When I read about Julia Butterfly Hill’s activism two decades ago to save
Luna, a thousand year old redwood tree, I was inspired. She lived on a tiny
platform in the tree top for two years to stop Pacific Lumber from clear-
cutting the remaining ancient redwoods. One of the most interesting aspects
was the relationship she formed (via cell phone) with the CEO intending to
clear cut the redwoods.
REFLECT:
Have any conscious activists inspired you?
What did they do and why?
I was reminded of Julia’s conscious activism when I read a book on the
Bishnoi, a religion / group / community in the northern desert of India.
Environmental protection is it’s living prayer. Their guru, Jambhoji
(1452-1536), had a world-changing vision which led him to create twenty-nine
rules for desert people to survive the regular fierce droughts by living in
harmony with the natural world. His “rules”included planting and caring for
khejari (Persian mesquite) trees to hold the sandy soil in place and provide
shade. So for centuries, Bishnoi have planted and protected khejari trees
In 1730, when the Maharajah of Jodhpur ordered his men to cut a khejari
forest for the building of his new palace, Amrita, a nearby Bishnoi villager,
rushed to the site to protest. The officer in change suggested she pay a tax
for each tree (a bribe), and they would go off and cut someone else’s trees.
Bur Amrita’s guru’s rules included (1) to protect all living things, (2) not to cut
trees with the sap of life in them, (3) bribes are the same as stealing. So she
hugged a khejari tree and said, “My head for a tree. It’s a cheap price to pay.”
She was beheaded.
Her three daughters who were watching then followed their mother’s
example. All three were beheaded. Other Bishnoi came to take their place
and hug trees, including a newly married couple, and were beheaded. In all,
363 were massacred. When the Maharajah learned of it, he forbad chopping
down living trees and hunting or poaching any animal throughout Bishnoi
land.
That legacy continues, from organized anti-poaching and environmental
campaigns to individuals planting trees. For Bishnoi, commitment and
determination are a why of life – a way of a prayer life. It permeates
organizations like the Bishnoi Tiger Force as well as individuals’ efforts like
Ramaram Bishnoi.
Ramaran began planting trees in 1962 when he was 25 years old, buying a
few from the tree nursery in Bikhaner. But once those few were planted, and
he looked out over a few twigs sticking out of acres of sand, he realized he
would have to plant a lot of trees to hold the sand in place. But where to get
them? The nearest large nursery was in Jodhpur, a train ride away. And the
train station was 12 miles from his village. So he walked to the train station,
and walking back, he carried all the purchased saplings on his back.
An uneducated man, Ramaram learned forestry from observing his trees.
Some of his saplings did not thrive, so he studied all the trees – learning that
the trees with black roots died, but trees with red or brown roots lived. The
variety of trees included the kheajri and kankeri, common to the area, and
the neem, mahogany, and babool. Observing the babool did not flourish, he
eliminated that species.
He learned to plant in sand in the months of July, August and September,
when the water from the monsoons held the sand together. He could dig a
hole, add some dung to it, and plant the tree. But to survive the extreme heat
and aridity of summer months, each tree needed 40 of liters a water a day –
half in the morning and half at night. Ramaram planted hundreds of trees,
requiring three million liters of water a season. And the nearest well was
several miles away.
Ramaran rented a camel and cart, and filled the cart with water containers.
He drove it to the well, hauled water up from the well one bucket load at a
time to fill the containers, and drove back to his trees. There, he carried
buckets of water to each tree each day – morning and evening – for the four
months of summer.
To continue to support his family and pay for his conscious prayer-life, he
hired out as a plasterer on building sites during the months the trees did not
need his daily attention. He recruited women from his village to help, paying
them two rupees for each tree they planted.
The government has awarded him several medals, and eventually drilled two
bore holes for water near his trees. With the money he saved from renting
the camel and cart, he bought 30,000 saplings for surrounding villages.
AT 85 years of age, Ramaran was still planting and caring for trees. Broad
chested and thick armed, he wears a white dhoti, singlet and turban and
uses a walking stick. In 60 years, he has planted and nurtured over 50,000
trees in his area, creating a healthy ecosystem in a harsh environment.
Every morning, he spreads grain for the birds and the chinkara. He is pleased
his trees give shade to him, to others, to animals, to birds today, and to many
in the future. His conscious prayer-life has been answered with infinite
blessings.
APPLY:
Learn about a person who lives / lived a conscious prayer- life.
Adopt one of their traits and practice it until it’s natural for you.
The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman and the Struggle to Save
the Redwoods, 2001.
My Head for a Tree, The Extraordinary Story of the Boishnoi, Guardians of
Nature, Martin Goodman, Greystone Books, 2025.
