Piyush Manush & Lies About Isha - Part 1 - Elephant Corridor & Habitat

Who Is This Piyush Manush?

Piyush Sethia is an activist who also claims to be an environmentalist. He is based out of Salem in Tamilnadu and has been constantly criticising the Isha Foundation over the last few years.

Background To The Court Case On Him

The Isha Foundation has put a defamation case on Piyush Manush in the Court of Coimbatore because he is constantly spreading lies about the Foundation in online media, including FaceBook, etc...

Piyush has made multiple appearances in the court and is not new to being jailed for spreading false news and creating riots. He has also been rapped on knuckles by the Court Judge many times because of his behaviour in the court itself!

What Exactly Is Piyush Manush complaining about The Isha Foundation

One of the primary complaints of Piyush Manush has been that the Isha Foundation has been in an elephant habitat. 

Not only that, he claims that the Foundation itself has given him the proofs showing that they are on an elephant habitat. This blog post aims to throw light in this regards.

Piyush Manush and His lies about Elephant Corridor

In 2016, Piyush used to say that the Isha Foundation is on Elephant Corridor. 

Suddenly, in one of his videos, Piyush claimed that he never said about Isha Foundation being on an Elephant Corridor but they are in an Elephant Habitat!

Why is this U-Turn in his stand and what does he aim to get by it? We will see as we go further.

What Is The Truth About Isha Yoga Center and Elephant Corridor?

A simple search on Google will point us in the right direction.

There is this 'Right Of Passage' document published by the WilfLife Trust Of India in 2017 which tells what the recognized Elephant Corridors in India are and specifically so in Tamilnadu.

The nearest Elephant Corridor to Isha Yoga Center is more than 14 KMs measured as aerial distance; the on-road distance will be much more.

We have earlier proved conclusively in an earlier blogpost that the Isha Foundation is not on or near any Elephant Corridor. Here is the link with all the relevant details: bit.ly/Elephant11

Now, How Do We Know About Elephant Habitats?

A Wildlife Corridor is a path taken by wild life to move from one habitat to another. A Habitat, on the other hand, means a place where elephants ‘live’, not some place where they come and go at times!

Actually, there is no list of Elephant Habitats published by Anybody, Anywhere!

A similar Google Search will make this whole sham very clear.

So, where is this claim of Piyush that Isha Yoga Center is on Elephant Habitat coming from!?

Piyush himself says Isha Yoga Center is not in Forest land. Isha is on Patta Land, near Velliangiri Foothills. Still some people believe that the Isha Yoga Center is on some forest land, though that lie has been busted long ago!

Since his lies about Isha Center being on Elephant Corridor is busted, he is now claiming that Isha Yoga Center is occupying an Elephant habitat. 

Only a clever and seasoned liar can mix his words like this.

Elephants reside ‘on the Velliangiri’ mountains, which people are calling as an elephant habitat! 

The Isha Yoga Center is located adjacent to the forests at the foothills of Velliangiri mountains and that’s what the Foundation has mentioned in the affidavit filed in the court. 

As per this affidavit submitted by the Isha Foundation, it is very clearly mentioned that:

- Isha Yoga Center has no encroachment in the reserve forest area
- Isha Yoga Center is adjacent to the forest boundary
- The Forests close to Isha Center is a known elephant habitat

So, our English Genius Piyush Manush takes that statement and makes his own claim that the Foundation itself has agreed that it is in the Elephant Habitat. How ridiculous is that?

Ironically, all these proofs are published by Piyush Manush himself in his FaceBook posts!

Lies Lies And More Lies

Not just the Isha Yoga Center, dozens of tribal villages and approved village panchayats are also ‘adjacent to the Velliangiri’ mountains! Does Piyush want all of them to vacate and for what? 

His nefarious intentions are clearly exposed now and hope the common public & youth especially will see through such people soon enough. 

That Piyush Manush has a reputation of a seasoned liar and is engaged in criminal activities is nothing new. But unfortunately even the so-called mainstream media is just going by his words and instead of doing simple journalistic investigations are helping spread his lies about the Isha Foundation. 

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War on Isha and Other Hindu Organizations by Church - 2

Part 1 of this blog series can be found here: http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/10/war-on-isha-and-other-hindu.html 

[Note: Before you dismiss me as a xenophobic or someone who hates Christianity, hear me out. I only dislike the methods employed in religious conversions. Am against no religion.]

What is needed to stop the juggernaut of the fraud perpetrated in the name of Christianity? There are some fantastic suggestions in this blog:

https://www.saddahaq.com/how-to-stop-hindu-conversions-by-church

The author suggests:

(1) Stop Foreign Funding

It is the first and foremost step definitely. Why is there so much resistance created in public media by the Church in Tamilnadu against BJP? One simple and straight-forward reason is the number of NGOs that have been banned by the current government in Tamilnadu in 2015:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-bans-foreign-funding-for-69-NGOs-30-of-them-work-for-minorities/articleshow/46461898.cms

Who contributes to a major portion of this donation? It is the Christian missionaries!

http://www.ibtl.in/news/international/1764/it-s-official--christian-missionaries-donate-billions-to-indian-ngos/

This ban on NGOs by BJP Government had ruffled the feathers of organizations all over the world. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/11/india-crackdown-foreign-funded-ngos

Why is that so? This post tries to answer some of the questions:

http://www.firstpost.com/india/uncle-sam-may-be-indirectly-funding-religious-conversion-in-india-2176175.html

While the opacity of funding arrangements would make it difficult or impossible to prove that US taxpayer money has directly supported evangelical activity, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that US-funded FBOs such as Samaritan’s Purse and Partners Worldwide are heavily proselytising in India, quite apart from whatever humanitarian or charitable work they may be doing. And this is leaving aside all of the non-government funded US-based evangelical organisations active in India, which don’t even have to maintain the pretence of separating humanitarian from evangelical work.

This sort of activity, blending charity and Christian evangelism, has aroused the concern of the Indian government. "Can social service not be performed without resorting to conversion and will any country allow changes to its demographic character?" asked India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh recently while addressing a government commission charged with protecting the rights of minorities in India.

(2) Enforce strict Visa rules on missionaries

If you do not know this, most foreign missionaries are entering India under the garb of 'tourists' and 'teachers'. 

https://www.saddahaq.com/visa-fraud-by-christian-missionaries

Of course, with the level of bribes and corruption at our immigration department, there is no doubt such cases are still getting through. 

"99% of Christian Missionaries come to India on Tourist VISA. They dont follow VISA guidelines; doing Mission work on Tourist VISA is illegal as per current law they need very specifci Missionary VISA. We have to enforce this rule by doing few things Ask for written declaration “purpose of Visit” if anyone wrongly states purpose of visit, punish them to full extent of law. They can be jailed directly from airport for 3 years with no bail."

I do not know if this would be still effective now. At least in Tamilnadu, the local missionaries have become smart enough to do the mass conversions by themselves. The news is from the Horse's mouth directly: 

https://christianwatchindia.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/christians-from-tamil-planning-conversions-in-7-districts-of-punjab-to-be-sponsoring-the-mission-field-work-ultimately-all-18-to-be-covered-destruction-of-indian-religions/


I will touch upon the other points in my subsequent blogs ..

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Allegations about Isha - Part 7 - Who is spreading these allegations?

Part 6 of the series is here: http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/02/allegations-about-isha-part-6-ishas.html

[Disclaimer: I am not associated with Isha Foundation. All the information below is available in public domain. Will add more references and images soon.]

I have been tracking the allegations against Isha Foundation in the recent times to find what the truth is. However, there is a spike in the negative comments recently! What are all these allegations about Isha starting afresh? Some of these are not even new! Just saw some posts today from popular magazines. This is why I started this blog, to dig out the truths and post them. Read my earlier posts to know more...


Who is doing this? Why are they doing this? What is their intention?

- Know the criminal history of these groups

  -- Before Isha Foundation came to the foothills of Velliangiri, lot of illegal Timber merchants were operating. They cut down entire forest areas. But ever since they came, Isha has been a thorn in their side. How many of you have noted that there are at least 15 to 20 saw mills even today on the way from Coimbatore city to Poondi on Siruvani road. And these are just the legal ones.
  -- Even now, if the foundation vacates their premises, don't be under the illusion that all this will be converted into forest land. You will see the very Velliangiri mountains disappearing. For those of you who think it is not possible, just travel from Chennai to Tirupati, by road or by train. On the way, there used to be hills. Where are they now? You would not believe what these vested interests groups will do if there is no one to check them.
  -- Check with the local police station and the villagers in that area.


- Other religious groups

  -- If you have noted the history of how other religious groups have existed in Coimbatore, it has always been an uneasy equation.
  -- Islamic spread is in a certain region in the city.
  -- Can someone count the number of Christian Churches that have come up in the last ten years in Coimbatore? Just on the way from Coimbatore Railway Station to Poondi, I could count at least 15 of them on the "main Siruvani road". How are these spreading? There is an obvious funding and spread of Christian religion in the region.
  -- Other religious groups have been living intermingled among this spread.
  -- The growth of Isha as a spiritual force in Coimbatore is obviously ruffling a few feathers for some of these groups too apparently!
  -- Now, naturally wherever funding is available and the greed to expand their religion is there, such groups are also sponsoring vested interest groups to act against Isha! [Will expose these groups soon in my future posts.]

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Allegations about Isha - Part 3 - Is Isha land in an Elephant Corridor?

Part 2 of the series is here: http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/02/allegations-about-isha-part-2-is-isha.html

[Disclaimer: I am not associated with Isha Foundation. All the information below is available in public domain. Will add more references and images soon.]

I have been tracking the allegations against Isha Foundation in the recent times to find what the truth is. However, there is a spike in the negative comments recently! What are all these allegations about Isha starting afresh? Some of these are not even new! Just saw some posts today from popular magazines. This is why I started this blog, to dig out the truths and post them. Read my earlier posts to know more...


Isha on Elephant corridor!?

- Basically my earlier posts about Isha not being on forest land itself rubbishes this argument also.

- But if someone wants to know the truth, Isha has published the rebuttal already on their website with clear proofs that they are not in an elephant corridor! Check their web site and blogs for the documented proofs.

- If there is no elephant corridor, then why elephants are seen in that area? Do you know that the locals in the area have plantains and tamarind plantation in a massive scale in this area? Even local autowallahs, tribals and the forest officials know that these attract the elephants.

- Coupled with the fact that there has been very less rain, the elephants have been coming more frequently to outside forest areas for water. Talk to anyone in the Viraliyur village to know about the antics of these elephants. You will be reminded of the "Kumki" tamil movie where an elephant steals pickle from a road side shop.

- Take the statistics of Elephant-Human conflict with the TN Govt administration departments and see how many have been in the area Isha is. Even take a wider circle of a few KM radius. You will still find nothing.

- All the pictures and posts these guys are talking about are taken from elephant deaths in other areas. It is unfortunately being attributed to Isha. There is no truth in that.

- When in doubt, check with TN Govt administration departments. Don't trust these vested interest groups.

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Allegations about Isha - Part 2 - Is Isha destroying forest really?

Part 1 of the series is here: http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/02/allegations-about-isha-part-1-why-is.html

[Disclaimer: I am not associated with Isha Foundation. All the information below is available in public domain. Will add more references and images soon.]

I have been tracking the allegations against Isha Foundation in the recent times to find what the truth is. However, there is a spike in the negative comments recently! What are all these allegations about Isha starting afresh? Some of these are not even new! Just saw some posts today from popular magazines. This is why I started this blog, to dig out the truths and post them. Read my first post to know more...

Destroying forest

• For how many days are we going to listen to these lies? Isn't it time to find out what the truth is?

• - Who is the authority on forests? Isn't it the TN Govt administration departments? If they, including the forest and the land registration departments both say Isha's lands are legally acquired patta lands, why should we continue to believe these cheats?

• - For those who do not know, just because a patta land is near forest, it does not become forest area automatically!

• So, this is automatically rubbished by the concerned authorities itself.

Edit 1:

As recently as July 2017, it has been categorically proven in the Chennai High Court that there is no encroachment of forest land by Isha Foundation. But I doubt if the lies spread by vested interests are to stop here - I see too much ignorance from common public and too much money being spent in spreading this lie online!

Edit 2:

The very person who triggered all these 'Google Earth' images of Isha Foundation raising the deforestation talks has later apologised about it. He has categorically stated that there is no deforestation by Isha.

References:

(1) CFCIT/07/2013 - TN Forest Department document

(2) http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/inside-isha/media-matters/is-isha-encroaching-elephant-corridor/

(3) http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/inside-isha/media-matters/response-allegations-isha-foundation/

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Allegations about Isha - Part 1 - Why this series?

[Disclaimer: I am not associated with Isha Foundation. All the information below is available in public domain. Will add more references and images soon.]

I have been tracking the allegations against Isha Foundation in the recent times to find what the truth is. However, there is a spike in the negative comments recently! What are all these allegations about Isha starting afresh? Some of these are not even new! Just saw some posts today from popular magazines. This is why I started this blog, to dig out the truths and post them. Read my first post to know more...

These groups / persons posting negative information about Isha, they are not actually many. Just a handful of them but with lot of followers. They seem to understand through the recent Jallikattu success that powerful information can be spread via social media. They are trying to exploit the emotional state of TamilNadu people now. [Another bane of Social media that I will address in a separate post ..]

The complete content is here: http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/02/allegations-on-isha-what-is-truth.html

But some people reached out to me yesterday and asked to break the content into parts. So, here is "part 1". 

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Allegations on Isha - What is the truth?

[Disclaimer: I am not associated with Isha Foundation. All the information below is available in public domain. Will add more references and images soon.]

Introduction [Click the link to read more about it...]

I have been tracking the allegations against Isha Foundation in the recent times to find what the truth is. However, there is a spike in the negative comments recently! What are all these allegations about Isha starting afresh? Some of these are not even new! Just saw some posts today from popular magazines. This is why I started this blog, to dig out the truths and post them. Read my first post to know more...

These groups / persons posting negative information about Isha, they are not actually many. Just a handful of them but with lot of followers. They seem to understand through the recent Jallikattu success that powerful information can be spread via social media. They are trying to exploit the emotional state of TamilNadu people now. [Another bane of Social media that I will address in a separate post ..]


Destroying forest [Click the link to read more about it...]

- For how many days are we going to listen to these lies? Isn't it time to find out what the truth is?
- Who is the authority on forests? Isn't it the TN Government departments? If they, including the forest and the land registration departments both say Isha's lands are legally acquired patta lands, why should we continue to believe these cheats?
- For those who do not know, just because a patta land is near forest, it does not become forest area automatically!
- So, this is automatically rubbished by the concerned authorities itself.


Elephant corridor [Click the link to read more about it...]

- Basically #1 about Isha not being on forest land itself rubbishes this argument also.
- But if someone wants to know the truth, Isha has published the rebuttal already on their website with clear proofs that they are not in an elephant corridor!
- If there is no elephant corridor, then why elephants are seen in that area? Do you know that the locals in the area have plantains and tamarind plantation in a massive scale in this area? Even local autowallahs, tribals and the forest officials know that these attract the elephants.
- Coupled with the fact that there has been very less rain, the elephants have been coming more frequently to outside forest areas for water. Talk to anyone in the Viraliyur village to know about the antics of these elephants. You will be reminded of the "Kumki" tamil movie where an elephant steals pickle from a road side shop.
- Take the statistics of Elephant-Human conflict with the TN Government administration departments and see how many have been in the area Isha is. Even take a wider circle of a few KM radius. You will still find nothing.
- All the pictures and posts these guys are talking about are taken from elephant deaths in other areas. It is unfortunately being attributed to Isha. There is no truth in that.
- When in doubt, check with relevant TN Government administration departments. Don't trust these vested interest groups.


Project Green Hands [Click the link to read more about it...]

- Those who have planted and taken care of trees will only know the truth of how hard it is to do at a massive scale.
- Isha volunteers claim to have given their life to do all this. Tamilnadu has been the only area in South Asia where green cover is actually increasing.
- You and I are not planting trees that much. Then who is doing this?
- Projects like Green Hands and other NGOs with some major corporates like L&T, Sony, etc. have been pioneering this effort
- When Isha volunteers saw the amount of destruction happening in deforestation, they simply went and planted thousands of trees on the Velliangiri hills. Do not believe me. Take some tree experts and with permission of forest department, check the age of trees in the hills behind Isha Foundation. 80% of them will be under 20 years of age. [This has been tested already by independent groups.]
- They are questioning the claim of how many trees Green Hands project has done. There are several corporates who are working with this team. Do you think they are not tracking all the trees that are planted?
- If you have any area in the city and are interested in making it green, please do contact the Green Hands team. I spoke to them in the Chennai Lit Fest after the Vardah cyclone where they distributed saplings.


Why celebrate MahaSivarathri in the forest [Click the link to read more about it...]

- This is the most ridiculous of all. First of all, we have conclusively seen already that this is near but not actually forest area.
- Secondly, if the Shiva temple in Isha is near forest, can MahaShivarathri be celebrated in Coimbatore city? Where is the land to do that inside the city?
- If anybody has any sense, this will be the worst argument to go with.
- And by the way, why are all these guys targeting only Hindu and Indian cultural functions? I still see Isha as an organization promoting Hindu culture. Something for all Hindus to think about seriously!


Expansion of Isha Foundation as is [Click the link to read more about it...]

- Obviously Isha Foundation started as a small group of meditators in a small area. Today they have expanded into a much larger organization.
- Now, people have to think why such group would expand unless many people started seeing the value of Isha Yoga in their lives. Millions of Isha meditators around the world vouch for the health and mental benefits they have got through Isha yoga. One or two people can lie, how will so many!!?
- When hundreds of people have to live, they need area to expand! So, they have purchased nearby patta land legally and constructed buildings.
- There is an open court case about one or two buildings for which some NOC has to be produced. This will be done by the Foundation in the court. Why bother pulling the same thing again and again?


Who is doing this? Why are they doing this? What is their intention? [Click the link to read more about it...]

- Know the criminal history of these groups

  -- Before Isha Foundation came to the foothills of Velliangiri, lot of illegal Timber merchants were operating. They cut down entire forest areas. But ever since they came, Isha has been a thorn in their side. How many of you have noted that there are at least 15 to 20 saw mills even today on the way from Coimbatore city to Poondi on Siruvani road. And these are just the legal ones.
  -- Even now, if the foundation vacates their premises, don't be under the illusion that all this will be converted into forest land. You will see the very Velliangiri mountains disappearing. For those of you who think it is not possible, just travel from Chennai to Tirupati, by road or by train. On the way, there used to be hills. Where are they now? You would not believe what these vested interests groups will do if there is no one to check them.
  -- Check with the local police station and the villagers in that area.


- Other religious groups

  -- If you have noted the history of how other religious groups have existed in Coimbatore, it has always been an uneasy equation.
  -- Islamic spread is in a certain region in the city.
  -- Can someone count the number of Christian Churches that have come up in the last ten years in Coimbatore? Just on the way from Coimbatore Railway Station to Poondi, I could count at least 15 of them on the "main Siruvani road". How are these spreading? There is an obvious funding and spread of Christian religion in the region.
  -- Other religious groups have been living intermingled among this spread.
  -- The growth of Isha as a spiritual force in Coimbatore is obviously ruffling a few feathers for some of these groups too apparently!
  -- Now, naturally wherever funding is available and the greed to expand their religion is there, such groups are also sponsoring vested interest groups to act against Isha! [Will expose these groups soon in my future posts.]


- Trend analysis

  -- If you have noted anything in Indian politics in recent times, we all know that opposition parties will always raise ruckus when the in-power government tries to do some good.
  -- These groups raising noise against Isha Foundation are just like that. They seem to do this whenever Isha starts something big.
  -- Check the trends of such attacks for yourself! They have always happened before some major event conducted by Isha.


Conclusion - What is my take for now? [Click the link to read more about it...]

Isha Foundation is not a 100% clean organization - no one in the world is. Between White and Black, there are several shades. But for an organization run by volunteers exclusively, they have done a phenomenal social work so far. Let's point out the faults, but with proper facts and give them an opportunity to correct it.

The intention of these groups is to keep defaming Isha. But I think what they are doing is providing free publicity. Hope they realize this soon. In the mean time, general public should use their own intelligence instead of getting swayed by such people, especially appealing emotionally.

Edit 1:

As recently as July 2017, it has been categorically proven in the Chennai High Court that there is no encroachment of forest land by Isha Foundation. But I doubt if the lies spread by vested interests are to stop here - I see too much ignorance from common public and too much money being spent in spreading this lie online!

Edit 2:

Had interactions with some people from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in July 2017. They have been actively working with Isha Foundation in tree plantation activities in their respective states. These people vouch for the professionalism and clean focus of the Project Green Hands team in executing the plantation activities! Guess one more lie spread about Isha Foundation goes for a clean six!

References:

(1) http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/inside-isha/media-matters/is-isha-encroaching-elephant-corridor/

(2) http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/inside-isha/media-matters/response-allegations-isha-foundation/

(3) http://www.ecowalkthetalk.com/blog/2012/09/01/sadhguru-jaggi-vasudev-project-green-hands-and-tree-planting-in-tamil-nadu/

(4) http://www.nbrienvis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CMS/ProjectGreenHandsReport.pdf

<More to be added soon>

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