200 Years Saved - Dharma Protects the Tree ( Taru )

Dharma saves the Tree (Taru)

We could save 200 years with the last  two years efforts. 

For the last two years, State Highway 6A in Tamil Nadu  was expanded for a four lane traffic.

In this process there were 1000s of trees were cut by the state highways department. In this process, Responsible Citizens iYakkam with the support of Siva Temple Authorities at Malayanoor Chekkadi Village in Tiruvanna Malai District, approached all the government authorities to protect the two 200 years old trees. One is a Banyan Tree and the other is a Peepal Tree. 

The State Highways department had put the survey stone denoting the two trees have to be cut for Highway alignment.

We wrote letters to District Collector, District Forest Officer, The Environment secretary for intervention. Finally highways came to cutting only the Banyan tree and assured to leave the Peepal tree after pruning the branches.

Our team didnt lose heart, at every opportune moment the Temple Trustee Mr. Ashok Kumar & RCi Volunteer Mr. Mahendran kept on discussing & writing to the authorities. Many devotees mainly children had formed human chain around the tree and taken vow to protect the tree. Now only we realise Universe listens to the Pure minds. 

At that stage, we resigned to the fact to locate a place closer to the temple tank to replant the banyan tree with the help of earth movers.

In the same time, RCi, has been requesting the temple authorities to grow a Bull in the village and do pradosham pooja ( which is the 13th day in the moon cycle from Full moon to New moon to Full Moon ), which is normally done for the stone NANDI in every Siva temple. Our intention was to revive the age old practice of Native Bull rearing for natural way progeny creation, as the village is fully practicing artificial insemination of cows.  This thought process grew louder after Indian Government installed the SENGOL with the BULL as the symbol of DHARMA in the Parliament. 

All of a sudden, one farmer from a neighboring village offered a Bull as a offering to the temple in March. Temple didn't have man power to look after and had paucity of funds to arrange for feed to the bull. Still Mr. Ashok agreed to keep the Bull for one Pradosham pooja and see. Now at the end of May 2024 , 6 Pradosham poojas have been done to the Live Bull first and after feeding the Bull then pooja was done to Temple Nandi. 

To all our surprise, On 2nd June 2024, Highways department removed only three branches of the Banyan tree and the full 200 year old tree is standing tall at the same location. What we started as a campaign to protect two age old trees has become a success possibly due to a divine intervention in the form of BULL. 

The age old sanskrit proverb " Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah : " meaning One who protects the Dharma will be protected by Dharma. The root word for Dharma is "Taru" - which is tree in Sanskrit and Giver in Tamil. Here the Tree and the Bull have become saviors of each other.  We could see Saint Vallalar's prophecy " Taru onga Dharmam Ongum " meaning " Increase in tree cover increases Righteousness " becoming a reality in front of us. 

Here The divine Bull was kept under the banyan tree & peepal tree and the Bull ensured his protectors are protected.

On this world Environment Day on 5th June 2024, even if we had planted 200 nos of 1 year old tree saplings in one place will not be the equivalent to protecting one 200 year old tree. Here we got two for Joy.

Bull seen behind the tree

Mr Ashok with the BULL

Rather another coincidence too, Emperor Ashoka, was well known for planting trees as his Dharma, here in this Temple too, Mr. Ashok , has been given the  role to protect the Trees and the Bull.