248
Subtle Agroecologies
mechanics within the Western scientifc establishment reveals synergies with indigenous worldviews on the underlying nature of reality (Craven and I’poyi, 2009).
In the farming context, the application of invisible, non-material and spiritual practices is neither
a radical nor a new suggestion. For over 10,000 years of farming, such practices were incorporated
into agricultural life up until very recent times even in the West (Bellwood, 2005). The proposition of this chapter is that part (at least) of any transition towards a more healthy and regenerative
global agriculture will not be found within the confnes of the Western industrial worldview and
its dogmas need to be overcome so as to include invisible, non-material and spiritual practices to
supplement and perhaps alter the existing material ones.
RESEARCHING SUSTAINABLE YOGIC AGRICULTURE
One farming approach that recognises and works with the invisible, non-material dimension is
Sustainable Yogic Agriculture (SYA). This system originates from the Brahma Kumaris spiritual
movement, founded in India by Dada Lekhraj Kripalani in 1937, and which now has a global presence with 8,500 centres in 110 countries (Brahma Kumaris, ND). The Brahma Kumaris worldview
is derived from Vedic cosmology and holds that all human beings are pure souls inhabiting a physical body. It states that soul consciousness, having traits of purity, bliss and love, is to be considered
as one’s true nature rather than the more common body consciousness, the latter being the cause
of humanity’s present affictions (Ramsay, 2012b). The SYA initiative was launched in 2008 by the
Rural Development Wing of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (RDW, 2009). SYA is
premised on the philosophy that ‘as the food, so the mind and as the mind, so the body’.
Given that SYA is little known as a farming system, a research study was developed to understand its methods and to ascertain its performance and potential. This was undertaken through a
literature review followed by a feld trip to SYA farmers in Rajasthan and Gujarat provinces, close
to the Headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu from 8 to 23 November 2017. Permission
was necessarily obtained from the headquarters. Taking an inductive approach, the study assessed
the fndings against existing scientifc evidence about the practices being performed.
In terms of scientifc literature, only one peer-reviewed paper has been published on SYA
(Pandey et al., 2015). Because of this dearth of research, non-peer-reviewed and grey literature is
also taken into account in this chapter, including a further 12 publications that were only accessible
in hard copy form at the Brahma Kumaris Headquarters.
The feld study visit comprised a group interview based on a pre-prepared, semi-structured questionnaire that was conducted with eight farmers practising SYA. A translator was present to enable
the discussion. This meeting was organised by the Brahma Kumaris Rural Development Wing, which
also selected the participants, all of whom were members of a Gujarat-based SYA group consisting of
30 farmers. All were male and in an age range of between 40 and 60. The area of the farmers’ holdings
dedicated to SYA was small, averaging 1 acre, and did not cover all of their landholdings.
A feld visit was also made to the Brahma Kumaris Demonstration Farm, ‘Tapovan’, located near
the global headquarters at Shantivan, Mount Abu. This 5-acre horticultural farm has been managed
as an SYA demonstration farm for the past 3 years, hosting educational visits by thousands of conventional small- and medium-scale farmers from within India and abroad.
Using an ethnographic approach, questions were put to the farm manager and a representative
from the Rural Development Wing.
RESULTS: AN OVERVIEW OF SYA METHODS AND PRACTICES
THE ORIGINS OF SYA METHODS
SYA came into being as a result of observations by Indian farmers practising meditation in their
felds to improve crop health. Their methods were brought to the attention of the Brahma Kumaris
Subtle Agroecologies
mechanics within the Western scientifc establishment reveals synergies with indigenous worldviews on the underlying nature of reality (Craven and I’poyi, 2009).
In the farming context, the application of invisible, non-material and spiritual practices is neither
a radical nor a new suggestion. For over 10,000 years of farming, such practices were incorporated
into agricultural life up until very recent times even in the West (Bellwood, 2005). The proposition of this chapter is that part (at least) of any transition towards a more healthy and regenerative
global agriculture will not be found within the confnes of the Western industrial worldview and
its dogmas need to be overcome so as to include invisible, non-material and spiritual practices to
supplement and perhaps alter the existing material ones.
RESEARCHING SUSTAINABLE YOGIC AGRICULTURE
One farming approach that recognises and works with the invisible, non-material dimension is
Sustainable Yogic Agriculture (SYA). This system originates from the Brahma Kumaris spiritual
movement, founded in India by Dada Lekhraj Kripalani in 1937, and which now has a global presence with 8,500 centres in 110 countries (Brahma Kumaris, ND). The Brahma Kumaris worldview
is derived from Vedic cosmology and holds that all human beings are pure souls inhabiting a physical body. It states that soul consciousness, having traits of purity, bliss and love, is to be considered
as one’s true nature rather than the more common body consciousness, the latter being the cause
of humanity’s present affictions (Ramsay, 2012b). The SYA initiative was launched in 2008 by the
Rural Development Wing of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (RDW, 2009). SYA is
premised on the philosophy that ‘as the food, so the mind and as the mind, so the body’.
Given that SYA is little known as a farming system, a research study was developed to understand its methods and to ascertain its performance and potential. This was undertaken through a
literature review followed by a feld trip to SYA farmers in Rajasthan and Gujarat provinces, close
to the Headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu from 8 to 23 November 2017. Permission
was necessarily obtained from the headquarters. Taking an inductive approach, the study assessed
the fndings against existing scientifc evidence about the practices being performed.
In terms of scientifc literature, only one peer-reviewed paper has been published on SYA
(Pandey et al., 2015). Because of this dearth of research, non-peer-reviewed and grey literature is
also taken into account in this chapter, including a further 12 publications that were only accessible
in hard copy form at the Brahma Kumaris Headquarters.
The feld study visit comprised a group interview based on a pre-prepared, semi-structured questionnaire that was conducted with eight farmers practising SYA. A translator was present to enable
the discussion. This meeting was organised by the Brahma Kumaris Rural Development Wing, which
also selected the participants, all of whom were members of a Gujarat-based SYA group consisting of
30 farmers. All were male and in an age range of between 40 and 60. The area of the farmers’ holdings
dedicated to SYA was small, averaging 1 acre, and did not cover all of their landholdings.
A feld visit was also made to the Brahma Kumaris Demonstration Farm, ‘Tapovan’, located near
the global headquarters at Shantivan, Mount Abu. This 5-acre horticultural farm has been managed
as an SYA demonstration farm for the past 3 years, hosting educational visits by thousands of conventional small- and medium-scale farmers from within India and abroad.
Using an ethnographic approach, questions were put to the farm manager and a representative
from the Rural Development Wing.
RESULTS: AN OVERVIEW OF SYA METHODS AND PRACTICES
THE ORIGINS OF SYA METHODS
SYA came into being as a result of observations by Indian farmers practising meditation in their
felds to improve crop health. Their methods were brought to the attention of the Brahma Kumaris