ISKCON Social Model

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> > > Also, how in this day and age would you ascertain this to be

> > > the case?

> >

> > Dharma means the intrinsic nature of something. Dharmic laws are

> > tailored according to this eternal nature and are thus eternally

> > applicable.

>

> Of course. But applying dharma, even sanatana dharma, according to time,

> place and circumstance is another thing. That usually takes an empowered

> person. Srila Prabhupada, for example, was able to expertly distinguish

> between eternal principles and details, and thus he was able to present

> the principles in a way appropriate to his preaching field, but without

> any compromise. Not everyone can do that, and I think we need to be very

> careful when we start talking about dharma sastras such as the Manu

> Smriti, especially as we do not have an authorised version presented by a

> person like Prabhupada. (And I do recognise that Srila Prabhupada wanted

> these sastras to be applied)

 

Manu Smriti is not exactly like the Gita or Vedanta sutras, it is codes of

law. There are about 7-8 commentaries on them. Fairly straight forward. The

version I sent is the one used at the guru kula in Mayapura. And, if there

is any controversy then we always fall back on our standard that Srila

Prabhupada gave us. Sort of like the fact that Srila Prabhupada used some

translation of the Gita verses by Mayavadis because the Sanskrit was so

simple that even they could not get it wrong. But it was the mayavadi

commentaries that are dangerous and it is the Bhaktivedanta purports that

saved us. Anyway you would have to read it to see what I mean.

 

>

> I don't know what things are like in India these days, but here in the

> West we are dealing with 99.9% naradhamas. Call them what you will --

> varna-sankara, duskritina, antyaja -- the bottom line is that they can't

> strictly follow anything. They first require purification and hence the

> primary thrust of the acharyas has been to establish the sankirtana

> movement. To try to immediately apply strict dharmic principles, even to

> those coming to KC, is an endeavour doomed to failure, IMHO. We first

> need to get them to hear and chant - seriously and regularly, nityam

> bhagavata sevaya - and then perhaps we can start talking about the Manu

> Smriti and other such texts, important as they are.

 

Who is saying that we try to make the general populace follow Manu Smriti?

Even Manu recognizes that there are people outside of VAD. However, in the

conversation that SP had with Hari Sauri and Satsvarupa on Feb 14, 1977 in

Mayapura (it is on the VedaBase) he distinctly said that VAD was to be

applied to ISKCON temples.

 

Manu Smriti is still as Srila Prabhupada called it the "Law book of Mankind"

whether or not we follow it. Meaning of course that we still accrue karma

for breaking its laws. There are of course hierarchies of laws and it

requires discretion to adjudicate properly. That would be too long of a

discusion for now.

 

But let me sign off by asking you a simple question: Why do we vow, at the

time of diksa, to refrain from eating onions and garlic?

 

yitsosp

 

Shyamasundara Dasa

 

www.ShyamasundaraDasa.com