Respiritualize or Perish

[Guest guest]

[From "Respiritualize or Perish," a chapter in *Glimpses of Traditional

Indian Life,* by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami]

 

While recalling his early life, Rasaraja dasa suggests that the spiritual

and philosophical foundations of Hindu society are missing and that...we

must bring back this spiritual dimension. (p 157)

 

RD: ...Someone might ask, "But aren't there many evils in contemporary

Indian society? How can you deny that?" Our answer would be, "Yes, there are

problems. But we have to be sure of how to solve them. Suppose there is an

expert musician

who has gotten old, and there is a young man who has never learned any

music. Neither may be able to sing well, but their situation is not the same.

 

Similarly, there may be social problems both in the West and in India, but

the West--in particular America, the country that tries to force its culture

on everyone else--is like a young man who has never learned any music. They

have never had a sound spiritual or cultural system. India is like the great

old musical expert. They do have a great spiritual and cultural tradition.

So the solutions have to be different. We should try to solve our problems

by going back to the best in our spiritual tradition--not by ignoring it

completely and imitating the West.

 

BVS: India still has very good things to offer human society. Restriction

between the sexes makes civilizedlife possible. Without it, everything becomes

hell. (GOTIL, pp 163-4)

 

RD: ...The unique thing India had and still has, if we want it, is the Vedic

culture, which is the best.

 

BVS: Far advanced, far advanced.

 

RD: It is the best of all cultures. And the ajnata-sukrti you get in India

is far higher than what you can get in other countries.

 

BVS: Oh yes, of course.

 

RD: People in general are spiritually foolish, whether they are Indians or

Westerners. But the ajnata-sukrti you get in India is high, because

basically life is in accordance with the regulative principles. But in the

West people are generally not following even what little the priests gave

them. And in India, Visnu is there. They're eating Visnu prasadam so often.

It's practically a way of life, even for non-Vaisnavas. That is a very great

thing.

 

BVS: You're saying that even non-Vaisnavas would take Krsna-prasadam?

 

RD: Always! Everybody used to go to the big Visnu temples, and they always

got Visnu prasadam. No one ever went to the Perumal Kovil without getting

prasadam.

 

BVS: Smartas also?

 

RD: Everybody. Everyone went to the Visnu temples. Visnu temples were

considered the best. Even the smartas had high regard for Visnu. (GOTIL, p 165)

 

[to be continued in the next episode of "Respiritualize or Perish."]