One who is living Sanatana Dharma thinks, lives and acts in harmony with nature and their lifestyle naturally cares and protects Prthvi (Mother Earth). Envisioned and led by Shri Vivek Gupta, Chinmaya Mission Niagara launched the Prthvi Sevasanga initiative in January 2022.
Why?
The tragedy of human history is decreasing happiness in the midst of increasing comforts.
– Swami Chinmayananda.
Human selfishness, greed and apathy have led to:
● The wildlife population plummeting by more than two thirds in the past 50 years
● Unsustainable living conditions and food insecurity due to weather extremes
● Excessive food waste that can feed about 2 billion people while approximately 690 million people go hungry.
The next 10 years are critical to addressing the climate crisis.
Through the Prthvi Sevasanga initiative, seekers serve individually and collectively to restore the health of our Universal Mother Earth. To date, a community of over 200 seekers across the globe are learning, engaging and supporting environmental efforts through Prthvi Sevasanga.
Every month, seekers meet to learn, discuss, and reflect on topics related to environmental issues. The monthly workshops are led by seekers who are professionals in the field and advocates for protecting the environment. Topics covered in the last 6 months include:
● Climate Change 101 – a beginner’s guide
● Planetary Health – our interaction with the Earth
● Sustainability – living in tune with Nature
● Sustainable Eating Practices – evolving how we eat
● Food Waste – changing how we purchase and consume food
Additionally, every month seekers engage in practices called AIMs (Action to Implement of the Month) to help change individual habits with daily actions such as:
● finding alternatives to the most common type of trash
● choosing local and seasonal foods
● reducing food wastage
● planting trees
● using cold water for laundry and line drying
● unplugging chargers when not in use
● using energy saving mode on electronics
In countless ways, seekers have started living a greener lifestyle in all aspects of life. At a local level, seekers collectively planted over 1000 trees in the span of one month and have begun Prthvi seva projects at their Chinmaya Mission Centres and communities.
Projects include book drives, tree planting, composting, buying biodegradable cleaning and kitchen supplies, developing Prthvi ambassador programmes and generating awareness. At a global level, in under 100 days, the community raised more than $100,000 to support organizations committed to the care of the environment. Support for other organizations working globally to protect our Air, Water, and Earth is ongoing.
With consistent learning and efforts, seekers are inspired to bridge the gap between philosophy and practice, and transition to an ecocentric lifestyle. With this lived inspiration, Prthvi Sevasanga has created a Prthvi Seva Guide to help all Chinmaya Mission Centres and communities take action and incorporate this most important seva into their classrooms and daily operations. The guide will be released on Guru Purnima, 13 July 2022, and will be available at:
https://www.chinmayaniagara.com/
(By Juie Deo)
