Soham Baba calls for action, not talk

By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter

Dressed in blue, with his head covered and holding what he calls a “komondolu” (a long silver jar with an extended mouth) this fast-moving Swamiji’ has become a familiar face at the sprawling Qatar National Convention Centre. There are several hundred delegates thronging the venue of the 12-day world climate change summit.

In less than five days the Indian-born Netherlands-based founder of Soham Baba Mission Shri Shri Soham Baba has become very popular with the media, owing to his outspoken views on climate change. To achieve some of his “goals”, Swamy has also set up United Green Care, an international forum for green awareness.

“Everyone here is involved most of the time in lengthy deliberations and endless negotiations with one another. However, I feel a single action is much more powerful than any of these numerous discussions,” he said.

He claims to hold long prayers in icy caves at the foot of The Himalayas every year.

He also claims to be the lone Guru’ of his sect, and has several “thousand” disciples in some Indian states. He says he is campaigning to make the world a livable place and seeks to highlight this at the summit.

“My only appeal to everyone is to give some serious thought to burning issues like the harm being done to the Earth by a highly artificial way of life,” said Soham Baba.

“Meditation and healing are not enough. One needs to do something more and it is possible only through action,” he stressed.

He said he has disciples in 128 countries - in all regions except the Middle East and North Africa.

Baba also feels climate change needs to happen not only in the world. “Rather a change of climate (mind) should occur in everyone’s heart and then everything will be ok,” he said.

The founder and chairman of Soham Baba Mission tells he is the 16th “guru” of his sect  and is deputed to the world to fulfill a mission, which includes the duty of bringing peace to the humanity through his deeds and actions.

A firm believer in the extensive applications of science for the betterment of the society, Soham Baba says he has a solution to improve the availability of water to the people of the arid Middle East region.

“I have successfully run a campaign in Senegal, which has conditions similar to that of Qatar,” he said. Around 500,000 Acacia plants were planted in Senegal by more than 5,000 of his “disciples” and “followers” in the African country.

He said he had received the wholehearted support of the Senegal government for the project, which he said, would help raise the levels of groundwater in that country and also would help create abundant water from moisture.

Similar activities could also be explored across the GCC region. It would be much cheaper other solutions available at the moment, he said. The acacia tree’s gum can also be used to treat impotency, he added.