brahmacarya and economics

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The following is a text from a devotee from CIS now serving in India, sent

to me as a response to some of my Brahmacari book revision notes. All

personal references have been expunged. Comments, anyone?

 

PAMHO!AGTSP!

 

Dear Maharaj, i have just little suggestion or even request: may be you

could explain the economical side of modern brahmachari ashram.

 

Nowadays it is very different from what it used to be in Vedic times when

brahmacharis lived in guru's ashrama and were begging alms for him, not

keeping anything for themselves. Nowadyas most of brahmacharis join our

movement in best case after school or college - in adult age when they

suppose to finish gurukula; or even after already being married. So they

don't have brahmachari training and education, but instead - materialistic

one, including completely different understanding of economical maintanence,

having not at all vedic or "varnaasramic" point of view on how to earn and

spend money. It is hard both for temples to provide them adequate

maintainence and for themselves to be satisfied with it according to what

Prabhupada mentioned - "The proper standard is for brahmacaris to give 100%

of all of the money that comes their way to the temple."

 

Point is that even in the our ISKCON temples to some extent or another

brahmacharis are independent financially, especially those who engaged in

sankirtana or some kind of collection - they have and keep their own money.

SOme time they forced to do so because temple authorities don't take proper

care of devotees, sometime (often) they even told to do so by those

authorities.

 

I think in CIS most of centres do not provide everythig necessary for

devotees and tell them either to ask parents, or earn money themselves, in

best case helping them to earn money by organizing some sort of business

like Food For Money or similar - even Prema invest. in Rostov (South

Russia) they had for long time commercial company and shop in the temple and

all devotees were selling spices and also creams (Himami, Boroplus etc.) and

perfumes like deodorants etc. Few devotees asked me question when i was

there last - that TP told us that we should make money for

our needs and also around $400 per month give to temple so that temple can

afford to maintain them - practically allow them to stay and serve in the

temple. Otherwise - sorry - we can't keep you here - you should live outside

and maintain youself and give donations to the temple. These devotees asked

me - what can we do - we are doing full time service and have no time to go

somewhere to make money; also we have no any idea or skills (what to speak

of start capital) for that - how we can do that. In Moscow also back in

1996 summer i saw myself how at least 10 sankirtana devotees have been

choosen to leave the temple because temple can't maitain them - they can't

do daily quota of 20 big books - they do only around 10. This is in Moscow -

what to speak of other small places (in small towns at that time they hardly

did 1

mahabig)! There are much more such cases.

 

My Godbrother last year told me that in Moscow (i think in other cities too)

there are many single - unmarried - "brahmacharies" who somehow or other

happened to stay outside - they decided themselves or have been told to take

care of themselves. So in russian they are called "domochari" or in english

"housechari" - because usualy they are independent - rent some flat to live

and do some kind of business or job just to maintain themselves and

"survive" both economically and spiritually. They are not grihasthas in

sense that they have no wife and chieldren, and not real brahmacharies,

since do not live in temple and do any service there. They are passive - not

engaged in any devotional service (what to speak of preaching) except of

hardly managing to chant their 16 rounds daily. They hardly have regular

healthy spiritual assotiation but usualy with similar ones or often even

with those who are more "blupy" - usually such devotees are more successful

in bussiness, because more compromise their devotional standarts. Definitely

they can't go on like this for long time without also comprimising their

spiritual standards and initiation wovs, what to speak of remaining

brahmachari! Because most of them were never properly or even at all trained

how to earn money and also to spent them for Krsna's service (as mentioned

in those wonderfull Prabhupada's quotes from revision materials i've send

recently). So as soon as they get some money they have a tendency to spend

them indiscriminately - often just for nothing, practically speacking for

sense gratification - buy unnecessary costly things, cloth etc. - some

"brahmacharis" even buy luxurious costly western cars. Briefly - to waste

this money. And within short period of time they become wictims of maya

first of all in form of women (in best case - devotee). But lot of them just

leave KC - and of course celibacy. (" So apta, suta, ato

gaha-knetra-suta-apta and vitta and money. It is one after another. First

wife, then apartment, then field for agriculture, then friends, then

children, then money, bank balance. In this way he does not know he's

becoming entangled more and more." - but i think and saw example how it also

works in opposite direction - first money, then bank account or just

savings, then apartment, car, etc, - ultimattely - wife and kids - i have 2

friends who was personal servant of my Guru Maharaj, both of them now

married

and completely absorbed in business and not at all take part in any

preaching or activity which helps preaching; same or similar stories told me

by my Godbrother xyz das - once staunch and senior brahmachari - - who was

an inspiration for others, now married himself; one

of his reason also - economical independence.

("Brahmacaris are supposed to be simple and renounced, so it is not proper

for them to accumulate money beyond their immediate needs. For a brahmacari

to have a large sum of money without a specific Krsna conscious purpose, or

to keep savings, is antithetical to the brahmacari ethic. It is also

dangerous; to keep money without using it for Krsna is Ravana's policy and

leads to falldown...")

 

So this is the point: many devotees are getting married or fall down because

of improper economical side (may be i couldn't express it correctly - but i

hope i'll get my point). ("The life-long brahmacari has to develop an inner

toughness and self-sufficiency." - i think means economical also and

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

is a synonim to economical independence at least to some extent - )

("A brahmacari should not have many problems. If he is actually a

brahmacari, he should not even have many mental problems..." - financial

side creats many practical problems, not only mental - )

 

I've not mentioned those who are like me - still trying to be active in

preaching, but hardly struggling for collection, because otherwise no one

will take care of you. One devotee told me exactly this - that in India

nobody will take care of you. many devotees have told me this.

Many of them who are smart enough trying to go to Australia or US. It's also

not a secret that most of brahmacharies who live in temples in India,

especialy in big centres like Mayapur, Vrindavan, Dheli, Bombay, are

dreaming to get chanse to go to US and many even have this as a motive when

they join. And many are getting maried even in advanced age - last year and

this time in Vrindavan i saw few senior devotees, even SP's disciples, who's

changed saffron to white. And one of serious reason for that - the fear that

they'll not properly taken care of in our society unless they do it

themselves and it's too late to make money and get wife. Because otherwise

it is very difficult to be brahmachari and earn money and have personal

account and be critised for that - brahmachari should not accumulate money

but give 100% to the temple! ("those who are renounced order, those who are

brahmacari, for them to keep money separately for his maintenance or for

accumulating bank balance is not allowed.") I've asked this from my Guru

Maharaj - that especially in Vrindavan on SB classes sannyasis, not only

brahmacharies, are critised for having personal credit cards and bank

accounts and houses in Vrindavan. He's replyed - what to do - according to

Varnasrama householders suppose to maintain tree other asramas economically,

but they don't.

 

I wrote this because i feel it important for myself first of all, and i

believe for many other devotees. I do hope and want to stay brahmachari, but

somehow i also feel that this financial/economical side influence very much

my determination - i'm not acting as brahmachari from this side, and often

it is one of main couse for change of asrama. ("Regarding collecting funds:

The brahmacaris, vanaprasthas, and sannyasis are not supposed to earn money

like grhasthas.") I think that to stay brahmacari nowdays is not just

question of controling or tolerating sex urge, but also be properly situated

economically. This is my concern and problem.

 

I didn't want to put this in conf, since there are lot of personal things

here and mostly my own opinion which perhaps not very correct. But i believe

you could understand me properly what i mean and give me the answer and

quidence as well as many other devotees, potential readers of your revised

Brahmachary book. If you want - you can take some rational part of this

letter and comment it and put in conf. - otherwise - no problem for me.