Art of Living Foundation Sows Seeds of Life
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
NOVEMBER 06, 2009

From Left: the Mission Green Earth volunteers from the local chapter of the Art of Living Foundation met at the Durga Bari Temple to start a tree planting project this past weekend, Mission Green Earth coordinators Abhijit Bhattacharyya (left) and Amit Nair (center with spade) and other volunteers besides the pine sapling they planted at the Durga Bari Temple.

HOUSTON: You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for planting trees. Brilliant, cloudless skies. The crispness of a cool early Fall morning that burned off before noon. The end of Daylight Savings Time that gave an extra hour for the effort to come.

As the dozen volunteers slowly arrived and assembled at the Durga Bari parking lot last Sunday, November 1 off Schiller Lane – Temple Lane to some because of the five large religious complexes that abound the short quarter mile road off Highway 6 north of Bellaire – they came with a purpose that was reinforced by the oath they had taken two weekends ago on October 18, the day after Diwali, in the same place. That day, they had sworn, as did nearly 173 million people across the globe, on Stand Up and Take Action Day, to uphold the Millennium Goals that were adopted nine years ago. Now there are over 50 core volunteers in Houston.

“The founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, of the Art of Living Foundation collaborated with the United Nations in 2000,” explained an enthused Prabuddha Roy, blue bandana over his head, a coordinator for the Houston branch, “to undertake eight goals for the betterment of the world. We” he gestured to the other eager faces, “are here to accomplish one of them, Mission Green Earth.”

It is a simple goal: to make the Earth, in light of global warming and trapped greenhouse gases, a more breathable place again. Mission Green Earth seeks to plant 100 million trees across the planet by 2015 and has so far planted 750,000 through local chapters like this. The trees provide more than shade: they hold the ground together and prevent soil erosion and they become the lungs of the planet by taking in carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, and releasing oxygen. “It’s a pretty simple vision,” explained volunteer Pramod Bansal who came with his wife Sushmita. “We don’t need to do big projects to have an impact on the world. If we plant a few trees and encourage a few friends to do the same and they ask their friends, the effort expands quickly.” More trees through multi-level marketing.

Working with Trees for Houston, a non-profit that undertakes similar projects in the Bayou City, MGE planted 75 trees last year: 15 at the nearby Arya Samaj Temple, 50 at the Shadowbriar Elementary School on Westheimer on the west side and 10 more elsewhere.

“TFH donates the trees and tools and gives us valuable supervision,” said another coordinator, Abhijit Bhattacharyya, who lives in The Woodlands but is active at the Durga Bari. “We planted a pine sapling on October 18 and now we will plant another 100 on the Temple grounds.” The trees are from a variety: pecan, wax myrtle, pine or live oak.

As the volunteers waited for the trees to arrive, they surveyed the site, where they would plant another 50 tall trees before the day was over. Amit Nair, another coordinator, went over the details as they stood by a mound of mulch that had been dropped off the day before. Along the west fence line every 10 feet, all the way to the north and then along the boundary of the future Westpark Drive extension, the trees would form a perimeter, as laid out in the Temple Master Plan.

Some of the volunteers were clearly not dressed for the hard work ahead for them, but shovels in hand and with a sense of mission, they pressed on. It would be a long, satisfying day and they would replenish Mother Earth one tree at a time.

For more details on Art of Living and its goals, visit www.artofliving.org or www.standuptakeaction.org. To volunteer, call Prabuddha Roy at 713-516-3118 or Abhijit Bhattacharyya at 832-372-1098