Beginnings in process

[Guest guest]

haribol prabhus,

pamho agtsp

 

I feel a little inappropriate making a comment after an extended absence and

an acknowledged disillusionment of the 'reality' of farm development here. I

vouch that Balabhadra and Chayadevi's position is not the exception but

rather the norm in farm communities. We too have to earn money from jobs to

keep our service in cow protection and on the land. And this is at a very

basic level. It is ironic that there is discussion of selling farms in a

more desparate material world, rather than try to not only keep but to

expand ISKCON farm communities. However it's not just GBC, it's everyone who

needs to look at this. We sold land here to devotees who really put decent

plans forward to work the land, but very little has been done with it. I

accept that money has a huge part to play in development, but we are not

rich or well off, but still gradually we are developing.

 

This shifts the emphasis to commitment and continuous energy invested into

projects. We currently have a transient culture in ISKCON and this does not

assist in rural development. An example would be the karmi 'farm relief

service', whereby a farmer who is normally engaged 365 days a year, can take

time away while the work continues. We do not have that continuous practice

to the degree necessary for worldwide rural development or cow protection.We

don't currently need relief services as an alternate rural occupation

because nobody wants to do it in the first place let alone relieve anyone.I

experienced this in three staggering cases. Firstly myself, husband or

family had never been to India. We went for the one and only time in 1997

but had to pay somebody to look after the temple cows when we went for three

weeks after twently years plus of service. The person was gone when we came

back and another devotee there in their place with a holier than thou

attitude as if we had done something wrong. The arrangement was made with a

person living on Temple property otherwise we would not have made the

arrangement. Then last year my husband was incapacitated for three weeks in

winter, no assistance came, this year it was three months, no assistance

came. Farm and cow services are continuous, all day, every day, 365 days a

year. It's not glamorous and really only hits the limelight when we preach

about land use and cow protection to others. I can personally say that some

devotees here wouldn't know how many cows we have, their name or approximate

age. In a very small community that's not a good sign.

 

Presently our farm is like a ghost town. There is very little energy here

because there is an absence of not only men during the week, but even

matajis out doing a bit of weeding etc. with children. And here is the crux

of the problem, the children. If children do not learn these skills and a

service atttitude from their parents, they too become transient. The cycle

repeats itself. Most young farmers have learned the skills over the course

of their childhood but ours are not. This does not mean that they naturally

will always farm, but at least they should be able to. My own son does not,

he is a Hari Nama devotee, but he had the skills to return to assist the cow

protection when my husband was ill. It's not his nature, but he can earth up

the potatoes. There is an awful uncertainty here now, even for ourselves as

we cannot plan long term development because we don't know what will happen,

but by that time it could well be too late. We should consider this. If

energy is low now before a crisis, who will have the skills or know how in

times of crisis? Our community has no athmosphere, no life, no energy and

these are necessary to form the basis of rural development. On the opposite

side, karmi farmers all around the country are putting rural development

groups together while we are becomming stagnant.

 

I feel that the best example we can look to is Queen Kunti who prayed 'let

these calamities happen again and again', because it seems that devotees

need a threat of some impending danger to see the obvious and that is that

Srila Prabhupada wanted rural communities to set examples of a proper

lifestyle and it was to go hand in hand with all the other recognised front

line preaching methods. Not since Y2K has there been any interest from

devotees about getting things together, buying food etc. Personally I'm a

bit sick of it, although I appreciate that at least for that time it's

happening. On a very limited budget our place is coming together, not great

but it produces some food and enough flowers for Their Lordships six months

of the year - weather permitting. It's not just in crisis times, but we have

to buy in bulk to save money so there is always some food there, and if push

came to shove we'd eek out a living. I fear for devotees more than the

general mass of society, because we are meant to have this knowledge and act

upon it, they are going on in blissful ignorance. If again this horrible

instance makes devotees think of implementing Srila Prabhupada's teachings

regarding rural development, then that is good, but I hope it's not so

quickly lost as it was after the Y2K thing.

 

I am so sorry for the rant, but it really needs to be addressed worldwide.

It should be implicit in the training of young devotees, and certainly we

need to have it recognised as a preaching method in it's own right. Then we

can embrace those people who seek shelter when they need to, but rural

communities should not become the plan B option in times of world crisis. We

should be acknowledged as a vital part of Srila Prabhupada's plan all the

time. I think devotees would have a hard time looking after themselves

without opening the gates to others, although this of course would be the

higher standard.

 

ys