From editor’s desk

Human beings have reigned over all other living beings of this planet since million of years. This supremacy of human beings is rooted in the its ability to think and act through very sophisticated psychological thought processes. While every living being exerts its influence in the natural environment through its continuous interaction with the environment, no species other than human being have made such profound impact on the natural world till date. When compared with other species the Homo sapiens devoid of any significant physical defence mechanism is one of the most vulnerable species on this planet, the only line of defence for human beings had been its advanced mental ability to think, imagine, design and plot. This mental ability has seen the flourishing of human beings through evolutionary timescale from the prehistoric cave dwellers to the contemporary modern human world. There is no dimension more important than ‘Mind,’ and the successful human reign in this planet has proved the supremacy of Mind over the physical attributes. Great human minds have contributed to the benefit of all living beings, the expression of love, affection, compassion, and kindness constitute the most beautiful aspects of our mind. But at the same time, the human mind bestowed with inherent seed of love and compassion deviates to darker alleys of greed, violence, and selfishness. Human history is replete with countless tales of violence, hatred, battles, and wars. The delusional mental projections of greed and selfishness are the root cause of such violence. It is evident from the historical accounts that conflicts, battles, and wars have never given any solution to our world, it has rather contributed to intense sufferings and plight of human beings on this planet. Ironically, human minds which leads to such mayhem can bring peace to this world with equal intensity. It primarily depends on the conditioning of our minds, it depends on our inspirations, our motivations to choose peace instead of violence. The challenge for the peace brokers is to inculcate the seed of compassion and peace in the mindscape of human beings. This stupendous work calls for global responsibility; it requires concerted efforts, the collective efforts in this context will be of greater significance in future. The essence of mind-training must integrate in all forms of education. Schools and colleges have a very crucial to play in this regard because the future citizens of the planet belong to this student’s population. Many individuals, organizations, countries, and communities have showed sincere commitment towards this global responsibility. Nature’s Beckon, has successfully led one of the most unique nature conservation movements of India since 1980s. The 4 decades long journey of this organization characterised with selfless devotion to biodiversity conservation has given birth to a parallel humanitarian movement in Assam. Nature’s Beckon launched a special environment program titled, ‘Ahum Basudhame krite mangaljanak’ on 4^th June, 2022 marking the completion of 40 years of the organisation. This program awakens a new pledge, a new thought for more than 100 schools, covering more than 1 lakhs school students across Assam, from Sadiya to Dhubri. The school students of more than 100 schools, enrolled in the first phase of this program participated in a special oath, ‘ Ahum Basudhame krite mangaljanak‘ (Moi prithivir babey mangaljanak) which translate as ‘I am beneficial for the Earth’. The oath comprises of the following five resolutions:

1. I pledge to remain committed throughout my life, to protect and preserve the forests, wildlife, and environment of India.
2. Nature is our mother, India is our ‘Janmabhumi’ and Assam is our ‘ Karmahumi’. The security, integrity, peace, and richness of our motherland is our goal. I am progressing towards this goal. 
3. I pledge to forever walk on the path of my progress and development. I will remain truthful and will refrain from the consumption of intoxicant substances.
4. I will protect the plants, trees and wildlife living in my surrounding. I will remain mindful to never cause harm to myself and anyone else, through my actions.
5. I will remain respectful towards my school, my teachers, my mentors, and everyone who helps me in my education and progress.

This is a historic event for the nature conservation movement of India, this is first time that school students in such large numbers have come forward to participate in any nature conservation initiative with such enthusiasm. This program initiated with the oath of ‘Moi Prithivir babeiy mangaljanak’, or ‘I am beneficial for the Earth’, is one of the most thought-provoking environment programs ever launched in Assam. This meaningful oath connects the participating students in the new journey for nature conservation with the practice of mind-training; wherein they commit to practice compassion, perseverance, diligence to contribute effectively towards positive development of self, and the protection of forests, natural resources of the country thus pave the way ahead for peace and progress of the country. This program sowed the seeds for growth of compassionate individuals, responsible citizens, happier communities, and a peaceful world in future. The graphic symbol of the program represented with a five leaved tender shoot of Banyan tree perched in a divine earthen pitcher- the symbol of growth and fertility, held upon a blooming lotus flower. These five Banyan leaves connects us all with the five golden vows from ancient India. This initiative of Nature’s Beckon to bring a mind and heart movement through nature conservation beautifully reconnect us with the ancient Indian tradition of ahimsa, karuna and maiytreyee which once swept the entire human world with its truth and radiance. India must wake up to this rising of mind and heart, every Indian ought to share the responsibility of guiding the young Indians on this path of peace and happiness. Teachers, who are revered and respected as Gurus in India since ancient times must take the reign and be the guiding light for their students, they must share the responsibility to encourage and engage the young minds in this noble initiative of Nature’s Beckon. It is a collective responsibility of everyone to empower our future generations with positivity and purpose.