Let them come to our farms

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Let them come to our farms

Text COM2532221 (108 lines)

04-Aug-99 21:57 -0700

Noelene Hawkins <niscala99 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com>

Cow (Protection and related issues)

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Niscala dd:

According to Srila Prabhupada's perfect instructions, the answer is clearly,

without

ambiguity, both. Devotees should maintain themselves, living simply, growing

all their

necessities, on the ISKCON farms that Srila Prabhupada provided us for this

purpose,

without dependence on the artificial technology e.g. tractors, but replacing

it with

cow- and- bull technology. "The bulls should have helped in spite of...instead

of that

machine" (referring to a tractor, already purchased). To start one's own farm?

A costly

investment. Where is self-sufficiency and time to chant, when one has to pay

back a

hefty loan.

Comment:

The problem herein is that you are trying to purchase all the farming land you

will require. One example is to construct a village; everyone gets a plot big

enough for house, associated structures and a small family garden (at most 0.5

acres). Then they lease land from the Deity (temple) for their farming they

will lease and pay percentage (25%). This lease shall be for life of the

villager and if he fails to produce from this land then a fine. He must not be

idle, but if there is a natural calamity then he is not to blame.

This has another advantage, utilities - many homes sharing the same well, etc.

This amounts to another decrease in initial expenditure. If this village can

be self-sustaining what is there a need for car. Just a car for the whole

village, in case there is some emergency. Maintenance of a car is like having

another family member another expense. The idea is that we should come to

depend upon others in the village for material needs and emotional security.

Other villagers will be like an extended family.

Niscala dd:

Profit will have to be there, and with a need for profit, and having only

one's own labour, one will be pressured into using labour-saving things like

tractors,

then what is achieved by the whole endeavour? Why not have on Srila

Prabhupada's

farms, the instructions that Srila Prabhupada gave for the farms, carried out?

 

Personally, being a mother, I just couldn't see simple living working without

a

community, because of kids and the "param drstva" principle. Kids want fun,

and their

only going to give up their addiction to technology, if they get a higher

taste, and get

fun the way kids used to in the olden days- playing with other kids. Actually,

if you

give them the choice, they'd rather go out and play with kids their own age-

well that's

only possible in a community. Us adults also need company. Having isolated

families

puts pressure on marital relationships, due to not having an outlet for

revealing the

problems one is having with one's partner and it makes it more difficult to

easily find

help/sympathy/advice when one is in dire personal difficulty. It is not the

varnasrama

idea at all- to have a separate farm for each family, but rather a village,

with common

grazing area for the animals, and combining a variety of skills necessary for

self-sufficiency (from education to weaving cloth)- rather than trying to do

all that

oneself- what pressure! Varnasrama means utilizing one's natural talents in

service to

Krsna- but if one has to be in all 4 varnas at the same time...!!!

Comment:

Yes , some things will be communal, like grazing of cows. Other things will be

activities of the individual, like a cartwright duties. There may only be one

person doing this work, that is all the community requires. That is something

that the village and the temple managers have to foresee and act accordingly.

They may have to offer some kind of incentive to have someone do that service

that would benefit the community. The point being we have to cooperate, act

like a unit so that there will be time for glorifying Krishna. There will be

times and actions that are best done communally but there must always be room

for

Nicala dd:

It is also necessary for Krsna consciousness to get an opportunity to come

together with devotees, serve them and hear about Krsna. Of course, you

mentioned "in an area where there are devotee farms", but if you only have

bullocks for transport, and especially if you are unable to get adjacent land,

it makes it VERY difficult to come togetther, at least on a regular basis.

Then there's still all the problems mentioned above.

Comment:

There is another important point one must recognize that Krishna is the

Supreme. Settling on land owned by an existing temple farm can do this. A

village can be layed out around the temple, and then the temple can lease to

the villagers what ever they are capable of working. By giving a percentage of

the production one is recognizing the Lord. The more our acts are centered on

Krishna the more we are becoming single pointed and by so doing we are also

becoming simpler in behavior. We are gradually making our desires in sync with

Krishna's desires, giving up our false egos.

Initial statement:

"A Krsna conscious community which can expand into a devotee village where

there is much land around would be indeed a good idea, but just to have a

farm and invite people to move to this farm, where nothing belongs to them,

is this realistic to atract someone with his family to live there?"

 

The understanding of varnasrama, is that Krsna is the Supreme Proprietor, and

the

king is His representative. The vaisyas are given land by the king, which is

theirs and

cannot be taken back, provided they supply the king with a percentage of their

 

produce. They also have their own animals which they utilize to supply all

their

necessities. In return, the king or chief administrator, protects their

rights, helps them

in difficulty (e.g. the crops fail), arranges training for newcomers, supplies

them with

necessary amenities- not that he just hordes the profit, and he should treat

the citizens

(or in this case villagers) as he would his own children. By this system, the

vaisya gets the advantage of no loan repayments, gets security, his own land

and animals, training and amenities e.g. a gurukula, where of course reading

and writing is not as important as learning a trade- so no unemployed youth

and all its problems like drug abuse, and a healthy way of life with plenty of

opportunity for social interaction. What family in its right mind would NOT be

attracted???

Comment:

This term King is not much accepted here in America, but everyone can

understand that the Deity is Krishna and that the brahmanas, the pujaris are

His personal servants. So to bring the produce to the temple and give to the

servants of the Lord all can accept this. Of course the temple manager will

take the produce and utilize it in Krishna's service as he sees fit and in

return he will arrange for various things that the village will require. The

problem is that in order to do this we have surrendered some privacy in order

to reciprocate with other village members. This is not an easy thing and it is

the hold up at present. Everyone is thinking that 'I am the king in the castle

and no one can tell me how to do this and that, I can do it all myself.' In

addition some comforts have to be surrendered.

ys,

Rohita dasa

 

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