Sadhguru pitches five-nation Himalayan Board for disaster preparedness, pledges Rs 1 crore relief

Spiritual leader Sadhguru Jagadish Vasudev has called for the creation of a five-nation Himalayan Board comprising India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan to strengthen regional cooperation in tackling disasters in the fragile Himalayan region, an official statement by the Isha Foundation said on Aug 31.

The statement said Sadhguru, speaking at an event titled “In Solidarity With Nepal” in Kathmandu on Aug 30, also pledged Rs one crore to Nepal’s Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund for relief and rehabilitation efforts following the devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border.

The disaster has left thousands of people missing, and 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 Chinese side of the border when the disaster struck. Three Isha volunteers stationed on the Nepal side are also reportedly unaccounted for.

Calling for cooperation that goes beyond political boundaries, Sadhguru said the Himalayan countries must treat the mountain range as a shared ecological system.

“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,” he said.

He stressed that the proposed Himalayan Board should be established without delay, arguing that the region's fragile ecosystem requires collective action.

“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,” Sadhguru said.

He said the scale of the disaster was beyond what could have reasonably been anticipated and argued that Nepal should not be expected to handle its aftermath alone.

“Nobody expected something like this to happen... 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,” he said.

During the event, actor Manisha Koirala asked Sadhguru what people could learn from such devastation. Responding to the question, he said people should remain conscious of the fragility of life rather than waiting for disasters to remind them of mortality.

“As a human being, we should not wait for disasters to happen. The first and the foremost thing to understand about being human is that we should know every moment of our life that we are mortal,” he said.

Sadhguru also cautioned against attributing the disaster to divine or mystical reasons, saying such explanations could undermine the suffering of those affected.

“Physical phenomena are physical phenomena ruled by physical laws. So let's not belittle human suffering by giving philosophies or ideologies or mystical explanations,” he said.

Offering further support to those who died in the disaster, Sadhguru announced that Kala Bhairava Karma, a consecrated death ritual performed at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore for those who have died natural or unnatural deaths, would be conducted for the departed.

The “In Solidarity With Nepal” event brought together people in Kathmandu to express support for those affected by the disaster. Sadhguru said immediate relief must be accompanied by long-term regional cooperation to protect the Himalayan ecosystem and strengthen preparedness for future disasters.

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