Heartfulness Pulsates With Maestro Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Sublime Music
- The legendary flutist came forward to support Forests by Heartfulness as a fund-raiser and promote the message of afforestation
- The event witnessed the participation of over 25,000 participants at Kanha alone while a huge number joined from across the world online.
The concert followed a satsangh where participants meditated under the guidance of Shri Kamlesh Patel. At least 25,000 people joined the event from Kanha Shanti Vanam as part of the ongoing Bhandara series. The event was streamed live wherein participants from around the world joined in huge numbers enthralled with the bliss of meditation coupled with mellifluous music.
Speaking on the occasion Pujya Daaji said, “Music has a divine connection. This is especially true about classical music that is so close to the divinity. It brings us closer to God. If you have ever noticed, for someone who is not an ardent devotee, it becomes hard to pray or meditate. But soulful music can not only calm his mind, but also bring the focus better and much easily on God. It helps in binding the soul with the divine source. Research has also proven that a certain kind of music can affect individuals spiritually. Different cultures have specific kinds of music for specific occasions to elicit a community mood. If you look at the Buddhist monasteries, there is a special reverberance with the kind of drumming and the chants. The same holds good at a temple. Plants are not left behind at how they can be influenced by music. A study conducted by Dr. T. C. Singh in 1962 at Annamalai University showed that balsam plants that were exposed to classical music grew by 20% with 72% increase in the biomass when compared to the control group. As humans we are privileged to have the opportunity to raise our consciousness to a higher level. Divine music and meditation serve as the means for it. The endpoint is to have our moods still, thoughts calm and unaffected by any worries or external influences. It is very graceful of Pandit Chaurasia to support a noble cause in spreading the message.”
Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, who as an avid green supporter joined hands with Forests by Heartfulness and enchanted the participants with his sublime performance said, “When we talk of Vridavan, the image that crops up is that of Krishna playing his flute as every soul around him including the plants are mesmerized by the divinity of his music. This image is further strengthened by what we have heard from the tales, the folklore and the scriptures of the kind of influence divine music had on sentient beings. Every raga has a mood, every note is a deity in itself. One cannot escape the significance of it if rendered with perfection. We need to create that reverberance – a divine environment wherein people are free from greed, envy and arrogance. Much damage has already been caused to nature. But with baby-steps the damage can be reversed. When I saw the green cover that Kanha today is, I could not believe the impact it can have on the ecology here. The centre is already attracting a number of migratory bird species. Those who are sensible are volunteering to the green initiatives with Forests by Heartfulness. I suppose we all must do our part in help creating forests save this planet.”
The Bhandara festival and the concert can be viewed on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUkBrArIanM
Recently Forests by Heartfulness received impetus by corporates also associating with them in planting more saplings at Kanha Shantivanam. The Heartfulness Tree Conservation Centre also launched a modern Tissue Culture laboratory with the aim of growing endangered indigenous tree species. With a 5,000 sft facility with 10,000 cleanroom technology, 15,00,000 annual sapling production capacity and the finest equipment and infrastructure. A team of experts from India and Israel are overseeing the project. At least five endangered varieties are propagated at the rate of 1.5-2 lacs saplings per year per variety by the Heartfulness Tree Conservation Centre. The raw material sources are obtained from native locations of the endangered species with the help of the Forest Department. Elite plant materials are obtained from fields of Kerala, Assam, AP, Tamilnadu and elsewhere wherein the desired plants are tagged for future use.
There are ongoing conservation projects at Kanha Shantivanam such as the Rainforest Project, the Deccan Plateau Project, the Food Forest Project and the Yatra Garden with volunteers helping in mass plantation. So far 700,000 trees have been planted and 10000 trees saved through translocation efforts and an in-house nursery that has over 500000 varieties of saplings. The various sustainability initiatives at Kanha have resulted in impacting the microclimate of the region in a very positive way transforming a once barren stretch of land to a fertile green oasis resplendent with a variety of flora and fauna not seen before in the region.
While the endemic and food plants are grown, the rock gardens featuring the magnificence of the Deccan Plateau and a chakra-based pathway in the Chakra Garden meant for quiet contemplation attracts spiritual seekers. People are motivated to adopt and gift plants and identify land to plant a sapling by forming a group of volunteers with plantation guidelines as encouraged by the Heartfulness Institute.
About ‘Forests by Heartfulness’ (FBH):
Is an initiative to plant at least 30 million native and endemic trees across India by 2025. For the next three years, under the guidance of a team of agro-forestry, forestry and climate experts. Forests by Heartfulness has also developed its own propriety technology, processes and monitoring mechanisms that promote ‘back to nature’ plantation methodology for high density, optimal and sustainable growth. Every year between October and May (which is the non-plantation season) the nurseries raise plant species and trees, the saplings of which are carefully selected. Mass plantation of the saplings occur in monsoons and late winter by the Heartfulness volunteers, NGOs, school children, farmers, and general public.
Forests by Heartfulness has so far successfully carried out four projects viz.: 1.) The Green Kanha: The Green Kanha is an ex-situ conservation center in Kanha Shanti Vanam, Hyderabad (Headquarters of Heartfulness) with resplendent green spaces. The ongoing efforts in last 5 years transformed Kanha from a barren landscape to a thriving ecosystem. It is fast becoming a model for best practices in nurturing India’s mega-biodiversity, saving endangered and rare species, creating medicinal gardens, and a sanctuary for wild birds and reptiles. 2.)700k saplings to commemorate India’s best Olympics performance of 7 medals planted by end of 2021 nationwide. 3.) Forests by Heartfulness Network of 18 nurseries planned across 18 cities and the 4.) Mayuri Eco-tourism Park : the Kanha nursery team adopted 6.5 acres of hilly land in Mahbubnagar and created a rainforest for the purpose of Eco-Tourism. 3000 forest variety saplings were planted in the barren land and Eco Park is handed over to Mahabubnagar district administration for opening to tourists.
About Heartfulness:
Heartfulness offers a simple set of meditative practices and lifestyle changes, first developed at the turn of the twentieth century and formalized into teaching through Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1945 in India with a goal to bring peace, happiness and wisdom to one heart at a time. These practices are a modern form of Yoga designed to support contentment, inner calm, and stillness, compassion, courage, and clarity of thought, as the first step towards a purposeful life. They are simple and easily adopted and are appropriate for people from all walks of life, cultures, religious beliefs, and economic situations, who are over the age of fifteen. Ongoing training in Heartfulness practices is going on at thousands of schools and colleges, and over 100,000 professionals are meditating in corporations, non-governmental, and government bodies worldwide. More than 5,000 Heartfulness Centers are supported by many thousands of certified volunteer trainers and millions of practitioners in 160 countries.