By Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana das)
As reported in an article by Charles Arthur in the June 8, 1999 edition of The Independent in England, new information has been gathered by scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India, regarding how the glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating. As we had explained, the glacier above Gangotri, from which the Ganges River starts, has retreated about one kilometer in the past 20 years or so. In fact, it has been determined that these glaciers are retreating faster than anywhere else on the planet. Professor Syed Hasnain, the main author of the report, relates that all of the glaciers in the middle Himalayas are retreating. He warns that many of the glaciers in this region could disappear by 2035. New fears are that the meltwater could produce catastrophic floods as mountain lakes overflow.
As I explained in my book, The Vedic Prophecies: A New Look into the Future, the Vedic texts reveal that such holy rivers as the Ganges will dry up and become only a series of small lakes, at best. In this way, it may practically disappear, as did the Sarasvati River. This latest report surely seems to show the possibility of this happening sooner than expected. This also shows the reason that the origination mouth of the Ganges, at the ice cave called Gaumukh above Gangotri, is retreating farther away as the years go by. So those travelers who wish to journey to this mouth of the holy Ganga will have to travel farther up into the hills as time goes by. This also indicates why this mouth of the Ganges is always changing in its appearance.
Getting back to the way the glaciers are retreating, at the University of Colorado in Boulder, a research team has found that the mountain glaciers are diminishing in the West as well. The Alps have lost nearly 50% of their ice in the last 100 years. The Major glacier at Mt. Kenya has lost 8% of its size, and 14 of the 27 glaciers in Spain are gone.
The disappearing of the mountain glaciers is also reported in an article by Lily Whiteman in the January/February, 1999 issue of National Parks. It stated that there were more than 150 glaciers in Glacier National Park in Montana back in 1850. Now there are only 50, and it is expected that these will also disappear within the next four decades. This is primarily blamed on the increase in global temperatures by only one degree since the 1800’s. Glaciers, because of being too solid and stable to show short-term variations in climate, are particularly good barometers of global warming.
In regard to the Vedic tradition, it explains that the Ganges fell from heaven to earth and was caught on the head of Lord Shiva. This was to prevent the intense damage that the force of it would cause to the earth if it fell directly on to the planet. This took place at Gangotri, where the water backed up into the mountains where much of it froze. The course of the Ganges is said to still flow through the universe and come down to the earth planet. However, much of the river water comes from underneath the glacier. If the glacier at Gaumukh does continue to recede or melt away, and if the Ganges would ever cease its flow or begin to dry up, it would certainly mean the end of an era and a drastic affect on the Vedic spiritual culture as we have known it in India. Indeed, it would never be the same.
2007 Update
I visited Gangotri again in June of 2007, and it was easy to see that the Gaumukh glacier is melting faster than ever. The water that flowed downstream and over the falls at Gangotri was really fierce. This does not mean that there was merely more water in the river, but that the glacier was melting faster than previously. There are a few reasons for this.
One of the issues is that India is building dams on all of its rivers. Along the Ganga there is a dam at Tehri, which has created a green lake that backs up for miles along the river. As was explained to me, this lake now somehow attracts more rain to that area, leaving the clouds drained by the time they get up toward Gangotri. This also leaves the region of Gangotri and Gaumukh drier than before. This also prevents the Gaumukh glacier from being replenished with the rain or snow that it normally would receive. Thus, the rate of it receding away from Bhojbasa or Gangotri is increasing. This is not only from the general affects of global warming, but now also due to not being replenished by rains and snowfall that add water to the glacier. So some people are thinking that the Ganga may reduce its flow, or even stop flowing if this effect increases, in as little as 10-15 years.
When I was in Gangotri ten years ago, the Ganga had a steady but kind of meandering flow over the falls. But now there is lots of water that descends rapidly and powerfully. The village people in the area are simple and feel that it’s just more water in the flow. They don’t see how this may indeed affect the future of the glacier. However, some people do understand that this is a bad sign over the long term, and that it may only deplete the glacier that much sooner.
India is making electricity from its hydro-electric dams along its rivers, so much so that it is selling electricity to other countries, even China. Yet it is odd that they cannot even supply steady electricity to places like Gangotri, which is in a blackout about half the time. Other cities in Uttar Pradesh have a similar fate with regular blackouts. But the building of dams is causing environmental changes, the future affects of which are unsure. Thus, as the glaciers recede and dry, the source of the river water will begin to disappear.
This was further explained in a New York Times article on July 17, 2007, by Somini Sengupta. D.P. Dobhal, 44, a glaciologist with the Wadia Institute for Himalayan Geology, has spent the last three years investigating the Chorabari glacier, the waters of which form the Mandakini River. He reports that the glacier itself has receded 90 feet in three years. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 860 feet from where the glacier starts today.
The article goes on to say that a recent study by the Indian Space Research Organization, using satellite imaging to gauge the changes to 466 glaciers, has found more than a 20 percent reduction in size from 1962 to 2001, with bigger glaciers breaking into smaller pieces, each one retreating faster than its parent. A separate study found the Parbati glacier, one of the largest in the area, to be retreating by 170 feet a year during the 1990s. Another glacier that Mr. Dobhal has tracked, known as Dokriani, lost 20 percent of its size in three decades. Between 1991 and 1995, its beginning or snout inched back 55 feet each year.
Similar losses are being seen around the world. Lonnie G. Thompson, a glaciologist at Ohio State University, found a 22 percent loss of ice on the Qori Kalis glacier in Peru between 1963 and 2002. He called it “a repeating theme whether you are in tropical Andes, the Himalayas or Kilimanjaro in Africa.”
A vast and ancient sheet of ice, a glacier is in effect the planet’s most sensitive organ, like an aging knee that feels the onset of winter. Its upper reaches accumulate snow and ice when it is cold; its lower reaches melt when it is warm. Its long-term survival depends on the balance between the buildup and the melting. Glaciers worldwide serve as a barometer for global warming, which has, according to a report this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, been spurred in recent decades by rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
Even the Himalayas have grown measurably warmer. A recent study found that mean air temperature in the northwestern Himalayan range had risen by 2.2 degrees Celsius in the last two decades, a rate considerably higher than the rate of increase over the last 100 years.
India’s public response so far has been to blame the industrialized world for rising emissions and resist any mandatory caps of its own. India’s per capita share of emissions is one-twentieth that of industrialized countries, the government points out, going on to argue that any restrictions on emissions would stunt its economic growth. And yet, as critics say, India’s rapid economic advance, combined with a population of more than a billion people and growing, will soon make it a far bigger contributor to greenhouse gases. More to the point, India stands to bear some of the most devastating consequences of human-induced climate change.
* * *
It is also interesting that in 2007, many parts of India were affected by floods from the monsoons, such as in Gujarat, Bihar, Orissa, Kerala, Assam, etc. Yet, in places like Madhya Pradesh, they are facing an acute shortage of drinking which has reached crisis levels. As reported in India Tribune, June 23, 2007, households of many towns in the vicinity of Bhopal are receiving only a trickle of water, and that only once in every three days.
In the rural areas where water is only supplied once in a week, it is more alarming. When it is available, it comes through for only 30-45 minutes. Officials estimate that nearly 65 million people, or 70 percent of its population, are enveloped by this crisis. Furthermore, the quality of the water is also troubling, where sewage is getting mixed in to the water in many places, such as Bhopal.
Bhopal is also hit by this water crisis, but mainly because of its population increase which has grown from 800,000 to 2.4 million in only the last decade. With such a population increase in just ten years, then it could grow to over 5 million in another decade. If other districts in India are growing as quickly, then the water crisis will only continue to spread.
This brings to mind the predictions that, just as there may be wars over oil today, there will be water wars in the future.
As the government of India is already rationing water in as many as 115 urban centers, tens of thousands of people are buying water from private sources. For example, six families in Bhopal are jointly purchasing water from a tanker for Rs. 500 every third day or so. But another problem that India is facing is that ground water levels have been receding for years, so much so that even thousands of hand pumps are no longer operational because they no longer can reach the water. Thus, this water problem seems like it will only increase if some serious strategy is not developed soon.
These problems with water are due to lack of sacrifices. The Vedic tradition is based on sacrifice. Indeed, nearly half of the verses of Rgveda use the word sacrifice in some form or another. The yajna for this age is sankirtana, so we can stave off the drying of the Ganga via sankirtana.
Another good book that addresses environmental problems with the Yamuna is “River of Love in an Age of Pollution” by David L. Haberman. In that book Haberman puts the blame on impersonalists. Roughly speaking, “If all is one, why not pollute?”
Vaishnavas have a responsibility to speak out against pollution of the holy places, identify causes like impersonalism, and spread the sankirtana sacrifice to counter the ill effects.
Yes! Finally some voice with the reason. Thank you very much Dayananda Prabhu. When devotees try to blame so called “global worming” for such fenomena, it’s like preaching mayavada philosophy.
Climate depend on demigods, not on CO2 or CH4 emission! If the Lord is satysfy, they are satysfy.
Look what is happening in Bharata Varsha from karmic point of view. Inhabitants giving up dharma, accepting Muslim religion (Pakistan was India once and Pakistanis are Hindu by race, aren’t they?), Western materialism and so on. Now we have the results.
So, would you like to do something to improve global situation?
Distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books.
You want to stop global worming?
Distribute books.
You want cow protection?
Distribute books.
You want to stop animal slaughter?
Distribute books.
You want to stop war?
Distribute books
You want to stop crime?
Distribute books.
This list can go on and on and on and on….
Once people embrace chanting and vedic philosophy their conciousness and karma will change and we start have some hope to have peaceful living for spiritual perfection, without much disturbance.
Let’s distribute some more books :)
your humble servant
Dhamesvara Gaura das
Yes prabhus, the problem with lack of good drinking water in many parts of the world is caused by a lack of sacrifice. But what is that needed sacrifice? The sacrifice of money spent on long term, environmentally solid solutions. That is a sacrifice as well. When you read the descriptions of Vedic cities in the Bhagavatam, the proper water infrastructure was there: aqueducts, cysterns, lakes and ponds, as well as canals for removal of waste water. It is not that the inhabitants simply relied on chanting the mantras and pouring ghee into the fire to solve their water and sewage problems. No, the cities were scientifically designed and built to address environmental needs and money was spent to keep the infrastructure in pace with the population growth.
As to the impersonalism being the root cause of irresponsible attitudes such as: “If all is one, why not pollute?” I would like to point out that in our practical history there were many members of our movement who preached in word and deed: “We are devotees. We can do anything we want for Krsna”, which often included socially irresponsible behavior.
Lets not be simplistic in our approach to these important issues. Otherwise nobody will take us seriously. I have worked all my adult life in the area of environmental protection and have witnessed many attempts to fix various problems with a lot of enthusiasm and very little practical knowledge. All such attempts failed. Sure, we can boil down every problem to a lack of Krsna consciousness and every solution to performing more sankirtan but as a society we must also spend money to design and build proper environmental infrastructure to meet thebasic needs of growing population.
Dhamesvara,
Thank you prabhu. In a famous quote Prabhupada said “distribute book” three times, and you have said it five times! Book distribution is the essence, the basis of our philosophy and practice. One can adhere to this principle fanatically, moderately, or peripherally; however, the principle itself remains the same. Yajna has always been the true focus of society; ISKCON is a society; yajna in this age is sankirtana; and book distribution is the most important aspect of sankirtana. It’s just that simple.
Those who follow the principle of sankirtana are acting responsibly in spiritual life; those who do not practice sankirtana are not acting responsibly in their relationship with the parampara.
ys, d
We Also Must Show by Example
Hare Krishna. In response to the idea that distributing books will solve all of the world’s problems, that certainly is an important task and a must for distributing spiritrual knowledge, which is indeed most important for curing social ills of all kinds. All the knowledge is in the books.
However, you must take it a step farther by also living according to the books. Teach by example, show what needs to be done. Develop solutions and action plans according to the spiritual knowledge. For example, if you spend all your time to distribute books but your temple dumpster is still filled with styrofoam plates and cups, or if you still have to drive in heavy traffic ten miles to purchase all of your bhoga and supplies from Costco or Sam’s Club, and so on, then you are not setting a good example. You may distribute so many books half the time, but the other half of your activities may contribute as much as anyone else to the polution in the world and spoiling the environment. We must be practical about this and not only distribute the knowledge but show people how to use it in a practical way. We must show the alternatives.
Srila Prabhupada once said that history would record that the Hare Krishna Movement saved society by promoting the agrarian lifestyle. And yes, that lifestyle would certainly solve many of the world’s problems. But how many devotees are doing that? Srila Prabhupada said to distribute his books, but that devotees should also know what is in them. And knowing what is in them means you adjust your life accordingly and show others how to do the same. There must be practical examples to show people what to do to solve their problems.
Srila Prabhupada also said that he accomplished only half of what he wanted. One thing being the establishment of temples and book distribution, which he did very well, and the other being the establishment of Varnashrama dharma, which means setting the example by showing the lifestyle, which he still wanted to do. And again, how many temples or devotees are really trying to do this?
Book distribution is a necessity, but for some people if this is the only solution you have got to offer, it will sound like the same old Hare Krishna rhetoric. There is more to solving and showing how to solve the world’s problems than that. How many people truly read in this day and age, or can even understand high philosophy when they do read it? There must be the examples for solving the problems, and not just saying that talking about global warming is like impersonalism. These days an increasing number of people are not going to follow or understand that line of thinking, so how many people are you really interested in reaching?
If anything, by submitting this article I was showing that the prophecies in the Puranas are indeed coming true. Call it global warming, call it materialism, call it atheism or whatever you want. But it all comes down to the false aims and misdirected actions of society. And we are the ones who have to show how to correct that. And the most important way to correct it is to keep the spiritual tradition alive and well. Thus, we have to promote it, but also know and live it. And pointing out a problem and including what others say about it and the research they have done is not impersonalism, as one person seems to suggest. It is reporting on the problem and what is happening to bring about an awareness of the issue. If we have the spiritual knowledge, then we don’t merely need to distribute the knowledge, but we need to put it to use to show others how they must also live and use the knowledge that we have.
We need to work on many levels. If you distribute books, that’s great, we need that. If someone else wants to start an organic garden to offer good foods to the Deities, that’s great, we need that. If someone else wants to start a school for their children, that’s great, we need that. If someone wants to start a free food/prasada distribution program, that’s great, we need that, and we all know how influential that can be. If someone wants to start Varnashrama, that’s great, Srila Prabhupada also wanted that. If someone wants to preach, that’s also great, and we all know the need for that. If someone wants to help warn others about these environmental or other problems we are facing, that’s also great and may indeed enforce the need to take this spiritual knowledge more seriously. So we need to work on many levels.
There is something everyone can do, and we must have room for everyone. Changing the world is not a one man operation, nor is it dependent only on one solution. I was hoping that by now, in the development of the Hare Krishna Movement, there would be more devotees who would understand this rather than simply emphasizing one service, as if what anyone else does is not important. I know we can do better than this. We have to be able to present practical solutions to accompany the spiritual knowledge in which people of all levels and backgrounds can participate. Otherwise they will look at us without any understanding of what we have to offer and like we are only some fringe group catering to a few. This has been a problem with the movement for a long time. We have to be able to connect with a wider group of people than we have been. And if we only have one way of looking at things, that will not help.
So what is your solution? What is your action plan? What are the suggestions and recommendations that you have to offer others? We cannot merely distribute books and expect others to come up with these things. Some people might, but for the most part we have to do that ourselves along with our book distribution. We have to be the ones to provide solutions on all levels if we really expect to attract people to the practical knowledge and way of life that we have to offer, and that Srila Prabhupada gave to us. That is how we benefit society at large and how we keep Srila Prabhupada’s legacy alive. And I will be glad to work with anyone who shares this vision.
Hare Krishna,
Sri Nandanandana dasa
Kulapavana,
Thank you for your intelligent and experienced response. You mentioned “simplistic in approach”. I acknowledge that complex problems likely require complex solutions. However, people, whether they know it or not, approach most problems with a methodology. Science has scientific method. Vaishnavism has another methodology, one that in some cases militates against scientific method. In fact, how can we trust environmental solutions from governments, industries, and sciences that have caused or contributed significantly to the problems? These entities, including science, should be held accountable and supervised using Vaishnva methologies.
I’m impressed by Palmer’s “Faith in Conservation”, and HRH Prince Phillip’s subtle indictment of Western Christianity. In addition, Prof David Haberman writes (in River of Love) that White, a seminal 1960s environmentalist, wrote that Western Christianity’s strong anthropomorphism has contributed significantly to destructive practices. White also wrote, “more science and technology are not going to get us out of the present crisis […]”
In my original post, I cited Haberman’s criticism of impersonalism. I believe, along with White, Palmer, Haberman, and Ranchor Prime, that one’s worldview, and indeed the collective worldview of one’s community and country, has everything to do with one’s relationship with the environment.
My presentation of the worldview of Vaishnavism is as a culture of sacrifice. Sacrifice alone can direct a society away from greed and selfishness, and toward long-term goals, selfless goals, and worship of the Supreme Lord and His agents. Sacrifice is the Vedic culture, and the sankirtana sacrifice is the Gaudiya Vaishnava culture. (Yes, that was a simplification).
BTW, my “thank you” above was not a formality. I meant it.
Ys, d
Dear Kulapavana Prabhu,
with all do respect, I disagree. You mistaking the yugas. When all humans fallow the Vedic culture and if they don’t, they have four legs and tail, you can think about infrastructure.
In this age, for example, USA is facing shortages of water more often – unerground lakes are drying, rain is less sufficient, just read gov. reports – and there is no shortages of money or infrastructure.
It’s the consciousness. Wasting water on meat processing and heavy industry. Wasting oil on mindless commuting, just to make some more money in “better job”. Importing goods from far distances to “improve” yor life. Start simple living, cut on sense gratification, everything change. And if devotees behave “socially irresponcible”, means they don’t understand their own philosophy. Happens.
In this age the sacred ghee is Srila Prabhupada’s books, sankirtan devotee is the spoon and conciousness of Earth inhabitants is sacrificial fire.
If you’d like to sacrifice some money, I humbly suggest, better buy set of Prabhupada’s books and donate them to your local library. I bet bucket of your favouirte sweets, it will have much stronger ecological effect than anything else.
Let’s distribute some more books!
your humble servant
Dhamesvara Gaura das
Dear Dayananda Prabhu,
I am NOT minimizing the importance of the Sankirtan Yajna, be it book distribution or public chanting of the Holy Name. I certainly think as a movement we dont do enough of it. However, a specific problem requires a specific solution. For example, we could SHOW the rest of the world how to solve water and sanitation problems in the Holy Dhams where our presence is already significant, such as Vrindavan and Mayapur. Building amusement parks with Krishna centered themes is nice, but what does it tell us about our priorities? Building and maintaining water supply infrastructure is a most basic human need. Amusement is very secondary to such needs. How will people in general understand the order of priorities if we as a movement have trouble with that? Have we not performed enough proper yajnas to have the intelligence to figure that out?
When Kazi’s decission threatened sankirtan movement, Mahaprabhu had a very specific answer to that problem. He did not say: “Just chant Hare Krsna and everything will fix itself”. No, He had a specific plan and He carried it out perfectly.
I gave you the example of Vedic cities which were designed specifically to address the water and sewage practicalities. Modern cities must take very similar measures to supply citizens with clean water and waste removal. There is no way around it.
Prabhu, I truly appreciate your steadfast and exemplary service over the years. That shows the caliber of a devotee you are. I sincerely hope you take a moment to reflect on the things I wrote.
your servant
Dear Dhamesvara Gaura Prabhu,
Thank you for your criticism. Only the honest opinion of other devotess can help us notice our faults.
Yes, these days I no longer translate, print, and distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books like I used to. All glories to devotees who are still performing these services every day, or at least once in a while!
In my daily service to society I make sure the water they drink is safe, and that the sewage they discharge into the lakes and rivers will not harm the environment. It is a very mundane job but someone has to do it. People I work with know I’m a devotee and they respect Vaishnavism because I take my work seriously, and see it as a service to humanity and not a mere way to earn a living.
We all have a role in Krsna’s plan and we should try to fulfil that role the best we can.
Your servant
Dayananda dasa wrote: For a start, oil companies, automobile manufacturers, and slaughterhouses should pay for the mortal damages they have caused to nature. Cigarette companies have paid billions for contributing to cancer deaths. Crime organizations are held accountable in America under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) act. However, some organizations remain free to commit deadly crimes against nature; indeed they threaten all of humanity. For decades oil companies and auto manufacturers have heavily contributed to the destruction of the environment and disruption of the global climate systems. Such damage is far greater than that of cigarette companies and crime organizations.
Natural resources like oil do not belong to humanity. They are under control of the earth and the higher powers. Similarly, humans do not have the right to kill animals without restriction. Mass killing and overexploitation are crimes. The corporations that disrupt nature should pay reparations to humanity, the earth, and the higher powers. The monies should first be used for grand sacrifices to the Supreme Lord and his agents who are in charge of the earth’s resources. After the sacrifices are completed, the remnants–food, cloth, shelter, and so on, can be distributed for the welfare of the people.
Dear Sri Nandanandana Prabhu,
Thank you for raising these important issues. I very much agree with you when you say:
“We have to be the ones to provide solutions on all levels if we really expect to attract people to the practical knowledge and way of life that we have to offer, and that Srila Prabhupada gave to us. That is how we benefit society at large and how we keep Srila Prabhupada’s legacy alive.”
Yes, we cannot simply rely on making promises that somehow things will get better in the future when more people take up Krsna consciousness. We must show the society in general that we can indeed SOLVE the problems facing us, here and now. The quality of water and santitation in India’s holy places is one of such problems and actually solving it would go a long way in establishing the credibility of our movement as a serious player on the social arena.
I am also ready to work with others who share that vision.
Your servant
Kulapavana,
I don’t think we have much disagreement; however, I would characterize it like this: our lines of thinking are parallel, but not exactly the same. I view building temples and model communities like Vrindavan and Mayapur as sankirtan. My understanding of fundamental sankirtan is threefold: temples, public chanting, and book distribution. This understanding is partly because I joined the movement when there was not public chanting (next to none), no book distribution (next to none), but the sankirtana empasis (by Prabhupada) was on opening temples.
Beyond these three fundamentals, my understanding of sankirtana is any activity that glorifies Lord Krishna. On one hand, the fundamentals should be kept solid as a basis for other types of sankirtana; however, to limit sankirtana to the basis would, as you indicate, be ludicrous (my word, and my own opinion).
I think your suggestions are more inward looking, building on current ISKCON strategies and projects. My suggestion is for a new line of preaching. I suggest reaching out to “movers and shakers” of the environmental movement with our Vaishnava perspective on the environment, as per Palmer, Haberman, White, Ranchor, and others. I also urge ISKCON leaders to reach out to leaders of the Indian government and Indian society to say we will not tolerate pollution of the sacred places of India. You should be aware that one of the reasons that religions (including ISKCON) do not speak out against pollution is that they get large donations from businesses (or business owners) that heavily pollute.
I know my suggestions are controversial. First, they appear too conservative and fundamentalist, but they are not. Yes, they are conservatively based in Prabhupada’s teachings; however, my vision is bold and innovative. Second, the current trend in ISKCON is to improve existing structures and behaviors. I’m not suggesting that any of that stop. Such improvements are both required and highly professional–certainly blessed by Prabhupada. However, I believe it is time to introduce some innovative “old wine in a new bottle”. I am convinced it is time, especially in America, to become bold and asservice. The country is far too materialistic, and religious people, including Vaishnavas, are too complacent with the status quo.
ys, d
Dear Dayananda Prabhu,
I think I understand your idea a little better now.
My comment is that you still have to start somewhere, with a specific project and a specific objective. As in “Think globally, act locally” motto. No need to re-invent the wheel, such projects are undertaken all over the world, year after year. A successful project can put you on the map, and give credibility to your message and your method. In my opinion this is a practical test we cannot avoid if we want to be seen as a serious player and not just a group that promotes utopian solutions.
Perhaps I think small, but I am a very pragmatic person who thinks that you have to start small in order to become big some day. Before you set out to hunt rhinos you must at least know how to use a high power rifle.
If our ambition is to merely lecture people how things need to be done then we dont need a proof that our solutions work. That is pretty much where our movement is right now. It is up to us to either change that or to simply take the same show to a new audience.
If you ever decide to go ahead with practical applications I will be happy to assist you in any way I can.
your servant
Kulapavana,
I appreciate your offer. I am also quite pragmatic. However, I’ve been a practical man for forty years, both as an ISKCON administrator and a householder. Now I’m retired from ISKCON management and my children are long grown, so I’m writing and being a visionary for a little while. If I were to start an environmental project, (and I’m not ready to do so) it would be something like this: I would assemble a team to attack (nonviolently) the materialistic establishment for environmental offenses. Such attacks would be based on Vaishnava principles. For example, we might sue (litigate against) the oil companies for stealing from nature, causing irreversable damage to the environment, and threatening humanity. I would submit the lawsuit on behalf of the demigods and the Supreme Lord. I would argue that they (the oil companies) should pay trillions of dollars in damages just as the cigarette companies paid billions for causing cancer.
I would argue that the monies should be used for sacrifices to the Lord and His agents, after which the results of the sacrifices could be distributed to those humans, animals and plants in need.
Such an idea may or may not be practical; however, the basic concept is to strike a blow against materialists. They are the ones who are destroying the planet. It is their mentality, their governments, industries, and sciences that are destroying. We represent 5000 years of Vedic and Vaishnava culture, which does not have a history of killing and exploitation. The materialists and their culture have already shown that they are killers and theives. In American culture, money is everything, so to attack where the money is located is a good strategy.
Now is the time to prepare a higher profile attack against materialism. America is the best place to mount that attack.
If you’d like to continue this, kindly send me an email. dayananda@sb4.us. I’m doing a little book distribution for a couple of days, so I won’t be able to reply immediately.
ys, d
This is an interesting dialogue which almost identically tracks a discussion my wife and I were having just around the same time this article appeared on Dandavats.
My wife Jagarini was watching Al Gore being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey regarding global warming, an issue Jagarini (like many well-informed people) is concerned about.
I walked in, probably a little impatient with the TV show, and said something like, “The real problem is not enough sankirtan yajna is being performed.” This provoked a surprisingly negative reaction from Jagarini.
At first I was shocked at her reaction, just as she had been a little shocked at my overly simplistic, flippant attitude. After we had time to talk over the issue, we came to a kind of synthesis which I think Dayananda and Kulapavana also have reached.
Jagarini took it that I was minimizing the valuable work Al Gore was doing by attracting public attention to this serious crisis, and by proposing material solutions which, although not complete and perfect, nevertheless have some value in their own sphere. She thought I was misusing the philosophy to excuse myself from social responsibility. Maybe unconsciously I was.
Of course, our philosophy is to water the root of the tree. If we serve Krishna properly, all our obligations to the demigods and others will be properly satisfied. If we try to solve things by material measures, we will not be successful or will reach only meager, stop-gap solutions at best. The big problems of life like old age, disease, death and rebirth, not to mention the inability to experience true happiness and spiritual satisfaction, will remain unsolved. There will be no peace and prosperity without Krishna consciousness, and there is no shortage of anything but Krishna consciousness.
On the other hand, we are not impractical or fanatical. Devotees should go to doctors when they are sick, and should look after supplying the material necessities to their dependents. To properly serve Krishna we should generally act responsibly in all spheres.
To properly perform our sankirtana yajna in real Krishna consciousness, we should set a good example and should not neglect ordinary morality or consider ourselves to be above the law. We should not discourage those who lack transcendental knowledge from acting piously, but should try to encourage them to offer the results of their pious work in Krishna consciousness. (B.G. 3.26)
Obviously, we are not against the production of food, shelter and clothing, or the reduction of hunger, pollution, war, juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, and so on. We just know that no solution will be complete unless it involves Krishna consciousness. Therefore, an ideal Krishna conscious society is arranged in such a way that all these things are accomplished as duties for satisfying Krishna and are thus seen in proper perspective.
While we reject the fundamental atheistic and materialistic bias of modern science, and the misuse of much of the unnecessary and even horrible technology it has spawned, we can respect the validity of much of scientific knowledge in its own sphere, and we can appreciate and use appropriate technology in the service of Krishna. (We emphasise yukta vairagya over phalgu vairagya).
If responsible materialistic people should minimize their “carbon footprints”, all the more reason the sankirtana devotees should, too, as far as possible, to set a good example. If we appear irresponsible (e.g., using Styrofoam plates at the Sunday feast, or in my case having an apparently casual attitude about proposed material solutions to global warming), it reduces the effectiveness of our preaching. We are carrying the flag of Krishna so we should try as far as possible (and without compromising our philosophy) to earn the respect of the common people.
Devotees should appreciate Al Gore and other environmentalists for their valuable work, but encourage them to add Krishna consciousness. We should give them credit where credit is due, but tactfully point out how their proposed solutions are still deficient and incomplete.
Environmentalists will not succeed in convincing the masses of people to adopt a simpler, more natural way of life unless they can convince people that austerity and sacrifice are important qualities in human civilization. Society needs to learn that by chanting Hare Krishna people experience a higher taste that helps them give up their addiction to sinful, earth-torturing activities.
To introduce this Srimad Bhagavatam in a palatable way so that the general public can come to appreciate it is a tricky art. It is hard enough to overcome the prejudices of people who are attached to illicit sex, intoxication, animal slaughter and gambling. It makes our task that much harder if we unnecessarily allow people to get the impression that devotees are ignorant, arrogant or socially irresponsible.
At the end of our conversation, Jagarini and I agreed that massive harinäma sankirtana and distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books are the only essential and ultimate solution for the world’s ills. I promised to be more careful not to leave an impression that I was excusing myself from responsibility or being callous to the value of the work of environmentalists.
Akruranatha,
Regarding environmental issues and solutions, devotees would do well to go beyond the media to look more deeply, and, in particular, use the Vedic-Vaishnava perspective. Vaishnavas have much to offer, and American Vaishnavas have the right to be bold and assertive.
On one hand, many environmentalists including Al Gore use science to communicate and technology to solve issues. On the other hand, their voices obscure the true environmentalists who say that the fundamental issue is a moral one, or if you like, caused by the mentality of the people. For example, Prof. Lynn White, seminal environmentalist of the 1960s, wrote, “more science and technology are not going to get us out of the present crisis until we find a new religion[…]”
White, a historian whose expertise is in the development of technology since medieval times, criticizes Christianity for its human-centric views that have influenced environmentally destructive technology. Considering White’s widely accepted perspective, devotees have an excellent platform to present Vaishnava environmental morality. Some aspects of that morality are that nature is sacred, nature has soul, and the essence of culture is sacrifice.
In the Gita, chapters 3 and 4, Krishna gives a summary of the importance of sacrifice. He even refers to materialistic sacrifices, like dravya-yajna (4.28), which includes offering shelter and food, planting trees, digging wells, and so on. Sacrifice provides the practical basis for selflessness. In contrast, exploitation of nature, including killing of animals, is selfish. True, Caitanya Vaishnava conviction is that the highest sacrifice is the glorification of the Supreme; however, other sacrifices lead to that point.
The Vaishnava potential to make a moral and social contribution to environmental problems is extremely significant. Vedantic perspective on the soul, Krishna’s (God’s) love for trees, and the concept of sacrifice within the Vaishnava-Vedic culture are practically absent in American culture, and many would welcome these fresh views.
Considering the strength of the Vedic-Vaishnava position, and the nature of American society, devotees should assertively present Vaishnava sacrifice. Even Gandhi’s strategies were not passive. For example, they included an economic attack on the British salt tax. In addition, he desired to cripple the British cloth manufacturing industry. Moreover, Prabhupada usually favored even stronger tactics than those of Gandhi.
Having written all this, I offer my deep respects to your wife and beg her pardon if anything I’ve said is disagreeable.
Your servant, Dayananda
Dear Akruranatha,
Let me see if I understand you correctly. You believe that devotees do indeed have some responsibility to the world with respect to the protection of the environment, to set a good example of responsible behavior at the very least. That is precisely my point.
It is not enough in my opinion, to simply clapp our hands when Al Gore or some other big environmentalist speaks, but we need to actually pull our share of the weight, and maybe a little more. Using paper plates in the temple is nice, but it can hardly be called pulling our weight. That is why we should spearhead the work on providing clean water and sanitation to the residents of Sridhama Mayapur an Vrindavana Dhama for example. Besides being responsible it would also generate a lot of publicity and good will for our more spiritual programs.
When Srila Prabhupada said that nobody in the vicinity of our temples in India should go hungry, maybe the clean drinking water could be included in that program? Just a thought.
your servant
Kulapavana,
Yes, pulling our weight is good. Distribution of water is a good idea, and ISKCON should not accept donations from industries or industrialists that pollute. Scholars often mention that large donations from industrialists is one reason that religious groups are reluctant to take a strong stand against polluters.
As far as spearheading environmental issues in Vrindavan and Mayapur, the ISKCON leadership would do well to coordinate such efforts. You mention, “our more spiritual programs”. However, a coordinated effort to focus on sankirtana and implement environmental initiatives is the most spiritual and effective preaching that we can do worldwide over the coming decades.
In 1985, Srivatsa Goswami of the Radha-ramana family told me about the importance of afforestation in Vrindavan. It took some years for me to fully appreciate his vision, which is simultaneously reverent, wise, and clever propaganda. My god-brother Ranchor Prime, author of Vedic Ecology, is involved in Vrindavan afforestation, and in his book, he quotes Krishna: “The whole life of these (Vrindavana) trees is to serve. With their leaves, flowers, fruits, branches, roots, shade, fragrance, sap, bark, wood, and finally even their ashes and coal, they exist for the sake of others.”
In 1995, Mukunda Goswami and Drutakarma wrote a book called “Divine Nature” that was published by the BBT. Even years prior to that book, Mukunda Gos foresaw the tremendous potential of Vaishnava thought with respect to the environmental crisis. In the 1980s in areas other than ecology, Mukunda Gos’s vision for ISKCON resonated well with several ISKCON thinkers and leaders, so much so that their direction is significantly felt in today’s ISKCON. However, his ideas about preaching and the environment are an exception. Apparently, they did not resonate as well or they were just overlooked.
I agree with you Kulapavana, with Mukunda, and with Ranchor. We should work concertedly to practice and strongly present Vaishnava ecology. However, I do not agree with Al Gore. Currently, many scientists, politicians, and businesspeople are commenting on environmental issues, but in general their solutions do not match well with Vaishnava-Vedic practice and thought.
For example, one important direction in the world is the Kyoto Protocol. Such an initiative, while perhaps good intentioned, is impractical and insufficient. Simplistically speaking, American culture is the problem, and Vaishnava culture is the solution. In other words, an international Protocol will do little, even if followed; however, a change in American culture will do much to save the environment.
Ys, d
Hari Bol,
PAMHO. AGTSP.
Regarding Comment #5:
i agree that we must show by example. Shri Nandnandana Prabhu, i understand your frustration about styrofoam use in iskcon.
i tried to talk to some temple authoroties about this and got nowhere. i heard replies like “we do not want to burden our congregation for styrofoam replacement.” “we have many unfunded projects and styrofoam replacement is not a high priority.”
“This is Kali-yuga, what can you do?” “our congregation is mostly indian and they are least concerned about environment.”
There are few exceptions though, for example inspired by HH Bir Krishna Maharaj, some devotees are paying for the difference in price between styrofoam and eco-friendly cutlery and Hillsborough NC temple does not use styrofoam.
eco-friendly devotees are concerned that we are losing potential devotees – people who are spiritually inclined and eco-friendly.
we as eco-friendly devotees can follow green practices in our personal lives and bring them up in discussions with both devotees and non-devotees, we interact with. this way we can build a better image of iskcon devotees in lay-people’s mind.
For example, i practise following green practices
1. as per my financial strength, i donate paper plates to local iskcon temple.
2. drive a hybrid car(toyota prius) at speed limit which gives me 56 miles per gallon.
3. do not use air-conditioning even if it is 100 degree F outside. drink cold water, eat fruits, cucumber and yogurt to keep myself cool.
4. in winter time, keep the thermostat at 60 degrre F. weare multiple layers of clothes in the house.
5. recycle paper, plastic, metal, glass without fail.
6. use cloth bag and sturdy plastic tote bag when buying groceries.
7. use eco-friendly products like laundry detergents, dishwasher liquid, paper towels, bathroom tissues.
8. use public transportation whenever it is practical.
9. combine errands in one driving trip.
Hare KrsNa
your servant
Aspiring Vaishnav,
The concepts of “reduced carbon footprint”, “reduced footprint”, “green technology”, and so on are not bad; however, by themselves they are not goodness. They are part of a cheating, exploiting mentality. Vaishnava solutions go further. The two major solutions that Prabhupada introduced are (1) militate for a change from demonic culture to sankirtana culture; and (2) establish self-sufficient village models of Vedic-Vaishnava culture.
Currently, ISKCON attitudes in North America have become too concerned with what the American people think. In addition, many leaders in ISKCON-America are worried about the impressions that conservative Indians will have. Thus, the ISKCON culture is primarily temple and deity based. This is because the “deity economy” is more lucrative than the “sankirtana economy”. Still, regardless of current ISKCON attitudes, without changing the American culture, it is unlikely that much progress will be made to curb the worldwide environmental crises.
Some of the devotees here in this thread are arguing for ISKCON to set a better example. However, I would argue that ISKCON, from the start, sets an excellent example by preventing its followers from eating meat, which is a huge example of reducing the impact against the environment. Now it is time for devotees to become activists as in Prabhupada’s time. It is time to strike out at the culture. We no longer need to be defensive or passive in our approach, but rather assertive. We can begin by using words like “karmi” and “demon”. We can all commit to the yajna, which purifies the environment, sankirtana-yajna, even if our commitment is a small footprint like four hours a week. Yes, we should, as you suggest, continue to improve our individual “footprints”, but we should go on the offense and challenge Christians and polititians to match ISKCON’s commitment to the environment, including its yajnic commitment.
ISKCON can again be focused on changing the demonic culture into Vaishnava culture, or at least into a culture that has sacrifice at its center. The culture of sacrifice is the Vedic-varnasrama culture, and it is the culture that Krishna teaches in the Gita, chapters 3 & 4. The American culture is one of greed, overexploitation of the earth, and killing, especially killing animals; it is demonic culture. Vaishnava culture is based on isavasya (concern for one’s individual footprint), yajna (sankirtana, if possible), and para-upakara (welfare for others).
Such a culture is completely different from demonic culture, but we should not merely stand up for Vaishnava culture. We should not stand up for our culture. The best defense is an offense. We should push it out. If we merely stand defensively, we’ll get pushed over by the demonic culture of greed. We should push back, push hard.
With respect and affection to you and your personal example,
ys, d
A kind of daydream fantasy of mine is that a devotee could narrate a movie with charts and graphs like Al Gore, but instead of showing increases in quantities of greenhouse gasses and decreases in forestation, the charts would show increases in sinful activities and decreases in piety, spiritual practices and Vedic knowledge.
Instead of the Amazon rainforest as the now imperiled great absorber of carbon dioxide, the devotee’s charts could show the great holy places of pilgrimage around the world as the real breathing centers for spiritual life, and how the acts of devotion there have decreased and become imperiled by rising materialism and neglect.
But the devotee could also show the powerful solution offered by Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement. Just as the large hole in the ozone layer was resolved by the Montreal Protocol’s ban chloroflourocarbons, so the pernicious atheistic and impersonalistic threats to peaceful, holy life can be stamped out through large, well-organized public Hare Krishna kirtans, supported by all the major world governments, who might still recognize the crisis and act in the nick of time.
I say it is a “fantasy”. I do not know how we could really quantify the acts of devotion and impiety in different places or monitor them with accuracy and confidence. (But the BBT book distribution scores are surely one key index.) I would not want such a movie to come across as belittling or mocking the real concerns of environmentalists and concerned material scientists, but it could get a good point across.
We surely live in an age of “dharmasya glani” and the solution is coming in the form of Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement. We need that message to get out very strongly and wake everyone up from the stupor of materialism and gross sense enjoyment.
For printing Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita we are prepared to cut down thousands of trees, but unfortunately demons are cutting down millions and billions for printing so much rubbish literature and unnecessary packaging and advertisement of useless products.
Lord Caitanya’s movement will fill the need of a simpler, more natural way of life, but any efforts at “green living” which do not embrace this Krishna consciousness movement will undoubtedly fail.
In the matter of environmental responsibility, we should realize how important it is to abstain from eating meat. Modern science is just beginning to reveal this to the public. For example, this article ( http://tinyurl.com/yvz5wn ) from today’s NY Times points to the frustration of animal rights activists in getting the environmental groups to acknowledge the impact of meat eating. In spite of the recent scientific reports, the environmentalists won’t touch the issue.
Oddly enough, in 1994 I wrote a college research paper demonstrating that the chief cause of our environmental problems is meat eating. As I began to realize that people in general don’t care enough about the planet to change their diets, I felt helpless and that our only hope is if God exists and helps us. This put me on a quest to search for spiritual truth, which, surprisingly, I found the following year in Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
One thing I’ve noticed is that vegetarians, especially ones avoiding meat for ethical reasons, are very often atheists. It seems that the popular religions don’t recognize the importance of showing mercy if one wants mercy. It’s not hard to understand, however, as anyone endeavoring to find God should be sensitive enough to feel it. We have to help people overcome the wrong notion that God approves of meat-eating, which is undoubtedly a part of religion due to ignorance and corruption. Reading Srila Prabhupada’s books will surely annhiliate such absurd beliefs.
Now that people are hearing about the vegetarian diet from the scientists and the atheists, it is the perfect time to inject Srila Prabhpada’s teachings into the conversation. Because of previous wrong learning, People need to be told that kindness to animals is an important religious principle. These are already big subjects in the popular media and people don’t yet know what to think. It’s an excellent time to tell them that the Hare Krishna movement brings all the good intentions together and makes them real. It’s a great time to find a few people thinking about the effects of their diets and bring them to a Hare Krishna Sunday Feast. There’s nothing like a nice plate of prasadam to help a person renounce eating meat, and before long they’ll be chanting Hare Krishna.
Akruranatha and Pandu,
Great points. Pandu, I agree that ISKCON’s (the Vaishnava community’s) strict vegetarian diet alone is enough to demonstrate commitment to the environment (in addition to our farms). We have an excellent position to start, with improvements to be made along the way. I’d like to see your essay on the environmental effects on meat eating. Can you send it to me at dayananda@deepecology.us?
Akruranatha, I’ve just finished a two year project writing a sankirtana-yajna commentary on the Gita. Now, I plan to spend at least two years writing and working on Vaishnava environmental activism. The Deep Ecology movement is very interesting. Prof Arne Naess more or less started the movement. It is distinct from Shallow Ecology, of which Al Gore is a poster child. The fundamental criteria for Deep Ecologists are that they reject a human-centric view of the environment in favor of a nature-centric one, and they urge activism. The Shallow people (they don’t like that name) are usually more interested in technological improvements and less in an underlying shift in worldview. My strategy is not to join or align with Deep Ecologists, but to penetrate them with Vaishnava-Vedic ecology. Still, regardless of Deep Ecology, I strongly believe the environmental movement in general has much more potential for preaching than the new-age and yoga movements so popular among North American ISKCON preachers. My primary philosophical thrust is to introduce yajna (sacrifice) as the essential ingredient for an ecologically balanced society. I’ve established a website, www.deepecology.us toward that end.
If you read my article, http://destruction-of-the-soul.blogspot.com/2007/08/change-of-mentality-change-of-culture.html, you can get an idea of what I’m trying to do. The article is long, but the section “Real Change–Sacrifice” presents yajna. I submitted it to dandavats for publication, but it may be too long for them.
Moving forward, I’m eager to attract some devotees and non-devotees who appreciate my strategies and with whom I can work. I’m a firm believer in teamwork. Maybe we’ll have the opportunity to work together, you and I, since we seem to be like-minded.
ys, d
In my post number 22 published on Aug 31, 2007 the link is http://destruction-of-the-soul.blogspot.com/2007/08/change-of-mentality-change-of-culture.html
The final comma published above in #22 prohibits one from being successfully directed to the site.
Dayananda prabhu,
Hare Krishna. Thanks for your interest in reading my paper. I’ve encountered some obstacles getting it online. Trouble now is that my scanner doesn’t seem to work with Windows Vista, which I hope to find a way to resolve.
Briefly, I examined several ways in which the environment is impacted by animal agriculture practices that allow for so much meat eating and then described how a vegetarian diet would greatly alleviate the situation. I wrote the paper before I knew about this Krishna consciousness movement, so I was arguing in favor of the vegan diet. I did not know of the preferred model of cow protection that Srila Prabhupada taught, nor had I heard of the value of milk for providing special nutrition to the brain.
My paper was far too short to do justice to the topic. Mostly I just feel a little proud having written it in 1993. But perhaps you’ve heard of the recently published 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.” Here’s a link to the home page for the report:
http://www.virtualcentre.org/en/library/key_pub/longshad/A0701E00.htm
I just dowloaded the report (5 megabyte PDF), so I haven’t read it yet, but the summary suggests some very severe impact resulting from raising animals for meat:
“Summary: This report aims to assess the full impact of the livestock sector on environmental problems, along with potential technical and policy approaches to mitigation. The assessment is based on the most recent and complete data available, taking into account direct impacts, along with the impacts of feed crop agriculture required for livestock production.
“The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.
“Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency. Major reductions in impact could be achieved at reasonable cost. ”
I’ll post a link here when I get my paper online, and I’ll e-mail you at that address, Dayananda prabhu. Hare Krishna.
Akruranath, kindly check out in this note my push to empower devotees. This is congruent with Vaisesika’s preaching mood–go go go.
Pandu,
Thank you for the link. I downloaded the report. I’m moved by the statement “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems”.
The fact that ISKCON (Vaishnavism) converts people to vegetarianism is very significant. Extremely important and practical aspects of our brand of vegetarianism are that (1) we offer a positive alternative in prasadam, (2) our influence effects a deep commitment to vegetarianism in those with whom we come in prolonged contact. Whatever faults ISKCON or devotees might have, meat eating is never one of them, so we can leverage vegetarianism as a weapon in our dialogue with the mainstream. In my youth in the 1960s and 1970s, the mainstream climate would not allow us to do so.
Even a part-time devotee who is a vegetarian can represent the Vaishnava community as an ecologist, what to speak of a fully practicing one. Devotees are EMPOWERED to be such representatives. Ecology is a platform upon which everyone can preach–subtly, grossly, intelligently, foolishly–it doesn’t so much matter. Live and learn. Prabhupada approved of such a strategy during a morning walk in Venice Beach when he encouraged devotees to attack the scientists, even if devotees were not themselves polished or well educated.
ys, d