Introducing varnasrama

[Guest guest]

>

> >

> > There is a significant difference between starting ashramas with a

> sub-culture of youth looking for something new, and establishing a

sophisticated culture that maturely deals with the entire human experience,

from cradle to grave.

> >

 

> I think Prabhupada had the harder task, which was to just get people to

> understand that we are not our bodies and that God is a blue cowherd boy.

Varnasrama is easy in comparison, and besides, we have the philosophy and

devotee association for support. We also, as individuals, have a hell of a lot

more money than SP did to start with.

>

 

 

 

I am not sure it is a question of 'harder' or 'easier', neither might it

ultimately be a question of money. For instance, you cannot 'buy' 12th century

feudal Japanese culture, for example.

 

Again, getting people to sacrifice a few years of their youth, which for many

proved to be a committment based on a temporary infatuation, is something

different than developing a culture based on generations of practical and

positive experience. In other words, if we approach building a Varnasrama

society as if it were like our experience of moving into a temple, I suspect

we will not be able to improve much on our mistakes of the past.

[Guest guest]

>

> I also agree totaly that we cannot now IMPLEMENT varnasrama. What the

> leaders CAN do and what they consistently fail to do is support and

> facilitate groups of open minded intelligent devotees, to start something

> which is basicaly a varnasrama college,

 

Srila Prabhupada has already begun to implement VAD. The failure has been to

not

continue. There are brahmanas and sannyasis - these are aspects of VAD and a

start - to not continue with a full manifestation is to perish. Without

someone to feed the brahmanas, they must eat foodstuffs produced by karmis and

suffer the subsequent pollution of the mentality attached to the foodstuffs

while being produced.

 

Already the temples are, as pointed out by Gunamayi, functioning as colleges

for brahmacaris. The problem in an incomplete implementation is that the

social

vision is constrained to a point where the mISKCONception is that the college

is

the society and once devotees move on in their lives there are considered as

fallen or blooped instead of as alumni. Ther is more to VAD than being a

brahman, more career paths than becoming a swami.

 

 

> The children ARE the future, and our planning and goals should be LONG TERM.

> We are here to stay, and until we focus on our future legacy, and put some

> energy into it, we will continue to stumble along, making the same mistakes

> over and over again, and dwindle more and more.

>

> YS Samba das

 

Yes, attracting young converts with fancily prepared foodstuffs and adroit

presentations of the philosophy, then losing them when economic unrealities

set

in.