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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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. 

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

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 level—to 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 life—these 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 husbands—a 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 happiness—of 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 sufferings—nursing—in 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 reward—when 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 them—position, 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 possessing—a capacity for enduring toil with expenditure and risk of life—because 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 herself—only 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!

Slaves or Freemen –
Which are We?

The beautiful story of the Personality of Godhead, also called the Srimad Bhagavatam tells us (1.17.34):

“In all sacrificial ceremonies, although sometimes a demigod is worshiped, the Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead is worshiped because He is the Supersoul of everyone, and exists both inside and outside like the air. Thus it is He only who awards all welfare to the worshiper.”

And His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the author, comments:

“It is sometimes seen that demigods like Indra and Chandra are worshiped and offered sacrificial awards, yet the rewards of all such sacrifices are awarded to the worshiper by the Supreme Lord, and it is the Lord only who can offer all welfare to the worshiper. The demigods, although worshiped, cannot do anything without the sanction of the Lord because the Lord is the Supersoul of everyone, both moving and non-moving.

In Bhagavad-gita (9.23) the Lord Himself confirms this:

‘Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O Arjuna, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding.’

“The fact is that the Supreme Lord is one without a second. There is no God other than the Lord Himself. Thus the Supreme Lord is eternally transcendental to the material creation. But there are many who worship the demigods like the sun, the moon and Indra, who are only material representatives of the Supreme Lord. These demigods are indirect, qualitative representations of the Supreme Lord. A learned scholar or devotee, however, knows who is who. Therefore he directly worships the Supreme Lord and is not diverted by the material, qualitative representations.”

I have been speaking on this verse recently explaining that although all worship is actually meant for the Supreme Lord, in this age worship has been diverted to other, lesser “gods.” The gods I refer to here are not actually gods, although they fancy themselves as such. They would like to be the Supreme Lord and may even think themselves supreme. To that end they have created a system whereby everyone gives them service and energy, which is in effect, worship.

How do they do this? Through the money system.

They print and control the money, and through that system, by owning the corporations, they have become the de facto owners of this world. When people work they create a profit for the owners of the corporation. When people buy products they create profits for the owners of capital. Thus in effect, everyone who has a job and uses that job to get money with which to buy products is giving their service and energy to the owners of the corporations, to the little “gods” of this world.

Rather than worshiping and depending on the Supreme Lord, we are now, subtly and even overtly, worshipping and depending on these little gods who control the money. Indeed, by controlling the money and requiring everyone to get money simply to survive they have in fact made slaves of all the people of the world.

In my lecture, that you can download from here if you want to listen to it, I state that the better way to live would be to live directly on the land, use agriculture as the economic system for one’s maintenance, and depending on the Supreme Lord for rain, worship him by one’s labor and consciousness. Indeed, that in and of itself be a revolution of consciousness.

Others have recognized that the people of this world are enslaved. Here is a very intriguing video that explains quite succinctly how we are indeed all enslaved. It is meant to help us see what we cannot see due to our cultural conditioning. Wake up. Wake up and give your service and energy to the real God by living freely on the land and following His system of economic development—agriculture!

Capitalism, Communism and Cowism -
A New Economics

by Dr. Sahadeva Dasa

He's done it again -- written a great, short but comprehensive and compelling book about the failure of major global economics and the hope of natural economics, or Cowism. Sahadeva, who is also president of the ISKCON Secunderbad temple, has 5 other books about cows and cowism that we reported several years ago, and all of his books are available online for a free read at Scribd.com:

• Capitalism Communism and Cowism - A New Economics for the 21st Century

• Cows Are Cool - Love 'Em!

• Cow and Humanity - Made for Each Other

•  To Kill Cow Means to End Human Civilization

• Lets Be Friends - A Curious, Calm Cow

• Noble Cow - Munching Grass, Looking Curious And Just Hanging Around

  In addition to these he has written a book on the failure of the oil civilization for which he was awarded an honorary Ph.D.:

  Oil-Final Countdown to a Global Crisis & Its Solutions - Part1(The Problem)

  Last month an Indian national conference on ”Cow Based Agriculture, Health and Environment” was organized by the Gujarat Government. A first of its kind, it was held at Anand University and was attended by senior ministers, government officials, top scientists, religious leaders, university vice-chancellors, environmentalists, doctors, and cow protection activists (report here).
  
  
  In the inaugural address, Dr Vallabh Bhai Katiria, a senior politician and chairman of Goseva Ayog, read out Srila Prabhupada’s statement from Srimad Bhagavatam 3.2.29 :
  
  
  “Human society needs only sufficient grain and sufficient cows to solve its economic problems. All other things but these two are artificial necessities created by man to kill his valuable life at the human level and waste his time in things which are not needed.”
  
  
  Then he went on to read the complete preface of the book “Capitalism Communism And Cowism – A New Economics For The 21st Century” and reaffirmed the Gujarat Government’s commitment to the vision specified therein.

  The fact is that this planet didn't evolve by chance as so many atheistic people would have us believe, but was created with intention and purpose by the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna. And it comes with an instruction manual called The Vedas. Every species of life in this world has its own economy that serves their purposes without stress or struggle--except man. Misled by materialistic leaders whose conceptions of life hinge on how much they think they can own, the world is headed toward an abyss, and the edge is fast approaching. All of this stress, suffering and trouble needn't be, and if we could hear the cosmic alarm clock ringing we would wake up and smell the reality. The simple life and agriculture such as we write about here has been the natural economic system from day one. We are admonished by the Sri Isopanisad that there is no alternative to this way for man--no successful alternative that is, and we are now being shown how true that is.

  Cowism and Spiritual Economics are the way of the future, simply because the ways of the past, based on the modes of passion and ignorance, rajas and tamo-guna, naturally lead to collapse and destruction. 

  Please check out Sahadeva's books, and if you haven't yet, read our own Spiritual Economics.

Gitagrad Varnashrama
Festival 2012

Although the weekend began wet and windy the weather subsided and a delightful time was had by all. In previous years the festival was held at Magdalenavka Retreat center in cold January so as not to interfere with spring planting. This year we decided to hold it after the planting was done and Bhakta Oleg agreed to be the host at New Vraja Bhumi, the Gitagrad village at Bezvodnaya, near Nikolaiv in southern Ukraine.

Attendance was from 50-60 participants, nearly half of which were women, in contrast to earlier years when the ladies numbers were much smaller. Many of the participants this year were "village hopefuls", that is, they are interested in village living but haven't gotten there just yet. 

Given the venue, the discussions were much more practical and hands-on than before, with such seminars as building with saman (clay/straw), straw bale construction, making efficient wood stoves, raising, training and working with bulls, care of cows, agriculture, bee keeping, soap making, natural cosmetics, conservation of foods, Varnashrama culture, additional upcoming Ukrainian village projects near Odessa, and more. 

The festival was held in two adjacent villages--Bezvodnaya, where we had the use of the Cultural Center for indoor activities, and Mikailovka where the cows are kept. On Sunday afternoon everyone went out to meet and brush the cows, pet the calves, and to try a hand at milking. Then we all had as much fresh, raw, un-pasturized, un-homogenized straight-from-the-cow milk as we wanted! Yum! (pity that people in America are being harassed by the govmint for drinking such wholesome milk).

I have put a number of photos of the festival on Flikr for you to browse, and many, many more should be online soon. Additionally, today I had my debut into video-making putting the various clips I took of our fun with the cows. There's about two hours of work for every minute of video -- ugh, the learning curve! -- so I hope that you will enjoy it!  


 

The British Plan to Destroy India

When the British invaded India the two most astonishing things to them were the Indian Gurukul (educational) system and the Indian agriculture system. The then Governor of British India, Robert Clive, made extensive research on the agriculture system in India with idea of creating dependence on the industrial houses established by the British. The outcome of the research was as follows:

Cows were the basis of Indian agriculture and agriculture. Indian agriculture could not be executed without the help of cow. To break the back of Indian agriculture cows had to be eliminated.

He estimated that the number of cows in Bengal at that time outnumbered the number of men. Similar was the situation in the rest of India.

As a part of the Master Plan to destabilize the India, cow slaughter was initiated. The first slaughterhouse in India was started in 1760, with a capacity to kill 30,000 (Thirty thousand only) per day, at least ten million cows were eliminated in a years time. Once the cows were slaughtered there was no manure and no cow urine insecticide. Robert Clive started a number of slaughter houses before he left India.

In order to understand the results of Indian agriculture without animal slaughterhouses consider this: In 1740 in the Arcot District of Tamil Nadu, 5400 kilograms of rice was harvested from one acre of land using simple manure and pesticides like cow urine and cow dung. 

As a result of the 350 slaughterhouses which worked day and night, by 1910 India was practically bereft of cattle. India had to approach England’s doorstep for industrial manure. Thus industrial manure like urea and phosphate made way to India.Before British left India there was extensive use of industrial manure (chemical fertilizer).

Questioned about the unnecessary killing of animals, Gandhi (the original) answered that the day India attains independence, all the slaughterhouses in India would be closed. In 1929 Nehru in a public meeting stated that if he were to become the prime minister of India, the first thing he would do is to stop all the slaughterhouses. However, nothing was done. The tragedy of the situation is since 1947 the number has increased from 350 to 36,000(thirty six thousand) slaughterhouses. Today, the highly mechanized slaughterhouses at Al-kabir and Devanar of Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra have the capacity to slaughter 10,000(ten thousand) cows at a time. 

Today there is less than 1 cow for every 20 people in India, tractors are ubiquitous, and farmers are committing suicide by the tens-of-thousands due to impossible debt. It appears that the British have been very successful in subduing India.

Pig Blood Safer than Fresh Milk?

Translation

Barbara H. Peterson

from Farm Wars

First they came for the farmers and their customers who barter in fresh, unpasteurized milk for their families, saying that it is unhealthy. Well folks, this is about to get much, much stranger. Now they are coming for the calves…

We are living in an upside-down world in which good is bad and bad is good. This is no more evident than in the fact that good, wholesome, fresh milk is said to be dangerous, while pasteurized milk with all of the beneficial qualities eradicated, is touted as healthy. This couldn’t be further from the truth. But now, this travesty is being taken one step further. Evidently, drinking fresh milk straight from the mom is supposed to be unhealthy for calves because it is unpasteurized.

Biosecurity. Calves are especially vulnerable to disease. Diseases such as Johne’s, Bovine Viral Diarrhea, Bovine Leukosis Virus, pasteurella, salmonella, E. coli and mycoplasma can be transmitted from cow to calf through unpastuerized milk. Biosecurity and disease prevention issues contribute greatly to the popularity and use of milk replacers. Merrick’s not only purchases pasteurized milk ingredients for making milk replacers, but we also include pasteurization as a key step in our manufacturing process.
http://www.merricks.com/tech_milkreplacerguide.htm

So, instead of allowing calves to suckle naturally, Merricks recommends its milk replacer as an economical and safer alternative. However, it just so happens that Merricks uses pig blood to produce its pasteurized calf milk replacer.  Yes, you heard that right – pig blood plasma is being fed to most of our dairy calves, as Merricks is a leading supplier of dairy products for the feed industry.

How long will it be before allowing animals to suckle from their mothers naturally will be outlawed, and lab-created concoctions the only “approved” feeding solution? Think about it – unpasteurized milk not healthy for the animal babies that consume it naturally from their mothers, pig blood good. Just how twisted has our society become that we accept this? As for the calves? Why, let them eat pig blood. After all, that is the “healthy” alternative.

©2012 Barbara H. Peterson see also: http://www.merricks.com/tech_milkreplacerguide.htm

From Dd --- The actual fact is that the greedy dairy industry wants ALL of the milk to sell, and give as little as possible to the calf. To them the cow is just a milk machine and when she can no longer produce she is thrown slaughtered and eaten. Replacing half of mother's milk with pigs blood gives them more milk to sell. Endless greed...it's so disgusting.This is the "economics of ignorance" -- unlimited tamo-guna.

Kana and Balai Make the Bigtime!

Bhakta Petras and his two bullocks, Kana and Balai were featured on the evening news last week throughout Lithuania. Petras is becoming somewhat famous as the man who works with bulls, a very rare breed (of man) these days, but a very important man to show the way to the future when we run out of oil. 

Many people have heard of Peak Oil—the time when half of the petroleum reserves on the planet are consumed and the production begins to diminish. M. King Hubbert created the model of peak oil in 1956 to accurately predict that United States’ oil production would peak between 1965 and 1970.

The concept of Peak Oil has generated a great deal of controversy—some like Michael Rupert claim that is very real, and something that we must get ready for and NOW! Others say it is a hoax by the major oil companies to blame price increases on. So real in fact that the United States is going to make sure they have enough to fuel their lifestyle by doing risky deep-drilling in the Gulf of Mexico despite the threats to the environment, and by conquering the oil reserves of the planet (that sure helps to explain their policies in the Middle East). 

Other people, tell us to get prepared. Like Sahadeva Dasa who has written a great book on the subject “Oil: Final Countdown to a Global Crisis, and It’s Solutions.” It’s a free read online here.

And peak oil has generated an entire movement of 'preppers' called the Transition Towns movement, who have taken the reasonable approach to begin to prepare for a future without oil before its all gone! (Duh! More intelligent than the govmint it seems). Let's hope that we really do have another twenty years to get all of our ducks in a row. Interestingly, I have heard (but not confirmed) that some of the Transition people had intensely analyzed the situation and have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to maintain life in the cities without oil, and that they only way to survive is to begin rebuilding villages! (told ya so! :-p) That’s awareness should be spread, but it seems that they have other crazy ideas like Agenda 21!

 

If we are not going to have oil what will be the source for power? .....Yes, bullocks! But if you are planning to get prepared, keep in mind that you need a bit of time to get your oxen trained before they can do real work—like 4 years! In this video you will see the boys at two years of age. Big, but not full-grown nor ready to do a full days work in the field. That will take another two years. (see our earlier videos of them at several months beginning their training). That means that, unlike most things in modern life, you can’t accomplish this overnight. I recommend that you start yesterday, or as close to that as possible.

We will be spending the summer months at Ignalinus at Petras’ house in a writing retreat. It is our goal to finish two small books “Change the Karma!” and “No Solution Without a Spiritual Revolution!” both about how to deal with our changing world and it’s ongoing crises. More soon...

Here's the original source.