court headed by Justice Anand Pathak and Pushpendra Yadavhad had to intervene to tide over the problem, ultimately.

It is reported that under the supervision of the Hon’ble Court is formed the committees of different departments , which will submit their respective reports in every 15 days. And, the purpose is that with their joint efforts not only encroachments and illegal mining are required to be checked , but also the hills are to be made regain its greenery back.

Earlier from the directive of the Court a meeting of the heads of concerning departments presided over by the Collector Ruchika Chauhan, which was attended by additional solicitor general Vivek Khedkar also. According to the resolution of the meeting, the retired officials and the social-service organizations will also be approached to join in. As for generating the funds, the help may be sought from the professional organizations like Chamber of commerce, Chartered Accountant association and such other.

More notably, earlier too under the same initiative of its kind with the intervention of the High court that the Sirol hillock had been developed into green cover by the litigants and lawyers. This is not all, however! Taking the queue from the High Court that the District administration, too, later came forward to play its part for the environment. And thus again came into being the forest cover in Hari Parvat and Anand Parvat with over 5000 trees in each hill!

Now let’s take a peep into a wider spectrum of Sanatan-society and its outlook towards the living and non-living things that the environment composed of. At the behest of missionary that British government prohibited the entry for tribals into Jaggannath temple. It also imposed the burden of taxes upon tribal cultivators. And among them who turned Christian they were made exempted from this penalty. As such, in order to check the conversion , it was Birsa Munda who administered the oath to tribals of ‘worshipping the Basil plant’, notably, taking the recourse of Sanatan practice!

According to Sanatana tradition that the festivals are integrated with the the environment, i.e. nature. This comes true looking at ‘Sarhul’, Basant season, when ‘Sakhua’ tree is worshipped by the tribals . So is ‘Sohrai’ marked by the celebration of five days-festival in which the animal stock is worshiped wishing all prosperity. Mother earth is worshipped by the community before the crop sowed and thrashed. So in Diwali that the ox being esteemed to be Nandi is worshipped and fed. According to the Puranas the Bheel community had for their origin Lord Shiva’s son, Nishad. They believe that it is from the Shiva’s tresses that the vegetation came into being. They worship trees considering to be the very abode of God, therefore. So the Gondi Language spoken by Gond community is venerably held to be born out of divine sound or the Naad of Damru of Shanker Shambhu.

“ Animals are not just animals but they are our ‘Life asset’. Without which the farmers could not make progress ; so could we all think of life without them. In our culture is visualized the presence of God in the plants and animals. Our sages and monks converse with them . And many of the incarnations are in the very form of them.”, so said President Draupadi Murmu in her address during the convocation ceremony at Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, UP. What she said is the result of her being grown up in the virtue of Sanatana Samskara – ‘O Yudhishthira! The head of the family actually consumes Amrit [ambrosia] who himself consumes food only after always feeding servants, guests and all those depended on him, including two legged, four-legged animals and birds and such other.’ (Mahabharat, Shanti Parva).

Image courtesy: Polifoto (Pixabay).

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