By Sahadeva dasa
A dung beetle lamented, âHow I wish I too was watched and adored by millions but alas, where can I find so many studpid beetles?â
After Soccer cup couple of years ago, we have just witnessed the great spectacle called Olympics, an event synonymous with human achievement and triumph, an event many wait for.
This is the time to tune in, drop everything else to watch in awe as the exuberant young bodies run, jump, lift and dive and as the news of medal tally pours in. The Olympics stir emotions like no other sporting event as some athletes are heartbroken while others are overjoyed.
But organizing an even of such scale is not easy. Great preparations mark the staging of this prestigious global event. Years before the event, architects and planners start racking their brains for erecting an âolympic cityâ which boasts of gorgeous stadia for sporting events and various other facilities for distinguished guests, dignitaries and athletes. Foolproof arrangements are made for accomodation, entertainment, medical care and of course, security. Many billions of dollars are spent in this historic endeavor by the hosting country.
Apart from the host, the participating nations also prepare and groom their athletes for years. Billions are spent in their training and equipments.
The Chinese Olympics was the most expensive sports event in human history, entailing a budget of over $48 billion. London, the next host for 2012 games, admits that it can’t equal the scale and stature of the extravaganza in Beijing because the allocated budget is mere $18 billion.
And all this to check out who can run faster, who can jump higher, who can swim better and who can punch harder. But animals all around us can accomplish all this much better, without spending billions and without makings gorgeous bombastic arrangements.
Olympic motto is âCitius altius fortiusâ or faster, higher and stronger. But it should not mean running faster or jumping higher or stronger muscles. A dog can easily outrun the fastest athlete, a kangaroo can jump higher than any athlete can ever imagine and an elephant can lift several weight lifters along with the weights they are struggling to lift.
Srila Prabhupada aptly summarizes this in the phrase, bahvarambhe laghu kriya. âYou can make a very high-grade arrangement, but the result is zero… They do not know what is spiritual life, what is ultimate goal. Simply like cats and dogs. The dog jumps over with four legs, and if a man can jump over with four wheels, then that is advance. Just see….again they have made this car, coming from miles away, but the business is fishing. Just see. Bambharambhe laghu-kriya. “Advancement of civilization, we have got car, we are nicely dressed, we are human being, everything…” But what is your business? Fishing. Bambharambhe… Arambha, gorgeous arrangement — the business is the same. The skylark, what is called? Skylark? These birds?… seagulls. They are doing the same business, and after his much advancement of civilization, he is doing the same business. The tiger is also eating flesh and blood, and human being — a scientific slaughterhouse. The same business, but they have got scientific instrument how to cut the throat quickly. This is the advance, advancement of civilization. The dog and cat they are having sex on the open street, and now they are talking of homosex in the school, colleges for education. This is their position. They do not know even what is the standard of human civilization. If you are doing the same business like ordinary animals, then where is the advancement of civilization? (Morning Walk — May 11, 1975, Perth)
One World, One Dream – Countless Hypocrisies
The official motto for the Beijing Olympics was âOne World, One Dream.â Of course restrictions Apply. Tibet Not Included.â
At a recent press conference, a reporter asked the chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee about Chinaâs Olympic slogan, âOne world, one dream.â
âAs recently as ten years ago,â said the reporter, âChinese leaders expressed their plans to spread Communism throughout the world by the use of force. How do you respond to critics who believe the âone worldâ idea in the Olympic slogan sounds like a plan for world conquest?â
âThatâs ridiculous,â said the Chinese spokesman. â âOne worldâ simply refers to the fact that the entire world is gathering together in Beijing for the Olympics. Itâs a statement of unity. Any suggestion that China is trying to conquer the world is absurd.â
âAnd what about the âone dreamâ part of the slogan?â asked the reporter. âWhat is the dream?â
âA society founded on Marxist principles, of course,â came the reply.
China announced that during the Olympics, protesters will be allowed to assemble in designated protest areas or, as theyâre commonly called in China, jails.
The dream of one world can not be realized by holding Olympics. Olympics will go on and wars will go on. Peace and unity is only possible on spiritual platform as suggested by Sripad Sankara, twelve centuries ago:
ekam sastram devaki-putra-gitam
eko devo devaki-putra eva
eko mantras tasya namani yani
karmapy ekam tasya devasya seva
âIn this present day, people are very much eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one occupation. Therefore, ekam sastram devaki-putra-gitam: let there be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole world-Bhagavad-gita. Eko devo devaki-putra eva: let there be one God for the whole world-Sri Krsna. Eko mantras tasya namani: and one hymn, one mantra, one prayer — the chanting of His name: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Karmapy ekam tasya devasya seva: and let there be one work only — the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.â (Bhagavad-gita Introduction)
A Humanpics Manifesto
Human society is becoming more and more frivolous and less and less serious. Less and less serious about the higher values in life, about the importance of character and integrity. Whole mood is to take life very lightly and to do your own thing without any standard code of conduct. Trivialities are vying for more and more human attention today.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to say, “There is no scarcity of anything within this world. The only scarcity is of Krsna consciousness.” Enough resources have been provided by God for all the residents of this planet to live happily but there is gross mismanagement as far as distribution is concerned. Lavish spendings in countless frivolous engagments like recently held games would provide one such example.
Human beings should compete as humans so that human qualities can shine forth. Lets have a look at what should be the standard of human excellence.
Humanpic Events
Besides Aquatics, some athletes should compete in event known as âAusterityâ because this is the foremost function of human life. Champions in this category are too numerous to mention and a vedic text known as Srimad Bhagavatam is filled with examples of record holders in this category.
Hockey is good but better still is hearing about God. By hearing about God, we accomplish the prime purpose of human life. In one humanpic held 5000 years ago, King Pariksit is said to have cornered the gold in this event.
Gymnastics would go well along with âGlorification of Godâ because after all this is what differentiates mankind from dogkind. From Sukadeva Goswami to Srila Prabhupada, thousands have won gold in this series down the ages.
In place of or along with cycling, let there be an event called âcare of other life formsâ. King Pariksit won the gold medal by protecting an innocent cow from the hands of an unscrupulous low class person.
Another area different countries could possibly compete is âChanting the holy nameâ. Haridas Thakura is an all time legend as far as this game is concerned.
How about âTruthfulnessâ along side with Table tennis? King Yudhisthir was one such titleholder.
If there is Weightlifting, why not add another event called, keeping âWord of honorâ. This game would make an interesting show in this age of lying and deceit. Previous gold medalists we can look upto are Maharaja Dasarath and Bali.
Other events could be âSense control, Remembering God, Renunciation, World welfare, Surrender to God, Humility, Pridelessness, Nonviolence, Tolerance, Simplicity etc. etc.
There could be hundreds of events like this which would be worth competing for by humans and and which would really testify human excellence in its true sense.
By Sahadeva dasa, Secunderabad, India
Very nice, well written article.
It is interesting that when the world gets together to put on a giant spectacle these days, it is only a sports competition, which even animals could do. At least it is a start, though. They are coming together for something, and there is a sense of the virtue of”sportsmanship”.
I wonder why the higher, philosophical and religious aspirations do not find expression in unifying world events. It seems the spiritual leaders of the world cannot agree enough to cooperate on making a giant sacrificial performance as was done in olden times.
The default response seems to be, “religion is a simply a matter of taste or preference which different groups can never agree about.” Thus it is regulated to the world of “faith” or unreality, while the physical world of getting balls into goals and hoops seems more real. Sports is a lowest common denominator that everyone can understand.
It is too bad we cannot have a “sacrifice competition” in which the team who wins is the one for whom God comes down from the sky and accepts the offering. But in this age the people in general cannot see who the winners are.
They cannot see spiritual success of pleasing God, and thus even the religious “leaders” are interested in only mundane welfare work. Turning their back on Madhava, they proclaim “Manava Seva” to be the real religion. What they do not understand is that mankind’s highest needs are spiritual.
Sometimes at sporting events I try to think about the movements of the subtle body: the determination and one pointed attention of the athletes, and how that is moving the body. Of course in many sports there are also plays and strategies and there is a mental component in that way too. One of my favorite sports is chess, because the action is all mental.
The Olympics are modeled on a classical event from ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks are also known for Philosophy, a mental activity aimed at discerning the truth. People can make fun of “mathletes” all they want, but this idea of honoring Philosophy seems like a hopeful way to unite world religions. Bhagavad Gita is a more philosophical scripture than Bible or Koran.
But ultimately the sacrifice for this age is Sankirtan. Just make nice singing; no philosophy required.
I was thinking this a.m. about how Prabhupada often answered when asked, “Why is this better than our local religion?” He would say the young people are no longer following, the churches are empty. . . .
. . . In other words, he wasn’t saying, “Your priests are wrong about this or that. They have to accept reincarnation, they need to learn about the laws of karma.” (Maybe they really do, but to say so would simply provoke an unnecessary and unproductive quarrel)
To say, “Your children are no longer following the local religion” emphasizes that we embrace the essence of all religions and are not competing. We want people to be better Christians, better Jews, better Muslims. They do not have to change their dress or affiliation. Just praise God and His holy names in whatever way you know how. We are showing a way that proves very popular with many people, but if you can make your way popular, more power to you.
[Of course, sometimes he would say, to be a better Christian you must follow the Lord’s command to stop slaughtering the poor animals.]
There already are large religious spectacles, but they do not have international or interdenominational appeal. There are giant Ratha Yatras, Hajj, big Catholic events at the Vatican, even huge tent revivals of 7th Day Adventists and so on.
But it is nice to see the big, international spectacle of the Olympics, televised and on everybody’s mind. We can imagine a world in which, with a little adjustment, it becomes a gigantic international sankirtan festival where people from all over the world share their understanding of the glories of God in a sportsnmanlike manner, and show how feelingly they can all chant the holy names.
I suspect the Hare Krishna teams would often take the gold medals.