Happy Earth Day!

"By the grace of the saint, the dried branch has blossomed green." —SGGS, Ang 102

The Guru's have taught us that there is no separation between the Creation and the Creator. For example Guru Ram Das ji writes:  'ਪਉਣ ਪਾਣੀ ਧਰਤੀ ਆਕਾਸੁ ਘਰ ਮੰਦਰ ਹਰਿ ਬਨੀ ॥' "Air, water, earth and sky ~ the Lord has made these His home and temple." In alignment with these teachings, Sikhs all over the world have been planting trees, and creating forests, in the name of the Guru (photo courtesy of EcoSikh).  Our humble offering, Can Trees Grow Overnight?, is a inspiring animated story about the miracle of faith, prayer and trees, written by Hunar Kaur when she was 10 years old.

In an interview last year, she explained how she came up with the novel concept of associating Bhai Kanhaiya Ji, with the planting of trees:

"The main part of the story was that the earth was really thirsty for seva from us, and we had to take the role of Bhai Kanhaiya ji and feed the earth with kindness like he fed the wounded soldiers with water – even the enemies."  –Hunar Kaur Bhatia

This timely story, was inspired by the pressing environmental concerns and global warming of our planet and takes a spiritual activist approach.

It tells of a young girl’s devotion and the divine guidance that came to her from God, along with the miracle that followed when she combined faith with action. It teaches us about the Guru’s message of seva without discrimination through invoking the energy and spirit of Bhai Kanhaiya ji, seeing God in all, and the importance of taking responsibility for our actions and caring for our planet, Mother Earth.

We felt this was such in important message, taking care of Mother Earth as part of Sikhi, that we produced and made her story into an animation. 

Bless our children, and ourselves, to take this message to heart on this day.