My viewers may wonder what the connection is between the subject of today’s video and forests. We have been talking about the psychology of forests all this while. Now let us examine how our psychology is impacted by forests. My daughter is a research student at a national institute of psychology. I came to know about this aspect of forests when I conversed with her. And also, when I talked to Dr George Mathew who worked in the Department of Psychology of the University of Kerala for a long time, and has a huge forest all around his house. We had published an interview with him in this video series some time back.
Modern studies make it clear that plants, vines, forests and the atmosphere they create have a positive impact on the stress that humans undergo. All of us experience internal stress and that is the main cause of blood pressure and other lifestyle diseases. As work pressure increases, our stress levels also shoot up. The treatment recommended at the international level is a walk through forests or a stay in the forests. A walk through the forests is very good for unwinding.
I have been staying here [at Puliyarakonam] for a long time, and very rarely go to my native place. At one point of time in my career, I had high blood pressure. It has come down considerably now. Although I experience more stress at my workplace now than I used to earlier, it does not affect me much. That, I feel, is because of my stay inside this forest.
Most of the time, forests are cleared in order to make resorts. That is a big criminal act because a natural forest is destroyed in the process. It is against rules too. The bungalows that were built inside forests a long while back can be found to stand intact even now. They were originally commissioned by our kings, and have become tourist centres now. But the nature of the forest around it has changed because arrangements are made to ensure wild animals do not come close to these buildings.
In places like Malaysia, before people are permitted to stay inside forests they are taught how to capture snakes, and allowed to stay in tiny cabins that are roughly seven feet long and two feet wide. I have heard that people come forward to stay in such conditions and enjoy the forest atmosphere. This can be achieved very easily here by converting our garden plots into forests.
Most of the time it is the prohibitive cost involved in setting up forests that dissuades us. But let us examine the trade-off. There are a lot of Malayalis who are prepared to spend Rs 20 lakhs on buying cars or Rs 1.5 or 2 crores for constructing houses. But if you are ready to spend Rs 10 lakhs on simulating a forest, you will be able to experience a dip in atmospheric heat. On the other hand, if you do not water your garden for a day, it will change drastically. A week without water means your garden will die.
This Miyawaki forest is four years old now. I don’t water or manure it but I get to enjoy this atmosphere all the year round. Squirrels and birds come, build nests. Butterflies flit and birds come when fruits appear on the trees. I am able to sit here, watch these sights and derive happiness from them. You too can bring this into your life.
For a long time now in Kerala, we have been using our soil to raise monocrops – banana plantations in one place, coconut trees in another, rubber and so on – and we do this after wiping out all the other species. But forest is all about biodiversity because it contains 50 or 100 varieties of plants and trees. Kerala alone has more than 3,000 species of plants. It is possible for us to plant at least 50 of them in our plots.
There are many people who dismiss Ayurveda as a worthless science. What they need to remember is that most medicines, prescribed in Allopathy, Ayurveda and Homoeo, are extracted from plants. Medicines are made out of the strychnine tree [Nux vomica] in Ayurveda as well as Allopathy. It is not rational to say that what Allopathy follows is correct whereas what Ayurveda practises is wrong. For instance, the power of turmeric to heal bruises was established by Ayurveda a long time ago. People know about it, and it is a part of home remedies too. Modern medicine conducted research and found out the beneficial and curative properties of turmeric only recently. But we have been using it for a long time. In this manner, we have a rich store of knowledge. Tribal medicine too has influenced us greatly.
What I mean to say is that plants and trees do us a power of good. In recent times, people have been spending a lot of money to get the services of psychologists. I came to gather a proper understanding of it only recently. People are ready to have four to five sessions with their psychologists every month, paying up to Rs 2,000 every session. Some go with their entire family for such consultations, and pay even higher amounts. What I would like to tell them is this: Stop doing it, and try staying in a house which has this kind of an atmosphere. You will be able to experience a considerable difference in your life. Perhaps the amount you pay for the treatment will be sufficient for purchasing or building such a house, and living a long, healthy life. Please give it some thought. I have always considered it a good idea. This is not my idea alone. In Japan, the concept of “forest bath” is getting a lot of mass support. Let us think of ways in which we can make it work for us in our circumstances.