‘You may call a tree a standing man, and man a walking tree.’
— Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Trees are wordless prayers of thanksgiving; the earth’s pillars of underground life-supporting systems; the storehouses of health-enhancing chemicals and the lungs of the planet! Through immeasurable biological conduits, trees send signals and communicate with one another almost as a single entity. It’s a symbiotic relationship going on in the underworld, a kind of intelligence which keeps the trees of a forest connected through microorganisms in their roots. Yet how sacrilegiously they are hewn down! Entire forests guzzled by fires to grow monetarily viable vegetation; trees dying prematurely on concretised pavements —once more urbanisation becomes their nemesis.

Have you ever ‘taken in’ the forest through your senses? How does one do it? Through the Japanese practice of Shinrin –yoku or forest bathing. Shinrin in Japanese means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.” This is not exercise, hiking, or jogging. It is simply being in nature, tuning into it and subsequently ourselves through our senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Shinrin-yoku is the link that forges a bond between us and the natural world. It is to smell the fragrance of the forest, glory in its sounds and surroundings, find peace and breathe in the natural aromatherapy of phytoncides.

Trees give out chemicals called ‘phytoncides’, which when inhaled, are said to lower blood pressure, decrease sugar levels in diabetics and be good for auto-immune diseases. The word phytoncides, which means "exterminated by the plant", was coined in 1928 by Dr Boris P. Tokin, a Russian biochemist from Leningrad University. More than 5,000 volatile substances defend the surrounding plants from bacteria, fungi and insects. Phytoncides work by preventing the growth of the attacking organisms and as anti-microbial in the human body. So, when we breathe in these chemicals, they help to increase the number and activity of a type of white blood cell called natural killer cell (NK). Studies have found that the NK cells help to kill tumours and virus-infected cells in our bodies. Amazingly, the impact of the inhaled phytoncides lasts for more than 30 days in the human body system.

We never look deeply into the quality of a tree; we never really touch it, feel its solidity, its rough bark, and hear the sound that is part of the tree. Not the sound of wind through the leaves, not the breeze of a morning that flutters the leaves, but its own sound, the sound of the trunk and the silent sound of the roots, says Jiddu Krishnamurti

Let us learn to observe intensely and absorb the priceless virtues of trees, gain from their stockpile of wisdom. We are walking trees after all.

Here are some of the insights garnered:

1. Stay connected with our roots; spread them to form reciprocal bonds that will nourish us spiritually and otherwise.
2. Always remain well-grounded, no matter if one’s head is in the clouds.
3. Don’t be stiff. Bend with the fiercest wind and we will not break easily.
4. Each of us is blessed with unique inner beauty. Let’s be ourselves without fear.
5. Winters may be harsh but spring never fails to show up. Be patient.
6. Even when trees seem still, their songs never cease. Keep humming.
7. Turn over a new leaf and continue to grow.
8. Stand tall and be proud of our identity and achievements.
9. Like trees, learn to adapt to adversity and self-heal.
10. Share, give and live in harmony with our environment.