More than 500 years of history...
The incredible story of the Bishnoi begins in 1485, over 500 years ago, in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. The story goes that it all began in a small village near the city of Jodhpur called Khejarli. A terrible drought that had lasted for ten years was driving the men mad, and they were killing their livestock, stalking wild animals and destroying the forest.
It was then that a 34-year-old man by the name of Jambhoji had a dream and decided to act accordingly. He promised his entire community that if they followed the 29 precepts he dictated to them to the letter, they would all be free from hunger and all the other plagues that can befall a human being.
These included not destroying green trees, i.e. not using undead wood, not eating meat or non-vegetarian dishes, and protecting and feeding wild animals. Observance of these 29 precepts led the Bishnoi to rapid prosperity. Jambhoji the sage was right: the forest grew and protected them from drought, springs began to flow again, animals returned, the soil regained its fertility and life became easier for all.
A massacre to save nature
For two and a half centuries, life went on peacefully for the Bishnois, but in 1730, just as the community had developed and was living in paradise, the trees, which had become enormous, attracted the covetousness of the maharaja of Jodhpur. He needed precious wood to enlarge his palace and sent his lumberjacks, accompanied by soldiers, to cut down the khejris, trees sacred to the Bishnois.
Immediately, a woman, Amrita Dévi, along with her daughters and other women, stepped in, each wrapping her arms around a tree. Then men of all ages follow the women's example. Everyone takes a tree in his or her arms. That day, the soldiers cut down and mutilated trees and Bishnoi alike.
Three hundred and sixty-three people were slaughtered for trying to protect the trees. The King of Jodhpur, having learned of the extent of the massacre, honored the courage of the Bishnois by ordering that the areas inhabited by them be made sacred, and that anyone entering their territory in the future must respect their twenty-nine commandments by killing neither animals or trees.
The 29 principles of Bishnoi
Today, the visionary Bishnoi people number no less than 700,000 and continue to fight to preserve nature and desert wildlife...
The 29 Bishnoi principles:
Keep mother and newborn away from the hospital for 30 days after delivery (to avoid infections and because of possible maternal fatigue).
Keep the woman away from all activity for 5 days at the start of her period (so as not to tire her and to maintain a certain level of hygiene).
Take a bath every morning (in Indian tradition, the day and date don't change at midnight, but at sunrise).
Maintain the external cleanliness of the body and the internal cleanliness of the mind (through humble behavior and feelings, without animosity, through santoshi ("satisfaction" with what one has), etc.).
Pray twice a day (morning and evening, reciting the "Aum Vishnu" mantra). Sing the arti (hymn to the Lord) every evening.
Offer the daily oblation to the holy fire (havan) with a heart filled with feelings of well-being for all living beings, love for Mother Nature and the whole world, and devotion to the Lord.
Use filtered water, milk and carefully cleaned firewood to avoid killing or burning insects.
Be attentive and aware of your words.
Practice forgiveness from the heart.
Compassion from the heart.
Do not fly.
Don't denigrate or belittle anyone behind their backs.
Don't lie.
Never indulge in useless, excessive discussion, debate, argument or controversy.
Fasting on the new moon (amavas). Recite the holy names of Vishnu with adoration (practice Bhakti yoga, to eliminate ajar).
Be compassionate towards all living beings (dayã bhutesu).
Do not destroy green (i.e. undead) trees.
Burning ajar (passions of covetousness, irritation, envy, greed and attachment).
Cook your own food, and don't accept food cooked and preserved in impure conditions (cooked with meat, for example).
To provide a common shelter (That) for abandoned animals so that they can end their lives with dignity, and also to save them from the distress of the slaughterhouse.
Do not castrate bulls.
Do not consume or sell opium.
Do not use tobacco or its by-products.
Do not use or sell cannabis.
Do not drink or sell alcoholic beverages.
Do not eat meat or other non-vegetarian foods (in order to save innocent animals and because killing for pleasure is a sin: this is "Indian vegetarianism", excluding zoophagy (beef, fish, etc.) and the consumption of eggs: eating meat is considered the "first of terrorisms").
Don't use clothes dyed with the blue color derived from plants (in ancient India, this color was obtained from a wild tree, indigo, and is also the symbolic color of death and tamas, - one of the three gunas).
Anecdote
In India, there are many ways to escape justice. In fact, it was only in April 2018 that Bollywood star Salman Khan, one of the world's top 10 highest-paid actors, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment by a court in the state of Rajasthan for hunting antelopes on Bishnoi territory in 1998. After his conviction, he was immediately taken to Jodhpur prison to serve his sentence.
However, his defenders immediately lodged an appeal, which suspended execution of the sentence and enabled him to be released on bail just two days after his incarceration.
