Sigma Six Q: Agriculture and Dairying - The Fifth Quality

We greatly appreciate the interest and feedback we have received till now.  Our posts till date have covered the first four Qualities for a Sustainable Way of Life:  Innovation, Air Quality, Water Quality, and Education and Healthcare.

This leads us to our fifth Quality for a Sustainable Way of Life: Agriculture and Dairying.

In the words of Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, “Agriculture gives us an opportunity to do selfless service and it is recognized in the country that there is still great opportunity to develop agriculture. If we want to reach our progress in the country to all sections of people in Society, it is necessary to introduce entrepreneurship, innovation etc. in agriculture also for realizing desired progress and development. So far, we are performing sowing operations of paddy by transplanting its saplings from one field into the other. Now there is a variety of it, which is being planted in about 9-10 acres, which gives us better yield even without transplantation. It takes less time also and gives us good yield also. So, we have to observe all these and if they are to be experimented upon, in fact we are already doing that. I am telling all this because it is all included in Dayalbagh way of life. You may not be aware of all this, you may not be able to comprehend it, but all these novel methods and modern policies are being implemented in Dayalbagh for improvement of the quality of life here. Agriculture and Dairying form the fifth component which is an important sector.”¹

Dayalbagh has been at the forefront of both the Green and the White revolution making efforts in an innovative symbiotic relationship based upon the principle of  “Waste Nothing!” as propounded by Revered Mehtaji Maharaj.

Revered Mehtaji Maharaj had started Agriculture work on a large scale in Dayalbagh in 1943 to contribute to the national India’s efforts to grow more food, to enable the colony to become self-sufficient in its requirement of food grains and to give all Satsangis (followers of the Radhasoami faith), residents and pilgrims an opportunity for seva (selfless service). Residents without distinction of status, men, women, boys and girls daily performed physical work on the farm by way of seva which has become a way of life.²

Dayalbagh practices need-based, environmentally friendly, largely organic and sustainable agriculture based on scientific principles. The Dayalbagh farms produce grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits for the residents and the community kitchen (Dayal Bhandar); green fodder (Berseem, Maize, Sorghum, Pearl-millet), wheat and barley straw, wheat and barley grains and some by-products of the crops such as oil-cake and molasses for Cattle and herbs and fruit for the Pharmacy.

As explained by Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, “More and more systems studies have been carried out in various fields of activity of the Satsang Community to optimize practices e.g. optimum crop rotation and irrigation pattern in agriculture; optimum feed patterns for cattle in dairy; various energy conservation measures of electricity; water conservation”³

The Dairy in Dayalbagh was established as a Gaushala (Cowshed) in 1929 and was upgraded into a full-scale dairy in 1930. At that time, it had 141 heads of cattle, many of which were Montgomery and Hissar breeds.  It was adjudged as the Best Dairy in Asia and was commended as second best in the world at an international competition in USA.  As observed by Sir Malcom Hailey at that time referring to Bhagwat Purana, “there are mountains of butter and oceans of milk in Svarga (heaven). If the Dayalbagh  Dairy is successful, it would not then be impossible that Dayalbagh might become the model of heaven.”

Today the Dairy plays a pivotal role in tending to the needs of Dayalbagh residents and the Dayalbagh Educational Institute through various dairy products, primarily fresh, unadulterated milk and ‘Cupid’ butter and various milk products. It also serves as a forum for live and experiential observations and skill development for the 120 students of graduate and post graduate level courses in Dairy technology. It has the necessary food and export licenses, the dairy products produced by students have also been exported to USA.

The model in operation is unique and covers multi-dimensional aspects for attaining high quality of milk at minimum cost of production.  There is close operational collaboration between Agriculture, Gaushala & DEI.

A group of volunteers tends to the 1000+ cattle taking utmost care to relieve cattle stress through caring and nurturing as well as use of technologies to monitor several dairy farming processes.

At the Dairy, there is emphasis on undertaking treatments using Homeopathy and Ayurveda which does not affect milk quality unlike the use of antibiotics. There is a “Cattle Rehabilitation” center where older cattle are housed and treated.

It is these innovative practices that make the Dayalbagh model a self-sustaining society.

We welcome and encourage comments and sharing of experiences on any of the five qualities. We look forward to your feedback. Do follow us on facebook (www.facebook.com/sigmasixq) and on twitter (@SigmaSixQ). You can also subscribe to our posts via email (link on the right).

The above post is by Ms. Rima Mehta and Anurag Singh.

References:

1. “The Dayalbagh Herald” dated Tuesday, June 21^st, 2016.
2. Special Souvenir Param Guru Dr. Lal Sahab
3. “The Dayalbagh E-herald” - Autobiographical Retrospectives dated 28^th August 2007

Sigma Six Q: Education and Healthcare - The Fourth Quality

Thanks for your comments and feedback. In the earlier posts, we discussed the first three Qualities for a Sustainable Way of Life, namely Innovation, Air and Water Quality.

What is the fourth necessary Quality for a Sustainable Future?

In this post, we will cover the fourth Quality for a Sustainable Way of Life – Education and Healthcare.

In the words of Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, “Fourth Quality is in the fields of education and health-care. These two are intermixed with one another very inseparably. Therefore, when people talk about education, they are talking about health also along with it. You have seen that for health care, medical colleges are established, where research is conducted and there are hospitals where, from the view point of innovation, new instruments for the diagnosis of diseases are made available. It is for this reason that efforts are being made in our place also to acquire latest research equipment of fMRI. In the same way, Magneto-encephalogram (MEG) is also being used. With all this equipment, the brain of humans or any other living beings can be probed and checked authentically by a neuroscientist so as to maintain your health in a sound condition. You know that the science of consciousness too in which we are taking great interest is closely related to this. So, Quality of Education and Health Care is the fourth excellence which is an inseparable part of Dayalbagh way of life.”¹

In the words of Revered Sir Anand Sarup Sahab, “Education, more education, education made perfect is the only panacea for our country’s ills and evils. With more and real education I daresay we can easily raise the general level of intelligence of its teeming millions, create in its future generations, the habit of clear and deep thinking and of appreciating new values that turn the acquisitive impulse of its people from its present direction to the direction of truth.” ²

At Dayalbagh, each resident is literate, rather highly educated, most girls and boys go on to do their masters and doctorates. Many pursue degrees in Vocational Courses. And the education is wholesome, with emphasis on, as stated by Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, “the evolution of the complete man with integration of intellectual abilities, physical strength, emotional stability, ethical values.”³ So, every student in addition to their stream courses, learns to till the soil and do the physical work, learns to remain healthy, learns to appreciate all religions in a gender inclusive environment. There is a co-mingling of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Education.

In the words of Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, “Medical and healthcare practice is in fact another sector in which very considerable improvement can be brought about so as to upgrade the health status of the community and render them free from diseases largely. In this connection, we can hold medical and health care workshops and camps with the participation of specialist medical practitioners who could then provide high grade of medical and health care services. I have stated earlier too that DEMEX (Demonstration Expert System for Medical and Health Care) has already been launched and it is doing good to the Satsang Community all over the country.” ⁴

In Dayalbagh, the approach to health is holistic and proactive, daily physical training, daily spending of couple of hours in the farms, focus on cleanliness, inculcation of civic sense, right nutrition, quality healthcare accessible to all, expert specialist guidance, a mix of Indian and Western nutrition and medical traditions, availability of biomedical and healthcare technologies and telemedicine. There is a “Saran Ashram” Hospital that provides medical treatment and facilities at minimal cost. Dayalbagh also sets up regular medical camps for the villages around.

We will delve into each of these aspects in later posts.

We look forward to your feedback. You can follow us on facebook (www.facebook.com/sigmasixq) and/ or on twitter (@SigmaSixQ). You can also subscribe to our posts via email (link on the right).

The above post is by Ms. Rima Mehta and Anurag Singh.

References:

1. “The Dayalbagh Herald” dated Tuesday, June 21^st, 2016.
2. “Huzur Sahabji Maharaj - As Others Saw Him”
3. “The Dayalbagh Herald” dated Tuesday, October 16^th, 2005
4. “The Dayalbagh Herald” dated Tuesday, April 25^th, 2009

Sigma Six Q: Water Quality - The Third Quality

In the last two posts, we covered Innovation and Air Quality and the significant activities performed at Dayalbagh on these two Qualities.

In this post, we will cover the third Quality for a Sustainable Way of Life – Water Quality.

Quality of life is impacted by our ecosystem and water is one of its most important components. Water Quality directly affects the health and well-being of all living beings and thereby the quality of their lives and their existence.

The first basic need is to provide drinkable tap water to each resident. In the words of Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, “You may not be knowing that here every week, the water is tested and examined, the underground well water, to see whether it is pure enough to keep the users free from diseases. All this may not be openly known to you all, but we are doing all these things every week and also as per requirement chlorine, potassium permanganate and alum are mixed in water. All these steps are being taken whereby the purity of water and its quality, which is used for drinking, is maintained.”¹

In Dayalbagh, home water supply for residents is from Wells. Chlorination is done as required with chlorine levels kept close to 1 ppm. The checks/ evaluations are done weekly and suitable actions taken. These stringent quality measures ensure that drinking water in Dayalbagh is of better quality than commercially available bottled water and that too directly off the tap, practically free of cost.

Let us look at some global water statistics.²

1. 2.53% of global water is fresh water (Glaciers, Ground ice, Freshwater lakes, Swamps, River flows, Biological water, atmospheric water)
2. 1.7% of global water is in permanent ice/ glaciers (and depleting).
3. Only 0.76% of global water is fresh water ground water (and depleting).
4. Only 0.007% of global water is in fresh water lakes (and depleting).
5. Only 0.0002% of global water is in river flows.

Rain/snow is the chief source of replenishment of freshwater, i.e. movement of water from oceans to freshwater sources, through the evaporation, condensation and precipitation cycle.

Dayalbagh's aim is to continuously replenish the fresh water sources and recycle.

To minimize runaway and wastage of water, the drainage of residential areas and office premises in Dayalbagh is equipped to harvest rainwater/ used water for recharging of the water table. Both percolation tanks/ ponds and pits are used for ground water recharge.

Treated sewage water from Agra city is put to reuse. A state of the art Sewage Treatment Plant recycles wastewater rich in soluble organic matter that is then used to irrigate farmland and for horticultural purposes.

Thus, Dayalbagh provides tap-drinkable water to its residents and conserves, replenishes and recycles water, working to ensure Water Quality is maintained in a sustainable way.


We look forward to your feedback. You can follow us on facebook (www.facebook.com/sigmasixq) and/ or on twitter (@SigmaSixQ). You can also subscribe to our posts via email (link on the right).

The above post is by Ms. Juhi Singh with inputs from Prof. Satya Prakash.

References:

1. Quotes of Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi are taken from “The Dayalbagh Herald” dated Tuesday, June 21st, 2016.
2. Igor Shiklomanov's chapter "World fresh water resources" in Peter H. Gleick (editor), 1993, Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources (Oxford University Press, New York).