Kathmandu [Nepal], August 31 (ANI): Spiritual leader Sadhguru, in his first public appearance since the devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border, pledged Rs 1 crore towards Nepal's Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund while addressing an event titled "In Solidarity with Nepal" in Kathmandu on Sunday.
Sadhguru also called for greater cooperation among the Himalayan nations to respond collectively to disasters affecting the fragile mountain region, stressing that the Himalayas transcend political boundaries.
The disaster has left thousands of people missing, with many feared dead. Among those still unaccounted for are 77 participants of Isha Sacred Walks Kailash Sojourn, who were at the Gyirong immigration centre on the China side of the border when the disaster struck, along with three Isha volunteers stationed on the Nepal side, according to the release.
Sadhguru proposed the creation of a five-nation Himalayan Board comprising India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, and called on the countries to look beyond political boundaries while dealing with the mountain system shared by them.
"The mountains don't know your political affiliation. The mountains don't know what nonsense or language you speak. Even if you cannot administer it as one body, at least consultation must happen as one body. There must be some congruence of action in what we do because the Himalayas are the most fantastic and majestic feature on the planet. At the same time, they are very fragile," Sadhguru asserted.
Emphasising the need for such a body to be established urgently, he added, "A body comprising all these nations where the Himalayan ranges run has to happen now. Even if political administrations are separate, the mountain ranges have to be looked at as a feature that needs to be protected for future generations on the planet. If we don't do this and go on thinking, okay, it's Nepal's problem, let them deal with their problem, there will never be a solution."
He emphasised that the scale of the disaster was beyond what could have reasonably been anticipated, and that its aftermath called for a collective response rather than one that Nepal would be expected to manage alone.
"Nobody expected something like this to happen, that three-fourths of a glacial ice cube will just fall down four thousand feet down the peak. Not something anybody calculates it for. But now that it's happened, we must look at this because this is not something a small nation like Nepal can solve by themselves," Sadhguru said.
Actress Manisha Koirala, who shared the stage with Sadhguru, asked him what people could take away from an experience of such devastation. His response moved beyond the immediate tragedy to a reminder about the fragility of human life.
"As a human being, we should not wait for disasters to happen. The first and foremost thing to understand about being human is that we should know every moment of our life that we are mortal. If we are continuously conscious about this, we will plan and execute our life in the most sensible way possible," Sadhguru said.
He also urged people not to attribute the disaster to "divine reason" or "mystical possibility", emphasising that such explanations can diminish the reality of human suffering. He stressed the need to distinguish between spiritual dimensions of life and the physical laws that govern natural phenomena.
"No, we should not waste our time on such things. Divinity is another aspect. Physical phenomena is physical phenomena ruled by physical laws. So let's not belittle human suffering by giving philosophies or ideologies or mystical explanations. Maybe this is all God's will. No, this is a physical phenomenon."
In offering support to those who lost their lives, Sadhguru also announced that Kala Bhairava Karma, a consecrated death ritual performed to bring ease and a pleasant transition for the departed in both natural and unnatural deaths, would be performed at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore.
The "In Solidarity with Nepal" event brought together people in Kathmandu to express support for those affected by the disaster.
Beyond immediate relief efforts, Sadhguru called for a deeper collective responsibility towards the Himalayas, emphasising that the mountain ranges transcend political boundaries and that their preservation is a shared responsibility of the nations and communities dependent upon them. (ANI)
Sadhguru calls for 5-nation Himalayan board to address regional disasters; pledges ₹1 crore for Nepal PM disaster fund
