Goa Agriculture Minister Vijay Sardesai on Tuesday asked farmers to chant ‘Om rom jum sah’ for at least 20 minutes every day to yield better crops.
Sardesai inaugurated a project named “Shiv Yog Cosmic Farming” which preaches farmers to sit and meditate, while channelling “cosmic energy through the third eye, similar to Lord Shiva”.
While launching the project, Sardesai told The Indian Express, “There is no money involved and as an agriculture minister, I will explore every method to increase interest in farming. If you convince me a rock show or a beauty contest will also help get people excited about agriculture, I will pull it in the middle of the fields. We need to now look into methods to get everyone interested in farming.”
This project was initiated by Shiv Yog Foundation, founded by Dr Avadhoot Shivanand, a former chemical engineer who is now a self-proclaimed godman. Sardesai’s wife, a Shiv Yogi herself is a member of this foundation and has been actively promoting this technique.
Sardesai said, “My wife Usha is a Shiv Yogi and she is the one who has been promoting this philosophy. I was sceptical at first too, but it’s not magic. There are studies backing this method.”
Reportedly, the videos of Madhya Pradesh farmers sitting and meditating in their farms with Shivanand –popularly known as ‘Babaji’– and sharing the positive impacts of chanting mantras have gone viral among Goan farmers.