BAKU, Nov 16 (IPS) – Jagadish Vasudev, popularly known as Sadhguru, is suddenly bursting with activity in the interview room of the COP29 media centre. It’s early days in the conference and Baku is a place full of energy and excitement.
With his long flowing beard and blue turban, it is clear that many journalists would like to interview India’s influential spiritual leader and founder of a religious group. Isha FoundationWe have been dedicated to humanitarian projects since 1992. Kaveri Callingaims to support Indian farmers by encouraging them to plant 2.4 billion trees through agroforestry. Cauvery river basin.
Sadhguru, who is currently in Baku for COP29, shares his insights in an exclusive interview with IPS.
Interpress Service: Sadhguru, climate change has been a known crisis for over 40 years. But despite countless conferences and terms like “loss and mitigation” and “climate finance,” we still face rising temperatures, floods and droughts. Why are we not successful? Am I missing the right approach?
Sadhguru: “What exactly is success? The problem is the lack of clear, actionable goals. We talk about economic development that many countries pursue without considering their impact on the planet. At the same time, those who have already achieved certain goals It’s a paradox to tell people with different quality of life not to follow the same path, but if we tell people to give up hydrocarbons like coal and oil but fail to offer a viable alternative, this meeting today won’t even last 10 minutes. !
We’re all focused on what to give up, but we’re lacking sustainable, scalable alternatives. Solar, wind and similar energy sources cover only a very small portion of our energy needs, less than 3%. Real change requires technologies that provide clean, unpolluted energy, but we are far from that. Nuclear power is a powerful choice, but there is too much activism and fear surrounding it. Meanwhile, electric vehicles, commonly called electric vehicles, solutionIt doesn’t really address ecological well-being. “It just reduces urban air pollution.”
IPS: So what would be a more practical approach?
Sadhguru: It’s simple. We need to focus on soil restoration. Studies show that changing soil composition can alleviate up to 37% of climate problems. There has been a slight shift in emphasis from ‘oil’ to ‘soil’, which is a good sign. But beyond that, our entire mindset must shift from activism to practical, science-based solutions. Over the past 70 years, we have lost 84% of our wildlife, 92% of our freshwater aquatic life and 84% of our insects. Soils lack organic matter, and without it, trillions of microorganisms essential to life perish. Most scientists warn that if we continue at this rate there will only be 40 to 50 crops left. This is about 25 to 30 years of sustainable farming.
IPS: Climate change is often seen as a distant scientific problem. A lot of people don’t connect with it. Why is that so?
Sadhguru: An idea must have legs to walk on. Otherwise you won’t go anywhere. Simple, actionable goals are needed rather than lofty ideals. Soil is the basis of life. We eat from the dust and return to the dust when we die. 95% of life depends on it, and more than half of humanity interacts with it every day. “We need to invest in soil regeneration, not just in technologies that replace oil.”
IPS: How do we make this understandable to the average person?
Sadhguru: The average person doesn’t need to know all the details. It is the government’s responsibility to create laws and policies that enforce soil conservation. To condemn consumerism is to miss the point. People are eager to improve their lives, and critics of ‘consumerism’ often apply double standards. You cannot stop human aspirations. Rather, we need to reduce the human population’s impact on the environment over time, and even mentioning this sparks controversy. In fact, over the past century, life expectancy has increased dramatically, from an average of 28 years in 1947 to over 70 years today. As people live longer, reproduction must adjust to balance the population. But people also resist these practical realities.
IPS: You have long advocated for making life in the village profitable. How can village life be made sustainable and attractive?
Sadhguru: Yes, but it’s about making rural life practical, not romanticizing it. Rural life can be economically rewarding if the soil is fertile. Today people pay more for organic produce. Imagine branding food based on the organic matter content of the soil. Consumers will pay more for nutrient-dense produce, which will encourage soil conservation. Our agriculture must move beyond its dependence on rice and wheat, which were temporary solutions during the Green Revolution. Now we need to move from that ‘bridge’ to sustainable practices.
IPS: This requires government policy, but there is very little of it. Why don’t we see climate change as a political agenda?
Sadhguru: In democracies, politicians focus on what their voters demand, which is often not long-term environmental policy. Enacting meaningful change requires citizens to express these aspirations. For example, our soil conservation movement reached 3.91 billion people in 100 days. This kind of widespread support has policy implications. We are already taking action, albeit gradually, in countries such as China, India and parts of Europe. Unfortunately, governments sometimes wait for a disaster to occur before taking action. Then I understand that there is a flood. It got into your house somewhere. I think it’s in a flood zone after all.
IPS: And you also mentioned that 30% of the human diet should come from trees. Could you please elaborate on that?
sadhguru: For example, in Kashmir, more than 30% of people’s diet came from trees. They eat a lot of local fruits. when porthole On a visit to India, he observed that the intellects of Indians were sharper because of their higher fruit intake. Today, unfortunately, most fruit is bought in supermarkets and is often imported from distant places. Your local connection will be lost, which will affect your health. Eating local fruits is more than just a culture. Our bodies and the microorganisms in the soil in which we live are in constant contact. The connection between diet and microbiome is often ignored, but it has profound effects on us. Your body’s biome has “cousins” in the land you live on. In yoga, it is recommended to eat within a radius you can walk in a day. This helps keep your body strong and in harmony with your environment.
IPS: One of the major problems in India is farmer suicide. What can I do to solve this problem?
sadhguru: They die not because of choice, but because of despair. When you take out a loan and are unable to repay it, life becomes unbearable. Many people have inherited agricultural skills but lack alternatives. If land is offered to someone with an MBA or Master’s degree in agriculture, they will try to match the knowledge and skills of a farmer. But society underestimates this knowledge. With small landholdings of less than one hectare on average, they are unable to support their families or avoid debt.
In the past, villagers worked together as a community. Today, small farmers fence off small plots of land and install their own wells. The costs are enormous and lead to additional debt. We must restore community support, expand land tenure, or provide viable alternatives to stop this tragic cycle.
IPS: Then what about faith? Can it play a role in solving the climate crisis?
sadhguru: Let’s not focus on faith in the context of climate change. It is our responsibility to act. When things go wrong due to human error, people call it fate or God’s will. But this crisis is of our own making. And the crisis we are talking about is not a crisis for the planet, but a crisis for the survival of humanity. Life on Earth relies on delicate interconnections, from insects to microorganisms. If these were to be wiped out, life on Earth would soon collapse. Ironically, if humans disappeared, the Earth would prosper. This is the perspective we need. Climate change threatens our existence, not the planet’s existence.
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