 | |
| Formation | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Type | Environmental organization |
| Headquarters | 2621 University Boulevard West, Silver Spring, MD 20902 (U.S. Office) 94, Block E, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Ludhiana, Punjab 141012 (Indian Office) |
Key people | Rajwant Singh |
| Website | ecosikh |
EcoSikh is a Sikh environmental organization. [1] It is the most prominent Sikh environmental organization working on global environmental issues. [1] It has been one of the foremost organizations promoting Sikhism as a "green" religion. [1]
Antecedents of Sikh forays into environmentalism can be found within the Guru Granth Sahib itself. [1] The second shloka of the Japji Sahib of Guru Nanak stresses on the importance of living in-harmony with nature. [1] Furthermore, Guru Har Rai taught that the environment should be cared for by Sikhs. [1] The sarbat da bhala philosophy of Sikhs calls upon them to promote the well-being of all. [1]
Some earlier Sikh organizations and movements that delved into environmental efforts include Pingalwara, established by Bhagat Puran Singh, whom had pro-environmental inclinations. [1] Balbir Singh Seechewal of the Nirmala sect, spearheaded the movement to clean-up the Kali Bein rivulet in the year 2000 and also raised awareness on the condition of the Buddha Nullah. [1] Sewa Singh, director of the Nishan-e-Sikhi Charitable Trust based in Khadur Sahib, supervised the distribution and planting of hundreds of thousands of tree saplings, including along the roadways of Khadur Sahib. [1]
EcoSikh was established in 2009 through a partnership with the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE). [1] The establishment of the organization was influenced by the United Nations Development Programme and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation initiatives. [1] The founder of EcoSikh is Rajwant Singh, who is the Global President. [2]
EcoSikh primarily operates in the Indian state of Punjab but also conducts global projects. [1] EcoSikh is working towards the "greening" of gurdwaras by reducing disposable wastage in the langar halls by introducing environmentally-friendly alternatives. [1] Furthermore, they are working toward the "greening" of the areas in-vicinity to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. [1] Other activities of EcoSikh include general cleanup drives, solar panel installations, and seminar events. [1] EcoSikh aims to change individual Sikh attitudes and behaviours toward the environment, and the promotion of a healthy eco-friendly environment surrounding gurdwara complexes. [1]
Since 2013, EcoAmritsar, an initiative of EcoSikh based in Amritsar, has been providing instruction on the organization of green nagar kirtans , such as by recommending the usage of usage and collection of biodegradable plates and cutlery made from leaves and the serving of organic-based langars . [1]
EcoSikh reportedly was involved in over 1,500 activities in the year 2013. [1]
In 2013, a painting by Rahi Mohinder Singh was gifted to EcoSikh which depicts Guru Har Rai giving a tree to a petitioner to plant, however the tree species portrayed in the painting is an eucalyptus, a non-native species that was not found during the lifetime of Guru Har Rai, making the painting anachronistic. [1]
In May 2017, the EcoSikh proposed the establishment of a 100-acre "sacred forest" around the shrine of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan to celebrate the then upcoming 550th Guru Nanak Gurpurab celebrations slated for 2019. [3] Rajwant Singh, president of EcoSikh, also expressed dreams of developing the site as an eco-tourism hub, alongside the sacred forest proposal. [3] EcoSikh also suggested a botanical garden could be established at Kartarpur instead of a sacred forest. [3] Alongside the sacred forest suggestion, it was proposed that efforts covering organic farming, install a solar panel installation, dedicated forest areas, amid others, should be considered for Kartarpur. [3] The Guru Nanak Sacred Forests mission of EcoSikh was launched in 2019. [1]
EcoSikh also operates a branch in Canada, known as 'EcoSikh Canada'. [4] In 2019, EcoSikh Canada planted hundreds of trees in the areas of Brampton and Scarborough, Ontario. [5] 550 trees were specifically planted in the city of Brampton to celebrate the 550th Guru Nanak Gurpurab celebration. [4] This was followed by another 550 trees planted in Scarborough. [4] Roop Sidhu, founder of the Canadian chapter of EcoSikh, claimed that EcoSikh had planted 10,000 trees across Canada by 12 November 2019 and further plan to have planted 55,000 trees across Canada by 2021. [4]
Aside from Punjab, EcoSikh has also planted trees in other Indian states and regions, such as Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and in Jammu. [2]
On 14 March 2022 (Sikh Environment Day), EcoSikh planted 1,150 trees in Ireland, 500 trees in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, and 250 trees in Surrey, B.C. [2]
EcoSikh has opened a new segment of industrial forests under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), where producers and corporations can lower their carbon footprint with affordable price and minimum land investment. [6]
EcoSikh maintains its own plant nursery at Sajjan Precision Castings, Sahnewal, Punjab, India. [6]
In January 2024, EcoSikh was honoured in the category of 'Sikhs in Charity' at the 12th Sikh Awards, held at Bel La monde Hotel in New Delhi. [7] EcoSikh made a commitment to plant 1 million trees by 2025. [7]
EcoSikh currently operates in five countries. [6] EcoSikh has been invited by the White House, the Vatican, the United Nations, and many other international platforms. [7]
In 2011, EcoSikh established the celebration of Sikh Environment Day, known in Punjabi as 'Sikh Vatavaran Divas' (Punjabi : Sikha vātāvarana divasa). [1] The 14th of March was the date selected to celebrate Sikh Environment Day because it was the anniversary date of Guru Har Rai's gurgaddi (ascension to the guruship). [1] In 2013, the president of EcoSikh described Guru Har Rai as the "green guru", emphasizing the Sikh guru's close-bond with nature, in a press-release statement. [1] Sikh Environment Day has been adopted by many important gurdwaras, such as Takht Hazur Sahib, one of the five takhts, in Nanded. [1] It has also been adopted amongst diasporic Sikh gurdwaras, such as ones located in Pittsburgh and Singapore. [1] In 2013, leaders of all the five takhts of Sikhism formally endorsed Sikh Environment Day. [1] The jathedar of Takht Hazur Sahib promoted tree planting activities to be held on Sikh Environment Day. [1]
EcoSikh has planted many "mini-forests", composed of native plant species, in the state of Punjab, India using the Japanese Miyawaki methodology, that are named 'Guru Nanak Sacred Forests'. [8] [1] The Guru Nanak Sacred Forests mission was launched in 2019 in-collaboration with Afforestt to coincide with the 550th birth celebrations of Guru Nanak. [1] The ultimate goal for the mission is to plant one million trees using the methods devised by Akira Miyawaki. [1] In-short, the method is distinguished from conventional tree-planting methods in that Miyakawi planting has a much smaller distance between the planted saplings, allowing for the faster maturation of the forest. [1]
EcoSikh claims that its Guru Nanak Sacred Forests are 30 times more dense, have a 10 times higher growth rate, are 100 times more biodiverse, are cost-effective, easily maintainable, and are chemical pesticide-free. [8] EcoSikh project manager for South Asia, Ravneet Singh, explains that the Miyawaki method helps grow dense and native forests through the plantation of dozens of native-species of flora within the same vicinity, after which the forest becomes maintenance-free after a period of three years. [8] The forests provide habitat for wild animals and help improve soil quality of the area. [8] The soil of the forests are extensively mulched to improve the micro-organisms & small animals inhabiting the soil and it assists with regulating the soil temperature. [8] EcoSikh believes every plot of land has the potential of being transformed into a forest. [8]
The steps for establishing a Guru Nanak Sacred Forest are as follows: [8]
Ludhiana district contains a large amount of these sacred forest projects, despite heavy environmental concerns related to pollution in the district. [8] In a low-lying, industrial-area of Ludhiana city, EcoSikh claims that even after water-logging and oil-spill events, 80% of its planted forest's trees survived these environmentally adverse incidents, showing the resilience of the forests. [8]
In 2020, nearly a hundred Guru Nanak Sacred Forests had been planted in Punjab. [8] By 2021, EcoSikh had established over three-hundred Guru Nanak Sacred Forests, primarily in Punjab. [1] These mini-forests are home to 150,000 indigenous species of flora, providing habitat for insect and bird species. [1] Some of the Guru Nanak Sacred Forests are located in urban areas, which are claimed to assist with improving the area's air quality and restoring biodiversity. [1]
By 2024, EcoSikh had planted over 850 forests in Punjab. [7]
The Guru Granth Sahib Bagh is an initiative of EcoSikh, working in-collaboration with PETALS, regarding the establishment and upkeeping of a garden near the historical Sikh shrine, Gurusar Sahib, located in Moga district. [1] The garden was inaugurated in September 2021 and contains all fifty-eight plant species that find mention by name within the hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib. [1] Each plant is accompanied by a stone with an engraving containing the relevant excerpt from the Sikh scripture mentioning the specie. [1]
A traditional Sikh garden located in Kiratpur, known as Naulakha Bagh, was believed to have been founded and cared for by Guru Har Rai during his guruship period. [1] [9] EcoSikh has been involved in a project to restore this garden. [1] [9] EcoSikh is coordinating with other Sikh organizations, such as Shree Ganga Nursery, Shree Ganga Nursery Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), and Nishan-e-Sikhi. [1] [9] The project aims to emphasize medicinal plants, which will help revive native, traditional medicinal knowledge. [1]
EcoSikh has compiled an online anthology titled Eak Bageecha (meaning "one garden") on "green gurbani " compositions that discuss the environment, as found in Sikh scriptures. [1] [10] [11] The title of the anthology references a composition of Guru Arjan which symbolizes the guru as a gardener taking care of mythical plants imbued with the Naam . [1] Thus, this divine gardener serves as a role-model for humanity to recognize the divinity present in all things and to be stewards of them. [1] The anthology contains works praising the natural beauty of the world and that divinity can be found across the Earth's ecosystems, from oceans to deserts. [1]
One of the selected "green gurbani" compositions found in the anthology, authored by Guru Arjan in Raga Asa , is as follows: [10] [11]
There is a garden.
It has so many plants created within it.
And each bears the sweet-nectared Naam as its fruit. ||1||
Consider this, O wise one,
In this garden you may seek the means by which to attain eternal bliss.
O brothers and sisters of Destiny,
This garden has dark pools of poison here and there,
But it also contains the ambrosial nectar within it. ||1||Pause||
There is only one gardener who tends it.
He takes care of every leaf and branch. ||2||
He brought all these plants and planted them there.
They all bear fruit – none is without fruit. ||3||
The one who receives the ambrosial fruit of the Naam
From the Guru – O Nanak,
Such a servant has a way to pass over the ocean of illusion. ||4||5||56||— Guru Arjan, translated by Albel Singh, Guru Granth Sahib
Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is a monotheistic religion and philosophy, that originated in the Punjab region of India around the end of the 15th century CE. Sikhism is classified as an Indian religion or Dharmic religion along with Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups and among the largest in the world with about 25–30 million adherents.
A gurdwara or gurudwara is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs but its normal meaning is place of guru or "Home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as Gurdwara Sahib. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a Darbar Sahib where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a takht in a prominent central position. Any congregant may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.
Guru Har Rai revered as the seventh Nanak, was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He became the Sikh leader at age 14, on 3 March 1644, after the death of his grandfather and the sixth Sikh leader Guru Hargobind. He guided the Sikhs for about seventeen years, till his death at age 31.
Guru Har Krishan was the eighth of the ten Sikh Gurus. According to Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Guru Harkrishan was born on 20 July 1652. At the age of five, he became the youngest Guru in Sikhism on 7 October 1661, succeeding his father, Guru Har Rai. He contracted smallpox in 1664 and died before reaching his eighth birthday. It is said that he died because he contracted smallpox while successfully curing his followers.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
Sukhmani Sahib, known under the title of Gauri Sukhmani in the scripture, is usually translated to mean Prayer of Peace is a set of 192 padas present in the holy Guru Granth Sahib, the main scripture and living Guru of Sikhism from Ang 262 to Ang 296. This Gurbani text was written by the 5th Guru, Guru Arjan (1563–1606) at Amritsar in around 1602. Guru Arjan first recited the bani at Gurdwara Barth Sahib in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India.
Anandpur Sahib, also referred simply as Anandpur, is a city in Rupnagar district (Ropar), on the edge of Shivalik Hills, in the Indian state of Punjab. Located near the Sutlej River, the city is one of the most sacred religious places in Sikhism, being the place where the last two Sikh Gurus, Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh, lived. It is also the place where Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699. The city is home to Takhat Sri Kesgarh Sahib, the third of the five Takhts in Sikhism.
Goindwal, also known as Goindwal Sahib and alternatively transliterated as Goindval, is located in the Taran Taran district of the Majha region of Punjab, India about 23 km (14 mi) from Tarn Taran Sahib. In the 16th century it became an important center for the Sikh religion during the Guruship of the Guru Amar Das Ji. Goindwal is on the banks of the Beas River and is one of the focal points of small scale industries of Tarn Taran district.
Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century and opposed many traditional practices like fasting, Upanayana, idolatry, caste system, ascetism, azan, economic materialism, and gender discrimination.
Dera Baba Nanak is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, in the state of Punjab, India. It is the sub-district headquarters of Dera Baba Nanak tehsil. It is 36 km away from Gurdaspur city, the capital of the district. Since November 2019, a corridor between India and Pakistan has been established at its shrine.
Kartarpur is a town located, just 102 km from Lahore city in the Shakargarh Tehsil, Narowal District in Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the right bank of the Ravi River, it is said to have been founded by the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, where he established the first Sikh commune.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, also called Kartarpur Sahib, is a gurdwara in Kartarpur, located in Shakargarh, Narowal District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is built on the historic site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, settled and assembled the Sikh community after his missionary travels and lived for 18 years until his death in 1539. It is one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Golden Temple in Amritsar and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib.
Gurū Nānak, also known as Bābā Nānak, was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Katak Pooranmashi, i.e. October–November.
Gurdwara Janam Asthan, also referred to as Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, is a highly revered gurdwara that is situated at the site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, was born. The shrine is located in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan.
Hazur Sahib, also known as Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib, is one of the five takhts in Sikhism. The gurdwara was built between 1832 and 1837 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839). It is located on the banks of the Godavari River at the city of Nanded in the state of Maharashtra, India.
A takht, or taḵẖat, literally means a throne or seat of authority and is a spiritual and temporal centre of Sikhism. There are five takhts, which are five gurudwaras that have a very special significance for the Sikh community. Three are located in Punjab whilst the remaining two are located outside of it.
The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing and religious corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, near Narowal in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, India. The crossing allows devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan, 4.7 kilometres from the India–Pakistan border on the Pakistani side without a visa. However, Pakistani Sikhs are unable to use the border crossing, and cannot access Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side without first obtaining an Indian visa or unless they work there.
The Gurdwara Gyan Godri Sahib, also known as Gurdwara Sri Gyan Godri Sahib, meaning "treasure of knowledge" was one of the holiest Gurdwara at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It existed at the place where The Bharat Scouts and Guides office exists today at the market in Subhash Ghat of Har Ki Pauri which is verified by Municipal Corporation Haridwar records of 1935.