Sagarmitra Abhiyaan: Dr. Vinod Bodhankar’s tryst with ocean-yoga
Through this third article in our series of inspirational stories of pioneers and environmental stalwarts, we invite you to dive into the profound depths of the philosophy, wisdom, and transformational journey of Dr. Vinod Bodhankar, Joint Founder-Director of the Sagarmitra Abhiyaan, designed and implemented by The Academic Advisors (TAA).
Journey of a Jal Rishi
Dr. Vinod Bodhankar’s name is synonymous with “Ocean-Yoga”, an endeavour to reverse the global climate crisis. The Sagarmitra Abhiyaan (literally the “Ocean Friend Campaign”) is anchored in the motto Think Universally, Act Personally and dedicated to reducing plastic waste, working through schools, housing societies, villages, and cities.
As founder-director of Vishwasanskruti Ashram for Ethical Training and Leadership and Convenor of the Indian Peninsula River Basins Council, a network of river teams from 11 states and 3 union territories across India (a part of Jalbiradari), Dr. Bodhankar oversees implementation of river water rejuvenation projects.
Dr. Bodhankar began his effort with 40 members more than 12 years ago, and the numbers have now grown manifold.
In 2015 “Oceans Hero” aligned with the Sagarmitra Abhiyaan as they had started collecting more than 3 tons of dry waste recyclable plastic a year. Dr. Bodhankar has been honoured with the ‘Jal Rishi Samman’ in 2017 at the National Convention on Droughts and Floods. Since 2022, he has been appointed as the ‘Advisor for Ocean and Coastal Energy Conservation’ by the Sweden-based ‘People’s World Commission on Drought and Flood.’ In 2024 he was recognised with the ‘Earth Day Heroes-2024’ award.
Blurring Borders, Taking Collective Responsibility
A fundamental principle of the Sagarmitra Abhiyaan is that every individual of every country must recognise Mother Earth not just in its land masses but also in the vast ocean bodies that surround all the land masses and which are borderless. The oceans are responsible for the larger portion of oxygen generated in the atmosphere, and for the water which results in rain that feeds the beings living on the landmasses. Plastic waste is an immensely damaging pollutant which interrupts vital life processes that take place in the oceans.
As Dr. Bodhankar states, the coastal boundaries of a country are marked by the seas surrounding it which are also shared with neighbouring countries. Blurring of these borders and uniting humanity would help in stemming the flow of plastic waste from the landscape into the rivers and eventually to the oceans.
Cascading Impact through Young Minds
Dr. Bodhankar strongly believes in influencing humanity by inculcating values in children who are the future of the world. With this in mind the Sagarmitra program works to spread awareness among students from Grades 5 to 9, their teachers, and also through the children into the community at large.
So far Dr. Bodhankar has touched the lives of 250,000 students who have been initiated into the Sagarmitra Abhiyaan and the collection of dry waste recyclable plastic has gone up to 10 tons each month.
The Satsang Foundation (TSF) is partnering with the Sagarmitra Abhiyaan in locations and in schools across India. Through TSF’s My Bhoomi initiative, we are implementing the plastic-waste collection and recycling program developed for school children from Classes 5 to 9, sensitizing them about the threat posed by discarded plastic to life on land and in the oceans. The students are encouraged to transform themselves into environmental stewards, helping to protect the environment by nudging small but significant changes in their own families.
Awareness sessions at schools since October 2023 at the Kothari International School in Kharadi (Pune) have now extended to schools in Nashik, the epicenter of the Aviral Godavari Mission which envisages the rejuvenation of Godavari, the second largest river in India. Combatting plastic pollution and reducing the usage of single-use plastic bags form the crux of these awareness sessions. After going through the awareness programme, the students participate in the collection of clean and dry plastic waste from their homes. Accredited recycling agencies then take the collected plastic waste for recycling.
Connect with us, if you would like to join the campaign. Write to us at connect@satsang-foundation.org.
