New York, July 10 (IANS): The world should observe a day dedicated to "Mother Nature" when people must plant at least one tree, Indian spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi has said.

"Just as we celebrate Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving, we should have a day to respect and worship Mother Nature," Amma, as she is widely known, said in an address here.

"On that day, everyone in the world should try to plant at least one tree," she said, addressing a conference on sustainable development the UN organised here on Wednesday.

In the capacity of the chancellor of Amrita University, Amma addressed researchers representing 93 leading international universities here.

"In the olden days, because people lived in tune with nature, they would look for an auspicious day before planting or cutting down a tree," she said.

Today, she lamented, "not only do we rarely plant trees, we relentlessly destroy them and all of nature".

Amma said the annual day dedicated to "Mother Nature" could even coincide with New Year's Day, "so we start the year on an auspicious note.

"If we do so, this planet will become a paradise. A tree is like a house that we construct for Mother Earth."

Amma, who is based in Kerala, went on to say that "science, technology, and spirituality must unite in order to ensure a sustainable and balanced existence of our world.

"The present age and the world around us demand this transformation."