How about a neem tree as prasad?

For Manjit Singh, the move is not just sound enviromentalism, it is sound spiritualism. He argues that ecological concerns find a significant place in Sikh philosophy.

Quoting the Gurbani, Manjit Singh, who is going all out to bring ecological awareness within the Sikh community, explains, “We have been too lackadaisical in understanding the message of Gurus, who have taken great pains to explain the man-nature relationship in the scriptures.”

During the tercentenary festivities alone, Manjit Singh plansto distribute one lakh saplings. Over 50,000 have already been distributed on different occasions. The forest department of Punjab has been actively involved in this campaign and is more than happy to provide free saplings to Manjit Singh.

Sensing the respect that people give to religious concepts, Manjit Singh decided to initially involve devotees visiting the Takht Kesgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib in his save-the-environment campaign. Himself a patron of the Alliance of Religion and Conservation (ARC) constituted by the World Wildlife Fund, Manjit Singh had come up with this novel idea two years ago. At that moment, he happened to be attending a convention on foodgrain shortage at Tirupathi.

“Prominent religious leaders were invited to the convention, and I was asked to deliver a lecture on that occasion,” recalls Manjit Singh. He had reminded the gathering of Guru Nanak’s experience as a farmer and had observed that “if each of the religious heads decides to work in the fields, there would not be anythreat of foodgrain shortage”.

After much introspection, Manjit Singh realised that one of the major causes for the foodgrain shortage was the deteriorating environment. Verses from the Japji Sahib, a morning prayer of the Sikhs, proved to be the guiding light. To prove his point Manjit Singh quotes the Japji,“Pawan guru, pani pita, mata dharat mahat (air is the tutor, water the father and earth is the mother.”

Explaining the sanctity of the relationship between human beings, water, air and earth, Manjit Singh laments the fact that humankind has polluted each of these precious resources. “But it’s still not too late to stop this misuse,” says Manjit Singh. According to him, the campaign through the gurdwaras could not have been started at a better time than this, with so much attention being focused on the tercentenary celebrations.

Justifying the handing out of saplings as prasad, he says, “nobody would like to cut a tree grown out of a sapling from Guru ghar (Guru’s home).”For the forestauthorities, this couldn’t have worked out better.

Disillusioned with the marginal success rate of the `Vanmahotsva’ campaign being conducted by the department presently, forest authorities helped Manjit Singh stock up on mango, guava, amla and neem saplings. The plants are carefully chosen for their fruit and shade and for their qualities as natural purifiers.

Says Jasjit Singh Samundri, Roopnagar Divisional Forest Officer,“The trend is unprecedented as no other religious order has initiated such move.” Considering the sense of respect attached to prasad, this would be more effective in bringing non-forest areas under green cover than the state-sponsored `Vanamahotsva’ drive.

Manjit Singh is touched by the extent of respect people show while accepting this new variety of prasad. Special announcements are made through a public address system to collect the bute da prasad (prasad of a sapling) from time to time and pilgrims make a beeline to the jathedar. Manjit Singh himself distributes the saplings,which the pilgrims at times tie around their waists.

The jathedar with a vision now wants an ayurvedic institution to be established at Anandpur Sahib. Terming Anandpur as part of the herbal belt, Manjit Singh reminds people of the Shafakhana or herbal treatment centre, that Guru Har Rai ran at Kiratpur Sahib.

He narrates an interesting legend about Shahjehan’s son, Dara Shikoh, who had suffered from a liver ailment. Dara Shikoh recovered, or so the legend goes, only after he was treated at the Guru’s Shafakhana. Keeping the potential of Anandpur Sahib to develop into a herbal centre, Manjit Singh has plans to cultivate a plantation there and campaign for an ayurvedic institution.

For Manjit Singh, the tercentenary of the Khalsa is only the starting point for the campaign. He strongly underlines the need to involve other gurudwaras and faiths in it in the days to come.