﷽

Ecodharma of Guru jambeshwar Ji

Assignment submitted as a part of course

M.A Islamic Studies

In semester 1st
Submitted to Professor Ahmad Raza

Department Of Religious Studies

By

Name : Suhail Ahmad Wani

Roll no : 2226CUKmr39

Course Code : VAC-107-RE

Central University of Kashmir

Arts Campus-Ganderbal
 ﷽

ABSTRACT:
Guru Jambheshwar ji, also known as jambhoji was born in 1451 AD in a Rajput in
a remote Rajasthani family of panwar clan in pipasar in Nagpur district1. His
father‟s name was Lohat ji panwar and mothers name was Hansa Bai. Jambhoji
spent 27 years grazing cattle in the wilderness, sitting alone and meditating2. He
founded the Bishnoi sect in 1485 at Dhora village near Nokha in Bikanar district of
Rajasthan. His teachings were in poetic form, known as shabadwani. His teachings
are covered by 29 principles and 120 shabads3. Eight of the twenty-nine principles
are strict guidelines for the protection of environment, biodiversity, ecology and at
the same time they inspire good animal husbandry and compassion for living
things. These principles strictly prohibit the killing of animals, cutting of green
trees, sterilization of bulls, and inspire the conservation of all life forms. Jambhoji
used his mind and viewed the movement of environment conservation into
religious philosophy. In the present times when the world is facing environmental
crisis, then the teachings of jambhoji prove to be very important.

Keywords: jambhoji, bishnoi, sabadvani, khejarli.

INTRODUCTION:
Some medieval sages in their teachings gave paramount importance to the
protection of water, forests and animals in the deserts. Guru jambhogi guided the
society to ensure environmental protection by establishing new sects in Indian
desert. Jambhoji propounded the principles of conservation of forests and animals.

1
Chandla,M.S Jambhoji: Messiah of the Thar Desert Chandigarh: Aurva publication,1998.
2
Jambsagar page no:9-13.
3
See Jainism, dharma, and Environmental Ethics by Pankaj jain,p.128.
 ﷽

Hence, he can be considered as the leader of the environmental movement in the

state.

He was a great visionary and it was his scientific vision to protect our environment
in the 15th century. A simple peasant and a saint Guru Jambheshwar knew the
importance of bio-diversity preservation and ill-effects of environmental pollution,
deforestation, wildlife preservation and ecological balance. He not only learnt it
himself, but also he provided a great knowledge to preserve the environment and
ecology through religion. Undoubtedly, he was one of the greatest
environmentalist and ecologist of the 15th and 16th century.

RISE OF BISHNOI SECT:

Guru Jambheshwar was born in 1451 AD in a Rajput family of Panwar

clan in a remote Rajasthani village Pipasar in Nagaur district. His father‟s name
was Lohat ji Panwar and mother's name was Hansa Bai. Jambhoji spent 27 years
grazing cattle in the wilderness, sitting alone and meditating. During this time, he
became passionate about the pastoral landscape of the desert. After the death of his
parents, in 1483,Jambhoji left his home and made Samarathal Dhora his penance.
Advocating the worship of Lord Vishnu, Jambheshwar strictly prohibited animal
killing and cutting of trees. He emphasized compassion toward nature and
protection of wildlife as the supreme religious goal to his followers in the
preaching. He was very keen on social welfare and helping others. In the year
1485, the western Rajasthan region experienced the worst drought and people
started migrating to Malwa (MP) with their livestock4. The death and destruction

4
Kapur,nandini S. Reconstructing Identities: tribes, Agro-pastoralists and enivironment in western Rajasthan, New
Dehli: Manohar publishers,2008.
 ﷽

caused by an unusually long famine pierced the tender heart of Jambhoji. He then
offered his help to bring back the drought-affected people and helped them with
grain, fodder, agriculture and goods etc. He channeled his thoughts and feelings to
love, compassion, equanimity and detachment. To help the suffering people of that
time and to save religion, Jambheshwar founded the Bishnoi sect in the year 1485
at Samrathal Dhora on the first day of the black fortnight of the month of Kartika
of the year 1542 of the Vikrami Era5. Jambhoji organized a large-scale yagya at
Samarthal Dhora. A large number of people from different castes and classes
participated in it. Before the yagya began, Guru Jambheshwar took a bath and then,
with a rosary in his hand, prepared the holy water called "Pahal" while chanting
Hari (Vishnu). Followers of different religion, faiths, cases and classes accepted
Bishnoism by taking Pahal and became Bishnoi. Regarded as a great saint, he
preached love for all living beings through his „shabads‟ (sayings). He also
emphasized compassion toward nature and protection of wildlife as the supreme
religious goal to his followers in the preaching. Jambhoji kept the form of Bishnoi
sect humanitarian in character6. It is necessary for the followers of Bishnoi sect to
follow twenty-nine rules.There is a saying in this regard:

“Unatees dharm ki aankadi, hrday dhariyo joi.

Jaambhoji krpa kari naam Bishnoi hoi.”

It means those who will follow these twenty-nine principles by strictly heart, Guru
Jambheshwarji will bless them and they will be considered true Bishnoi.
Bishnoism was based on main 29 principles or Bisno, from „Bees‟ (Twenty) and
Nau (Nine) and best practices taken from all religions and faiths. The influence of

5
Chandla, M.S jamboji: Massiah of the thar desert, Chandigarh: Aurva publications,1998.
6
Srivastava,V.K religion and environment: A Perspective from the community of Bishnois.
 ﷽

other religions and sects is clearly visible in his teachings. They have adopted the
principles of non-violence and mercy from Jainism and burying the dead from
Islam. The Vaishnava sect, Nanakpanth etc. have a clear influence on his
teachings. He laid the foundation of the Bishnoi sect by coordinating the tenets of
different religions and sects. Jambhoji can be considered as the synthesizer and
protector of various religious traditions and Indian folk culture. Jambhoji‟s
teachings were very simple, logical, practical and effective. He believed in one
God and did not believe in statue worshipping or leaving social responsibilities to
achieve God. Guru Jambhoji gave a simple way which ensures, “Jiye ne jukti aur
mariya ne mukti” means an art of living for this life and then Moksha or heaven
after this life. He travelled a lot and did many welfares works to help and teach
people. He was a true and visionary guru, social reformer, a follower of non-
violence, great environmentalist and believed in love and harmony not only
between humans but also between natures. His teachings are covered by 29
principles. He expounded his religious philosophy and the essence of these
principles in the form of verses, which Bishnois refer to as the Shabadvani and
considered it as their most sacred text. Jambhavni or Shabadvani is a collection of
120 Shabads, composed in Rajasthani dialect, “Marubhasa”. Jambhoji laid special
emphasis on cleanliness, purity, environmental protection and human values in his
teachings. The collective name of his words is 'Samudra Vani'. The place where
Jambhoji used to preach is called "Santhari". The language of 'Shabadvani' is
simple Rajasthani which can be easily understood by the villagers. This 'shabdvani'
kept on being transferred from generation to generation by oral tradition. Vilhoji
(1532–1616) wrote them for the first time. He gave the message that God is a
divine power that is everywhere. He also taught to protect plants and animals as
they are important for peaceful coexistence with nature.
 ﷽

ROLE OF JAMBHOJI IN ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION:

Bishnoism as mentioned earlier revolves around 29 commandments. Out of these

29 commandments, eight aim to preserve biodiversity and encourage animal
husbandry. Seven commandments provide directions to healthy social behavior.
Ten Commandments are directed towards personal hygiene and maintaining basic
good health. The other four rules are guidelines for worshipping God daily.
Jambhoji has emphasized on cleanliness and purity in his rules.

Sera uthe sujeev chhan jal lijiye,

daantan kar kre sinaan jivaanee jal kjiiye‟‟

(Battees Aakhadee {Vihoji}).

He explained the importance of clean water for health. The rule of drinking water
after filtering was fixed so that diseases spread by polluted water could be avoided.
Jambhoji linked the environmental agenda with religion and brought human
sensitivity to it. He also gave importance to the significance of rituals in protecting
the environment. According to him, Yajna cleans the air in the atmosphere. A lot
of the techniques they have been using for centuries are major components of our
permaculture practices. They, for instance, grow bushes in their fields to protect
the loose sand from wind erosion while providing much-needed fodder for animals
during famine. They also prefer renewable sources to meet their daily needs. The
eight tenets that have been prescribed to preserve biodiversity and encourage good
animal husbandry include a ban on killing of all animals and felling of green trees
and providing protection to all life forms. The faith that all living things have a
right to survive and share all resources underlines the basic philosophy of the
Bishnoi eco-religion. “Jeev daya palni” (be compassionate to all living beings). All
 ﷽

living beings are creature of God and they have right to live their life. The two
most profound tenets that focus on protecting nature are “Jeev daya palni” (be
compassionate to all living beings) and “Runkh lilo nhi ghave” (don‟t cut green
trees). Green trees should not be felled because they help in ecological balance.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen which is the lifeline for humans
and animals. The Bishnoi community has also been directed to use filtered water
and milk to make it bacteria-free and to shake fire sticks in case of firewood as it
contains many micro-organisms (Pani, vani indhani dudh lijiyo chhan).Bishnoism
prohibits the use of blue colour to prevent overuse of indigo (made from cutting
down green bushes in large quantities) as well as the belief that the color absorbs
the harmful rays of the sun and is associated with wrong doings. Bishnoi in
funerals do not burn the bodies, they bury them in the ground, saving trees might
be a reason behind this.

CONCLUSION

Jambhoji was a great visionary, who had foreseen the consequences of manʼs
destruction of nature for economic development. He saw the need for environment
protection and weaved his principles. His 29 commandments include higher moral
values inlaying, a nature-based self-contained lifestyle, maintaining purity of
natural resources. Eight rules are related to the protection of animals, birds, trees
and environment. Jambhoji laid special emphasis on cleanliness, purity,
environmental protection and human values in his teachings. Emphasis has been
laid on abstaining from all forms of violence, not cutting down trees, not causing
any harm to animals, not killing them, protecting the life of all living beings, etc.
Jambhoji, endowed with foresight, made it a religious rule to link environmental
 ﷽

protection with the daily routine and behavior of the people. He understood that the
basis of ecological balance is environmental protection. Bishnoi has been
following the law of compassion for living beings and has been emphasizing on
their upbringing and protection of wild animals. Even today wild animals like deer
can be seen roaming freely in the villages of Bishnoi. Woman treats orphan
animals as their own child. Tanka (rainwater harvesting structure) Oran(sacred
groves), and freely roaming animals in Bishnoi villages are presenting wonderful
examples of integrated rural ecosystem. The world has just woken up to the need to
protect the environment, Bishnois have been following sustainable conservation
for centuries. Various ongoing environmental movements have also brought
Bishnoi practices to the world stage. The world-renowned Chipko movement of
Uttaranchal, known for its tree-hugging campaign to oppose felling of trees, was
also inspired by the Bishnoi's sacrifice in the Khejarli massacre.

Life is not possible without a clean environment. Jambhoji‟s teachings prove to be

relevant in the present times when the world is grappling with various problems
related to the environment. In the present context when forests are rapidly
disappearing and environmental pollution is also spreading rapidly, the teachings
of Jambhoji have an important role.Today the whole world is worried bout the
threat of global warning. Due to industrialization, urbanization, deforestation and
pollution, man is creating an unsafe environment for his coming generations by
unnecessarily attacking the components of nature. This danger was foreseen by
Guru Jambhoji centuries ago and warned against it in the past. In the present
context when forests are rapidly disappearing and environmental pollution is also
increasing, the teachings of Jambhoji have an important role.
 ﷽

REFERENCES :

1:Chandla,M.S Jambhoji: Messiah of the Thar Desert Chandigarh: Aurva

publication,1998.

2: Jambsagar page no:9-13.

3:Jainism, dharma, and Environmental Ethics by Pankaj jain,p.128.

4:Kapur,nandini S. Reconstructing Identities: tribes, Agro-pastoralists and

Enivironment in western Rajasthan, New Dehli: Manohar publishers,2008.

5:Chandla, M.S jamboji: Massiah of the thar desert, Chandigarh: Aurva

publications,1998.

6: Srivastava,V.K religion and environment: A Perspective from the community of

Bishnois.