Chant Vedic mantra to get a better crop: Goa Agriculture Minister
Panjim : A “vedic” technique which requires a farmer to sit, meditate and channel “cosmic energy” by chanting “Om rom jum sah” for at least 20 minutes a day for better yields, got the backing of Goa Agriculture Minister Vijay Sardesai Tuesday after he inaugurated a pilot project at a field, close to his residence in Fatorda.
The project is named “Shiv Yog Cosmic Farming” and is designed by Dr Avadhoot Shivanand, a former chemical engineer turned godman, in Gurgaon through his Shiv Yog Foundation. Sardesai’s wife, Usha is a follower of this foundation and “shakti” videos have gone viral among farmers across the state on social media.
Launching the project, Sardesai said: “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.”
“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.”
In January, Usha, accompanied by the Director of Agriculture Nelson Figueiredo, attended an hour-long workshop with Dr Shivanand, where they were told of the benefits of “channelling Shakti into the soil”. Figueiredo could not be reached for comment, but Sardesai confirmed the visit.
Over the last week, Goan farmers have been receiving videos on WhatsApp, which claim they were shot in fields of Madhya Pradesh. The videos show farmers sitting cross-legged and meditating with Shivanand, called ‘Babaji’, describing the impact on the field. In one video, he calls it “tapping the cosmic shakti through the third eye similar to Lord Shiv and forcing the energy to dilute the negative destructive sounds around the field, pushing the universe’s positive vibrations towards healthier seed germination”.
In another video, Shivanand speaks to a room full of “scientists and doctors” calling them referral points and says that the “third eye spiritual exercise” is a “science beyond science”. Shiv Yog Foundation could not be reached for comment.
Agriculture Department officials said their role in the exercise is “limited” and they will only assist where needed, which includes identifying plots in the state which allow for alternative farming methods, and a promise that “no one will be forced to do it”.
Farmers were also called in for a free two-day workshop at the state’s official stadium. In a presentation at the workshop, representatives of the Shiv Yog Foundation distributed a curriculum on meditation, which requires an at least 20-minute recital of “Om rom jum sah” during the seed planting stage, till the seeds take roots – to ensure the “cosmic energies bring the positive microorganisms alive”, and reduce the dependence on fertilisers, gradually.
The participants were also asked to view a Doordarshan show by Dr Shivanand where he presents two studies that confirm his methodology. According to Sardesai, the studies were enough, though the state government hasn’t verified either of them.
Sardesai said: “I was also a sceptic but after meeting Babaji and reading his studies I am also convinced. The general thrust is to focus the energy into the soil, be less dependent on fertilisers. I don’t think we (Goa government) personally need to study as Central Government has listed it in their programme. They must have studied all that, no? Besides Babaji has his firm spread across the globe. He preaches all this abroad.”
Fatorda farmers from Sardesai’s constituency who attended the exhibition, say Usha Sardesai’s case study was also discussed where she has practised the methodology on her plants at home, and her “orchids” on the front porch.
“All I know is there are some celestial sounds one can capture and channel through mediation and help increase the yield and decrease the input of fertilisers. This particular scheme of Shiv Yogi also comes under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana of the Central Government and hence we decided to look into it. The government’s thrust is to increase cultivation, now it can be done anyway, either using religion, through cosmic science, through glamour… anyway,” he said.
“If you ask me, we have 40 thousand hectares of cultivable land lying fallow. If sitting and meditating and tapping cosmic sounds excite them and bring them to the fields, then that is enough for me,” said Sardesai.
courtesy : indianexpress.com
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Actress sexual assault: Court says Prosecution 'miserably' failed to prove conspiracy against Dileep
Kochi (PTI): The prosecution had "miserably" failed to prove the conspiracy charge against Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case, a local court has observed while citing inconsistencies and lack of sufficient evidence against the Malayalam star.
The full judgement of Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese was released late on Friday, and has revealed the judge also pointing out at unsustainable arguments put forth by the prosecution.
"The prosecution miserably failed to prove the conspiracy between accused No.1 (Pulsar Suni) and accused No.8 (Dileep) in executing the offence against the victim," the court held.
It examined in detail, the prosecution's allegation that Dileep had hired the prime accused to sexually assault the survivor and record visuals, including close-up footage of a gold ring she was wearing, to establish her identity.
On page 1130 of the judgment, under paragraph 703, the court framed the issue as whether the prosecution's contention that NS Sunil (Pulsar Suni) recorded visuals of the gold ring worn by the victim at the time of the occurrence, so as to clearly disclose her identity, was sustainable.
The prosecution contended Dileep and Suni had planned the recording so that the actress' identity would be unmistakable, with the video of the gold ring intended to convince Dileep that the visuals were genuine.
However, the court noted that this contention was not stated in the first charge sheet and was introduced only in the second one.
As part of this claim, a gold ring was seized after the victim produced it before the police.
The court observed that multiple statements of the victim were recorded from February 18, 2017, following the incident, and that she first raised allegations against Dileep only on June 3, 2017.
Even on that day, nothing was mentioned about filming of the ring as claimed by the prosecution, the court said.
The prosecution failed to explain why the victim did not disclose this fact at the earliest available opportunities.
It further noted that although the victim had viewed the sexual assault visuals twice, she did not mention any specific recording of the gold ring on those occasions, which remained unexplained.
The court also examined the approvers' statements.
One approver told the magistrate that Dileep had instructed Pulsar Suni to record the victim's wedding ring.
The court observed that no such wedding ring was available with her at that time.
During the trial, the approver changed his version, the court said.
The Special Public Prosecutor put a leading question to the approver on whether Dileep had instructed the recording of the ring, after which he deposed that the instruction was to record it to prove the victim's identity.
The court observed that the approver changed his account to corroborate the victim's evidence.
When the same question was put to another approver, he repeated the claim during the trial but admitted he had never stated this fact before the investigating officer.
The court noted that the second approver even went to the extent of claiming Dileep had instructed the execution of the crime as the victim's engagement was over.
This showed that the evidence of the second approver regarding the shooting of the ring was untrue, as her engagement had taken place after the crime.
The court further observed that the visuals themselves clearly revealed the victim's identity and that there was no need to capture images of the ring to establish identity.
In paragraph 887, the court examined the alleged motive behind the crime and noted that in the first charge sheet, the prosecution had claimed that accused persons 1 to 6 had kidnapped the victim with the common intention of capturing nude visuals to extort money by threatening to circulate them and there was no mention about Dileep's role in it.
The court also rejected the prosecution's claim that the accused had been planning the assault on Dileep's instructions since 2013, noting that the allegation was not supported by reliable evidence.
It similarly ruled out the claim that Suni attempted to sexually assault the victim in Goa in January 2017, stating that witness statements showed no such misconduct when he served as the driver of the vehicle used by the actress there.
The court also discussed various controversies that followed Dileep's arrest and the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, ultimately finding that the case had not been proved.
Pronouning its verdict on the sensational case on December 8, the court acquitted Dileep and three others.
Later, the court sentenced six accused, including the prime accused Suni, to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.
The assault on the multilingual actress, after the accused allegedly forced their way into her car and held it under their control for two hours on February 17, 2017, had shocked Kerala.
Pulsar Suni sexually assaulted the actress and video recorded the act with the help of the other convicted persons in the moving car.
