Sustainable Yogic Agriculture: Brahma Kumaris experiment with agriculture and meditation

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: What happens if yoga is combined with organic
farming? There will be increased yields, early sprouting of seeds and
greatest soil microbial population.

Sustainable Yogic Agriculture (SYA), which is adopted by hundreds of
farmers on experimental basis, is now a subject of research by two
leading agricultural universities. The SYA has generated considerable
interest at the ongoing COP 11 here with international delegates
discussing it at length. An exhibition on sustainable yogic
agriculture will be presented at the COP 11 on October 17. SYA
involves organic farming with meditation in the fields by farmers.

GB Pant University of Agriculture and SD Agricultural University have
conducted research on farm fields developed through sustainable yogic
agriculture. They compared the yields and other farm parameters with
those of chemical and organic farming. The concept is being promoted
by Brahma Kumaris.

There is not even a single instance of farmers committing suicide in
the last seven years of yogic farming. Thousands of farmers are
involved in this type of agriculture and all of them are happy, said
Br Vamsi of Brahma Kumaris, Hyderabad centre.

According to a document brought out by the Brahma Kumaris, preliminary
findings indicate that sustainable yogic farming has the greatest soil
microbial population and that seeds germinate up to a week earlier.
“Crops also reveal higher amounts of iron, energy, protein and
vitamins compared to organic and chemical farming, offering low cost
high benefit methods for local communities”.

Farmers are free from the heavy cost of fertilizers and pesticides.
Along with the earth, plants and animals, the human side of the
ecosystem is also benefited from the concept, he added. Meditative
practices designed for each phase of the agrarian cycle, from seed to
harvest, are positively affecting farmers and, by association, their
families and villagers.

In SYA, farmers practice meditation during the sowing of the seeds and
at frequent intervals in the farm fields as the crop gradually grows.
“It is an experiment of mental wave through meditation on the plant
and trees,” he added.

Through SYA, farmers are witnessing a return of biodiversity by
increased friendly insects and soil microbes along with other native
plants and animals. The cost benefits include greater crop yield for
farmers and higher return on sale because of the quality of the goods.