
Here is a simple way to connect with nature this Earth Day and beyond:
Tree puja is a simple daily ritual, taking only five minutes around sunset. It involves meeting your plant every day, whether it is a large tree in the garden or a small pot on a kitchen windowsill…
Every day at sunset, light a small candle or an oil lamp in front of the tree, place a flower there, light a stick of incense and pour a small bowl of water at the base of the tree. Along with these offerings, a prayer of thanks and gratitude can be said to the tree. Then for ten seconds close your eyes. Become that tree. If the tree is unhealthy, feel the sickness of the tree and say a prayer for it’s wellbeing, “May you become strong and healthy. May you nurture life.”…
This is the beginning of your connection with nature, not just admiring the tree, but feeling a connection with it…That is the spirit of ecology…Although tree puja looks simple it has a deep meaning because it is worshipping Mother Earth, the source of all nourishment and life.
---from Upasana: In the Presence of the Divine
Tree puja is a simple daily ritual, taking only five minutes around sunset. It involves meeting your plant every day, whether it is a large tree in the garden or a small pot on a kitchen windowsill…
Every day at sunset, light a small candle or an oil lamp in front of the tree, place a flower there, light a stick of incense and pour a small bowl of water at the base of the tree. Along with these offerings, a prayer of thanks and gratitude can be said to the tree. Then for ten seconds close your eyes. Become that tree. If the tree is unhealthy, feel the sickness of the tree and say a prayer for it’s wellbeing, “May you become strong and healthy. May you nurture life.”…
This is the beginning of your connection with nature, not just admiring the tree, but feeling a connection with it…That is the spirit of ecology…Although tree puja looks simple it has a deep meaning because it is worshipping Mother Earth, the source of all nourishment and life.
---from Upasana: In the Presence of the Divine