FREE!! Varnasrama self-sufficiency classes!

[Guest guest]

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Free classes in Varnasrama self-sufficiency!

 

When: Beginning June 1

 

Classes: Organic gardening

Building with local materials

Bee keeping

The art of composting

Restoring and maintaining old farm equipment

Permaculture techniques to help you get the most from

your farm

The healing herb

Building stronger community spirit

The art of seed-saving - open pollinated seeds

Ox power workshops

Hygenic, lo-tech homestead water and sanitation management

Woodworking

Blacksmithing

Healthy, Happy Cows

Food preservation for the farm family

Make your own cloth: spinning, dying and weaving

 

Raising children in the garden

Carpentry for kids

Woodscraft skills for children

Learning about cows and oxen

Children's dramatic playhouse

 

Where: At your local Hare Krsna community

 

Teachers: Devotees from your temple, friends from your local community

 

Organized by: You!!

 

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Okay, did you think this was a mean trick? My apologies. But, I thought

that Abhirama prabhu had a good point when he said that as far as a

varnasrama college is concerned, we should "just do it." [in India, you

can call them Daivi Varnasrama Swadeshi classes, and all the Gandhi

followers will appreciate.]

 

Did you get a little excited when you read about all the interesting

classes you could take - for free! So did I, and I'm the one who made

them up.

 

The point is that many people would be attracted by courses like this.

They would be attracted to our communities, especially if we offered them

for free.

 

The other point is that for all of us who live in a rural community, we

already have certain skills that we could share with others - things they

would like to learn about. So, why not make that a preaching platform?

The distribution of knowledge. What could be more appropriate for a

brahminical organization like ISKCON?

 

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But how can your community offer classes, when you have no time and no

money? How can you even start?

 

Why not just start with one or two classes? A class could meet just

twice a week for an hour a time. It might last for only 3 or 4 weeks.

Surely, you have one expert devotee who could spend 2 hours a week on

this preaching project - especially if other devotees helped him or her

cover some of their normal duties.

 

So, one devotee could teach one class. What about the other class? Why

not bring in a local person who is expert in woodworking or herbs or some

other subject that members of your community have always wanted to

learn? What about show-casing some of the talents of your local

agricultural extension agent? Or a woman who knows how to dye cloth

using natural, local substances? If you pick someone who already has a

local reputation as an expert, just listing their name in your newspaper

ad would help attract people. This way you can build community relations

by showing your appreciation of a local expert, and at the same time

learn about something you want to know. If need be, find someone to

sponsor your guest teacher so that you can pay him or her a small fee,

but keep the classes open for free to devotees and the public. Be sure

to invite your local newspaper reporter to come with a camera to visit

both the guest-teacher and devotee-taught classes.

 

Our principle should be: We are devotees. We teach for free. If you

take prasadam with us, or stay overnight in our accommodations, we may

ask for a fee. And of course if you purchase any home made crafts or

baked goods at our devotee store there is a charge. But for knowledge,

there is no charge.

 

Then, as Prabhupada said in Montreal, "Just like we are teaching, we are

living on the contribution of the public. The public knows that there is

an important institution. They are giving good lessons. So public

contributes."

 

In other words, if we are actually contributing knowledge, the public

will appreciate, and those who have the means will take note and come

forward with their contributions, but a flat fee we do not need to charge

- unless there are course materials required, not that the teacher will

pay for materials for his or her students to work with - but even those

could be provided free to students in financial need, provided there is a

sponsor who is willing to donate funding.

 

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So many times, we try to come up with various preaching schemes and

fund-raising schemes for our rural communities, but I think we

underestimate how attractive and effective Varnasrama self-sufficiency

classes would be. Better than a petting zoo, better than selling stickers.

 

I have to admit, this idea is not my original idea. It was conceived

last summer by the Gita- nagari devotees at the Varnasrama conference

last August. Whether they actually followed up on the idea, I am not

sure, but I thought it was such a good idea that I wanted to share it

with others. If we start very small scale, then things can grow and take

a more formal shape. If we make a start, Prabhupada will be pleased, and

Krsna will reciprocate with our effort, so we can gradually expand, more

and more.

 

If you only have two classes, why not plan them so that both classes meet

the same day, and one of the days is Saturday? Then you can have one

class that ends at 12:00, just in time for the noon arotik, and the next

one that begins at 1:30, so that there is plenty of time for lunch and

Krsna conscious philosophical exchange. Having sessions for children is

a good preaching technique, because then people are free to attend the

adult sessions, and at the same time the children are having fun and

associating with devotees and devotee children.

 

One nice idea is to end your first block of classes around August 7, so

you can wrap up with a special offering for Lord Balarama's Appearance.

As part of Lord Balarama's feast, students could offer different crops

they have produced or canned or dried. Also, for Lord Balarama's

pleasure, there could be a display of handicrafts completed in the

courses. In addition, children could put on a play or musical

performance, based on the activities in their courses.

 

So, these are just some ideas about how your community can start its own

varnasrama college **this** summer. I hope that everyone who decides to

give this a try will write in and let the rest of us know what they plan

to offer, so that we can also come up with ideas.

 

Again, there is no doubt that Srila Prabhupada will greatly reciprocate with

every community who uses varnasrama self-sufficiency classes as a way to

preach

 

to the public this summer.

 

So won't you try it? And just think, if we do this, maybe we can even

deliver poor Janesvara prabhu from his task of counting the days it has

taken for us to act on Prabhupada's order to make a varnasrama college.

Now that would be a real act of mercy and compassion!

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

(Text COM:1280309) --------