Sadhguru: This failure is not just a failure of one farmer, this will be a failure for the nation.
Now you’re in cinema, I don’t expect you to come and plant trees; you just have to support.
If a beggar is doing one sapling a week, everybody should decide “how much they can do?”
It is a test of our humanity.
Raai Laxmi: Hello Sadhguru.
Sadhguru: Namaskaram (Laughs).
Raai Laxmi: Thank you for having me here.
It’s…
Sadhguru: Wonderful to have you here.
Thank you for the contribution you made…
Raai Laxmi: Thank you…
Sadhguru: You made and inspiring many young people, could be a part of it.
Raai Laxmi: And thank you for making this happen in such a short notice.
I never expected…
I was always wanting to meeting you.
So, Sadhguru ji,
the cause that you’re supporting right now and you’re… the whole rally is about Cauvery Calling.
It’s a great movement.
And hats off to you for bringing this up and taking this initiative.
You know…
When I got a call for this cause, I’ve said, “I’m there for it,” because
I know the issues, the problems, about it.
So, I have a few questions to ask, not only on this and also
the questions that, you know, I always wanted to
speak… speak up and wanted to put it across to you and finally the day is here (Laughter).
So…
In our country, we forget so many important things around.
Whereas, the too many important things in terms of we… we as people, forget
the minute things of knowing, whatever is coming… whatever the cause is.
We…
People do talk about it for some time and then everyone forgets about it.
And I have seen for a while now this Cauvery Calling… that Cauvery Calling,
we have immense support from all over.
So, how do you amplify this and you think “how can we sustain this for over twelve years.”
Sadhguru: See, if you want something substantial to happen, it takes a long term commitment.
Well, as you said, “you know the problem,” (Laughs), what I discovered was, everybody
knows what’s the problem, everybody knows what’s the solution, but they need a fool to bell the cat.
Raai Laxmi: No.
But the…
Yeah.
Sadhguru: I’m saying everybody knows this but they don’t take it up because they know
it will take up a substantial part of their life.
Raai Laxmi: It’s really a long time.
Sadhguru: Well, if we don’t do this as a generation, we will just fail as a generation
because “what are we giving to the next generation?”
Barren soil, waterless land, what are we giving, is this what you want to give?
So, now all I’m saying is, “Yes, I understand…”
Now you are in cinema, I don’t expect you to come and plant trees, somewhere, okay.
It’s not even practical and it need not be done.
So, this is why… this is a plan, which is an economic plan for the farmer.
Because it’s economic, he will get into it.
And it’s sup…
Economically it’s super successful for him.
Just I met a farmer, who is growing red sanders… we got red sanders from the non-felling category.
His trees today after twelve years are worth twenty-five crores.
So he is not going to take it away in one day, he will take it every year if he takes five – six, his life is made
and he can start replanting again.
So, it’s an endless cycle of income for the farmer
and at a much higher level than what he is earning by growing grains or whatever.
And in between the trees, he can still continue to do all the farming that he wants to do - there is a way to do it,
that’s what agroforestry is about.
So, because this is an economic success, it will continue to happen - only thing is to provide quality saplings.
When I say, “Quality saplings…”
See, our nurseries…
We have thirty-five nurseries, now we are planning to push it to three-hundred-and-fifty nurseries.
These thirty-five nurseries -
when we produce saplings, it will take anywhere between nine to fifteen months to produce a sapling,
which we transplant.
All the commercial nurseries are producing these in three to five months
because they use a lot of urea and just make it grow.
So, that plant when you transplant,
the survival rate will be very, very poor because in the new land it won’t survive.
So if you give this kind of sapling to the farmer you’ll again push him into a disaster.
So to grow saplings in a responsible manner - the way it needs to be…
It’s very important that this is a success for the farmer
only then this will thrive otherwise you supporting, me supporting is not going to last.
It must become an economic process then it will…
it will naturally the cycle will start and it will keep growing all the time.
So, we want to ensure that happens.
This is why I’m taking the risk of asking for money, which I’ve never done in my life publically, all right.
Because this is a very risky thing, so we set up a board,
a very responsible board, who will manage it, an auditing firm, everything
so that we don’t have the hassles of handling the money.
But we need to do this.
So, when you say, “how many…”
“How do I keep this up?”
See, you don’t have to plant trees, you just have to support.
You just have to ensure it.
Forty-two rupees is what we’re talking about.
This forty-two rupees has been arrived at by experts how this amount _____
Though there are saplings you can raise for twelve – fifteen rupees.
There are saplings which will take two-hundred-fifty, three-hundred rupees because of the duration.
Some saplings are ready in twelve months; some are ready in thirty-six months.
So, accordingly it will cost more and there are a whole lot of things.
So averaging at forty-two, if we produce two-hundred-and-forty-two crore saplings,
only then this will be successful because now we have gone to over seven-thousand villages.
You know, with the LED screens, displaying what is agroforestry,
how it should be done, what is the different formats you can do it, the science of it, the economics of it, all this,
there is a huge enthusiasm among the farmers.
And the governments -
both the governments, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu government and also the Central Environment Ministry,
all are hundred percent on the pitch wanting to do what is needed to be done.
We have given them five points, all of them have agreed to the five points,
including the financial subsidy for the framer for the first four years.
So these two pieces are in place now.
Now the thing is, when the farmer enthusiasm is like this, we need to produce saplings, good quality saplings.
Now I can’t buy it off the market and give it to them because if it fails…
Because this failure is not just a failure of one farmer,
this will be a failure for the nation.
In protecting the soil of this country we would have failed
so we want to make sure the right kind of saplings are grown.
So, this growing the saplings, planting
will take another one-and-a-half to two years before the actual things go on.
Right now we have excess to certain number of saplings, which is little over a few… a couple of crores or
three crores and something like that.
That we will start doing in the coming year itself.
But the rest has to happen, we have to grow them.
So we’re thinking of three-hundred-and-fifty nurseries of our own plus thinking of training
about 10,000 farmers to grow their own nurseries and make a business out of it,
so that growing saplings itself can be a lucrative business for the farmer.
Especially rural women, in their backyard they can grow, thousand, five-thousand saplings
with the household water they can do this and it can be lot of money for them.
So, this is how we are looking at it, as an economic plan.
Because it’s an economic plan, it will succeed.
We will make sure it succeeds.
Stay with us.
Raai Laxmi: But Sadhguru ji, like I said, you know, in today’s time,
people… the kind of patience that people have,
do you think they would be with us for this long - for the cause that we are taking it forward and so strongly
and trying to, you know, save the root cause of the entire campaign?
Sadhguru: See, because the engagement that we are asking from them is only forty-two rupees per saplings.
If people…
Already people have started committing.
“Monthly I will contribute ten trees,
hundred trees,” like this different people according to their capacity are doing.
The beggars… A few beggars in Chennai are contributing one sapling per week. Right?
So, if a beggar is doing one sapling a week, everybody should decide how much they can do.
It’s not for me to tell them, “Do this. Do that.”
But all I’m saying is,
this is a test of your humanity.
When 300,000 farmers have died, suicide… not by some natural disaster they died, suicide.
Over 47,000 farmers have committed suicide - in Cauvery basin, in the last twelve years or so.
So, it is a test of our humanity…
Raai Laxmi: That’s huge.
Sadhguru: It is not something else. This is a clear test of “how human are we.”
Raai Laxmi: Yes. Humanity should come in in this phase. So, thank you for that.
(Nadi Stuti)