India a SPIRITUAL and economic superpower in 10 years?

[Guest guest]

Hi brethrin

 

I have heard many sadhus and saints, whether they be small and unknown, or big and popular like Swami Ramdev, Sai baba etc etc (regardless whether they are genuine or not) ALL SAYING that in the next 10 years the world will BOW to India as the spiritual hub and superpower of the world, as well as it being an econmoic superpower and the UK and USA will lose there positions. Why do they ALL seem to say this? Is it written somewhere? Is it in India's spiritual/destined fate in the kali yuga?

[AncientMariner]

 

Hi brethrin

 

I have heard many sadhus and saints, whether they be small and unknown, or big and popular like Swami Ramdev, Sai baba etc etc (regardless whether they are genuine or not) ALL SAYING that in the next 10 years the world will BOW to India as the spiritual hub and superpower of the world, as well as it being an econmoic superpower and the UK and USA will lose there positions. Why do they ALL seem to say this? Is it written somewhere? Is it in India's spiritual/destined fate in the kali yuga?

 

That looks like the direction to me, here is an interesting analysis:

 

 

 

"Srila Prabhupada's other main purpose in Hare Krishna Land was that people should come and study Bhagavad-gita As It Is and other Vedic literatures. When Srila Prabhupada laid the cornerstone for the temple, he invited the people of Bombay to come, spend the weekend and study Bhagavad-gita As It Is; and after they understood the Bhagavad-gita and began to practice the Bhagavad-gita, he wanted them to preach the message of Bhagavad-gita all over the world. Srila Prabhupada often gave the example of the blind man and the lame man in India. The blind man may be very strong and healthy but because he's blind he can't see, he doesn't know where to go, he can't make any progress; and the lame man, he may have very perfect vision but because he is lame, he is crippled, he also can't go anywhere. So if the blind man takes the lame man on his shoulders, then together they can go forward. So Srila Prabhupada compared India to the lame man, that India had spiritual vision, it knew where to go, but because of years of foreign domination and exploitation it was somewhat lame or crippled in a material sense or physical sense; and America was very powerful materially, very advanced technologically, but it lacked the vision of what the goal is and how to get there. So Srila Prabhupada said that if Indian culture and American technology combined, the combination could do wonders for the benefit of the whole world and the whole world could go forward. So Srila Prabhupada invited the people of Bombay to come, spend the weekend, study Bhagavad-gita As It Is, make their lives successful in Krishna consciousness, and then work for the benefit of others by spreading Krishna consciousness. He often quoted the verse from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, bharata-bhumite haila manusya-janma yara, janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara, that one should make one's life successful by Krishna consciousness and then render the best service to the human society by spreading Krishna consciousness."

 

[Guruvani]

I think the idea that India will become an economic superpower and a spiritual superpower at the same time is a contradiction in terms.

 

How can materialistic economic advancement do anything except diminish the spiritual culture of India?

 

How does following materialistic advancement in the model of the western world do anything for India except assualt the spiritual heritage of India?

 

As India becomes more materially advanced, the more materialistic the people will become.

Is that going to enhance India's spiritual culture?

 

If India wants to advance genuinely in culture, then India needs to do more for developing the village, agrarian communities and discourage people from coming to the big cities to make money in slave labor to corperate interests.

 

Advancement of "high-tech" civilization is the exact opposite of spiritual development.

 

Proposing that these two things can both progress in parallel lines is not the message of the sages and great spiritual thinkers of India.

 

Most likely, materialistic advancement in India will simply make India a fraud in claiming to be the spiritual cultural center of the world.

 

Maybe some compromise of trying to develop daiva-varnashram and village, agrarian communities can be made with something like what I will call the "High Tech Village" and be a good concept for taking the modern world back to the original and natural Vedic civilization where man, animal and the Earth worked in harmony to create a civilization based upon the spiritual advancement of human society.

 

Fuel shortages will change everything.

 

Around 2012, the Earth will shift on it's axis and all the oil reservoirs under the Earth will shift and render most drilling operations as useless.

Climactic cataclysms will bring the orgy of modern high tech advancement to a screeching halt.

 

Human society can't go on exploiting the Earth indefinitely.

Sooner or later the laws of nature will react just as severly as we are exploiting the Earth, which is very aggressively.

[AncientMariner]

 

I think the idea that India will become an economic superpower and a spiritual superpower at the same time is a contradiction in terms.

 

How can materialistic economic advancement do anything except diminish the spiritual culture of India?

 

How does following materialistic advancement in the model of the western world do anything for India except assualt the spiritual heritage of India?

 

As India becomes more materially advanced, the more materialistic the people will become.

Is that going to enhance India's spiritual culture?

 

If India wants to advance genuinely in culture, then India needs to do more for developing the village, agrarian communities and discourage people from coming to the big cities to make money in slave labor to corperate interests.

 

Advancement of "high-tech" civilization is the exact opposite of spiritual development.

 

Proposing that these two things can both progress in parallel lines is not the message of the sages and great spiritual thinkers of India.

 

Most likely, materialistic advancement in India will simply make India a fraud in claiming to be the spiritual cultural center of the world.

 

Maybe some compromise of trying to develop daiva-varnashram and village, agrarian communities can be made with something like what I will call the "High Tech Village" and be a good concept for taking the modern world back to the original and natural Vedic civilization where man, animal and the Earth worked in harmony to create a civilization based upon the spiritual advancement of human society.

 

Fuel shortages will change everything.

 

Around 2012, the Earth will shift on it's axis and all the oil reservoirs under the Earth will shift and render most drilling operations as useless.

Climactic cataclysms will bring the orgy of modern high tech advancement to a screeching halt.

 

Human society can't go on exploiting the Earth indefinitely.

Sooner or later the laws of nature will react just as severly as we are exploiting the Earth, which is very aggressively.

 

 

Gotta admit that is a good point you make and I found an article that addresses your same concerns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening our eyes to progress

 

Posted in Recent articles at 5:28 pm by Krishna Dharma

 

Recently Prince Charles, an avid advocate of organic farming, took his holistic message to India. On a visit to the Punjab he promoted his own “New Food Foundation” and inaugurated its Indian equivalent, the ‘Bhumi Vardaan Foundation”. Brightly garlanded with marigolds, and to the accompaniment of a cacophony of assorted instruments, he strolled about in the hot Punjabi sunshine sharing his thoughts on agriculture with local organic farmers.

 

Some might see a certain irony here. India has always been a mainly agrarian economy, with some 70% of its people still involved in producing food. A journey through the hinterlands of the great continent will reveal many a peaceful scene of simple villagers working the fields with their draft animals and their bare hands. Farming methods employed for millennia are in evidence throughout the land.

 

Sadly, times are changing. The last few decades have seen India’s leaders increasingly embracing the methods and machinery of the West. From mobile phones to combined harvesters to smoke belching factories, the benediction of modern technology is rapidly sweeping the country.

 

Naturally this is viewed as progress. India is coming “online” with the developed world and global companies are falling over themselves to get a slice of this huge new market. Even President Bush recently visited India to forge an “historic agreement” on trade and defence. During his trip he remarked, “Our (India and US) relationship has never been better. We will work together. There is no limit to what we can achieve.”

 

It is perhaps strange then that the future monarch of Britain, which after all instigated the industrial revolution now enveloping India, should visit that country to encourage more traditional practises. Of course, Prince Charles has never really been in step with the establishment, with his views on farming and indeed spirituality. His is a powerful voice that often resonates with the ’simple living, high thinking’ message of the Vedas, but it seems he may be shouting into the wind in India today, as the wheels of technological advancement roll inexorably onward.

 

But is this really advancement? The desired objective is of course economic growth — more wealth and facility for all. Vedic wisdom, however, holds that such growth and opulence comes from God, from our following his directions and working within the framework of natural laws he has created. By flouting these laws and going all out for material gain we ultimately bring about nothing but suffering. Srila Prabhupada explains this in the Srimad Bhagavatam:

 

“Human prosperity flourishes by natural gifts and not by gigantic industrial enterprises. The gigantic industrial enterprises are products of a godless civilization, and they cause the destruction of the noble aims of human life. The more we go on increasing such troublesome industries to squeeze out the vital energy of the human being, the more there will be unrest and dissatisfaction of the people in general, although a few only can live lavishly by exploitation. The natural gifts such as grains and vegetables, fruits, rivers, the hills of jewels and minerals, and the seas full of pearls are supplied by the order of the Supreme, and as He desires, material nature produces them in abundance or restricts them at times.”

 

With just a little thought we can see how this is true. Despite whatever technologies we may develop, if there is drought and famine we are in serious trouble and can only pray. No factory will ever be able to produce food or water, nor indeed cotton, silk, metals, minerals, jewels or any other natural resource we require or desire.

 

Atheistic technology simply creates an illusion of progress. Sure, there are greater immediate gains, but in the long term the results are catastrophic, as we are now beginning to see. It is simply not sustainable, as Prince Charles is rightly pointing out. Of all places, India — home of the Bhagavad-gita — should be most aware of this truth. The Gita makes it clear that only by divine sacrifice and worship of the Lord can we ever be happy. The Gita’s greatest ambassador, Srila Prabhupada, came from India to bring this message to the West, and as a result we are starting to come to our senses. How sad then to see India moving in the opposite direction.

 

When Prabhupada came to the West he used a metaphor to describe his mission. “The West is the blind man and India the lame but sighted man. If the blind man carries the lame man then both can make progress.” Things have moved on and the lame man is fast becoming strong, but let’s hope that in the process he does not lose his vision. Let’s pray that both East and West open their eyes to Krishna’s messages in the Gita. Then, as President Bush suggested, there really will be “no limit to what we can achieve.”

[theist]

"No man can serve two masters." It is not possible to be a spiritually minded and materially minded at the same time.

 

On the news this morning they showed endless pictures of people who stormed the department store doors at 5am to get special deals. They were frenzied. Some stayed all night in the parking lot to get in the front of the lines. Madness.

If India becomes addicted to materialism like this then India will become as dead as America spiritually. The two don't mix.

 

Where material life and spiritual life come together is called karma-yoga. And karma-yoga demands renuciation of the fruits of action at the least and in it's highest form the actions are done in Krsna consciousness. Will India become a nation of karma-yogis? Only if they do will they become dominant in both spheres.

 

Yes India needs to build up a first class infrastructure but not all the work to accumulate toys and trinkets and more of everything than one needs.

[Guest guest]

I fully agree with this view of the changing face of India.

Where was America when India was struggling to get out from under the rock of material poverty? It's more than a little coincidence that America cuddles up to India as she starts to mature economicly. It would be fine if they only wanted to share her spiritual wealth, but I doubt that is Mr Bushs' motive, even though they be in need of some new friends.

[Guruvani]

Indias great culture and tradition of strong family ties and a strong emphasis on education has fostered a very educated and bright modern generation, so much so that now there is an epidemic of well-educated single women in their mid to late twenties that cannot find a husband and don't have the domestic skills that traditional wives in India once had.

 

Indians are using their great intellectual capacity in High Tech education and advancement of science, at a great loss to India's spiritual culture.

 

I guess compard to Tokyo and the great cities in Japan, much of India is still in the stone age, but India is trying her best to show her great intellectual treasures through the advancement of material high tech science.

 

India is just imitating the west.

Japan actually IS a greatly materialistic civilization.

 

All these great materialistic civilizations will face unspeakable destruction when Earth changes alter the balance of the petroleum reserves and oil cannot be pumped up to meet the demands.

[hindweb]

As a resident Indian, I can vouch that India may be an economic super power in the coming days because of the outsourcing wave and the excellent educated work force we have. But, the spiritual super power is out of question since the government is mostly anti hindu and pro minority who feels anything they do that is associated with Hindus will erode their vote bank.

 

Sanatana dharma

[Guest guest]

 

I think the idea that India will become an economic superpower and a spiritual superpower at the same time is a contradiction in terms.

 

How can materialistic economic advancement do anything except diminish the spiritual culture of India?

 

How does following materialistic advancement in the model of the western world do anything for India except assualt the spiritual heritage of India?

 

As India becomes more materially advanced, the more materialistic the people will become.

Is that going to enhance India's spiritual culture?

 

If India wants to advance genuinely in culture, then India needs to do more for developing the village, agrarian communities and discourage people from coming to the big cities to make money in slave labor to corperate interests.

 

Advancement of "high-tech" civilization is the exact opposite of spiritual development.

 

Proposing that these two things can both progress in parallel lines is not the message of the sages and great spiritual thinkers of India.

 

Most likely, materialistic advancement in India will simply make India a fraud in claiming to be the spiritual cultural center of the world.

 

Maybe some compromise of trying to develop daiva-varnashram and village, agrarian communities can be made with something like what I will call the "High Tech Village" and be a good concept for taking the modern world back to the original and natural Vedic civilization where man, animal and the Earth worked in harmony to create a civilization based upon the spiritual advancement of human society.

 

Fuel shortages will change everything.

 

Around 2012, the Earth will shift on it's axis and all the oil reservoirs under the Earth will shift and render most drilling operations as useless.

Climactic cataclysms will bring the orgy of modern high tech advancement to a screeching halt.

 

Human society can't go on exploiting the Earth indefinitely.

Sooner or later the laws of nature will react just as severly as we are exploiting the Earth, which is very aggressively.

 

i agree materialistic gains will dminish spiriualistic, but in the previous yugas they were very advanced and they didnt diminish as much. i think the spirituality is still there in many part of unmodern india, and will remain for some time. whhile other parts take india to a new economoic era

[Guest guest]

There's no problem with utilizing this material wealth to propagate spiritual values, the only problem that arises is when our whole life becomes absorbed in increasing material gain for self centred ends. Therefore misappropriating God's energy for our own gratification instead of everything being God centric.

 

We'll find that many spiritualists in the west who are disillusioned with their environment will find themselves drawn to the holy dhams of India or endeavour to establish mini dhams in their western homelands. Likewise those more materialistic Indians will be drawn to western environments to enjoy the fruits of their labour like many western materialists.

Such is the faith and attraction of the soul being drawn from one body-mind-ego to another in this material world. We get a suitable environment to accomodate that.

 

Srimate Laxmi Devi is no doubt increasing her booty through the Indian populous to help with the propagation of the Indian culture to the whole world, which is not such a negative thing as any westerner who travelled through India 20 years ago can attest. It was difficult to even find a public toilet or water we could trust, what to speak of a food that would stay in the system long enough to assimilate. So with wealth will come some material comforts and infastructure that are welcome to many a pilgrim and tourist.

 

Maybe even the great Ambassador will be streamlined into a flowerplane to cut back unbearable emmissions in the major cities. And whether they like it or not a tastefully designed freeway would go a long way to sort out the maddness on Indian roads as it increases it's production.

It will probably always remain the spiritual capitol of the world as so many saints and avatars have chosen to incarnate there and the tirthas manifest around their appearances.

[Guruvani]

India’s power generation is today 15 to 20% below the requirements. This results in perpetual power shortage and outages. This gap will grow in next 10 years, as India catches up the developed world. About 65% of power in India is generated by coal fired thermal power stations. They operate well below their capacity with load factor of 40 to 60%. This is a dismal performance. Bad management and old and outdated equipment are the main reasons for this poor performance. Remaining 35% of the power is generated by gas and hydroelectric projects. The latter are dual-purpose projects, which require 10 years of political planning and 15 years of construction and startup. The gas-operated power plants are based on either on LNG or locally available gas. Hydroelectric power provides 15% of India’s power needs with gas providing additional 10%. A mere 3% of the power is generated by nuclear energy. A cluster of local captive power plants built to meet local needs provide the remaining power needs. Some are based on fuel oil and others on variety of other fuels.