A question of SURVIVAL

[Guest guest]

> If Iskcon wants to survive, is must be founded on love and trust, first

> and foremost.. Householders should be encouraged to get honest jobs,

> according to their abilities and capabilities. Instead of isolating

> ourselves from society, we should intermingle with society, for the

> purpose of setting a good example for the common man. It is not maya to

> have a good job. It is not maya to be in karmi association. Give

> association to the innocent, and remain internally detached from any

> negative influence. People in general respect others, for their firm

> conviction and belief systems. Show the world, you are in it but NOT OF

> IT.

 

Some of the problems of the past might have set our course.

The hippie-kind people who were joining in the past did not have honest

jobs, and did not want any. For them it was better to become full-time

members of the hip hare krishna organization, so that they could be

useful for the society.

 

Devotees with honest outside jobs were not seen as full-fledged

devotees. There was only one way to become one, to join full time

and take initiation.

 

In the past it was also practically impossible (at least here in Sweden)

to be vegetarian and still have a normal job and association with other

persons. You would have been completely alone to keep up your

devotee principles. With such alternatives, completely alone with a

honest job, or together with devotees in an ISKCON community,

the choice was not were hard to make.

 

Nowadays vegetarianism is much more accepted, and unless you

take initiation, vegetarian meals are served everywhere.

If you take second initiation, you practically speaking have to cook

for yourself, if you live outside.

 

Still, a lot of the association with other persons are made on

restaurants, or pubs, where you eat something together, and

also drink alcoholic drinks. Having a devotee lifestyle is

hard in that you have to renounce 90% of all possible association

with others. So you are easily put in the choice situation of

either living alone, an isolated lifestyle, or break one or more

principles.