PUNE CITY GETS ITS FIRST SACRED GROVE
Our roots are deep in the woods,
Among the mosses, close to springs,
Our spirits soar high in the sky,
Among the birds and butterflies.
Madhav Gadgil
1. “Sacred groves are a piece of natural vegetation that is protected by various communities due to religious reasons. Local communities take responsibility to protect and nurture the area. It could be only a few trees or an entire forest.”
2. Traditionally the sacred groves were a repository for various Ayurvedic medicines, fruits, deadwood and honey. Every household knew the uses of herbs needed for basic illnesses. Herbs were daily used in food for healthy life. Diets changed based on
location and seasons. Our ancestor’ motive was to make ecological balance a way of life. But we learnt when deadly corona took over the world peace. Let us not forget that this is only the beginning of a new end. Many deadly viruses will surface after our
negligence will melt permafrost. Lets rise and shine to give better tomorrow to the future generations. Earth has never been and will never be under threat. We are.
3. Being home to very diverse yet strong religious practices, India contains many sacred groves. Before Mughals and British ruthless rule, our entire Bharat Khand was covered by sacred groves. One of the many benefits is the Ether content from the groves
keeps our body, mind and spirit healthy. As a result we lived a wonderful life. Our values and principles were based on sustainable lifestyle. Our ancestors intelligently imbibed those practices as part our daily chores. Agastya muni, one of the Sapt Rishis
and Shivji’s disciple, is responsible for all the wonderful habits we have today in us, which keeps the culturally aware Indians healthy, wealthy, wise. He went to every settlement of our Bharat Khand to impart what he learnt from Mahadev Shivji. He was extremely
intelligent in making all our ancestors healthy and spiritual in whatever they were doing. He empowered without changing anyone. Knowingly and unknowingly everyone did the powerful practices of Shivji and lived wonderfully well. It is time to consult your
grandparents. Everything is not in written form in our rich culture.
4. Shipin is the largest deodar grove in Himachal and contains trees that are hundreds of years old. Energy in sacred grove is 700 times more than a normal jungle. When we are in a jungle, we are aligned by the nature. But sacred grove is on another level,
where we are in union. Being in sacred grove for few minutes would align your system. And yogi is what everyone should strive to be. We were fortunate to plant first Sacred Grove of Pune City at Naval jetty, MILIT. Under the able guidance of Mr Raghunath Dhole
(The Tree man of India), we were able to plant the sacred grove. Mr. A S Bishnoi (Husband) worked tirelessly with his team of workers for 25 days to fulfil this dream. He gives saplings for free. He is working towards planting 75 sacred groves in our country
this year, as we will complete 75 years of independence. He is the true patriot for Bharat Mata(mother).
5. Meghalaya: has some of the richest groves in the country, Khasi hills in Meghalaya have one grove called law kyntangs in almost every village. The popular myth dictates that anyone damaging the plants and trees of the grove will be killed by the forest
spirit. This myth has kept people from destroying the area and thus, it is best preserved. Our ancestors were wise to say so. We all have felt the presence of forest spirits. Fear is the best medicine to discipline humans. And the legend is true in all sense,
because we are witnessing results of deforestation. In the name of modernisation and progress, the businessmen, political leaders and Indian and state services officers are giving us slow poison. They have organic food which is our age old way of farming,
but rest of the humans are given choice to select from the chemical infused foods. We can do amends. Create your own kitchen garden.
6. Indian sacred groves are often associated with temples, monasteries, shrines or with burial grounds. Our ancestors were very innovative in their ways to protect nature and enlighten us to live a meaningful life. We offered our prayers in temples with
sacred groves. We attained Mukti in the sacred grove burial grounds. Historically, sacred groves find their mentions in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts. Numerous nature spirits and guardians are associated with Hindu, Jain and Budhist deities. Such nature spirits
are known as Yakshas, Nagas (serpent guardians) and guardian tutelary deities (like ayyanar and amman). There is countless folklore on forest spirits, guardians and nagas which has been part of our childhood.
7. Planting and nurturing of trees has been a highly evolved practice in ancient India. Attaining moksh is very simple :- If you plant native saplings and look after them, you not only clear your karma but also your ancestor’ karma. Your entire lineage
will attain Moksh. You can confirm it in our ancient texts. Vrukshayurveda, the science of plant life, indicates how mystical beliefs and conservation of ecology was inter-connected. For example, if one plants kisirini, dadimi, rambha, priyala, and panasa,
one experiences no affliction for seven births. Who has knowingly or unknowingly planted Ambu is respected as a recluse even while staying in the house. Every native plant has something to offer to the person who plants it. Nakshtravana were routine activity
for ashrams headed by highly qualified gurus. The Hindu tradition considers forests to be of three types-Tapovan, Mahavan and Sreevan. Tapovan are forests associated with penance (tapas), and are inhabited by saints and Rishis. Mahavan refers to the grand
natural forests. Tapovan and Mahavan are considered to be a Raksha(sanctuary) for flora and fauna as ordinary human beings are not allowed to enter in these forests. Sreevan, which means, "forests of prosperity" consists of dense forests are open for normal
humans with rules. Panchvati, or a cluster of five tree species represented the five elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. If we observe, everything will make sense.
8. The groves are often associated with ponds and streams, and meet water requirements of local communities. It is now scientifically proven that water is because of trees and not vice versa. Sacred groves are scattered all over our country, and are referred
by different names in different parts of India. Eg. Kovil Kadu in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, Gumpa Forest in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, Sarna in Jharkhand and Chatisgarh and so on. Sacred groves occur in a variety of places – from scrub forest in the Thar
Desert of Rajasthan maintained by the Bishnois, to rain forest in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. 363 Bishnois of khejarli village were killed by king’s soldiers in as early as in September 1730 when they were trying to peacefully protect
the trees of their village by holding the tree trunk. The first Chipko movement of the world history. Women, children and elders of the village were slaughtered holding the trees. Our country is full of such examples. A Gurjjar settlement appears like a human-inhabited
sacred grove because they plant neem for worshipping. Mangar Bani, the last surviving natural forest of Delhi is protected by Gurjars of nearby area. 14,000 sacred groves have been reported from all over India. Experts believe our entire country was a sacred
grove inhabited by various deities and looked after by every human under able guidance of our Rishis and tribal leaders.
9. Every piece of land comes with responsibility. And if the land is with Govt of India in your custody it’s all the more important for you to fulfil the responsibility even if you are in charge of that land for a month. Sarpanch has a important role
to play in the panchayati land of every village. Make sacred grove, ghanavan, herbal garden in every village. Approach your district forest officer. Make your village panchayat land useful for every villager by planting sacred grove and herbs. Always ask yourself
“what can I give” everyday of your life. Concept of sacred grove and Ghanavan (urban forest) has been part of earth and our ancestors lives. The knowledge of plants has been deeply rooted in us. But over the years we have started living superficially. We think
we exist on conditioned air, filter water, and packet foods. It is time to wake up and be enlightened. Enlightenment is attained by doing. And all the great yogis have been involved in doing something selflessly for bringing the balance on our planet. Yogis
are in all forms, living amongst us, living within us. It is up to each one of you to be a yogi or a burden.
10.Sacred Grove (deorai/devrai) Plantation: - Minimum 100 X100 ft or 200 X 200 ft (ideal) land is needed. And you don’t need to cut the existing tree of that area. You have to remove the invasive plants. Final step is to contact Mr Raghunath Dhole for
saplings and plantation guidance.
11. Urban forest or “Ghanvan” plantation: - Any piece of land in any shape or size is eligible for it. This is dense forest and secluded habitat for birds, Honey bees, butterflies and other insects. And you can contact Mr Raghunath Dhole for saplings
and plantation guidance. His number-9822245645.
12. Lockdown effect: - Corona pandemic did a surprise check on humans. Everyone was so busy with shopping and accumulating things, target of turning earth to concrete jungle, as one house is not good enough to brag about in social gatherings. Suddenly
humans were scared! The metropolitan people were caged in their pigeon holes. As per the capacity of an individual, they made changes in their lives. Everything came to a standstill. Responsibility saw light. Life skills became the most important part of
our daily routine. First lockdown was turning point and it helped many people to turn inward and realised our role in the universe and at home. Some people could understand how they were wasting their time in doing useless things. Those who could not will
be still found cribbing around you. The feeling of animals, plants, butterflies, birds can be understood by everyone quiet clearly now. And after a long time many people realised the relevance of plants in our lives. The way we have been treating them and
taking things for granted has resulted in global warming.
13. Lockdown gave us opportunity to contribute more than pre-corona times. Mr A S Bishnoi planted 1213 saplings in MILIT and nearby places (Dhonje, Singhad and Khanapur) since March ’20 when everyone was indoors due to corona, he was out to fulfil our
dream to give better future to everyone. We are looking after them and every new leaf makes our daughter smile. All plants are alive and growing. We celebrate every important occasion by planting trees and share the responsibility with our daughter to look
after them.
What Every Individual Can do: -
13. First, stop complaining. Start observing. Walk, cycle or run around the area you live. Find places where you can contribute. If you want to plant, get native saplings (no invasive or hybrids). Plant the saplings and look after them. If you are attentive,
you will know what to do. Remember, Plants don’t survive only on water. Be there for them, they have always been there for us. Grow your own vegetables and fruits. After first monsoon shower plant the saplings and they will thrive. Lastly, remember – we don’t
own anything, pyramids taught us this important lesson long ago. So, Coexist. Let us transform our country INDIA to “SACRED INDIA”. Explore the possibility. Don’t do it because I told you to. And definitely there is no reward for it. Do it for yourself. And
you will live a meaningful life. Self-help books won’t be needed. Planting and producing child is same. But your efforts will determine the future of plant and the child. If you cannot nurture them, then neither plant nor produce. The future we create is every
individual’s responsibility. We are doing what is needed. You can too. All you need is will to do.
-Mrs Shakti Bishnoi
(Shakti Bishnoi is a postgraduate from London School of Business Management. She is an experienced ornithologist, bird watcher and child counselor)
Here is a short film on Mangarbani Sacred Grove in Delhi/Haryana