Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Who Makes Your Food?

A ginormous number of brands are controlled by just 10 multinationals, according to this amazing infographic from French blogConvergence Alimentaire. Now we can see just how many products are owned by Kraft, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kellogg's, Mars, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, P&G and Nestlé. A mere 8 communications companies control almost all the media in the United States, and another mere 10 companies control a huge portion of the food that people eat. And what is the object of their corporate activity? Profit. Food is just a means to that end. If you want really healthy food join up with the slow money movement, or community supported agriculture.

 click on the graphic to view a large size
A Step in the Right Direction

Today I accidentally re-discovered the Slow Money movement. Perhaps you have heard of the slow food movement that originated (I believe) in Italy as a sort of reaction/protest to the fast-food way of eating. Of course Italy is perhaps the setting and background where graceful dining and leisurely gourmet meals would be valued. In any case it may be that slow food spawned the idea of slow money. I don't know; I'm just speculating here. 

Regardless, the slow money movement is the idea that perhaps money doesn't have to return as much as possible in as short a time as possible. The idea that perhaps a reasonable return on money invested in local business, and particularly farms and wholesome, healthy food production, is a great idea, and one that can do much to give us both good food, and local social security. People helping each other for the reason that it ought to be done, and even more important than the idea of producing a great profit. Nice!

What do we see in this formula that is absent from Wall Street? Sattva-guna - the influence of the material quality of goodness, with the result that people and the world are uplifted. And what is missing in this approach that is present in Wall Street? Tamo-guna - the destructive influence of the material quality of ignorance. This is what we might call the green shoots of the rising of consciousness. Just as in spring we first see the shoots of daffodils and realize that winter is now behind us, such green shoots of higher consciousness are an indication that the pervasive and oppressive modes of passion and ignorance are lifting. Sort of a spring of consciousness!

Slow money promotes the idea that money should work for people instead of people working for money. Particularly slow money focuses on healthy food production, a most valuable treasure that is being lost in a world where a handful of mega-companies produce the majority of food that people eat, and where profits are more important than quality.



The Slow Money Principles

In order to enhance food security, food safety and food access; improve nutrition and health; promote cultural, ecological and economic diversity; and accelerate the transition from an economy based on extraction and consumption to an economy based on preservation and restoration, we do hereby affirm the following Slow Money Principles:

I. We must bring money back down to earth.

II. There is such a thing as money that is too fast, companies that are too big, finance that is too complex. Therefore, we must slow our money down -- not all of it, of course, but enough to matter.

III. The 20th Century was the era of Buy Low/Sell High and Wealth Now/Philanthropy Later—what one venture capitalist called “the largest legal accumulation of wealth in history.” The 21st Century will be the era of nurture capital, built around principles of carrying capacity, care of the commons, sense of place and non-violence.

IV. We must learn to invest as if food, farms and fertility mattered. We must connect investors to the places where they live, creating vital relationships and new sources of capital for small food enterprises.

V. Let us celebrate the new generation of entrepreneurs, consumers and investors who are showing the way from Making A Killing to Making a Living.

VI. Paul Newman said, "I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer who puts back into the soil what he takes out." Recognizing the wisdom of these words, let us begin rebuilding our economy from the ground up, asking:
  • What would the world be like if we invested 50% of our assets within 50 miles of where we live?
  • What if there were a new generation of companies that gave away 50% of their profits?
  • What if there were 50% more organic matter in our soil 50 years from now?
Woody Tasch can be considered the founder of slow money. He is the author of the book Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money - Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Really Mattered, a title that borrows from E. F. Schumacher's essential Small is Beautiful - Economics as if People Mattered. Woody talks like Schumacher. There's a definite Schumacher influence there. Here's an excerpt to give you a flavor of his book:


"We don't need any more big ideas. We need small ideas. Beautiful ideas. Beautiful because they lead to a large number of beautiful, small actions, the kind alluded to by Wendell Berry: 'Soil is not usually lost in slab or heaps of magnificent tonnage. It is lost a little at a time over millions of acres by careless acts of millions of people. It cannot be solved by heroic feats of gigantic technology, but only by millions of small acts and restraints.'"

In this short video he explains some more of the particulars of slow money, and there are a number of other videos explaining the whys and wherefores on YouTube, and of course have a look at the slow money website.



 
I ask why not free ourselves from the restrictions of money altogether? Why do we want to work within the confines of a system that is inherently flawed? Perhaps is too big a step for most people to take at once, so slow money is a step in the right direction. The time of Spiritual Economics may not be here just yet, but as concepts such as slow money develop they pave the way for the freedom of Spiritual Economics.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Toloka and Cob House Building 


One of the community members, Locan, makes carved wood altars as his livelihood. He has been working inside his house for years, but recently decided to construct a workshop for himself out of "saman", that’s the Russian word for what is known as "cob" in America. Saman or cob is a mixture of clay and straw. He constructed the frame using wood purchased from the local sawmill, and held a Toloka, a work party.
Toloka is an ancient tradition in the villages of the Slavic countries. In a subsistence economy there are many kinds of work that can, or needs to be, done by many people together making it a social affair. Clearing the barn after winter, replacing a roof, and putting up a building are the kinds of activities that would be done jointly. Typically the men carry out the work while the women make a great feast. After the work is completed the meal is taken, followed by singing and dancing. This is all something like a Sunday feast at the Hare Krishna temple, except for the work.

On the appointed weekend about 30 people from all over Lithuania showed up to participate and get experience in such housing construction. We turned it into a party by having kirtan and singing while we worked. And as you will see, people of all ages helped, from infants to seniors (represented by yours truly). The women were happily involved in the house building too, and as you will see it is not a strenuous nor skilled affair. For the weekend’s work almost one meter of the exterior wall was completed, so it looks like another two toloka’s will finish the job. Here are the pics and videos: 


The frame with first tier of cob that was constructed on the first day

The men dug the clay very near the house
and Petras with his oxen brought it to the site

The mixing pit and sand nearby. The cob mixture should
be approximately  20% clay the rest sand and straw.
It is not a science however and there is room
for almost every variation.

The Mashpit
The first day the oxen were used for mashing the clay/sand/straw
mixture, but that was too slow. The next day the humans
took over and made a dance of it. The mixture should not
be too wet, otherwise the wall will slump.












Tuesday, June 19, 2012


2012 – The End or The Beginning?

Last year we poked some fun at the Mayan Calendar predictions posting a cartoon along with a report from my friend Stephen Knapp who learned from a Mayan shaman that there is no certainty as to the alignment of the Mayan calendar with the Gregorian calendar, meaning that 2012 on the Mayan calendar could be 2030 or it could be 2000. Nonetheless there’s a lot of hay being made in both the fundamentalist Christian camps and the New Age circles with this being the end of days. I’ve read that an amazing 25% of the American people say they believe that the world will end this year—it uncertain whether that was the writer’s hyperbole, or whether the Americans are that desperate to escape their troubles. There was also an apocalyptic film “2012” depicting massive earth changes along with the destruction of modern civilization. Typical Hollywood: mayhem, death and destruction to play on people’s fears.

So what is the future? Another of my friends, Nalinikanta Dasa, an astrologer, has given the future mixed reviews: It will be the best of times. It will be the worst of times. According to his read of the stars people are going to begin to let go of their attachment to material illusion and begin to make serious inquiry into the nature of spiritual reality. We are going to turn the corner, so to speak, and masses of people will begin to travel in a new direction in life. The best of times. At the same time, however, there is going to be widespread hardship and suffering. The worst of times. Apparently we are going to experience both the carrot and the stick, led to the positive, driven by the negative.

This concept is portrayed quite nicely in two videos that many people have by now seen: “Zeitgeist” and “Thrive.” They both make an in-depth study of our current situation and how we got here, and they both then offer their suggestions as to how we can escape the fate that we have created if enough of us will change.

Thrive

"Thrive" written, produced and starring one of the heirs to the Gamble (of Proctor and Gamble soap products fame) family, Foster Gamble. Gamble also reaches out to science and materialism as our savior, presenting the torus and its geometry as the possible touchstone of an enlightened era. He takes the viewer on his journey of discovery connecting all of the dots, and I mean all of them: sacred geometry, crop circles, UFOs and ETs, ancient cultures, free energy, the green revolution, the money powers and their suppression of health cures and dumbing down education, and more. Gamble then follows the money trail, venturing into the dark and threatening places that money always seems to lead to. He traces the problems to those at the apex of the pyramid, the top of the top of the human food chain—the money powers. Showing how they create money out of thin air to control and exploit the world, getting into Masonic symbolism, false flag terrorism, global domination and a new world order of slavery leading to a totalitarian New World Order. Whew!

He then goes on to propose his solutions which include a waking up the masses as to the nature of the destructive arrangement of civilization and the need to stop our participation in a system that leads to the destruction of both ourselves and the environment. We need to recognize that there are “destructive forces in power” that depend on us, the “imaginal cells,” and that by waking up to the present reality and altering our behavior we can shape a new and transformed future for our planet. “The structure of the controlling elite is dependent on our active participation. We can obsolete their plan; as we non-violently withdraw our support, their house of cards will fall.”

Gamble then outlines a prescription for forming a new society based on 3 over-lapping stages of a transition: reforming current systems, limiting government to the role of protectorate, and creating a completely voluntary, non-coercive environment for conscious planetary evolution stressing the necessity of avoiding the old “us versus them” mentality and relying on inner wisdom as a guide. He sees the possibility of a mass global awakening giving power to the people to make such a transition.

Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is a prodigious piece of work considering that it was written, edited, produced, directed, and narrated by one person—Peter Joseph—who also hopes to spark a movement of change. And there is not just one, but now three Zeitgeist videos: the Zeitgeist original released in 2007, then came “Zeitgeist Addendum” in 2009, and finally “Zeitgeist—Moving Forward” in 2011. All three are feature length with Addendum going just over 2 hours, and Moving Forward a whopping 2 hours 45 minutes.

Joseph does a great job of explaining our present day predicament, going into detail about the stupidity of our financial that enslaves everyone. He doesn’t, thankfully, get into all of the New Age fringe topics that Gamble does, but he also does, unfortunately, arrive at a “la-la” conclusion. He goes on to tell us how if we apply the existing scientific know-how we can save the day! Hooray! Designer Jacque Fresco of The Venus Project seems to be his knight in shining armor. While Fresco makes many good points about both the nature of man and science, he seems to have much to much faith in technology. So does Joseph who also seems to be very naïve about human beings and how this planet is being run. As with Gamble, Joseph shows how the many existing technologies can be applied to the benefit of every living person, and the environment. It’s true such technology exists—but we are not allowed to have it!

It’s a bit sad to think that these men, obviously intelligent enough to understand the big picture and analyze the problems very well, cannot see that their solutions are not going to be allowed to happen. They seem to think that it is sufficient to simply show that the solutions exist and point them out, and that they will generate a tide of enthusiasm and good will to make it so.

What do I see that they don’t see? Those who run this world are envious of the people and have a demonic mentality. That is why we have the problems that we have, and that is why the solutions are not going to be allowed. Instead, the solutions, which we are going to hear more about at this years Rio Earth Summit, is population control. As in too many people in the world. That in their view is the problem, and that is what they are going to work to correct.

Further, do Gamble and Joseph actually think that these demons who have created a money system that works to impoverish the many to enrich the few are just going to give up their game since they have been exposed? Hell no! Their mentality is they are the enjoyers and we are the slaves. The money system conveniently allows that to be perpetuated with very few even understanding it. If it cannot be done that way, then it will be done another way. And that is what they mean when they say they want a new world order. Look out, because that new world order is coming your way!



Gamble and Joseph are right about one thing however, and that is that the future can be wonderful. But first we have a slight problem to take care of, and that is those who now pull all the strings. The good news about that is that this can also be done simply, not with guns or violence, but by chanting, dancing and feasting, through a Spiritual Revolution! The spiritual revolution is a tide that raises all consciousness, including that of the ruling elite. They can also become happy in Krishna consciousness, and then help to create a New Spiritual World Order. Science, the Venus Project, and all of the new age bliss can be applied to bring a material utopia, but first we must create a spiritual utopia by calling out the names of the Lord—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

10 Reasons Why 
Varnashrama Dharma 
Cannot be Established in ISKCON

(or, serious issues that must be resolved 
to establish Varnashrama Dharma in ISKCON)

Varnashrama Dharma has been on my mind for a long time—ever since I lived at the Gita Nagari farm in Pennsylvania in 1977 when Srila Prabhupada was going to come there to teach us all about it. In more recent years that interest has piqued and I speak about it often, and have been doing my best to help bring it about in E. Europe. As I have contemplated all of this over the course of years I have observed various conflicts between the varnashrama culture and the ISKCON culture, conflicts that would preclude the establishment of varnashrama within ISKCON. I thought that this would be a good time to articulate those differences and share them with others who also desire to establish varnashrama culture, especially given the efforts of ISKCON’s Strategic Planning Team (SPT) and the changes they are likely to create at the higher levels of the organization. The further the managers of the society go down that road, the greater and more insoluble those cultural conflicts become. I take this to be a given since the SPT has earlier rejected the notion of integrating conceptions of Varnashrama Dharma within the scope of their activities. 

Of course these conflicts arise within my understanding of the varnashrama culture, which is not stated here, and which may be different from the conceptions of others. In that regard this paper is somewhat incomplete, since, how does one argue whether there is a conflict or not unless the thesis is first of all understood?  But that is another reason for bringing these arguments to the varnashrama enthusiasts, that the conflicts noted here may engender a discussion that will help to further clarify what this beast is that is called varnashrama. I want to explicitly state that this is offered in a positive spirit with the hope of resolving these issues. For if I am correct in my assessments and if the differences are not bridged as early as possible, I fear that the establishment of Varnashrama Dharma within ISKCON will become impossible, a truly tragic fate given that the founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, considered the establishment of Varnashrama Dharma to be no less than half of his mission.

By no means do I suggest that what I present here is the absolute truth. All  arguments, rebuttals, comments and challenges are welcome on any of these points. I should further state that these arguments are not complete, in that, the organization of ISKCON can be considered from many different and even opposing points of view. It is likely that challenges will arise as much from the various conceptions of what ISKCON is, as what Varnashrama Dharma is.

And, this may not apply across the entire institution. ISKCON is a world-wide society and what is impossible in one place may well be possible someplace else.

Why it is impossible to establish the varnashrama culture within ISKCON:

  1. The Required Cultural Shift is already too great
The varnashrama culture is organized in such a manner as to give maximum freedom to individuals within it, both politically as well as ideologically. It is an all-encompassing culture that provides a framework within which all members of the society may spiritually advance to according to their chosen path without dictating what that path should be, what they should believe, etc. It is an open system that places responsibility on the individual, encouraged through the actions of the brahmanas and ksatriyas who oversee and guide the citizens.
ISKCON is presently organized as an institution following the corporate model, which is characterized by centralized command and control, a very different cultural structure with a very different purpose. Although it may be argued that Srila Prabhupada had a more decentralized scheme in mind, it is observed that the centralized command and control model is increasingly employed. In the present structure subscription to a specific ideology is required, as is following the orders of the centralized command.
ISKCON’s organization is sufficiently different from the varnashrama model that proper varnashrama culture cannot be established within ISKCON as it is presently arranged. A great cultural shift would be required, and of course this must be initiated at the highest levels of the society, in unison. This is an extremely daunting challenge, and in my humble opinion, one that is quite unlikely to happen unless led by a cooperative effort that includes the GBC as well as all of ISKCON’s gurus.
  1. Leadership for varnashrama culture is missing at the top levels of the society
The leadership of the society hasn’t had, and does not have, the time to focus on and learn about varnashrama culture. Thus they do not understand it, and therefore do not realize the need or value of establishing it. Until the top leadership of the society understands varnashrama culture and takes steps to implement it within their sphere of influence, there is little chance that the rank-and-file devotees will embrace it and practice it. The followers cannot lead despite what the bumper stickers claim (“if the people lead the leaders will follow”). Action must come from the top.
Varnashrama culture introduces a possible concern about loss of control at the top levels of the institution. In contrast, in the varnashrama culture, such control is practically absent, and is replaced by support of the praja in their activities within the framework of the culture. 
ISKCON follows a corporate model in which the top echelon (GBC) exercises full control of both ecclesiastical and administrative functions. They have taken the role of not only the ultimate managing authority, but also the managing authority and the ultimate authority. Varnashrama culture necessarily dismantles this control and gives ecclesiastical authority to the brahmanas, limited administrative authority to the ksatriyas, and freedom to everyone else. The global model of varnashrama administration, following the principles of dharma, does not allow for executive authority beyond that. In other words, there is no concept of global organization or global management, commanding the actions of others, within the varnashrama framework. This fact is at odds with modern organization and centralized command. Unless the GBC will let go of the idea of centralized command the varnashrama culture cannot be established.
We note that there are exceptions to this point, notably Sivarama Swami who is a sannyasi, the GBC, and initiating guru for an entire country of Hungary, and he has put great effort into establishing New Vraja Dham. Also, there is Bhakti Raghava Maharaja who, although no longer a GBC, is the driving force behind establishing varnashrama consciousness in ISKCON. As a sannyasi and initiating spiritual master he is a recognized leader in the society, has much influence, and is establishing varnashrama projects in Indonesia, Cambodia and India.* It is a question of leadership and ideology. Although these projects are oriented toward self-sufficiency and preaching of Krishna Consciousness, is the varnashrama culture fully established in these examples? If so, then the question of how these projects interface with the ISKCON leadership is a question that needs to be answered.
* There very well may be other exceptions of which we are not aware.
  1. Varna is not understood by the body of devotees
The social system of the varnas has not been understood, or articulated, or taught to the body of devotees and they therefore have little idea of what it really is, or how to apply it. Devotees are understandably reluctant to sign on to something that they do not understand. How does the culture function? How does a person find their place in it? What is their relationship with others and how is that determined? How does one support themselves in the varnashrama culture? What is acceptable and what is not? All of these and many more questions must be answered and conveyed to the body of devotees, and they need to then sign on voluntarily. Of course, leadership by both precept and example is required at the highest levels. What a great man does, the common men accept as significant and follow. If the ISKCON gurus and GBC do not take it up, we cannot expect that their disciples will. The present effort to reach and teach varnashrama culture must answer all of the above questions and more. At this point we are very far from any consensus on what varnashrama culture actually is.
  1. Everyone is equal
Modern society propagates the concept that everyone is equal, and while this is ostensibly for political purposes, the idea carries over into all aspects of life. In fact, no two people on the planet are equal. We see this concept of equality is naturally brought with the members into the society of devotees, especially in online discussions. Although we profess to subscribe to the idea that there are four classes of men, we do not, as yet, have any method for distinguishing them, or applying such distinctions. Indeed, we even see a strong resistance to introducing this aspect of Vedic culture. There are distinctions and etiquette based on ashrama and seniority in the society, but we note that these are not the distinctions of varna, entirely overlooking this important half of the culture, without which varnashrama culture obviously cannot be established.
Because we think of everyone as being equal those who actually have a brahminical nature, and are making efforts to lead according to that nature, are very often ignored. This can clearly be seen in online comments following articles, or on various forums. It’s simply one persons opinion against the others, with no deference being offered even to senior devotees, what to speak of supposed brahmanas.
A proposed supermarket at the Mayapura compound is a case in point. Recently a supermarket chain approached the Mayapura authorities with the idea of establishing a supermarket, and it was met with enthusiasm by almost everyone at the leadership level.  Why? Because it will bring to Mayapura those foodstuffs that now require traveling to Kolkatta to get. In other words, it offers increased sense gratification. But there are significant cultural and economic disadvantages which a very few thoughtful men (i.e., brahmanas) address, and when they did argue against the store on the basis of culture they received only a little support.
  1. Fear of the unknown
Almost everyone is fearful of being exploited by a social system that they do not understand. We know the existing culture, our place in it, and how to function in it, but we do not know how they will be protected in varnashrama culture and therefore feel insecure about participating in it. Varnashrama culture is entirely unknown, and possibly fraught with problems that we cannot anticipate or know how to deal with, therefore it is avoided.
  1. There are not enough properly engaged ksatriyas within the society
Men of great ability cannot find their place within the society, are not attracted, and do not participate on the level of independent leadership, which is the actual role of a ksatriya. Whatever men of ability are present almost all have leadership responsibility in ISKCON, but there is a great need for additional leaders. Since ksatriyas create the place/space, without ksatriyas there is no ksetra, or field of activities, for the body of the devotees. Men of ability require room to be independent, and it may be argued that the present structure of ISKCON does not encourage independent, thoughtful action, in contrast to true varnashrama culture, as argued above.
  1. Institutionalism
ISKCON has an established authoritarian structure with authority vested in a seat of power, or position, rather than in persons of qualification. We may say that the appointed persons are the best qualified men that can be found, but long experience tells us that this is not the case. The modern system is antithetical to the varnashrama culture wherein authority is placed in a qualified individual, not in a fictitious position (officer of a fictitious corporation), and further creating levels of bureaucracy not seen in varnashrama culture. We should note the design principle that form follows function. The two cultures are so arranged to pursue different purposes. The purpose of the varnashrama culture is progressive spiritual enlightenment for the entire culture. The purpose of the present dominant culture is increasing the sense gratification of a small section of society at the expense of the vast majority.
Further, within the institution the idea exists (at least among some) that climbing the corporate ladder is an indicator of spiritual progress or controlling men and money as a substitute for it.  The corporate structure and the varnashrama culture are mutually exclusive paradigms. Since in the modern world we must work within the framework of the dominant culture we are challenged to establish a legal position that gives proper authority to qualified persons in the varnashrama structure.
The argument may be raised that Srila Prabhupada himself set up the corporate structure of ISKCON and therefore it can hardly be considered antithetical to the purposes of the society. While this is true we must also note that Srila Prabhupada regularly and consistently requested his leaders to establish varnashrama colleges in every temple, and to establish varnashrama culture, requests that were almost totally ignored at the time. Had the effort been made while Srila Prabhupada was with us the contradictions between the two would likely have shown up, and could have been dealt with under his supervision. 
  1. Vaisyas confusion about their duty
Within the society there exists the idea that the duty of vaisyas is to do business, not agriculture, and not cow protection. This is not what Srila Prabhupada or Sri Krishna say, however; for example:
Come here and grow food. Grow fruit. That is... That is the desire of Krishna. Annad bhavanti bhutani [Bg. 3.14]. Produce food and eat in sufficiently, be strong, and chant Hare Krishna. That is our philosophy. Why you are producing bolts and nuts, tire and tubes? Eat. Rascal. They do not know that first of all you must eat. No, everyone is engaged in industry [business]. Why? Krishna does not say that "Take to industry." Krishna says, "Produce foodstuff." Annad bhavanti bhutani. 3Apr75 Mayapura

The vaishya... Generally, we understand, vaishya means the mercantile class of men. No. At the present moment the so-called vaishyas are shudras, less than shudras. Why? Now the vaisya's business is krishi-go-rakshya-vaëijyam vaishya-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.44]. The vaishyas must be engaged in producing foodgrains, but they are not interested. They are interested for opening factories for bolts and nuts and tires, Goodwheel tires, Goodyear tires. Now you eat tire and bolt nut. No, you cannot eat. You have to eat rice, and rice is ten rupees per kilo because no vaishya is producing food grains. This is the defect. 2Feb74 Bombay
Our so-called vaisyas are almost cent per cent engaged in business of various sorts, and although this is not what Srila Prabhupada indicates what is proper, this is accepted as normal or even good since they support the temples. And because everyone is equal, if the brahmanas make notice of this it is not given much attention, especially when the gurus make no issue of it. Used to being independent and having the means of being independent, such devotees are not willing to listen to the brahmanas who may instruct them in their proper duty.
  1. Lack of personal qualification
We all understand to some degree our own lack of qualification and see that others are also unqualified, therefore we lack trust in depending directly on others. The varnashrama culture requires the members be qualified—this is one of its very desirable characteristics. In modern society however we are accustomed to being “independent” and free to live at any standard we choose, rather than being accountable to a group that demands specific conduct.
  1. An attitude of complacency
There exists a very strong idea amongst some that by distributing books (and perhaps harinam as well) everything else will come, since Srila Prabhupada said as much. Therefore we need only continue the mission in the same fashion as when Srila Prabhupada was with us. There is no need for varnashrama dharma. Harinam and book distribution is all that is needed.
This reminds me of the story wherein during terrible weather and flood a Christian man prayed to the Lord for His help, and was told by God that He would save him. As the water rose the man took to his roof and a boat came by. The man refused to get in saying that “God said He would save me.” Then another boat came by and again the man refused saying “God said He would save me.” Finally as the water was cresting the roof a helicopter tried to hoist him up to safety but again the man refused saying that God would save him. Well, he drowned. When he got to the pearly gates he asked God why he didn’t save him. God replied that He sent two boats and a helicopter but the ignorant fool had refused them.
As a result of book distribution and harinam we can expect to see men of ability come forward to do the needful to establish the entire Krishna varnashrama culture, but they must be recognized as the agents who are going to develop that “everything else.” We should recognize and accept their efforts understanding that they have been sent by the Lord to further the mission. Unfortunately, those who endeavor to expand upon that which was begun by Srila Prabhupada (i.e., varnashramites) are sometimes seen as unnecessary, idle dreamers. 

Finally I note that at least some of these issues do not apply only to ISKCON, but must be dealt with in any circumstance. However the existing culture within ISKCON seems to make it that much more difficult. The challenges expressed above are, in my mind, already too great to establish Varnashrama Dharma society-wide in ISKCON at this point. The result will be that no varnashrama will be established, or that ISKCON will wind up with some bastardized version of varnashrama that is not really the true varnashrama culture. I certainly would love to be proved wrong.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Leo Tolstoy's Wisdom


Since I have been living in the Russian-speaking countries I have naturally taken an interest in the history and culture of Russia. One of the authors who I have read a great deal of is Tolstoy. He was a great man. Although born of aristocratic parents he had difficulty dealing with his peasants as others did. He wanted to educate them, much to their own bewilderment. He wanted to treat them well, as he would treat his own children, the way a proper ksatriya would, and he even went and lived among them. He had read the Bhagavad-gita and to some degree he had understood the concept of creating a proper culture based on principles the principles of varna, and had some desire to try to establish the same. Late in life he became a renunciate and left his home, traveling about, as a sort of sannyasi. He has written many wonderful things, one of which is this article, that all young people, and all women in particular would benefit from reading, and hopefully by doing so realize their power, and act within their true power to give us a better world, and brighter future. I offer it here on the Gitagrad blog because of the contribution these ideas make to the creation of a wholesome society.


An Appeal to Women by Lev Tolstoy

As stated in the Bible, a law was given to the man and the woman-to the man, the law of labor; to the woman, the law of bearing children. Although we, with our science, avons change tout ca, [have changed all this], the law for the man, as for woman, remains as unalterable as the liver in its place, and departure from it is equally punished with inevitable death. The only difference lies in this, that departure from the law, in the case of the man, is punished so immediately in the future, that it may be designated as present punishment; but departure from the law, in the case of the woman, receives its chastisement in a more distant future.

The general departure of all men from the law exterminates people immediately; the departure from it of all women annihilates it in the succeeding generation. But the evasion by some men and some women does not exterminate the human race, and only deprives those who evade it of the rational nature of man. The departure of men from this law began long ago, among those classes who were in a position to subject others, and, constantly spreading, it has continued down to our own times; and in our own day it has reached folly, the ideal consisting in evasion of the law,–the ideal expressed by Prince Blokhin, and shared in by Renan and by the whole cultivated world: “Machines will work, and people will be bundles of nerves devoted to enjoyment.”

There was hardly any departure from the law in the part of women, it was expressed only in prostitution, and in the refusal to bear children–in private cases. The women belonging to the wealthy classes fulfilled their law, while the men did not comply with theirs; and therefore the women became stronger, and continued to rule, and must rule, over men who have evaded the law, and who have, therefore, lost their senses. It is generally stated that woman (the woman of Paris in particular is childless) has become so bewitching, through making use of all the means of civilization, that she has gained the upper hand over man by this fascination of hers.

This [statement] is not only unjust, but precisely the reverse of the truth. It is not the childless woman who has conquered man, but the mother, that woman who has fulfilled her law, while the man has not fulfilled his. That woman who deliberately remains childless, and who entrances man with her shoulders and her locks, is not the woman who rules over men, but the one who has been corrupted by man, who has descended to his levelto the level of the vicious man,–who has evaded the law equally with himself, and who has lost, in company with him, every rational idea of life.

From this error springs that remarkable piece of stupidity which is called the rights of women. The formula of these rights of women is as follows: “Here! you man,” says the woman, “you have departed from your law of real labor, and you want us to bear the burden of our real labor. No, if this is to be so, we understand, as well as you do, how to perform those semblances of labor which you exercise in banks, ministries, universities, and academies; we desire, like yourselves, under the pretext of the division of labor, to make use of the labor of others, and to live for the gratification of our caprices alone.” They say this, and prove by their action that they understand no worse, if not better, than men, how to exercise this semblance of labor.

This so-called woman question has come up, and could only come up, among men who have departed from the law of actual labor. All that is required is, to return to that, and this question cannot exist. Woman, having her own inevitable task, will never demand the right to share the toil of men in the mines and in the fields. She could only demand to share in the fictitious labors of the men of the wealthy classes.

The woman of our circle has been, and still is, stronger than the man, not by virtue of her fascinations, not through her cleverness in performing the same pharisaical semblance of work as man, but because she has not stepped out from under the law that she should undergo that real labor, with danger to her life, with exertion to the last degree, from which the man of the wealthy classes has excused herself.

But, within my memory, a departure from this law on the part of woman, that is to say, her fall, has begun; and, within my memory, it has become more and more the case. Woman, having lost the law, has acquired the belief that her strength lies in the witchery of her charms, or in her skill in pharisaical pretences at intellectual work. And both things are bad for the children. And, within my memory, women of the wealthy classes have come to refuse to bear children. And so mothers who hold the power in their hands let it escape them, in order to make way for the dissolute women, and to put themselves on a level with them. The evil is already wide-spread, and is extending farther and farther every day; and soon it will lay hold on all the women of the wealthy classes, and then they will compare themselves with men: and in company with them, they will lose the rational meaning of life.

But there is still time.

If women would but comprehend their destiny, their power, and use it for the salvation of their husbands, brothers, and children—for the salvation of all men!

Listen, women of the wealthy classes who are mothers: the salvation of the men of our world from the evils from which they are suffering, lies in your hands.

Not those women who are occupied with their dainty figures, with their bustles, their hair-dressing, and their attraction for men, and who bear children against their will, with despair, and hand them over to nurses; nor those who attend various courses of lectures, and discourse of psychometric centres and differentiation, and who also endeavor to escape bearing children, in order that it may not interfere with their folly which they call culture: but those women and mothers, who, possessing the power to refuse to bear children, consciously and in a straightforward way submit to this eternal, unchangeable law, knowing that the burden and the difficulty of such submission is their appointed lot in lifethese are the women and mothers of our wealthy classes, in whose hands, more than in those of anyone else, lies the salvation of the men of our sphere in society from the miseries that oppress them.

Ye women and mothers who deliberately submit yourselves to the law of God, you alone in our wretched, deformed circle, which has lost the semblance of humanity, you alone know the whole of the real meaning of life, according to the law of God; and you alone, by your example, can demonstrate to people that happiness in life, in submission to the will of God, of which they are depriving themselves.

You alone know those raptures and those joys which invade the whole being, that bliss which is appointed for the man who does not depart from the law of God. You know the happiness of love for your husbandsa happiness which does not come to an end, which does not break off short, like all other forms of happiness, and which constitutes the beginning of a new happinessof love for your child.

You alone, when you are simple and obedient to the will of God, know not that farcical pretence of labor which the men of our circle call work, and know that the labor imposed by God on men, and know its true rewards, the bliss which it confers. You know this, when, after the raptures of love, you await with emotion, fear, and terror that torturing state of pregnancy which renders you ailing for nine months, which brings you to the verge of death, and to intolerable suffering and pain. You know the conditions of true labor, when, with joy, you await the approach and the increase of the most terrible torture, after which to you alone comes the bliss which you well know.

You know this, when, immediately after this torture, without respite, without a break, you undertake another series of toils and sufferingsnursingin which process you at one and the same time deny yourselves, and subdue to your feelings the very strongest human need, that of sleep, which, as the proverb says, is dearer than father or mother; and for months and years you never get a single sound, unbroken might’s rest, and sometimes, nay, often, you do not sleep at all for a period of several nights in succession, but with failing arms you walk alone, punishing the sick child who is breaking your heart. And when you do all this, applauded by no one, and expecting no praises for it from any one, nor any rewardwhen you do this, not as an heroic deed, but like the laborer in the Gospel when he came from the field, considering that you have done only that which was your duty, then you know what the false, pretentious labor of men performed for glory really is, and that true labor is fulfilling the will of God, whose command you feel in your heart.

You know that if you are a true mother it makes no difference that no one has seen your toil, that no one has praised you for it, but that it has only been looked upon as what must needs be so, and that even those for whom you have labored not only do not thank you, but often torture and reproach you. And with the next child you do the same: again you suffer, again you undergo the fearful, invisible labor; and again you expect no reward from any one, and yet you feel the sane satisfaction.

If you are like this, you will not say after two children, or after twenty, that you have done enough, just as the laboring man fifty years of age will not say that he has worked enough, while he still continues to eat and to sleep, and while his muscles still demand work; if you are like this, you will not cast the task of nursing and care-taking upon some other mother, just as a laboring man will not give another man the work which he has begun, and almost completed, to finish: because into this work you will throw your life. And therefore the more there is of this work, the fuller and the happier is your life.

And when you are like this, for the good fortune of men, you will apply that law of fulfilling God’s will, by which you guide your life, to the lives of your husband, of your children, and of those most nearly connected with you.

If you are like this, and know from your own experience, that only self-sacrificing, unseen, unrewarded labor, accompanied with danger to life and to the extreme bounds of endurance, for the lives of others, is the appointed lot of man, which affords him satisfaction, then you will announce these demands to others; you will urge your husband to the same toil; and you will measure and value the dignity of men acceding to this toil; and for this toil you will also prepare your children.

Only that mother who looks upon children as a disagreeable accident, and upon love, the comforts of life, costume, and society, as the object of life, will rear her children in such a manner that they shall have as much enjoyment as possible out of life, and that they shall make the greatest possible use of it; only she will feed them luxuriously, deck them out, amuse them artificially; only she will teach them, not that which will fit them for self-sacrificing masculine or feminine labor with danger of their lives, and to the last limits of endurance, but that which will deliver them from this labor.

Only such a woman, who has lost the meaning of her life, will sympathize with that delusive and false male labor, by means of which her husband, having rid himself of the obligations of a man, is enabled to enjoy, in her company, the work of others. Only such a woman will choose a similar man for the husband of her daughter, and will estimate men, not by what they are personally, but by that which is connected with themposition, money, or their ability to take advantage of the labor of others.

But the true mother, who actually knows the will of God, will fit her children to fulfil it also. For such a mother, to see her child overfed, enervated, decked out, will mean suffering; for all this, as she well knows, will render difficult for him the fulfilment of the law of God in which she has instructed him. Such a mother will teach, not that which will enable her son and her daughter to rid themselves of labor, but that which will help them to endure the toils of life.

She will have no need to inquire what she shall teach her children, for what she shall prepare them. Such a woman will not only not encourage her husband to false and delusive labor, which has but one object, that of using the labors of others; but she will bear herself with disgust and horror towards such an employment, which serves as a double temptation to her children. Such a woman will not choose a husband for her daughter on account of the whiteness of his hands and the refinement of manner; but, well aware that labor and deceit will exist always and everywhere, she will, beginning with her husband, respect and value in men, and will require from them, real labor, with expenditure and risk of life, and she will despise that deceptive labor which has for its object the ridding one’s self of all true toil.

Such a mother, who brings forth children and nurses them, and will herself, rather than any other, feed her offspring and prepare their food, and sew, and wash, and teach her children, and sleep and talk with them, because in this she grounds the business of her life,–only such a mother will not seek for her children external guaranties in the form of her husband’s money, and the children’s diplomas; but she will rear them to that same capacity for the self-sacrificing fulfillment of the will of God which she is conscious of herself possessinga capacity for enduring toil with expenditure and risk of lifebecause she knows that in this lies the sole guaranty, and the only well-being in life. Such a mother will not ask other people what she ought to do; she will know everything, and will fear nothing.

If there can exist any doubt for the man and for the childless woman, as to the path in which the fulfillment of the will of God lies, this path is firmly and clearly defined for the woman who is a mother; and if she has complied with it in submissiveness and in simplicity of spirit, she, standing on that loftiest height of bliss which the human being is permitted to attain, will become a guiding-star for all men who are seeking good. Only the mother can calmly say before her death, to Him who sent her into this world, and to Him whom she has served by bearing and rearing children more dear than herselfonly she can say calmly, having served Him who has imposed this service upon her: “Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.” And this is the highest perfection, towards which, as towards the highest bliss, men are striving.

Such are the women, who, having fulfilled their destiny, reign over powerful men; such are the women who prepare the new generations of people, and fix public opinion: and, therefore, in the hands of these women lies the highest power of saving men from the prevailing and threatening evils of our times. Yes, ye women and mothers, in your hands, more than in those of all others, lies the salvation of the world!