Varnasrama Education 2

August 11, 1999

Greetings to all and Haribol

As usual I am about to stick my foot in my mouth. Here goes, All

schools should teach the basics, our kids live in the same world as every

body else. So to avoid handicapping them, we must teach reading writing and

math. The language of the country they are in and at least one other common

language is also important, to avoid ending up like Americans who can't speak

any other language. We should have built into all the classes our basic

philosophy respect and tolerance of others, and respect for the land. Soap

making well.... When I was a school kid We had shop classes that taught basic

wood working automotive repair and basic house hold repairs, We also had home

economics how to cook sew handle money basic nutrition first aid typing. Our

schools were trying to produce young people who could change a tire, plan and

cook a tasty meal fix the car, sew on a button or make a dress and generally

we were supposed to be ready to face the world. We could read, write,

balance a check book, cook and fix the squeaky cabinet door, and put a new

cord on a lamp. It worked! My generation were able to handle the simple

problems of life.

So instead of shop or perhaps in it we teach disaster preparedness! How

to make soap, basic first aid, how to sew how to plant a successful garden,

store the harvest safely, read a compass basic generic survival. And learn

how to use our hands. why? Because Prabhupda said the cites would soon be

distorted and we should get out of they cites get our land and plant our

grains so we will be able to take care of our selves, when the disaster (or

what ever occurs)!

A varnasrama Education is simply a well rounded education where we take

care of each other, accept higher authority, corporate with our neighbors and

live our religion like it should be. There will of course be people who

believe that the cites won't be destroyed. That all this foolish simplistic

back to the land crap is for the alarmist, and the survivalist nuts. I would

prefer to be thirty years over prepared than one day late. Ask those folks in

Kosovo if they think soap making is something they ever wanted to learn?

Perhaps we should ask them if they would like to learn it now?

Those poor souls in Belgrade (and other large cites) will be freezing and

starving in about three more months. They have no basic skills, no food

stored up, they don't know how to purify their water, they don't know how to

build a simple snug warm shanty till help comes. They have no SOAP. These

were prosperous city people who went to school plays, ate in restaurants,

lived in apartments and bought their food in the grocery store. YES YES I

know it won't ever happen to you because you chant and pray and Krishna will

protect you. That however doesn't mean he won't let you die. Only that he

will protect your soul for the next round of advancement...Perhaps!

Think about it!

Carol

August 16, 1999

On 15 Aug 1999, Phalguna das wrote:

I think it's very true for devotees, that they have

> brahminical tendencies, and yet might be happy earning their livelihood in

> other areas; artisans or crafters say, which is technically sudra, or doing

> some business. And yet their brahminical qualities will be very valuable and

> much needed in society; the ability to speak the truth for the benefit of

> those around them. But maybe this is one of those things that all the varnas

> do, like

>

> Comment:

> When we talk about devotees, that meams that they are working on brahminic

> principles...meaning regulation, cleanliness, deity worship, 4 regs,

> shastra... from that they may have particular tendencies of work, but

> because they are Vaisnavas (or at least practicing sadhana bhakti) that

> automatically brings them to a brahminical level.

I guess when I talk about devotees, I mean a state of the heart, or a

certain favorable sentiment toward the Lord. This is my own experience, of

having come through the movement, and the particular type of work one is doing

on oneself at the time can range a bit. Those particular practices of vaidi

bhakti are so important, but as we can tend to be disfunctional in other ways,

particularly emotionally, there are other ways to grow. Just being in a

committed relationship, and getting that kind of support and validation, can

be incredibly healing. And healing is so important, lest we, as a society, be

disfuntional.

My experience is that you don't lose your bhakti, and at the right moments,

you can share something of it with others. Or they can share with you if

you're ready.

Lets not confuse the state of devotion with strict rules or judge someones

devotion on the basis of their following a strict regimen. This is a classic

mistake, and the scriptures do contain examples of people making it, though

none come to mind at the moment. Except maybe when Sri Gadadhara Pandita first

met Pundarick Vidyanidhi, his guru. At the behest of Lord Caitanya, he went to

see him, and when he entered the room, he beheld a rich person, sitting on

pillows, with oiled hair, and a hookah pipe. He was bewildered for the moment,

and thought he must be seeing a materialist, but then Gopinatha Acarya quoted

a verse from the Bhagavatam, about how merciful is Krsna, that Putana came to

kill Him by smearing her breast with poison, and yet He awarded Her the

position of a Mother in His etenal lila. When Pundarika heard the verse he

went into a turbulent state of exstasy, fell off his pillows onto the floor,

and pulled at his hair, saying "who other than Krishna is so merciful" over

and over again. When Sri Gadahara Pandita saw the state that Pundarika had

entered, He realized He had made a grave mistake, judging this devotee so

ungenerously, and He asked permission of Lord Caitanya to take Diksa from

Pundarika, as a way of atonement. Actually it was rumoured that Pundarika was

none other than Vrishabanu Maharaja and Gadadhara Pandita, his daughter. But

when someone on the level of Sri Gadadhara Pandita makes such a mistake, one

can only think it a lesson for our edification.

> But maybe this is one of those things that all the varnas

> do,

So devotees are not brahmins (na ham vipro) or anything else, but can be in

any varna, yet transcendental, and they can share their devotion with those

who care to hear. Haribol!

August 16, 1999

In a message dated 8/16/99 2:50:34 AM Eastern Daylight Time, triman (AT) com (DOT) org

writes:

> Those particular practices of vaidi

> bhakti are so important, but as we can tend to be disfunctional in other

> ways,

> particularly emotionally, there are other ways to grow. Just being in a

> committed relationship, and getting that kind of support and validation,

can

> be incredibly healing. And healing is so important, lest we, as a society,

> be

> disfuntional.

> My experience is that you don't lose your bhakti, and at the right

moments,

>

> you can share something of it with others. Or they can share with you if

> you're ready.

> Lets not confuse the state of devotion with strict rules or judge

someones

> devotion on the basis of their following a strict regimen. This is a

classic

> mistake, and the scriptures do contain examples of people making it, though

> none come to mind at the moment.

Yes, charity begins at home. We as a community have not been very charitable

with each other over the years and it causes major problems on the personal

level and the global level. Charity is a quality worth making an effort to

develop. Being quick to judge as a society and as an individual reveals a

lack of maturity and a lack of faith. It only increases the dysfuntional

problems and discourages everyone it is directed at. This includes both those

who are actually on the same path, but perhaps taking a slight detour and

even those who are "in the fire" but may not be performing up to the

expectations of the judge. What is the use of preaching to the ignorant if

we can't maintain the masses that are already convinced? Ys, Kanti dasi

August 16, 1999