Rabindranath S Lackhan, a young Hindu, has written a book on the significance of Hindu religious plants, many of which were brought to T&T by Indian indentured immigrants. He has dedicated the book to his parents, Esther and Narine Lackhan and today we will like to focus on one of the Hindu religious trees that could be found at most Hindu temples and religious grounds. The Pipal tree is a very large evergreen with spreading branches. The leaves are broadly ovate with acumen two cm to 18 cm long, glabrous and shining and a slender petiole which causes the leaves to oscillate readily in a breeze. The bark is grey, smooth, exfoliating in irregular rounded flakes. It is indigenous in other localities, is largely planted and runs wild throughout India and Burma. This is the Bodhi tree under which Lord Buddha sat and received enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. It is one of the most sacred trees on India. It is venerated both by Hindus and Buddhists and is often planted near temples and wells.
Although Buddhism has its own religious hierarchical structure with the Dalai Lama as its leader and Tibet as its homeland, Lord Buddha was a Hindu prince and is regarded as the tenth Hindu Avatar (incarnation). Hindus have strong religious objection to felling it. In the forest it is a destructive epiphyte and it also does much harm to buildings and walls, sending its roots into crevices. It is often cut for elephant and cattle fodder. The tree grows fast and is easily grown from seeds sown in boxes in fine mould mixed with powdered charcoal. It can be propagated from cuttings, but these do not strive well. In the abnormal drought in1907 and 1908 in the forest of Budh, the Pipal proved to be conspicuously hard. This was also found to be the case in the severe drought of 1899 and 1980 in the Indian peninsula. It is frost-hardy and was only slightly affected in the severe frost of 1965 in northern India. In northern India the new leaves appear around December, by which time most of the old leaves have fallen. The young leaves are usually reddish. The fruits ripen from March to June and they are depressed, globose, about 1.5 cm in diameter, and dark blue when ripe. They are eagerly devoured by birds and are a favourite food of the green pigeon.
No one is allowed to cut it down, top off its branches or even pull off its leaves unless they are to be used for worship. To cut down a Pipal tree would be an awful sacrilege and quite unpardonable. It is consecrated to Lord Vishnu or rather it is Vishnu himself in the form of a tree. Sometimes a solemn inaugural ceremony is carried out called Aswatta pratishta, or the consecration of the aswatta (Pipal tree). The ceremony, which is an elaborate and costly one, possesses the virtue of transforming the tree into a divinity by inducting Vishnu into it. Hindus believe that untold blessings will be showered upon anyone who is willing to bear the expense of planting a Pipal tree. When one worships the Pipal tree he stands with his face towards the East and utters the following prayer: "O Pipal tree! You are a God! You are the king of trees! Your roots represent Brahma, your trunk Siva, your branches Vishnu. Thus you are the emblem of the trimurti (triple godhead). All those who honour you in this world by performing to you the ceremony of upanayana or of marriage by walking around you, by adoring you and singing your praises or by other similar acts, will obtain remission of their sins in the next life. Penetrated with the consciousness of these truths, I praise and adore you with all my strength. Give me a proof of your goodness by offering the pardon of sins in this world and a place with the blessed after death."
All pujas (prayer offering) can be done below this tree.
The tree itself is worshipped on Saturdays. Anyone suffering from the afflictions can on Saturdays pour a mixture of milk and water at the base of the tree while praying in the morning. In the afternoon about 6 o'clock, a lit deya of mustard oil is placed below the tree and one normally asks for forgiveness. Some weeks ago Hindu devotees of Five Rivers, Arouca, formally opened a mandir (temple) they constructed on part of the Five Rivers Hindu School compound. The uniqueness of this mandir is that it is built around a massive Pipal tree which now forms an important aspect of the worship process. A young student praised the Pipal tree by focusing on the "green revolution" and its place in Hinduism. The Pipal tree formed the basis of the reverence to nature.
To be continued next week
Satnarayan Maharaj is the
secretary general of the
Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha
