The book is a continuation of Ms Jain’s previous work ‘Encyclopedia of Indian Saints and Sages’ which was co-written with the author N K Prasad and was launched in 2012. MUMBAI: A panel of the country’s most revered spiritual leaders, who met on the occasion of World Environment Day in Mumbai, pledged to plant trees and cut down on carbon emissions to reduce the harmful impact of climate change. The event was followed by the unveiling of Times of India Group chairperson Indu Jain’s latest book ‘Encyclopedia of Indian Saints and Sages: Volume 2’.
The book is a continuation of Ms Jain’s previous work ‘Encyclopedia of Indian Saints and Sages’ which was co-written with the author N K Prasad and was launched in 2012.
“Encyclopedia of Indian Saints and Sages is my effort to share with you all the inspiring lives, works and thoughts of some of the most followed gurus, saints and spiritual sects in India. It has timeless knowledge, which is free from biases of religion, caste and geography and is available for all to imbibe and adopt in their lives,” Ms Jain said.
The guest panelists included B K Shivani of the Brahma Kumaris foundation, Baba Ramdev, the founder of Patanjali, Sadhguru, founder of the Isha Foundation and Acharya Lokesh, founder president of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti organisation. Ms Jain writes that the book is a deeper dwelling into the lives of sages and spiritual leaders who have resided in our country.
“As we journey deeper into the 21st century, developing technology for outer growth, we must also harness the power of our millennia-old civilizational knowledge to infuse our modern lives with spiritual traditions. Traditions and culture that once took India to the pinnacle of success,’’ Ms Jain writes in the preface to the book.
“I dedicate this book to the youth of our co-untry.” The panelists also deliberated on how India can overcome the challenge of global warming and pollution through the principles of spiritual well-being and minimalism. The spiritual gurus along with Ms Jain and 89,000 defence-personnel remotely viewing the event pledged to plant at least one tree a year and cut down on their carbon emissions.
“The world is facing three major problems in my opinion: first is global warming and climate change, second is the rise of terrorism and the third is poverty and inequality,” said Sadhguru.
“The highest cause of untimely death currently is global warming. This is an international problem and we all should think deeply about how this can be solved.”
The panelists further discussed possible policy interventions such as green tax and river conservation plans. Ill effects of consumerism was also a major point of discussion between the panelists.
“Conservation begins right from home. We should embrace the natural solutions available in front of us rather than looking for respite in goods sold by large multi national companies,” Baba Ramdev said.
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