DR. S.V. SINGH, OMBUDSPERSON - E-mail ID: ombudsperson@santosh.ac.in

Dr. Sharmila Anand, M.B.B.S, M.Phil, M.B.A.(H.A) the USA

Santosh University

I recently heard Sadhguru, from the Isha Foundation, talk about the environment and issues that plague it. An analogy he made really struck me…he said: “plants are our lungs outside our body”. On hearing this, I had an epiphany, one powerful enough to spur me to action and make me introspect on my responsibility towards the environment as a citizen of this planet.

As we, the human race, have taken long strides towards progress, we have become increasingly selfish. We have uprooted trees, destroyed nature; thrust buildings and destruction upon this sacred Earth that has given us an endless bounty of shelter, food, air, and water. We have forgotten the responsibility we all share towards our environment that has made our existence possible and on which we thrive as a species. We have forgotten to give back. With rising levels of global warming, greenhouse gasses, depletion of the ozone layer and the increase in the frequency of natural disasters, we have realized that we are on the wrong path.

However, most of us still refuse to accept this stark reality and live ignorantly, without taking conscious actions towards preservation. What we don’t realize is that it is indeed an individual action that leads to the collective effort. It is only if we start taking steps in or daily lives to curb the use of water, electricity, plastics and increase the use of sustainable technologies, effective garbage disposal methods, eco-friendly materials, that we will be able to make drastic changes in the state of the environment. It is only if we take small measures that we will be able to take huge measures towards the cause. We must, before it is too late, enter into a mutually symbiotic relationship with the environment. It is of prime importance for us to start giving back and stop taking.

I thought it was important for me to share my epiphany with my family at Santosh and with others, who understand the need for protecting the environment and treating it as our home.

Motivated by this thought, we are organizing a ‘Go Green’ Drive at our campus in Ghaziabad through which we plan on sowing the seeds of over 800 plants, thereby sowing the seeds for a better tomorrow and of course, healthier and more oxygen-rich Santosh Campus.

The entire Santosh family has taken upon themselves this mission to plant trees. We hope to make a wonderful day out of it, which will make everyone in the family realize the importance of nature and the responsibility we share towards it.

It has been the vision of our Chairman, Dr. P. Mahalingam, to establish a community around Santosh. We plan to take this vision to the next step and make the Santosh community eco-friendly by adopting healthy practices. This drive is just the beginning of the change we aim to bring. We might take care of our own lungs, but now we must strive to take care of our lungs outside our bodies. Those interested in participating in the “Santosh Go Green Drive” can email us atsantosh@santosh.ac.in