June 11, 2022: “If we move towards soil extinction…most of us will not come out it. Once food shortages happen, civilizations will collapse. Our very humanity will evaporate within – few days,” warned Sadhguru speaking at a Save Soil event in Nashik jointly organized by Deshdoot and Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj. Sadhguru who is currently in the Indian leg of Save Soil journey, today arrived at the city to clock over 25,000 km of his solo 100-day 30,000 km Save Soil motorcycle journey. From Nashik, Sadhguru will be heading to Mumbai where he will address a star-studded mega event at Jio World Convention Centre tomorrow.
Sadhguru, who has come to Nasik for the first time, was welcomed by Smt Nilimatai Vasantrao Pawar, Secretary General, K.T.H.M. College, and Shri Janak Sarda, Managing Director, Deshdoot who presented him with a traditional Pagdi depicting the courage and valor of Maratha regime. Smt Nilimatai Vasantrao Pawar felicitated him with a Paithani Shela, a traditional Maharashtrian silk shawl and the Pancha Tatva of Nashik- the five elements also containing the water of River Godavari.
Often considered as an inert substance, Sadhguru reminded that the top soil which is the first 15-18 inches of soil is “the cream of the planet” having “zillions of life forms within it.” It takes 600-800 years to create one inch of soil without human footprint and “at the present level of human activity, if you have to create one inch of top soil, it would take 13,000 years,” explained Sadhguru to describe the importance of saving the soil.
Sadhguru stressed that today we stand at a cusp of time, because as a “generation we have this opportunity that in the next 10-15 years’ time, we can make a significant turnaround,” alerting that the loss of bio-diversity will make revival of soil untenable after 25-40 years’ time. In democratic nations governments follow the mandate of the people and he urged the people to raise their voice and keep it raised till the needed policies to revive soil are created in the state and the country.
Shri Janak Sarda, Managing Director, Deshdoot thanked Sadhguru for launching the movement and said, “We all understand the quality of soil is depleting. Our farmers are experiencing it every day. It is not only the farmers, but we consumers are also experiencing it in form of quality and quantity of food…As you have been saying it is time to act now, we at Deshdoot see this program as beginning for the action to be taken.”
The event was studded with strings of rich cultural performances that included renowned vocalist Pandit Aviraj Tayade, and his team performing an entertaining classic number.
Radhe Jaggi, a Bharatnatyam dancer along with Isha Samskriti weaved a combination of classical music, dance and Kalaripayattu to draw home the connection between humans and soil. An event in Nashik is incomplete with the famous Nashik dhol, and performance of Akhtar Bhai Shaikh’s Nashik Dhol stood true to the city’s reputation. On full display was also the rich cultural extravaganza of Maharashtra with people sporting colorful ethnic attires to welcome Sadhguru.
Sadhguru who on March 21, 2022 embarked on a lone motorcycle journey across Europe, Central Asia and Middle East nations few days ago reached the Western port city of Jamnagar, Gujarat. Continuing his Indian leg of journey across 9 Indian states, he has passed through Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. At a Save Soil event in New Delhi, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Sadhguru to express his wholehearted support and encouragement for the movement.
Sadhguru also presented the Soil Policy Handbook to Prime Minister, which offers practical, scientific solutions that governments can put into action to revitalize the soil in their country.
Since he arrived in India, the Government of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have signed an MoU to Save Soil in the state. The movement, till date, has touched billions while 74 countries have agreed to act to save their nations’ soils. To a topic undeniably absent in mass awareness, since the start of Sadhguru journey across 27 nations, over 2.7 billion people have spoken about soil. Over 15 lakh children in India have written to the Prime Minister as well, requesting him to act to save the nation’s soil and their collective future. More than 65,000 students of from more than 300 schools in over 25 districts of UP have written letters to the Prime Minister.
The primary objective of the Save Soil Movement is to urge all nations of the world to mandate a minimum of 3-6% organic content in agricultural soils through urgent policy reforms. Without this minimum organic content, soil scientists have warned of the imminent death of soil, a phenomenon they are terming as ‘soil extinction.’
In India, nearly 30% of fertile soils in the country have already become barren and are incapable of yield. The United Nations has warned that at current rates of soil degradation, 90% of the earth could turn into desert by 2050- less than three decades from now. To avert this catastrophe, Sadhguru initiated the Save Soil movement in March this year, and travelled across 27 countries meeting leaders, politicians, scientists and citizens to galvanise support to Save Soil.
The Save Soil Movement is supported by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN World Food Programme, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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For event pictures, please click here.
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Conscious Planet: Save Soil, is a global movement to inspire a conscious approach to saving our soil and planet. This is, first and foremost, a people’s movement. The aim is to demonstrate the support of over 3.5 billion people (more than 60% of the world’s voting population) around the world and empower governments to initiate policy-driven action to revitalize soil and halt further degradation. World leaders, influencers, artists, experts, farmers, spiritual leaders, NGOs and citizens are vocally supporting the movement to re-establish Humanity’s relationship with Soil.
For Pictures, Videos and Soil Facts please visit the Soil Dossier.
Website: savesoil.org
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