VRDG: Social

[Guest guest]

> haribol prabhus

> pamho agtsp

>

> You've mentioned tennents, but we find the whole tennancy thing a

> nightmare to establish. We also have huge problems in the back off zone

> and the breaking of principles. I think that this will be a hard sell in

> some temples and from previous history I would be cautious myself. There

> may be need to do a census of temple communities to view their feelings on

> this.

 

I also believe it is an important consideration to take a much larger cross

section of experience before trying to legislate all this.

 

Can you describe the problems you have had with tenants and the backoff

zone?

 

We also need to look at the recurrent theme of management in temples

> as if they are constantly disrupting rural development. Who is managing

> temples? Don't they have land committees and is management not made up of

> the department heads and chosen brahmins. Ideally this is the direction we

> are going in, and at the moment, although not perfect,we are focusing more

> than ever. Maybe the Rural Development Plan needs to have some broader

> aims to creating harmony otherwise we will have great devotee farmers who

> are insecure, and a temple community divorced from the congregation.

 

I agree, a holistic approach is required. IMHO rural community can only take

off in ISKCON when all the members try to understand it in its fullness and

act appropriately. This may take many years, it depends how open minded the

devotees can be.

 

Rural development will mirror

> current rural structures which are dying from out-migration, lack of

> identification by younger generations etc. unless the social structure is

> more focused than merely tolerence of anyone weilding a hoe.

 

Good points! Many ISKCON devotees have no clue at all as to the effect a

well balanced rural commmunity could have in this world. Srila Prabhupada

had the vision, somehow we have to convince our fellow prabhus of that

vision.

 

Your servant

Samba das

PS

I have also been observing the happenings on the conference, for me I have

not had the time to get into the technicalities in order to contribute, but

this text by Ananda Maya prabhu has struck a chord which I feel is

important if rural development is to happen in a mainstream way in ISCKON.

 

Personaly I cannot see how one can expect people to embrace rural life

without an understanding of its social implications. I worry that

legislating some rules might tend to stifle someones spontaneous move

towards simple life. Of course we do want to stop abuse, but a set of rules

without a move towards understanding the rural social context would be, I

feel, incomplete.