Nrsimhananda das: Financial markets in a free-fall. Chaos on Wall St. International markets in a tailspin. European bailout. More banks to fail. Sound alarming?
(News flash: it’s suppose to; that’s how the media sells information better.) Sorry you didn’t send donations to Gita Nagari, get your own cow, or relocate to Mayapur? The SP varnamasrama quotes are coming fast and furious in various discussion forums; the imperative for life based on agriculture is palpable in the Vaisnava chat rooms. Meanwhile, do you see anything has changed? Trains are still rolling, and the laptop still charges up from a wire to the wall. Am I missing something here? I am not the only one unconcerned about the up and down’s of business cycles. Life as usual as far as I, and most of the detached pundits see; nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, there will be an adjustment in the level of sense gratification of the less fortunate; there has always been societies of have and have-not’s. Kali yuga continues to slide toward increased exploitation over the next 400,000 + years. Can’t even imagine. But as far as the recent bump in the road, it doesn’t even rate a blip on the radar screen. Regarding the end of civilization as we know it, not so fast. The descent is subtle. The population may have to give up some of their latte’s, but let us look forward to the temporary bread lines. It’s an opportunity for Food for Life, distribution of books, and some serious introspection. Prabhupada’s movement expanded the fastest during the decade of economic sluggishness and a repressive world environment (Vietnam, Cold War, apartheid, etc.). SEEKERS! We’ll keep the lights on for you. Bring on the credit crunch!!!
The current credit crisis is an opportunity to preach. Srila Prabhupada often criticised the United States government for leaving the gold standard. He called it “Nationalized cheating”.
He also warned us to preach vigorously to prevent communism from taking over the government. Communism is just another name for atheism. History has shown that when there is economic upheaval, communism (socialism) is presented as the solution. The communists are just waiting for an excuse to say, “See? I told you so! Capitalism doesn’t work.” Srila Prabhupada warned us to prevent the spread of communism. Indeed, we have seen what the defeat of communism has done for the former Soviet republic. Since the fall of the Berlin wall, millions of people in Eastern Europe have become enlightened in Krishna Consciousness. And Srila Prabhupada has predicted that, as Kali Yuga advances, inevitably communism will indeed take over. It is the government of Sudras. Currently, we have government of Vaishyas.
The Varna-Asrama system should be a very high priority because the current situation points to global depression far worse than the one in the 1930’s. At that time, far more family farms existed, and people were much more close to the land. Nowadays, huge agribusinesses grow most of the food, and people will not be able to get food if the economy collapses, or there is no oil or diesel for the tractors and trucks to distribute it. Make no mistake about it, this credit meltdown is the most significant event of our lifetimes (assuming you are a “boomer” like me). It is now time to rev up our prasadam distribution programs, distribute more books, and preach strongly against the greed and speculation which has brought the whole economy to it’s knees.
Ultimately, we should utilize this opportunity to spread our movement. There is no other solution to the problems of the world. Without Krishna Consciousness, there can be nothing but calamity. If we preach, Srila Prabhupada predicted that people will one day recognize that Krishna Consciousness has saved the world.
Nice one, Nrsimhananda!
It is pretty shocking, though, as far as economic crises go, to hear Alan Greenspan saying this is “possibly a once in a century” crisis.
I agree that devotees should remain steady and accept this as an opportunity for preaching the straight Bhagavatam philosophy. Devotees don’t panic, by nature, because they are constantly in touch with the eternal, unchanging source of all happiness.
I do hope we can resist the temptation to be distracted by conspiracy theories and fad economics. Let’s stick to what we know most about: we’re not this body, we are spirit soul, eternal servants of Krishna, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we can reawaken our love for Him by chanting the mahamantra, that is the goal of life, He has come again as Lord Caitanya, the most merciful incarnation who is freely distributing that love, etc.
When devotees start talking about how to fix international banking it gives me a headache. Better that we make the international bankers into devotees by distributing to them Prabhupada’s books and the holy names, rather than divert our own attention away from Krishna consciousness in order to learn the ins and outs of the current international financial system (or worse, pretending to know without learning).
When I hear devotees saying we should all be hoarding gold, I think they are missing the point of the “Punishment and Reward of Kali” story. Yes, paper currency is bad because it entails deceitful hoarding of wealth, but the more important principle is that wealth should be used daily in devotional service and not hoarded in any form. Otherwise, there is every danger it will be spent on illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat eating.
It is not so much that devotees should keep krugerrands instead of currency; it is that they should spend what they have (at least 50%) on promoting sankirtan yajna.