Plants talk to each other and we can talk to the plants!

Published in Vijayavaani

Yet another study has revealed that plants 'talk' among themselves particularly in times of distress. When a plant faces a threat, it emits a gas which acts as a warning to the neighbouring plants. The neighbouring plants react to this warning and keep themselves ready and protected from a similar possible threat.

Reading this news item brings to my mind how our ancestors steeped in Vedic knowledge have so thoughtfully handled the plants when they had no option other than harming them under  inevitable circumstances. There can be no doubt about their sincere intentions in protecting all life that included plants, the two-legged and the four legged beings.

 " Swasthir Maanushebhya:

Urdhwam jigathu bheshajam /

sam no asthu DwipathE /

sam chathush pathE//"

 They even prayed for peace in outer space. Imagine how such people could have cut a tree for very basic needs such as making space for their house or for making an idol. The kind of rituals they followed on such occasions show that they indeed showed care and respect for the plants.

The foremost reason for such a respect is that all the beings, living or non living are part of the Brahman – the one and Only God who has pervaded them all. A special reason in the case of plants is that the plants also have athman. The same jeeva or athman can be born as a plant, or an animal or man or a deva. That we are in human forms now - do not negate a probability that we could have once lived in a plant's body.

When such a thought comes in our mind, an extreme sense of kinship develops towards them. Suppose we have to pluck a leaf or cut a branch, does it not amount to harming a life which is similar to us? When a situation arises that we have to cut a tree or harm a plant, what must we do?

This question finds answers in Brihad samhita at 3 places –

(1) in cutting trees for making the image of God,

 (2) in clearing an area for building a house and

 (3) in cutting a tree for making a Flag post for a temple.

The foremost meaning conveyed here is that one should not cut tress or plants for purposes other than the above three. The other rules are as follows:

One shall not cut any tree growing in flower gardens, in temples, on public roads, on sacrificial fire sites or trees where birds live, or trees with holes where creatures would reside or trees surrounded by creepers. A tree that is giving shelter to other life forms must not be disturbed at all.

Before cutting a tree, a mental communion must be made with the tree. Certain worshipping methods are recommended which seem to be aimed at calming down the plant from sending "distress" or  "warning" signals to the neighbouring plants. The scientific studies have shown that some gas is let out by the plant when it is cut. The worshiping methods and the ways of cutting seem to douse the spread of this signal so that other plants are spared of the agony.  Let us see how this was done.

The tree to be cut must first be worshiped with rice cooked in milk, sweet –meat balls, curdled milk, sweet meats made of sesame, sugar and the like, juices, scented smoke and sandal paste. All these emit some fragrance which can mix up with the gas emitted by the tree when it is cut.

Then the tree must be touched by the hand and the following mantras must be pronounced if the purpose of cutting  the tree is to make the image of a deity.

"O tree, thou has been selected for the image of such and such a God. Salutation to thee. I request thee to accept the Puja performed by me.

The Bhuthas that might dwell in this tree are requested to accept the presents offered and depart and dwell in other places. Kindly bear the troubles we subject you ro. Salutation to thee." (Brihad Samhita, Chapter 60 – verses 10 & 11).

Then early in the next morning water shall be poured over the root of the tree; the axe shall be rubbed over with honey and ghee and the tree be cut on the north eastern side and the other parts must be cut round the tree from left to right.

The tree to be used for making the Flag post of a temple or for a king must also be worshiped the previous day with a request that the being present in that tree shall go out and dwell in some other place. The reason for cutting the tree is told as a prayer and the tree is praised as being honoured to become the sacred Flag post. The prayer is as follows:

" May it be well with the beings that dwell in this tree; salutation to you all; accept these presents and be pleased to dwell in some other place.

O excellent tree, the king wants thee for the construction of the Flag post. May it be well thee. I entreat thee to accept this honour."

The tree is cut and then put in water. This practice shows that whatever gas the cut-edge is emitting will not spread in the atmosphere.

The same kind of worship is to be done when many trees and plants are cut for making space for building a house.

The Hindu way of life is very thoughtful and concerned about every kind of life around us. Harvesting is done with worship. The time in terms of lunation must be seen for plucking leaves or vegetables so that least damage is done to the plant life. Only ripe fruits at the verge of falling must be taken for eating. One must not take more fruits than needed by him. Fruits must be left in the trees for birds to eat and for further germination.

One may ask whether plucking vegetables and eating them is justified on this principle of respecting life. This can be answered in 2 ways.

One is that Hindu dharma does prohibit killing for food but does not consider vegetarianism as an assault on life. As told above, only those parts of the plant that are detached and do not cause harm to the plants while plucked, are eaten. Formal cultivation for food also was considered a sin. In Krutha Yuga naturally occurring food in the form of plants were in plenty that there was no need for cultivation. Cultivation required tilling the soil or boring the earth. That causes harm to the creatures on the ground and the land itself. In Krutha Yuga when people did not do these activities, it was said that Dharma was in existent in full strength. With cultivation, dharma suffered a decline. From this, we come to know that the plant life that is consumed is something that is done without harming the life inside it. It is because of this underground tubers were not acceptable to the people of Vedic life because when they are plucked the entire plant is killed.

Another reason is that the human life is formed through a process in which plant life plays an important role.

The birth of human life happens through a process called Panchangni Vidya. 

The Jeeva that is preparing itself to be born goes through  5 stages before it is born as  a baby.  

In the first stage it comes down to earth along with the rain.

It  mixes with soil in the 2^nd stage.

It enters a plant in the 3^rd stage where it gets fixated in a vegetable or a fruit. This is eaten by a man in whom the jeeva gets fixated in his sperm.

The man's body is the 4^th stage for the jeeva.

In the 5^th  stage it enters the womb of the woman.

The entry into this 5^th stage is considered as birth.

Thus the very birth of human life is dependent on plant life! The eating of a plant product is inevitable in the process of human birth. However this is being paid back by a daily austerity of watering a plant. One of the 5 compulsory activities for a man in everyday life is to offer food to plants which is nothing but watering a plant and keeping up its life energy.

With so much thought enshrined in activities such as cutting a tree or plant, the news item of the study on plants makes me say that this has been known to our ancestors who made suitable remedials to tone down the 'anguish' felt by the plants when they were harmed. When something cannot be prevented, make sure that least harm is caused – seems to be the guiding word.

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 From

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Caught-on-video-How-plants-talk-to-each-other/articleshow/11773621.cms

Caught on video: How plants 'talk' to each other

LONDON: It's now confirmed. Plants can talk. Researchers at Exeter University in Britain claim to have found that plants can communicate with one another - in fact, they have for the first time captured such a process on the camera.

To find out how plants talk, the researchers modified a cabbage gene which triggers the production of a gas emitted when a plant's surface is cut or pierced.

By adding the protein luciferase - which makes fireflies glow in the dark - to the DNA the plants' emissions could be monitored on camera. One cabbage plant had a leaf cut off with scissors and started emitting a gas - methyl jasmonate - thereby "telling" its neighbours there may be trouble ahead.

Two nearby cabbage plants, which had not been touched, received the message they should protect themselves. They did this by producing toxic chemicals on the leaves to fend off predators such as caterpillars, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

The researchers say it raises the possibility that plants are all communicating with each other in a complex "invisible language" which we know nothing about. "We have managed to show in a visual way that the gas emitted by plants when they have been wounded affects their neighbours. But at this stage we don't know why.

"They could have been trying to alert the plant's other leaves to the damage and their neighbours have just picked it up, or they for some reason evolved to alert other plants. It is not clear why that would be beneficial," professor Nick Smirnoff, who led the research, said.

Now, a formula to make flowers glow In what's said to be the world's first, scientists claim to have created the secret formula to make plants and flowers fluorescent. A team, led by professor Mark Tester in Australia, says that it has created the special formula which can be used on plants and flowers, making them glow in the dark. A battery pack is also needed for the flowers to fluoresce. A simple spritz of Galassia Flowers can be sprayed onto foliage which is then placed next to a luminescent device, instantly making them fluorescent, British ewspaper 'Daily Mail' reported.