In 1984 Rick Fields’ book “Chop Wood, Carry Water” was published. The book’s subtitle "A Guide to Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Everyday Life" tells more about the contents of the book than the title. It’s 15 chapters focus on subjects such as: learning; relationships; sex; family; work; money; play; the earth; social action, etc. The idea of Chop Wood Carry Water comes from a Chinese Zen Master who spoke of the spiritual aspect of everyday things.
I never read the book. By that time I had been a full-time monk in the Hare Krishna Movement for more than 11 years. The principles of the book however, very much apply to living the ideals of Krishna Consciousness. Our founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, constantly spoke to his disciples and followers about what he called “simple living and high thinking.”
In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna states that every person can become perfect by proper performance of their work. The entire Gita leads one to the conclusion that we all should work according to our nature, but with the consciousness of pleasing the Supreme Lord. Working in this way the activity becomes a process of linking oneself to the Supreme, or Bhakti yoga, the linking process of devotional service. In our practice we do not seek to find satisfaction in everyday affairs by themselves. Actually it is not possible to find satisfaction in material activities. But when those same activities are performed with a consciousness of devotion, then one is actually performing spiritual activity, which by its nature is satisfying.
Prabhupada wanted his followers to establish village communities that exemplified this principle. He taught: “Whatever your occupation may be, that doesn't matter. But if you worship the Supreme Lord by your occupation, then you are successful. Serve the Supreme Lord by your occupational duty.” He was also very critical of modern society that focuses exclusively on sense gratification devoid of spiritual understanding. He encouraged us: “Don't waste time for bodily comforts. You have got this body. You have to eat something. You have to cover yourself. So produce your own food and produce your own cloth. Don't waste time for luxury, and chant Hare Krishna. This is success of life. In this way organize as far as possible, either in Ceylon or in Czechoslovakia, wherever... Save time. Chant Hare Krishna. Don't be allured by the machine civilization. . . .This is soul-killing civilization, this kind way of life, especially European countries.”
Prabhupada wanted his followers to establish village communities that exemplified this principle. He taught: “Whatever your occupation may be, that doesn't matter. But if you worship the Supreme Lord by your occupation, then you are successful. Serve the Supreme Lord by your occupational duty.” He was also very critical of modern society that focuses exclusively on sense gratification devoid of spiritual understanding. He encouraged us: “Don't waste time for bodily comforts. You have got this body. You have to eat something. You have to cover yourself. So produce your own food and produce your own cloth. Don't waste time for luxury, and chant Hare Krishna. This is success of life. In this way organize as far as possible, either in Ceylon or in Czechoslovakia, wherever... Save time. Chant Hare Krishna. Don't be allured by the machine civilization. . . .This is soul-killing civilization, this kind way of life, especially European countries.”
So here we are in Ryabuino, living in a simple house that was constructed perhaps 50 years ago. It has no heating system other than the kitchen’s wood stove. There is no running water – that has to be carriied from the well that is about 30 meters from the house. There is no gas for heating or making hot water. For that we must chop wood. There is no bathroom, just an outdoor shed standing over a hole in the ground, and for a bath right now I stand in a small tub pouring water over my body with a cup, much of which winds up on the floor. This is the simple life. Very simple.
But the simple life has its advantages that cannot be had in the cities. E. F. Schumacher, a British economist who was quite a maverick in his field, spent some time in India, and he witnessed the simple life of the villagers there, which stood in sharp contrast to the city life of London. From this experience he made a startling observation. He wrote that the amount of free time that a culture has is inversely proportional to the number of labor-saving devices that they employ. Such irony. But it is true. Indeed, some time ago I read about a study that determined that women (and presumably men also) wanted to have more sex, but they didn’t have time for it, nor the energy since their days were so full of things that had to be done. Hmm, the epitome of their sense gratification, that which is so highly craved, is unavailable to them even though it is what they are working for!
In my own visits to Indian villages I have seen that Schumacher's observation is very true – the villagers have nothing BUT time. Time for each other, time for their children, time for worship of the Lord. Time for all of the important things in life – something that modern city people do not have. In America people actually spend more time shopping than they do with their children. Talk about misplaced values! Rather, the fact is that modern society is wrongly organized. It's a mis-directed culture. And it is this that we seek to correct here at Gitagrad.
We also want to realize the benefits of simple living in the form of time. What we plan to do with that time is to use it for developing our relationship with God in direct ways of reading and hearing about His pastimes, and chanting His holy names with the mahamantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
I’ll be writing more about bhakti yoga and our practice of it here at Gitagrad in the weeks and months to come. Stay tuned.
But the simple life has its advantages that cannot be had in the cities. E. F. Schumacher, a British economist who was quite a maverick in his field, spent some time in India, and he witnessed the simple life of the villagers there, which stood in sharp contrast to the city life of London. From this experience he made a startling observation. He wrote that the amount of free time that a culture has is inversely proportional to the number of labor-saving devices that they employ. Such irony. But it is true. Indeed, some time ago I read about a study that determined that women (and presumably men also) wanted to have more sex, but they didn’t have time for it, nor the energy since their days were so full of things that had to be done. Hmm, the epitome of their sense gratification, that which is so highly craved, is unavailable to them even though it is what they are working for!
In my own visits to Indian villages I have seen that Schumacher's observation is very true – the villagers have nothing BUT time. Time for each other, time for their children, time for worship of the Lord. Time for all of the important things in life – something that modern city people do not have. In America people actually spend more time shopping than they do with their children. Talk about misplaced values! Rather, the fact is that modern society is wrongly organized. It's a mis-directed culture. And it is this that we seek to correct here at Gitagrad.
We also want to realize the benefits of simple living in the form of time. What we plan to do with that time is to use it for developing our relationship with God in direct ways of reading and hearing about His pastimes, and chanting His holy names with the mahamantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
I’ll be writing more about bhakti yoga and our practice of it here at Gitagrad in the weeks and months to come. Stay tuned.
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