Sadhviji’s Message On the Sierra Fires

In the midst of the exhilarating Spiritual Pilgrimage through the mountains and forests I took this month in honor of #WorldEnvironmentDay, in the midst of the glory and grandeur of Mother Nature, we were heartbroken to see the hundreds and thousands of acres of burned forest. From the coastal redwoods of Santa Cruz and Big Sur to the Sierras, wherever we looked fire had ravaged mountainsides and valleys. The fires in California get worse every year as climate change intensifies, the rains are less and the heat is more. The parched land becomes kindling and goes up quickly in flames from a cigarette butt or lightning or anything else. These trees are what give us oxygen, shade and WATER. Fires in the forests are not only emergencies for those who live there and have to suffer from evacuation and loss of homes. They are also emergencies with regard to the future of the people to have oxygen to breath and water to drink. That which we do that contributes to climate change or allows it to go on unabated and unchecked is not only having tragic impacts in the future but it is already wrecking tragic havoc on lives of every species as the sacred life-giving forests burn each year. And of course it’s not just California!! This year saw horrendous fires in my home state of Uttarakhand as well. It’s across the nations and across the world. As the planet gets hotter and drier, we will see more of it burn down. That is why we all must come together to minimize our carbon footprint, and to demand our governments minimize our countries’ footprints. Let us truly use less, consume less, recycle more, go vegetarian, go green, go eco-friendly and live simply so that others may simply live!