New conference

[Guest guest]

Dear Maharajs and prabhus,

 

Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

 

The following text is the introduction to a new conference on "Applying

Varnasrama in the Sri Mayapur Project" formed by the Sri Mayapur Project

Master Plan Office. It is a private conference for those devotees who are

either involved in these issues or who would like to work with us on these

aspects of the project.

 

Samba prabhu and myself are the conference organizers, but Samba prabhu will

be leading the discussion. It is a working conference, not a "free forum"

but a place to systematically address the various issues involved. We

invite devotees who are interested to contribute to this work to join us.

 

If you want to join, send your request, stating your specific areas of

interest to either Samba prabhu or myself. Please spare the members of these

conferences with having to read your request by commenting on this text.

PLEASE SEND EITHER AN "ANSWER" or a SEPARATE TEXT ADDRESSED TO ONE OF US.

PLEASE DO NOT JUST COMMENT ON THIS TEXT.

 

We look forward to your participation.

 

Your servant,

Pancaratna das

 

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

 

Text COM:1073835 (82 lines)

Samba (das) SDG (Bangalore - IN)

30-Jan-98 08:15

Applying Varnasrama (in Sri Mayapur Project) [27]

New conference

---------------------------

As you know, this new conference has been established to give an opportunity

for the greater devotee community to help us in understanding how best to

apply Varnashrama dhama in the Sri Mayapur community.

 

Mayapur is a place in which there are many opportunities to realise a true

varnashrama community. Unfortunately the way ahead is not clear, as no one

in ISKCON at this time, can say that they have all the answers, when it

comes to this subject.

 

This conference therefore has been created to churn ideas, specificaly

related to implementing Varnashrama in Sri Mayapur.

 

Sri Mayapur is the fountain source of the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition. It is

to this unnassuming land of paddy fields, that we owe our existence as

devotees of Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore Sri Mayapur has

a very special significance to our worldwide community of devotees.

 

The modern world pushes on, and no corner of the earth is spared from this

influence. Sri Mayapur is no exception. From our studies of the region we

have seen the effects of unplanned urbanisation in the areas around Sri

Mayapur. Both Navadvipa & Krishnanagar, are fast growing district centers,

with rapidly increasing industrialisation. To any of you fortunate enough to

have performed the Vrajamandala Parikrama, one of the most disturbing

reminders of industrialisation's relentless increase, will have become

apparent. A day or two before the end of the Parikrama, one stops at a

charming dharmashala by the banks of the Jamuna. All is pleasant and filled

with reminiscenses of Lord Krishnas Vraja, until that is, one looks above

the tree line and sees the 'eternal' flame of the gas blow off pipe from the

Mathura Petro Chemical Refinery. In all of India, why Mathura? we may ask.

Let us hope we do not have to ask the same question at Sri Mayapur.

 

An unfortunate reality arising from the influence of Navadvipas holy place,

will be that pilgrims from around the world will want to visit the holy

source of their daily devotions. Pressure will befall this wonderful

residence of the Lord, and without care it could become a nightmarish

situation. The city of Vrindavan is at this time, reeling from the effects

of unplanned development, and growth. Raw sewage runs along the streets,

garbage litters what little greenspace there is left.

 

Without care this could also happen to Sri Mayapur, so it is our

responsibility to make sure that Mayapur is protected. To this end the Sri

Mayapur Project Development Committee (SMPDC) has commisioned a 'Masterplan

Office' to ensure a 'sustainable' development in the area. There are ways in

which we can work within the local political setup to facilitate this.

 

Sri Mayapur is the source of Gaudiya Vaisnava 'Cultural' influence in the

World. It offers us a place in which both 'rural' and 'urban' varnashrama

can flower. Personaly I feel that rural varnashrama needs the support of an

urban center of learning, and cultural pursuit. Where is this more

appropriate than in Sri Mayapur? (Urban in this context means less

agriculture, more settlement, the urban area in Sri Mayapur being quite

small, relative to the modern sense of urbanisation, and surrounded by

agricultural fields on the periphery).

 

Navadivpa was for centuries a place of learning, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

had many discussions and debates with learned scholars, which had

reverberations over all of Bharat Varsha. Officialy the focus of Mayapur

project has now been designated as 'Education' which would be applied at all

levels of activity.

 

The 'Temple of the Vedic Planetarium', more than just a Temple, will be a

great hall of knowlege and wisdom. This will be surrounded by a settlement

in which representatives of all the varnas will be situated.

 

What we need to understand is just how that mix of the varnas will be

accomodated, and exactly how they will carry out the various activities

required by a growing settlement in the modern age, in that particular

political arena.

 

We require a very focused discussion, as Mayapur is already growing, and

enlightened management of the community is badly needed.

 

I would like to open the discussion by inviting you to state any concerns

you may have about the project, so that we can address those.

After that we can start to address some specific areas of concern, for

further discussion and deliberation.

 

Thank You

 

Your Servant.

 

Samba Das.

(Text COM:1073835) --------