So impressed was Bollywood star John Abraham with Peepal Baba’s work that the star gifted him a motor cycle for his travels across India

Environment push: I made Mayur Vihar in Delhi as my base. Here, I established a small plant nursery and started teaching children, college students, families who came visiting, about tree planting, environment, soil preservation, waste management, recycling, water harvesting, composting, organic farming through an organization named Osho Paryavaran Paathshala (Osho Environment School).

Social media helped me to reach out to more people across the country. Today, I have more than 9,000 people connected with me in the digital world. I have volunteers from remote mountain villages to Dalal Street in Mumbai. We connect with our volunteers through our website www.givemetrees.org

Osho and Environment: Environment has been a much neglected area of positive action. As an Osho disciple, I always felt that if I have to do justice to my Master I have to plant trees and get other people to do likewise, for the rest of my life. Whenever I visit Oshodham or Pune Commune, the trees ask me if I am doing what I should be doing.

PEEPAL TREE: WHY IS IT SACRED?

Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa or sacred fig) is very sacred in India. The Hindu scriptures mention it; in the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna declares of all the trees, he is the Peepal. Hindus in India hold a great spiritual regard for the Peepal Tree, they regard it as the tree beneath which Vishnu was born. People tie threads of white, red and yellow silk around it to pray for progeny and rewarding parenthood.

Lord Buddha attained enlightenment mediating under the Peepal tree. So it is also known as Bodhi Tree. According to the Buddha, ‘He who worships the Peepal tree will receive the same reward as if he worshiped me in person’.The site is in present day Bodh Gaya in Bihar, visited by millions from the Far East every year.

The leaves of this tree move continuously even when the air around is still and no wind is blowing. This phenomenon can be explained due to the long leaf stalk and the broad leaf structure. However, religious minded people in Hindu/ Buddhist religion attribute this movement of the leaves to the fact that “devas” or “gods” reside on these leaves and make it move continuously. This fact is also mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita as a verse “O Ashvatha, I honor you whose leaves are always moving...

Sadhus (Hindu ascetics) still meditate beneath sacred fig trees, and Hindus do pradakshina (circumambulation, or meditative pacing) around the sacred fig tree as a mark of worship.

Peepal tree is of great medicinal value. Its leaves serve as a wonderful laxative as well as tonic for the body. It is especially useful for patients suffering from Jaundice. It helps to control the excessive amount of urine released during jaundice. The leaves of Peepal are highly effective in treating heart disorders. It helps to control the palpitation of heart and thereby combat the cardiac weakness. Ayurveda makes an extensive use of the leaves for about 50 disorders including asthma, diabetes, diarrhea, epilepsy, gastric problems, and sexual disorders.