Guest guest Posted May 14, 2001 Report Share Posted May 14, 2001 Dear Prabhu's We must thank Pancaratna for his frank words. Mark chatburn has pointed out the need for slap in your face reality check. It seams to me that the general mass of devotees are not prepared to abandon the luxuries of modern living no matter how idealistic the simple living model is made. The residents of our ISKCON farms live an urban life in the rural setting. Livelihoods are made by some means or other to make their urban lifestyle sustainable. Somehow we can make money by any means and there is no noise, but if we suggest to make money by cow protection methods there is a decry of deviation practicaly. If we can not make the living we want from ox power and cow protection then how on earth is any devotee going to do it. The members of the ISKCON world that I have seen are not going to live a life of peasant poverty willingly unless they are forced by Karmic impoverishment. There must be a demonstration of a working farm system that gives its participants the economic needs they will not live without. Another point is that we are adherents to a unique farming and dietry situation. We are meant to establish a farming system that is dependant on the OX. We are meant to establish an alternative society that is dependant on the ox. If we cannot establish any working models of farmilies dependant on the ox for their living then what is our message to the world. We are meant to have a message to the world even without economic collapse. We are meant to demonstrate an alternative farming sytem that protects cows and works oxen and gives its workers a reality wage or living. There is a way by which a person can make a good living my selling food produced by oxen which attracts a premium price to offset the additional labour costs that an ox based system brings. If you cannot support the ox driver you will not have any working oxen. Batchelor ox farming is not sustainable farming. Ox farming must enter the domain of householders who want to make a good living. Until we can demonstrate this then we are simply armchair philosphers who can talk and idealize but have no real contribution to the food growing world. A point in passing. I have not talked of milk production as we all know that unless the oxen are sorted out there is no sustainable milk production. Krishna says KRISHI. The vaisyas need to make money and Krishna has said they should make money by Krishi (cultivation). Cultivation means by oxen. If we are not cuiltivating by oxen then it is most probable we are contributing to the demise of the ox. ys syam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 > If > one lived on 10 hectares of land and produced all your > own needs - like the first Yankee settlers, or to an > extent the Amish, etc, Over 50% of Amish now earn their living from nonfarm sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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