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The Babas At the Castle
Sikh
environmentalists join world leaders at Windsor Castle
Priyaleen K.
Renuka
 Sikh
environmentalists Sant Sewa Singh of Khadur Sahib fame and Baba
Balbir Singh Seechewal were among 200 representatives of all major
faiths of the world who gathered at Windsor Castle, near London, for
a three-day conference that concluded last Wednesday.
The meet was
aimed at sensitising the world’s political leaders regarding the
need to put climate change on top of the global agenda.
UN Secretary
General Ban ki Moon called upon the world leaders to take notice of
what the religious leaders had to say regarding climate change. “The
world’s religions have a crucial role to play in the global fight
against climate change,” he said, characterizing the battle against
global warming as a “moral” cause.
The UN
secretary-general urged religious leaders to “set an example for the
lifestyle of billions” by establishing green places of worship,
purchasing environmentally friendly goods and investing ethically in
sustainable products.
 Leaders from
nine major faiths met in this exceptional initiative to harness the
power of religion in the fight against climate change. The
ecumenical gathering at the home of Queen Elizabeth II, 35
kilometers west of
London,
was co-staged by the United Nations and Prince Philip’s Alliance of
Religions and Conservation (ARC).
Leaders from
China, Ghana, India, Japan, Indonesia, US and Tanzania attended the
conference organized by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation
(ARC) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The gathering
came just weeks before world leaders are due to adopt plans to
counter global warming at a major UN summit in
Copenhagen
in December. Dr Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on
Religion and Education, which has drafted an EcoSikh plan, said: “It
is vital we present to the world the wisdom of the Gurus to tackle
this crisis facing the world.”
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At the
conference, Baba Sewa Singh said: “This challenging issue of
global warming can be handled by changing individual behaviour
and adopting a simpler style of living.” Baba Balbir Singh
Seechewal told the audience that he drew inspiration from Guru
Nanak in his work for the environment. |
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Towards this
end, two Sikh “eco warriors” were introduced to the audience -- Baba
Sewa Singh, who has planted over a lakh trees in three states of
India, and Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, who led a campaign to clean
up the 162-km Kali Bein, a rivulet associated with Guru Nanak.
At the
conference, Baba Sewa Singh said: “This challenging issue of global
warming can be handled by changing individual behaviour and adopting
a simpler style of living.”
Baba Seechewal
told the audience he drew inspiration from Guru Nanak in his work
for the environment. “We must treat the earth as our mother, as
professed by Guru Nanak,” he said.
Kusum Vyas, a
Hindu delegate from the
US,
said she was inspired by the Hindu philosophy to work on nature
preservation. A “Hindu plan” was drafted in the UK, and work is
underway to link it up with Hindu temples and organizations in the
US and India.
 Ban ki Moon said
in an interview just before the event said, “Without the full
support and cooperation and participation of religious leaders, it
will be very difficult to create a political climate conducive to
agreeing a very balanced and harmonious and equitable and binding
agreement in
Copenhagen.
They have a strong influence and network. The reach is wide and deep
and long so we must use this long and wide and deep reach in our
common efforts to address climate change.”
At the
conference, he said, “With the climate change conference in
Copenhagen - where nations are expected to wrap up talks on an
ambitious new agreement - just over one month away, it is a pivotal
moment for our world.”
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Medina to go green
Medina will
be the first Islamic city to go green, the Grand Mufti of Egypt
announced at the conference. He said the project will be part of
a seven year plan to make the religion more environmentally
friendly. Speaking at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation
(ARC) conference at Windsor Castle, Sheikh Ali Gomaa, said Islam
teaches its followers to protect the Earth. He announced the
plans for Medina as part of a seven year plan to make the faith
more environmentally friendly by teaching about climate change
in Islamic schools, using renewable energy in mosques and
encouraging green habits in places of pilgrimage
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Let’s
Engage Too
There are
many questions that the Sikh community should be discussing on
the environment front. Please remember that the issue will
engage even a more intense attention of the world as concerns
about climate change and global warming become immediate. Here
are some thought markers that the World Sikh News would like to
list. We invite our readers to send in their thoughts on these
issues.
1. Fair
treatment for Punjab’s farmers, who are largely Sikhs. They are
stuck with input-intensive agriculture.
2. The
larger issue of environmental injustice in Punjab.
3. There is
a pesticide dilemma in Punjab. Pesticide usage was a component
of the Green Revolution but as we move towards, or are being
pushed towards, GM crops, where do we stand on pesticide usage,
and what impact will it have eventually on our natural
resources.
4. What is
happening as far as the loss of biodiversity is concerned in
Punjab.
5. It is
time we pay attention that the issue of human rights is not an
abstract one and we need to connect it to the struggle for
saving the environment of Punjab and the fight against
environmental degradation in Punjab and questions of sustainable
agriculture and sustainable living.
6. We need
to evolve a Sikh view point on the management of the Indus River
Catchment Basin.
7. We need
to refocus on the healing plants of Punjab, the herbal trees of
Punjab, the connections between environment and language, data
collection for improvement of villages in Punjab, and a larger
Sikh perspective on the environment.
8. The
gurdwaras must also emerge as an environmental sanctuary. Langar
cooking practices must be brought in line with intelligent
resource use practices. Gurbani’s environmental connect should
be underlined in discourses.
9. A return
to the Sikh ways of life, simple and enriched, closer to nature
and in sync with nature, needs to be stressed. We should
encourage research and articles in the domain of Sikh
Eco-Theology.
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11
November 2009
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