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Sunderlal Bahuguna led a life of austerity, partly to lead by example. He kept a vegetarian diet in respect to the people of the animal kingdom, wore only simple clothes, and walked 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) from village to village across the country when it was time to spread the message of forest conservation. In devotion to God, Sunderlal Bahuguna dedicated every action to protecting the natural environment. He believed that science had to be guided by spirituality rather than by politics, as thoughts directed from the heart cannot cause harm to others. "You know, I see it, that the Almighty is everywhere and especially in nature. You might have heard of the Chipko movement; that was the movement which was to save the trees. And I felt that what right do we have to kill these trees? Because these trees are also the creation of the Almighty, and these are also the living beings like us. The only difference is that these trees cannot speak, these trees cannot move, but they do greater service to society than the human beings. Had there not been trees, we would not have survived because trees are just like Lord Shiva Shankar Bhagwan." In closing, let us hear some wise advice from Sunderlal Bahuguna: "You know that power comes from the Almighty. When you surrender yourself to Him, He will show you the way. And three things I believe. The first, you should have devotion. Devotion to what, to whom? Devotion to the Almighty, devotion to the people. Does Almighty take a form for you? What form does the Almighty cover? I see Him everywhere. I see Him in you, yourself, also. I see Him in trees. I see Him in rivers, mountains, everywhere. He is everywhere, omnipotent. And omnipresent. Omnipresent. So, the first thing is that we should have devotion. The second thing is dedication – dedication for a cause. If you realize that Almighty is everywhere and He is being hurt, then we should dedicate ourselves for a service. And the third thing is determination."
