Prabhupada: 5 Acres of Land

[Guest guest]

On Mon, 28 Feb 2000, WWW: Mangal Artika (Dasa) HDG (Washington - USA) wrote:

 

> On 19 Feb 2000, Rohita Dasa wrote:

>

>

> > There is no need for house land to exceed 1 acre, it should be purchased

> > outright not rented or leased. In ISKCON it has been ascertained that

unless

> > it belongs to one person (family) it will not be taken care of properly. On

> > this one acre is situated the family home, storage sheds (incl. livestock)

> and

> > a family garden.

> > Ys, Rohita dasa

>

> All Glories to your service Rohita:

> You would need at least two acres to put a house on because of the

constraints

> of the septic system and the well in fact if my memmory is still right it is

> required in MS by the health dept. for that reason, I know we have squeezed

> them on one before but it was a diffucult sittuation and everything must be

> placed just right to achive that and somtimes that is not always possible.

> Mangala Artika Dasa

> P.S. Keep up the good work Ro.

 

 

Unfortunately, I don't have the Vedabase on this machine -- or the

varnasrama manuscript. [i use 3 different computers and only one has the

Vedabase - frustrating!]

 

Anyway, I believe that there is a conversation between Srila Prabhupada

and Allen Ginsberg, Columbus, Ohio, May 1968. In that conversation, Srila

Prabhupada tells Allen Ginsberg that a person can be self-sufficient on 5

acres of land.

 

I know that sometimes in other contexts, Srila Prabhupada mentions figures

like one acre, but it seems to me that the figure of 5 acres sounds the

most reasonable for a temperate climate. More land is needed for two

reasons:

 

1. Since the animals can't graze year round (unless you are a master

grazier, like some of those Alberta farmers), you need to have extra land

to raise alfalfa, corn, hay and grains, to help feed them through the

winter.

 

2. You need extra land to provide for firewood heat for the winter.

 

The final consideration has to be that if we are seriously trying to

attract a young man to set up a self-sufficient residence on the land, we

have to make it attractive enough that he will see some future in it for

his children as well as himself. I don't think you'll get many qualified

candidates if you only offer 1 acre. That is not enough for a

householder, especially in a cold climate. I think Prabhupada's quotation

of five acres will have a much better chance of attracting someone who

will stick with it.

 

Could someone please look up that quote for me? Thanks very much.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi