Trees in different Religions

Since trees have evolved had an immense persuade on the determining of the ecology of our planet and in determining the present arrangements of life on earth. Of particular importance for us has been the role of trees in the evolution of mankind and the development of human cultures, communities and religion.
Trees are the principal and top living organisms on earth. To grow gigantic the tree has become a phenomenon of production and an intricate substance factory. It is able to take water and salts out of the earth and lift them up to the leaves, sometimes over 400 ft above. By means of photosynthesis the leaves combine the water and salts with carbon dioxide from the air to produce the nutrients which feed the tree. In this process, as well as wood, trees create many chemicals, seeds and fruit of great utility to man. Trees also remove carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, from the air.
Mention of trees in the holy books of Hindus, Christianity and Islam reflect the place of trees in the daily life and imagination of cultures of millennia ago.
People have always worshipped trees. Early tree worship by pre-monotheistic religions is recorded in numerous Greek and Sumerian classics. The ancient Greeks regarded trees as the first temples of the gods and sacred groves as their first places of worship, where the powerful forces of nature inspired human image making.
Trees are prominent in the Bagvad Gita, the Bible and the Koran. Arboreal references in these holy books reflect the place of trees in cultures of millennia ago: their uses, the local species of importance, and moreover their inspirational and symbolic significance, based on the sensitivity of the tree as mark of the life given by the Originator.
With the constant influence of these manuscripts over thousands of years, particular species (e.g. the Peepal of India, the Fig in Arab and the Cedar of Lebanon) and certain forests and groves have acquired great – even sacred – importance, which still holds today and may contribute to their protection and conservation.
From the seed which we sow today there may spring up a mighty tree whose branches, like those of the banyan of the soil, shall in their turn strike firm roots into the earth and themselves send forth new and vigorous saplings.

The Gita contains the divine nectar. It is the wish-fulfilling gem, tree and cow. You can milk anything from it. It is a book for eternity. It can be one’s constant companion of life. It is a vade-mecum for all. Peace, bliss, wisdom, Brahman, Nirvana, Param Padam and Gita are all synonymous terms.

Lord says in the Gita

Among the trees (I am) the peepul; among the divine sages I am Narada; among Gandharvas I am Chitraratha; among the perfected the sage Kapila.

Ucchaihshravasamashwaanaam viddhi maamamritodbhavam;
Airaavatam gajendraanaam naraanaam cha naraadhipam.


I am the Kratu; I am the Yajna; I am the offering (food) to the manes; I am the medicinal herb and all the plants; I am the Mantra; I am also the ghee or melted butter; I am the fire; I am the oblation.

Pitaahamasya jagato maataa dhaataa pitaamahah;
Vedyam pavitramonkaara riksaama yajureva cha.
God Says in the Bible
The Bible contains more references to trees and wood (over 525) than to any other type of living organism except humans. These references are found from the first book of the Bible, which contains a reference to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9) to the last book of the New Testament, which refers to the tree of life as a major feature in Paradise (Revelation 22:2, 14).
God (Allah ta'ala) says in the Quran
The likeness of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp; the lamp is encased in a glass. The glass is like a brilliant star. It is lit from a blessed tree, an olive tree that is neither of the East nor the West. It is as if its oil would give light even if fire had not touched it. Light upon light. And Allah guides to His light whom He pleases. [This lamp] is in houses that Allah has permitted to be erected wherein His name is oft-remembered. They glorify Him in them in the early morning and evening, men who are not distracted by commerce and trading from the remembrance of Allah. (24: 35-37)
Also, Allah, Exalted is He, swears an oath, saying, "By the Fig and the Olive, and by Mount Sinai. Surely, We created man in the best stature" (Quran, 95: 1-4).
Notwithstanding the debt we owe to trees, their emotive power, and their importance to other forms of life, the forested area of the earth is steadily being depleted. This is leading to the degradation of the environment and the extinction of many species. There is now a real danger that in the not very distant future man will destroy a large proportion of the present population of species on earth, create an uninhabitable environment, and then die out himself. If this happens it will not be the first time that a large proportion of the species on the earth have been extinguished. But keeping in mind about spirit of environment conservation and plantation of species can save us from any unpleasing environment and conservation risk.