SWEAT and the absence of it.

[Guest guest]

> In my opinion it sounds like the same old ISKCON devotee story of clear

> cut laziness due to false renunciation of the varnsrama-dharma institution

> which requires perspiration from hard work. Renounce the varnas other than

> "brahmana" (so-called) and depend upon the karmis to supply all of our

> needs while condemning them as fruitive.

 

> You must do this with the results of all your sweat. The renounced orders

> (brahmacari, vanaprasta and sannyas) can only take what is needed for

> simple sustenance and get no material returns. So if you want to live

> above the poverty level you really got to sweat or inherit it from your

> ancestors (who had to sweat, some one has to sweat). But remember sadhana

> comes first and then the emotional needs of the family members. Followed

> by sweating. The higher the standard you want the more you have to sweat.

> Follow in the path of Bhaktivinode Thakura.

 

It seems that many of our devotees wish to avoid sweating at all costs. It

is somewhat ironic really that we have gotten so mollycoddled that we faint

away from a bit of sweating. I have noticed that there is a sort of syndrome

in ISKCON that once you have risen above the bhakta program and gotten a few

years under your belt, some consider themselves a bit too elevated to do

some sweating. Sometimes the more insensitive temple commanders fail to

recognise this 'pecking order' and haras 'advanced brahmins' to wash the

pots or perform some other menial service that is well below their

'station'.

 

I am particularly aware of this as I myself became quite adept at avoiding

the temple commander, who was also unfortunately (or so I thought) very

adept at finding me. There are a surprising amount of hiding places at

Bhaktivedanta Manor, the attic being particularly good, but our TC knew all

the haunts and it was a battle of wits to outsmart him (To be fair I was

only 17 at the time, and at the height of my whimsicality). Digressing

slightly, I have often thought of publishing a book entitled 'Great Mangala

Arotik Sweet Thefts of our Time' detailing various cat and mouse capers

between British TC's and deviant nektar hunters, maybe another time.

 

Nowadays I am preparing myself for a life on the land, and am excercising as

much as possible to build my stamina after 11 years sitting behind a desk in

India. Srila Prabhupada tells us that Agriculture is the noblest profession,

and from this one can assume that sweating is therefore also a noble thing

to be doing.

 

I think our devotees need to realise that ISKCON temple life is actualy

quite a priveledged position, and in many ways artificialy so. Actualy in a

fully realised varnasrama situation the production of food would be done by

all classes. The world is now overrun with useless ugrakarmic activity, and

people find an artificial living from office jobs etc. Most of these

occupations would not exist in the kind of world Srila Prabhupada would like

us to aspire for, so a lot of sweat would be in order.

 

I have noticed that sometimes devotees have the idea that they should simply

sit on a cushion and tell the others what to do. I have observed though,

especialy in south India, that all the brahmin families have their own land,

and work it. Being a brahmin does not always mean sitting on ones butt all

day.

 

Of course Rohita Prabhu is right, we have to get it in perspective, and

sweating for a lower cause will get us nowhere.

 

Anyway thought I would throw in a few comments there.

 

Anyone like the Harmonist article?

 

Sd

[Guest guest]

> I think our devotees need to realise that ISKCON temple life is actualy

> quite a priveledged position, and in many ways artificialy so.

 

Most of them -- at least in the city temples -- will suddenly get a real sharp

realization of what a priviledged position it was within about 12 months. From

what I can see, many (if not most) of our big city temples around the world

will

be suffering the effects of Y2K -- even in so-called developed countries like

Italy, Greece, France and Germany.

 

They will realize how priviledged it was when they find that they have no water

or sewage service, and absolutely no fresh milk to offer to the Deities. They

will find out how priviledged it was when they have to contemplate whether

sprinkling themselves with three drops of water after passing stool will purify

them sufficiently to go on the altar and worship the Deities. Many will not

have electricity or access to banking either. Then they can ponder about how

they should have followed Prabhupada's March 1974 advice and taken the role of

varna teacher to teach self-sufficiency skills to our young devotees.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

 

> Actualy in a

> fully realised varnasrama situation the production of food would be done by

> all classes. The world is now overrun with useless ugrakarmic activity, and

> people find an artificial living from office jobs etc. Most of these

> occupations would not exist in the kind of world Srila Prabhupada would like

> us to aspire for, so a lot of sweat would be in order.

>

> I have noticed that sometimes devotees have the idea that they should simply

> sit on a cushion and tell the others what to do. I have observed though,

> especialy in south India, that all the brahmin families have their own land,

> and work it. Being a brahmin does not always mean sitting on ones butt all

> day.

>

> Of course Rohita Prabhu is right, we have to get it in perspective, and

> sweating for a lower cause will get us nowhere.

>

> Anyway thought I would throw in a few comments there.

>

> Anyone like the Harmonist article?

>

> Sd

[Guest guest]

Dear Hari Krsna Mataji,

PAMHO, AGTSP. After having being on Cow Conference for sometime and reading

everything that comes through, I have developed respect and admiration for

many of you regular contributors. However, one issue that continually comes

up within other subject matters is the Y2K bug senario. I would like to

suggest that we shouldnt underestimate the greed and enormous attachment to

sense gratification that these karmis have and that they will and have been,

throwing millions of dollars at this issue to ensure on Jan 1 2000,

everything will be functioning relatively normally. There is no way that

huge corporations will allow a computer glitch to stop gas from pumping and

planes from flying and all general trading to even temporarily cease.

Unfortunately, the very people who prepare, or in this case over prepare,

for the Y2K scenario, are the ones who are actually being sucked in by the

hype and cunning con artists making millions of dollars out of paranoid

people.

 

The world is not coming to an end! even for a month or two. Cut the hype

and lets concentrate on preaching in a new millennium.

Your servant,

Ananta Krsna Dasi.

[Guest guest]

Haribol,pamho,AGtSP!

 

Are You Prepared to Be Wrong About Y2K?

 

"Prepared" is a word that means careful planning if you are a business.

However, if you're an individual preparing for Y2K, being "prepared" means

you're a wacko survivalist ... well, at least that's how the major media

portrays us (survivalists here in Northern Idaho). But whatever way you take

it, I consider preparedness as being ready beforehand for a specific event or

occasion. I was a Boy Scout. My pocket knife has a can opener on it.

 

So back to the question: "Are you prepared to be wrong about Y2K?" No matter

who you are or what you think about Y2K are you ready to be wrong in your

conclusions?

 

Let's take the wacko survivalist side first. You know, us family types who are

putting away some food and water, maybe a generator, gathering some simple

first aid supplies and all that kind of wacky stuff. What if we are wrong? I

guess the answer lies in how far we go to calm our fears. If we sell our souls

to fear and go all out, have we been careful enough to allow room to be wrong?

I know at least three people who have sold out everything and bought small

farms. Sounds extreme, doesn't it? Well, not really. In each case they are

happier now. Owning that farm is something they always wanted anyway. If they

are wrong about Y2K being really bad, they don't care. They did what they

would have done anyway.

 

How about filling the basement with food, getting drums to fill with water,

buying a wood stove and putting all your worldly money in mason jars under the

porch? Unless the house burns down or some robbers with shovels come by or you

decide to stop eating food sometime soon, you have lost nothing but some time

and interest. A credible argument can be made that you might actually SAVE

money with all that food, as long as it's stuff you eat anyway and not some

kind of freeze dried crap which cost it's weight in gold dust.

 

How about quitting your job, cashing out your 401k at a loss, buying a small

cabin in the woods on Ruby Ridge, telling your family to either join up or

die, and hunkering down with an AK-47 assault rifle and 300 cases of MREs at

$50 a case? See a problem there? I do. If the magic microchip fairy waves her

wand and all is well there is no back door way to recover easily. Besides,

it's a recipe for disaster.

 

After you eat the first ten cases of MREs you may want to turn the AK-47 on

yourself. One MRE is an adventure, two are a chore, a steady diet of MRE's is

a short trip to insanity. The guy with an AK-47 and a cabin filled with MREs

is not prepared to be wrong. He'll tell you he is ready for anything, but he's

incorrect. He's not prepared to be wrong in his assessment of Y2K ... unless

his life goal was to live in a backwoods cabin on Ruby Ridge with indigestion

for the next five years.

 

Please don't take me the wrong way. I support individual Y2K preparedness 100

percent! I am personally determined to be ready myself. My assessment is that

society is likely to take a big hit and hard times are on their way. However,

I give myself the same advice I give friends who are getting ready. Don't sell

your soul to Y2K! Take whatever precautions will make you comfortable with the

risk you perceive but leave yourself a backdoor. If you are truly into being

prepared then you must also be prepared to be wrong in your Y2K assessment and

opinions.

 

What makes me comfortable is some food and water, sources of heat and light

that don't need the power company, a way to defend it all, communications so I

won't be "in the dark", and plans to go further if I must ... much further if

necessary. What if I am wrong? Well, I am ready for that too. I have made

plans to continue eating the rest of my life, to continue making the Power

Company whine by leaving my electric heat off as much as possible, and to make

ham radio a life long hobby the same as shooting is now.

 

So, what about those folks whose assessment of Y2K is "no big deal" or "it's

all hype" or "they'll take care of it" or "I have a good supply of Girl Scout

cookies and a bottle of Evian water so I'm ready." What if they are wrong and

are not prepared to be wrong?

 

Somebody with these Pollyanna attitudes, if they are honest, will not bother

to stock up on anything or prepare for a loss of power. The average home

already has a three-day supply of food and a three-hour supply of water. The

average home does not have a way of heating the house without power, or a way

to have light more than a few days from a handful of old candles.

 

The average family might possibly (but probably not) have a week's worth of

cash lying around. Half the homes in America have a weapon in them but at best

only 10 percent of those people are prepared to use such a weapon responsibly

for self-defense. Maybe one-half of 1 percent of Americans have communications

other than a phone or computer modem.

 

What if the Pollyannas are wrong and are not prepared to be wrong? What's in

store for them? Hmmm ... Maybe my neighbor's remark is right, "If I'm wrong,

so what. If you are wrong, you may die"... or something close to that. Maybe

Y2K won't be so extreme but those are the stakes. A Pollyanna by definition

won't prepare to be wrong. Pollyannas don't have life insurance, don't wear

seat belts, consider life vests on small water craft to be style cramping, and

think motorcycle helmets have little value other than messing up one's hair.

 

Someone who honestly has decided Y2K is not a big deal is another story. If

you have come to the conclusion Y2K is a flash in the pan or a bump in the

road, think about this question: "What if you are wrong?" Are you prepared to

be wrong? Forget about "survivalism" for a moment. Are you REALLY prepared to

be wrong in your assessment of Y2K?

 

If I stockpile some food and I bet wrong about supply problems, then I just

eat the food. If I bet I won't need it and I'm wrong, then I get hungry or I

become dependent on the government or charity. I cannot risk being wrong that

way.

 

If I have 300 gallons of water in a wading pool and 200 gallons of potable

water in drums, and I am wrong about needing it, then my neighbor's kids get

to play and I water my garden. Without potable water the human body cannot

survive more than a few days. I cannot risk being wrong that way (see Federal

Government Figures Project Y2K Water Crisis by Jim Lord for more information

on Y2K and the water supply).

 

I am prepared to be wrong about needing all my preparations. In fact, I pray I

am wrong every day. However as a reasonable and responsible devotee, I'm am

NOT prepared to sit back and let the chips fall where they may. That would be

irresponsible when I have the information and education to insure my friends

and myself against unnecessary risk. I could not in good conscience remain

unprepared and risk being wrong about the severity of Y2K. The uncertainty is

far too great and the stakes are far too high to not buy some preparedness

insurance.

 

What do you think is going to happen next year? Are you ready for what you

think will happen? But even more importantly, are you prepared to be wrong?

 

ARE YOU PREPARED TO BE WRONG???????????????

 

 

yfs,bbd

[Guest guest]

> Are You Prepared to Be Wrong About Y2K?

>

> "Prepared" is a word that means careful planning if you are a business.

> However, if you're an individual preparing for Y2K, being "prepared" means

you're a wacko survivalist ... well, at least that's how the major media

portrays us (survivalists here in Northern Idaho). But whatever way you take

it, I consider preparedness as being ready beforehand for a specific event or

occasion.

>

 

 

 

Presently it seems politically correct to prepare for Y2K as if it had the

potential to be a natural disaster like a hurricane or earthquake. Beyond that

one tends to come off looking a bit phsycologically imbalanced, so one may

wish to keep it discreet if they are getting all excited about how many AK-47s

they've got stock-piled and so on.

 

 

 

 

 

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