 Hello and welcome. You're watching the Republic Media Network on your screens now. You've known him as a yogi, a mystique and today Joining me is Sadhguru. He's on a mission. Today. You're seeing him in a Biker's gear because he has one message. He's joining us after driving for over 3000 kilometers on a motorbike over the last two weeks and he has a message today. Sadhguru is telling all of us Kaviri is calling. Do you have the heart to hear? Thank you, Sadhguru for joining us on the Republic Media Network First of all your enthusiasm and your positive energy and The mission that you're going ahead with when it comes to saving our rivers tell our viewers about it We need to understand this the most fundamental mistake that most people have in their perception is That most people think river is a source of water or a lake or a well is a source of water No rivers, lakes, ponds and wells are not sources of water. They're only destinations for water The only source of water we have is monsoon rain. We must understand this So the volume of rain that is being showered upon this subcontinent in the last hundred years has not changed much The patterns have changed but the volume has not really changed So our ability to hold water in the land is what has been lost This loss has happened mainly because of the removal of vegetation largely tree cover that's been taken away for example in In Kaveri basin 87% of the tree cover has been removed in the last 50 years So our ability to sequester and augment the water resource in the ground water and in the rivers and the aquifers has been lost Completely so putting this back. How is it possible? Because right now the only real land owner who has large amount of land which is nearly 80% of the land is the farmer So unless the farmer goes grows trees, it is not going to work Why would he grow trees when he's in a desperate condition where a whole lot of them are committing suicide? Thousands of them when this is the condition you can't tell him save the river save the country save the world this kind of preaching So Kaveri calling is an economic plan for the last 18 years. We converted nearly 70,000 farmers into agroforestry and we have seen that within five to seven years Their incomes go up 300 to 800 percent. I'm repeating this 300 to 800 percent three to eight times over But we are right now in the process of converting Three to five thousand farmers per year if we go like this it would take 80 to 100 years as I'm not planning to live that long I decided we will crush crush this hundred hundred years into 12 years And that is Kaveri calling to make sure that at least one third of the land is under shade and under cultivation Because if we want to if we want to enrich the soil There are only two sources for us the leaves from the trees and the animal waste Trees are gone long time ago. And as you know animals are all migrating or rather being transported to other countries So there's no animal waste. There's no tree leaf. There's no way to enrich the soil We're trying to largely grow crops with salts or fertilizers, right? And that is the biggest damage that's happened to the land We have to put back green cover to enrich our soil. This is about the soil If we enrich the soil if it's organically rich then water sequestering will naturally happen and Rivers will flow once again. Yes, this this is not some rocket science This is something that we always knew and lost it in the last 50 years So you spoke about the first stakeholder who's a part of this entire Campaign you've spoken about the farmers. We know that the entire Kaveri calling campaign There is no doubt in the fact of the benefits that will have for our environment and for our future generations But when we talk about farmers and you also spoke about the economics of it Did it take any kind of convincing especially when you're out on a bike rally through the Kaveri basin speaking to a lot of people? What did it take for you to bring farmers to join your movement? So one thing is In southern India particularly in Tamil Nadu There is an enormous trust in the farm community with me and I know what I say and they know very well What I say is for their well-being. There is no politics behind it or some other motive So that trust has translated into action as I said over 70,000 farmers have benefited in the last 18 years of this project But the pace at which we are going is not good enough and one reason why the farmer does not want to grow a tree Even in his own land if he grows a tree and cuts it Most probably he will be arrested for that and there is a whole lot of activism in the country Which if he cuts a tree in his land people will come and protest a large complaints against him These kind of things have been happening. I'm asking why would a poor farmer grow something that he cannot make use of? So we have been working with the governments both with the central government and the two state governments to change these laws we're in the process of setting up a temple timber board where Timber must be treated as an agricultural produce not as a forest produce India's forests are an absolute no-no for commercial exploitation Commercial exploitation of our forest is is history. We cannot do that anymore if we want timber we have to grow it in the farmland and this is very very lucrative for the farmer and also it works for the government because In many ways it solves various problems that the government has with the farm Distress and it will work for the larger public and for the nation because it will enrich the soil and sequester water to what extent means for example right now We are talking about 242 crow trees to be planted in Kaveri basin if we plant this many trees when they are eight to twelve years old They can sequester Something like nine to twelve trillion liters of water to give you a perspective of what is twelve trillion liters of water Right now the present flow of Kaveri throughout the year is twenty one point two trillion liters So more than sixty percent of the water that's flowing in the river can be sequestered now Kaveri is not just one river It is a river system of our hundred and twenty tributaries coming in these tributaries have dried up in a massive way And Kaveri itself is not touching the ocean for more than five months What was a perennial river for millions of years has become a seasonal river in the last 15 years. Yes Sadguru as you talk about this I see the counter right in front of me You spoke about how to 142 crow trees. That's your mission and I see that counter going up by every minute now You there are over three crore eighty three lakh ninety two thousand and as as we speak it's touched 852 trees that have been Contributed so I grew a lot is spoken about the youth today, especially one owners the millenials They have been in the debate recently as well today when you take out a bike when you go out To spread a message that will do good for future generations. What is the kind of response you get from the younger generation? How does it feel when you lead a bike rally and with you? There are thousands and thousands of youngsters who follow you as you take this mission ahead One reason why we chose to get back on the motorcycles It's been more than 30 years since I got off the motorcycle There was a time when I crisscrossed India on the motorcycles, but it's been over 30 years now so why I got back on the motorcycle now is mainly to touch the youth because You know the youth of India need to get involved in this otherwise this not going to happen Right now the farmer is very enthusiastic Both the governments are willing to do what is needed Both of them have promised that they will give the necessary subsidy and make the changes in the loss Which will allow a farmer to grow Fell transport and sell his timber product wherever he wants whichever way he wants So once this happens agroforestry will grow not just in Kaveri basin It will grow everywhere in the country and in the tropical world in the last two I mean in ninth and tenth of this month I was at the COP 14 and I find enormous enthusiasm at United Nations about Kaveri calling and they all think it's the most fantastic thing to be done And they're looking forward that this works so there is support from United Nations all the organizations in UN and Only thing now missing is we need to raise 250 242 Crore saplings right growing quality saplings is a challenge. We have ourselves set up 35 You know nurseries which have been operating for over a decade now Now we are planning to set up another 350 Nurseries apart from this we want to train over 10,000 farmers to raise nurseries because nursery raising itself can become a very lucrative business for the farmer Right, but when the farmer raises these saplings we must have the Economic power to buy back these saplings and redistribute for agroforestry. That is why this fund raising I don't know you said the number of three crore something the last time I saw the counter. It was four crore twenty seven lakh something I don't know what counter they provided you but anyway it is around that much and the best thing is the Contributions are coming till now. They have come from about 112 countries from across the world You you spoke about like you were telling us the growing of saplings We know that the government you have immense support There is support from the government when it comes to this movement But like you said the the biggest challenge is of the growing of saplings What kind of support are you seeking any support from the government when it comes to this aspect of the of the campaign? Or is there any support that's also coming in from the government? The Karnataka government Said that they have little over two crore to 2.3 crore saplings in their nurseries and they dedicated two crore saplings for Kaveri calling Tamil Nadu government had some 1.5 or something they dedicated 1 crore Those numbers I think the Tamil Nadu numbers which just came today evening have not been added to the counter So it is well over five crores right now, right? Plus a group of people who are with us for an event in erode in a town in Tamil Nadu These people Because they're all big landholders when I appeal to them They said they will grow five crore saplings in the next five years every day every year They will offer one crore saplings to the Kaveri calling and they've promised they will do it just now an MP from Tamil Nadu. He said they are big landowners themselves. He said he will dedicate one crore saplings So these promises are coming we need to translate this with the right kind of action because our teams are fanning out right now We have we have organized 45 wins which have been Going around They've covered over seven thousand villages right now in Kaveri basin These vans are fitted with LED screens as to how to grow agroforestry What are the mechanics of it? What is the economics of it? How they can benefit? What are the different formats in which they can do this? This education is happening till now we've covered seven thousand villages and it will continue because even for sapling raising raising a healthy sapling is Something that needs to happen because the commercial farms we cannot buy because they're putting a lot of urea and growing it Their survival rate will be very very poor. So we are growing them organically. That makes a big difference Sadguru, I'd like to ask you a larger question today. There is energy of positivity in our country Be it our Chandrayaan mission the way our scientists are always striving or be it this campaign that you're leading today When you've taken out a bike rally where you're traveling the length and breadth of two states to spread the message When it comes to the kind of narrative that is built about the country There is there are some who always try to paint this negative picture about the country to them What is your message especially coming at a time when there are people in this country who just want to strive for the betterment of The country be it our scientists or beat someone like you who's doing it for the farmers and also for the future generations of this country see Unfortunately This is there, but I think we should not pay too much attention to them There the such people are there now the choice is just this Do you want to find solutions for the problems that we have or do you want to find problems in the solutions that we have? This is the choice we have some people unfortunately think it's very intelligent to invest in finding problems Thanks to them that we know what the problems are But I think our problems are very clear it is in finding solutions that we need to invest our energies and intelligence I hope more and more people will work for solutions in the local areas wherever they are And that is how a country can move forward absolutely on that north of guru your last message especially to a larger You know to a larger audience who's today watching us How do you think they can come and step in to join you in this campaign the Cauvery calling campaign? See when I say 240 40 2 crore saplings people eyeballs roll Because they think it's too big a number But what I'm saying is our population is about 130 crores right That means if all of us plan to if we raise two saplings the job is done Two saplings in three four years time is not even a Challenge for anybody But as you mentioned certain people there are a whole lot of people who won't do anything So we have to plant for them. So I openly told everybody everybody who gives a negative commentary I will plant 10 trees for each one of them Thank you so much what else to do and that's a very very won't do anything. We need to plant for them. I Would like to say this to you in Chennai They told me that there are some beggars who are earning three and a half to four lakhs per year That is their income. It looks like an attractive profession So our volunteers are going about enrolling them now that they must contribute because people's contribution is making their life Right. They must contribute one sapling per week So all the Chennai beggars if they do one sapling per week Everybody else all the Republic TV watchers must decide how much they should do. This is not about me This is not about a particular organization. This is a generational work It is time that we as a generation prove that we are a responsible generation Yes, thank you so much our guru for speaking to us and we know This has been a very very long journey for you when it comes to the campaign and also Riding 3,000 kilometers about 3,000 kilometers across two states not an easy thing. Thank you so much I'm going to take back that one message that you leave us with is for every person who spreads negativity I'm going to plant 10 sampling saplings on their behalf. Thank you, Sadhguru for speaking to Republic TV Thank you. Namaskar