We are Gunis (traditional healers) and medicinal plants conservation farmers from the
Mewar Region of Rajasthan in India. The Gunis among us take our name from guna, which is
a Sanskrit word that has three meanings: knowledge, healing and virtue. Anyone can have
knowledge, but Gunis are those of us who use our traditional knowledge virtuously to heal
people. Our dharma, which is translated as “the path of virtue”, is to ensure our
communities’ wellbeing in accordance with our virtues that underscore selfless service and
caring for the environment.
To protect our traditional knowledge we must locally conserve and sustainably use our
local resources like medicinal plants, and actively use and share our knowledge. As a group
we conserve medicinal plants through home herbal gardens and Dharam bageechis (selfmanaged medicinal plants development areas) and share our knowledge with each other
and our Shishya (Disciple or student) to ensure its continued development. In this way, the
valuing of our knowledge by our communities leads to conservation, and the sustainable
use of local resources viz. medicinal plants, minerals, etc. is leading to the development of
traditional knowledge.
We include in our group small farmers or forest dwellers and tribals who make an
important contribution by conserving and growing medicinal plants, often focusing on
endangered species that have been over-harvested in the wild. This conservation farming is
a critical part of ensuring the sustainability of specific species endemic to Rajasthan.
We are all associated with Jagran Jan Vikas Samiti (JJVS), an organization that works for the
revitalization of local health traditions.
Our protocol sets out
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Our Guni dharma: our bio-spiritual virtues and bio-cultural relationship with nature;
How we contribute to our communities’ health, cultural and social development;
How we develop traditional knowledge and share it according to our bio-spiritual
virtues , including how we provide prior informed consent to use our knowledge;
How we conserve and sustainably use biological diversity; and
The challenges we face.
It concludes by setting out our understanding of our rights under Indian law and calls upon
the National Biodiversity Authority to assist us to protect and promote our traditional
knowledge and on the Forest Department to engage us in dialogue to resolve the concerns
we have regarding our forest rights.
The
Guni
dharma:
bio-spirituality
and
selflessness
Our dharma (path of virtue) is to use our traditional knowledge virtuously, by respecting
the sanctity of nature whilst serving our communities with selflessness. We are custodians,
practitioners and conveyors of an ancient but dynamic body of knowledge.
Our Bio-spirituality: Our bio-spirituality is rooted in a relationship with nature that is both
intimate and sacred. We experience a deep sense of kinship with the plants and animals and
treat nature with love and respect. Our knowledge, dreams and intuitions, all of which are
crucial for healing, are based on our ability to see ourselves as integrally connected to
nature, not separate from it.