Guest guest Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 Dear all, Presented below is what I have come up so far for a basic outline of the VRDG. It is a frame to alter and form into a framework. The principles should be universal, comprehensive and easy to follow. I think what I have is the former two, but in my sesquipidilian verbosum (lots of big words) I even lose myself at times. So if the wood can be seen for the trees then if it an acceptable format to some degree then it will need to be massaged to form understandable principles. I have tried to stick to Prabhupada, the Vedas, the goswamis, etc., but with a modern contextual usage of vocabulary. I have made 4 forms of principle - ideal, recommended, permitted, and not allowed. The ideal is meant to represent the spiritual form, the recommended the place Prabhupada wanted to form in Varnasrama, permitted is where most of us are on a path of some form, and not allowed is karmi no-plan life. Mark To reinvigorate ISKCON farm communities in accordance with the wishes of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, The ISKCON Ministry of Cow Protection and Agriculture presents a Rural Development Plan to establish sustainable principles and practices of land use which encourage participation in lifetime-protected cow-based agriculture offering quality of life aspirations to the participants. The ISKCON Rural Development Plan is to follow along the lines of a mainstream Sustainability Development Plan. Sustainability development plans are used across the range of civil society - in Governments, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and in Business. They have a logical structure that is easy to follow and that many devotees will be familiar with from working life. They are easy to translate from a solely ISKCON concern into a more secular dimension should people choose to. The structure of the ISKCON Rural Development Plan as a Sustainable Development Plan is to be seen as follows: It is to be Sustainable, therefore it must balance environmental, social and economic land-use issues as part of the spiritual instructions outlined by Srila Prabhupada; It is to follow a Development process delineating the starting position we are in, the end result we want to see, and the means to get to the desired end; It is a Plan to outline a coherent and concise Vision backed up with timely and practicable Mission Statements with their subsequent detailed Action Plans. The Vision: The Vision is to see ISKCON farms managed according to established sustainable principles and practices of land use which encourage participation in lifetime-protected cow-based agriculture offering quality of life aspirations to the participants. The Vision of the ISKCON Rural Development Plan clearly states the goal that the plan seeks to achieve. To outline specific Mission Statements to attain to this Vision it is necessary to delineate, qualify and quantify the desired characteristics of the type of land use, economic model and quality of life aspirations that the vision outlines. By observing the present state of development in ISKCON farms plus observing Indian rural life with the eyes of the teachings of Srila Prabhupada it is possible to obtain environemental, sociological and economic principles and subsequent level descriptors such principles would manifest from the non-acceptable to the ideal. Environmental Principle: Land Fertility – as measured by quantity and quality of living forms in geographical area. Ideal: Principle: A biodiverse plagio-climatic 3D landscape providing sustenance to the whole food web. As from Om Purnam – Everything is a complete whole and everything that comes from the whole is also complete, if one lives according to the complete nature taking only that which is allotted then all is well. Practice: Description as in Brahma Samhita (Cintamini prakritir sadmasu…) Recommended Principle: A biodiverse plagio-climatic 3D landscape providing sustenance to the whole food web. Practice: Whether built up from desert to monoculture or thinned down from dense forest thicket, the practice is to create and manage a landscape using domesticated animals, especially the cow, allowing for biodiversity in an agroforestal setting combining silvopastoral rangelands and silvoarable cropping lands as well as dense high forest, low forest, sparse forest and open pasture. The latter should be in accordance with the lands topography, water resources, energy lines, microclimates, using species of flora and fauna in accordance with the ecosystem within the biome. Human, domesticated animals, and local flora and fauna should derive most sustenance from within the local area. Permitted Principle: An evolving biodiverse plagio-climatic 3D landscape providing sustenance to the whole food web, with carefully mapped out and managed successional progression. Practice: As recommended, but understanding that economic and social constraints can limit the move towards said landscape. This may entail a greater reliance on monocultures as cash or subsistence crops. A plan to diversify production and the landscape along its successional route must be presented. Not Allowed Principle: A biodiverse plagio-climatic 3D landscape providing sustenance to the whole food web, with carefully mapped out and managed successional progression. Practice: As permitted, understanding that economic and social constraints can limit the move towards said landscape entailing a greater reliance on monocultures as cash or subsistence crops. But with no plan to diversify production and the landscape along its successional route. Economic Principle: Utility of natural resources and their exchanges – as measured by quantity and quality of resources utilised and exchanged. Exchange methods shown as: Reciprocal (peasant) economy > moneyed exchanges Import-substituted self-sufficiency > export-orientated market economy Ideal Principle: A reciprocal economy where all exchanges are that of relationships in the 5 categories of love, as described by the 5 goswamis. Practice: Description of the goods and services exchanged within the 5 moods. Recommended Principle: An economy with an optimised balance between primarily self-sufficiency and needed trade, with an optimised balance between reciprocal and moneyed exchanges. Practice: Description of exchanges of goods and services within the system (self sufficiency) and without of the system (trade). Permitted Principle: An economy with a balance moving towards primarily self-sufficiency and away from unnecessary trade, with a balance moving towards reciprocal not moneyed exchanges. Practice: Description of exchanges of goods and services within the system (self sufficiency) and without of the system (trade). Not Allowed Principle: An economy with mostly unnecessary trade and no movement towards primarily self-sufficiency, with mostly moneyed exchanges and no movement towards reciprocal exchanges. Practice: Description of exchanges of goods and services within the system (self sufficiency) and without of the system (trade). Social Principle: Meeting basic human needs – as measured by ability to keep body, mind and soul together in peace Basic human needs shown as: Eating – dietary needs, Sleeping – housing, clothing and heating needs, Mating - sexual and family needs, Defending - needs to protect vital self and communal interests, Educating - needs to educate in material and spiritual matters. Ideal Principle: To maintain lifeform in bodily casing with minimum effort, fuss and anxiety. Practice: Description of methods of limiting effort, fuss and anxiety to maintain body. Recommended Principle: To maintain lifeform in bodily casing with minimum effort, fuss and anxiety, yet taking into consideration prior entanglements and conditioning, with an adhered to plan to disentangle and recondition lifestyle. Practice: Description of methods of limiting effort, fuss and anxiety to maintain body. Permitted Principle: To maintain lifeform in bodily casing with minimum effort, fuss and anxiety, taking into consideration prior entanglements and conditioning, with a plan to disentangle and recondition lifestyle, though not fully followed. Practice: Description of methods of limiting effort, fuss and anxiety to maintain body. Not Allowed Principle: To not bother to maintain lifeform in bodily casing with minimum effort, fuss and anxiety. Not taking into consideration prior entanglements and conditioning, with no plan to disentangle and recondition lifestyle. Practice: Description of methods of not limiting effort, fuss and anxiety to maintain body. Great stuff seeking new owners in Auctions! http://auctions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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