Yoshiko Y Nakano, President, OISCA-International (The Organisation for Industrial Spiritual & Cultural Advancement), a multi-cultural international NGO based out of Tokyo, is a new age evangelist for climate change. Ask her about the perils of a fast depleting Earth and you cannot miss the passion in Nakano?s words. Says she: ?Global warming is an important issue today. We have to protect our planet. The most important action should be to protect our environment and pay respect to her.?
The basic concept of OISCA, she says, is to ?promote balanced development of material and spiritual aspect of human life.? She adds, ?It is just like the wheels of a car. Unless the physical, spiritual and material things are properly harmonised and balanced, the car on which habitat all the living beings may collapse.? The organisation?s activities are focused on rural areas, agricultural development and human capacity building and the environment.
India, Nakano says, has been one of OISCA?s steadfast friends. Says she: ?It is nice to visit India and spread the message of OISCA activities in this country. From the very beginning, when our activities were started in India by late DN Sinha in the 60s, your country has been involved with OISCA activities.
Explaining the philosophy behind OISCA?s activities, Nakano says that the organisation accepts the system of Masanobu Fukuoka?s pathbreaking One-Straw Revolution of natural farming. Says Nakano: ?The founder of OISCA, Dr Yonosuke Nakano, used to tell us all human beings are protected by the great nature and even by the universe. So we have to pay respect to them, and live in accordance with the laws of the nature. Respecting the laws of nature should be the basic attitude of the people and that is why at OISCA we have been emphasising the importance of agriculture, fisheries and forestry as key elements of industry. We have to respect and work and live with the nature.? Ask her about public-private partnership, and Nakano says that just like the government, it is time NGOs and public too came forward. ? Both India and Japan can play a key role. Traditional values and religion are present in India,? says Nakano.
Nakano is so deeply entrenched in her work that she doesn?t mind that she hardly gets time for anything else. Says she: ?Whenever I have time, I meditate, Japanese style. My father taught me that the origin of life, our life, is in this universe. It is very close to us. With meditation you can make yourself one with universe and vice versa. This helps purify one?s mind and soul.?
Does she have a dream? ?As president of OISCA, I want to spread the message all over the world. I want to quote an example. This is the children?s forest programme that was started in 1992, commemorating the Earth Summit. The most interesting part here is that the children plant trees. Doing this brings them closer to the nature. My dream and wish is to expand this message to many parts of the world.? India and Japan, she strongly feels, should work together to create a new horizon of service for a better future.