BISHNOIsm is widely practiced  faith or religion that is built on the holism of nature. BISHNOIs are wholly and solely devoted to nature, and to conservation as the pivot of human life. BISHNOI people live, not in the bucolic splendour of some green valley, where nature may seduce you to love her; but in the arid, desolation of north-western India where nature requires a struggle by man to even survive. The 500 year faith of the hardy Bishnois, has many lessons for the modern man. For over half a millennium, the Bishnois have evolved their life-style into a religion that fiercely protects the environment. It is not a religion that has a heritage of myths, miracles, a book, ornate temples or priests.  While Jainism , founded in 1542, believe in and practice complete non-violence to all living creatures; BISHNOI community have been the largest contributing factor to the survival of wildlife in the region.

The BISHNOIs, estimated to be around 6 million, spread over Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, are a practical, wise people who hold lessons for everyone. Our mission to protect is so deeply engrained in our psyche that the women have even breast fed orphaned black buck fawns, that they may survive and protect all kinds of insect life. Innumerable BISHNOI men and women have given their lives to defend trees and animals from heavily armed poachers. BISHNOIs also bury chinkara that die and mark the graves with stones.

Shri Jumbheshwar Bhagwan was a great saint and philosopher of medieval India. He raised his voice against the rituals and formalities of Hinduism. Hei imparted knowledge to his followers and propagated his faith. He was against all social and religious barriers. His close study of desert had made him realize the important role played by trees and other forms of vegetation. Below are Some of principles to live by, totaling 29 in all, by Shri JUru Jumbheshwar Bhagrwan. From that number 20 [bis] plus 9 [no], comes the name of the religion. Anybody can hardly find a more secular creed than BISHNOIs !!!

• Never cut a green tree, but wait for a tree to age and die and then use it as timber.
• Bury your dead simply, so that the earth assimilates the flesh - and  you save too, the wood needed for a casket or a cremation.
• Practice cleanliness and a high level of hygiene, for these will guard you from disease.
• Protect wildlife - they too play a role in maintaining soil fertility and in holding the balance of harmful and beneficial life forms.
• Conserve water for use by man and animals, by building tanks everywhere.
• Practice vegetarianism and be addicted to nothing - alcohol, tobacco or even tea!
• Do not expect or seek, alms or subsidy, from king or government; believe in self-help!
• Let women, those founts of life, wear bright clothes of red or orange and the men white, as a symbol of undiluted devotion to the faith.
• If ever you must choose to be violent, may it be in defense of a tree, an animal or your convictions; for this, even embrace death with cheer.

BISHNOIs have been true to their master's wishes. BISHNOI people can be seen living their values. The mud floors are plastered with cow dung to keep vermin away. The interiors are airy and clean. Men, women and children exude robust good health. There is a granary to guard their rations, and a sump for stored water . There is an easy paced dignity to life here.

KHEJARLI SACRIFICE

Throughout our long history, we have shown our readiness to die for our beliefs. The most celebrated episode took place as recently as 1737 in the village of KHEJARLI, near Jodhpur. The land around this village was, as it is today, makes for a pitiless landscape. Scant rainfall allows but four months of farming. People share the grains they raise with animals in need. Central to their lives is the khejari tree [prosopis cineraria], which is almost the only tree that rises to some height, yielding shade, fodder and ultimately some timber. Gazelles and black-buck roam with abandon, confident that the folks all around are the loving kind. Peacocks amble with leisure. On a warm and sunny morning of September 1737, in Khejarli, a village near Jodhpur, Amrita Devi, a Bishnoi woman and mother of three daughters was busy with her daily chores like churning milk for extracting butter. Her husband like other men folk of the village was away working in the fields. Suddenly she heard the sound of some one cutting a tree. She wondered who had dared cut trees in a Bishnoi village. She left her work and came out to enquire. Girdharidas Bhandari, a senior officer of Jodhpur State, mounted on a horse, was ordering his men to cut trees. Around him many village elders had gathered. They all urged the officer to stop the cutting of trees in their village as it was against the Bishnoi religion to cut or allow anyone else to cut any green Khejri tree. Girdharidas was adamant, and told the gathering that the wood was needed to burn lime.  And conveyed that this was an order of the ruler, so nobody should try stopping him. Amrita Devi’s heart was crying because she knew that this tree had served as the lifeline of her family and many others who were trying to live life in this harsh climate. riven by her emotions she ran and clung to the tree that was being axed. ‘Cut my body before felling the tree’ she cried. The woodcutters stopped as they did not know what to do but Girdharidas ordered his men to cut off her head. Amrita Devi was mercilessly axed along with the tree. Her bold sacrifice inspired her three young daughters Ashi, Ratni and Bhagu. Following her steps they too clung to the tree and were hacked ruthlessly. One after the other 363 Bishnois sacrificed their lives. For every tree that fell a Bishnoi man, woman or child laid down their life. When the news of this brutality reached the ruler of Jodhpur, he immediately stopped the massacre. But by now the entire Bishnoi community had revolted and they threatened to leave the state if they were not allowed to pursue their faith and religion. The Maharaja realized the gravity of the situation and apologized for the grave mistake committed by his officer. He issued a royal decree engraved on a copper plate, prohibiting the cutting of trees and hunting of wild animals in any Bishnoi village in Jodhpur State. There is  probably no parallel to this, in the history of conservation. Today, in KHEJARLI there is an eerily silent orchard and a temple in it, to commemorate the day those 363 Bishnois engraved a message in the conscience of mankind.

BISHNOI inspiring others

And all of India too, seems to be continually inspired by the Bishnoi martyrs . Some believe Mahatma Gandhi, himself hailing  from near these parts, realised how simple folk were ready to offer resistance and even court death, when they believed strongly in something. And how all authority and power must quake in the face of such resistance.  His civil disobedience and satyagraha ideas, as  means to fight the British, may have drawn on Kejarli. More recently, Sundarlal Bahuguna of Garhwal, UP borrowed from the Bishnois to fashion his tree protection programme, called the 'chipko'. Chipko means, 'cling to'. The saga of Kejarli is neither the first, nor the last example of Bishnois roused to action in defense of nature. The 1600s too has records of Bishnoi men, women and children dying for their cause. Recently there was an outburst of sentiment from the BISHNOI against Indian actors who were caught shooting Black Buck in Rajasthan. In 1998, cinema star, Salman Khan experienced the BISHNOI storm. This man, who almost proves the axiom that a good looking actor must also be brainless, was in a Jodhpur hotel in connection with a film. A local hanger-on suggested a 'hunt'. Our hero's masculinity was roused, but within the bound's of his inherent cowardliness; he chose the dark night, and as simple farmers slept everywhere in their huts, this lout  entered  Bishnoi country, took aim at a trusting black-buck, and pulled the trigger. Within seconds of the gun shot, Bishnois were spilling out of their beds like minutemen. The hero panicked and bolted in his jeep. But by then, a Bishnoi had identified it as belonging to a tour operator he knew. An army of Bishnois marched to Jodhpur next day, tracked down the vehicle, followed the trail and laid siege to the hotel where Salman Khan stayed. The police and the government, astonished at the speed and ferocity of the Bishnoi reaction, swung into action and registered a case. It is another story that the case drags on. And, it would have been yet another story again, had the Bishnois caught hold of the actor; they would have lynched this vacuous prince charming without mercy. This just proves that they have not allowed their convictions to desert them in the face of pressure, both cultural and economic.  Such are the BISHNOIs !!! So gentle that that their women are known to suckle orphaned baby-deer, and yet fearless of blood-letting if it came to defending their faith !!!