Ahmedabad:
At a time when global warming and the depleting green cover of the earth have become a matter of concern, the Ambaji temple trust has launched a unique movement to fight deforestation. The Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devasthan Trust (AAMDT) has been organizing, in association with Banaskantha district authorities, a religious 'Vrukshanarayan ni Katha' (Tale of the Tree God) in different parts of the district. The famous Ambaji temple is situated in Banaskantha district.
In its campaign against deforestation, the temple trust has been urging people to treat trees like a deity without whom life on earth would not be possible. The Katha, which highlights the life-giving role of trees, has also been performed in other places in Gujarat, including Ahmedabad. "We had it performed at Kameshwar Hall in Naranpura," said Rasik Suthar, member, special committee, Giants International. "We had also organized it in Mandvi and Bhuj in Kutch district; and Kathwada village of Ahmedabad."
The Tale of the Tree God was recently performed at Suigam village situated close to the Pakistan border in Banaskantha district. Hundreds of people attended the event.
"We adopted this simple way to educate the people," said RJ Patel, Banaskantha collector and chairman of AAMDT.
"Through the Katha, we link trees with both religion and science. The trust has been campaigning against climate change and the Katha is part of our drive to make rural people aware of the threat it poses." Patel said they had prepared a Hindi and an English version of the Katha too. "The English version was prepared with foreigners and NRIs in mind while the Hindi version is for people outside Gujarat," he said.
The Vrukshanarayan ni Katha is similar to the Tale of Lord Satyanarayan (Satyanarayana Katha) which is performed by Hindus at all auspicious occasions. The Tale of the Tree God, too, takes an hour or two to complete and is performed with recitation of shlokas and mantras, and singing of hymns (bhajans) with music.
The Vrukshanarayan ni Katha consists of seven parts each of tells a totally fictitious story about the Tree God. For instance, the first part tells the story about a tribal man, Bhemo Kathiyaro, who has been cutting trees indiscriminately to become a rich man. However, one day, he is attacked by a swarm of bees and is stung so badly that he finds himself dying.
He is saved by a saint who miraculously arrives at his home and tells him that he is dying because he has committed the sin of cutting trees.The saint tells him that if he wants to recover, he should grow twice the number of trees he has cut. Bhemo agrees to do so and he recovers and lives happily after that.
In the other parts of the Katha, the stories deal with the consequences of cutting trees located on mountains, gauchar land, and of burning wood. They also tell about famines caused by absence of trees. The Katha ends with singing of aarti in praise of the Tree God, and the devotees disperse after receiving saplings as 'prasad'.
"Usually sweets are given as 'prasad' at the end of a religious ceremony," said Patel. "But we decided to give a sapling as 'prasad' to each person attending the Katha." He said students of Banaskantha's Sanskrit Pathshala and other volunteers perform the Katha among people and also go wherever they invited to recite it.
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