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By Kesava Krsna Dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n The contentious discussion on human placements resurfaced recently, though it is ongoing. The involvement of devotee doctors serving at Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai has added extra range to it. Suddenly it seems, we are confronted with samples of varnashrama-dharma being practiced \u2018outside\u2019 of our ISKCON world. Some devotees are opposed to this because they say it does not conform to Srila Prabhupada\u2019s ideal of ISKCON being a preaching movement. Others contend that everyone has a right to serve Krishna through their human orientation.<\/p>\n Alongside the two above positions there are others seriously intent on dividing our devotee communities into four varna (guna-karma) sections. With our ashrama sectors more developed we should say that the real issue for the proponents is how to introduce varna classifications or dharma \u2013 VD. There are attempts to get a VD footing on some of our farms or in regions of ISKCON favourable to the idea.<\/p>\n The Bhaktivedanta Hospital situation presents ranges of possibilities that might circumvent what VD specialists hope to achieve within ISKCON. If ISKCON is clearly not ready for VD or VAD implementation within our village, towns and city devotee communities, let alone a few small and biased samples out on the land, it seems that the proponents could look at places where human divisions already exist \u2013 the whole wide world.<\/p>\n We might forget that because everyone is born a sudra in Kali-yuga it does not mean that everyone remains a sudra as they grow up and take on qualities, either through association or prominent traits exerted from previous lives. Although everyone outside of the four established varna orders (brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras) are deemed sub-human by behaviour and qualities, we cannot deny that Krishna\u2019s catur- varnam presence is ever active among them, even outside of ISKCON.<\/p>\n All around us in the cities, towns and villages, Krishna\u2019s catur-varnam is undeniably there. What makes us think we can set up a \u2018different\u2019 or \u2018bona-fide\u2019 version of VAD only within ISKCON? Certainly, Srila Prabhupada had aims for devotee participation within this, but are we sure about why he wanted it? Do we have utmost certainty that Srila Prabhupada would probably not be interested in VAD for ISKCON if it were not for the number of sannyasis that were falling down at the time, that disappointed him?<\/p>\n In other words, how sure are we that Srila Prabhupada\u2019s ideas for VAD were not reactionary to lowered expectations for devotees in general? Many VAD proponents use an argument to say that it is impossible for any devotee to be Krishna conscious in a city and therefore we need VAD out on a farm. Getting back to the lowered expectations, we must remember how Srila Prabhupada must have had high hopes for ISKCON members initially when he requested his early disciples to chant 64 rounds. In context of this, are we to say that VAD is another concessionary introduction – a social or institutional equivalent of the reduction from 64 to 16 rounds minimum?<\/p>\n Is this \u2018lowering of the bar\u2019 really what Srila Prabhupada wants? Wouldn\u2019t he have preferred it if we did not concern ourselves with VAD and simply focus on being Vaisnava brahmanas? If we are left with knowing what our Founder Acarya prefers, then how many devotees qualify as brahmanas? – The proponents ask. They say that no devotees can be Krishna conscious living within a city, what to speak of being qualified as brahmanas, except a very few.<\/p>\n Trying ro place our own devotees into human categories in social experiments \u2013 and they are experiments \u2013 when human divisions are already there, all around us, must be like trying to do better than what Krishna is already doing. \u201cBut Srila Prabhupada said so\u2026\u201d, is the refrain. Is there a difference between doing what Srila Prabhupada wants later, when the timing is right, instead of hastily pushing for it now, because, \u201cIt\u2019s the right thing to do?\u201d<\/p>\n Should we not expect a better impact with VAD experimentation if they were conducted in our cities where by far the majority of citizens live? That is the hard part and it is probably not feasible. It is not very feasible in any case if we are going to compete with Krishna\u2019s catur varnam. There must be reasons why implementation is difficult.<\/p>\n An observation of \u2018ISKCON VAD\u2019 along with the \u2018Bhaktivedanta Hospital type of VAD\u2019 occurring \u2018outside\u2019 of ISKCON reveals how different schools of thought react. Internal ISKCON VAD implementation is seen as something pursued by \u2018conservative\u2019 minded devotees – it has brighter prospects in India for known historical, cultural and social reasons.<\/p>\n The practice of devotee doctors plying their trade \u2018outside\u2019 of ISKCON at Bhaktivedanta Hospital presents challenges for those who only want VAD inside of ISKCON, at least to begin with. Is there a concern that if there are many more facilities like this \u2013 not just medical \u2013 that it might expand \u2018out of control?\u201d Out of whose control? Can ISKCON which has no sovereign state power or legislation be able to control it? Why should we want to control it? How can we exert control over Krishna\u2019s catur varnam when it is already everywhere?<\/p>\n Not long ago a devotee wrote a book on the holy name and how the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra was also sung by \u2018suspect\u2019 mayavadis. In response to this, some devotees thought it wise to copy write the Hare Krishna mantra. This would have been a futile attempt to control Krishna as the holy name. We can ask the same for our ideas for VAD. How can we control people who have a right to engage in Krishna\u2019s service from any position or social background? <\/p>\n How can we control people who do not even follow the four regulative principles and who want to engage in Krishna\u2019s service? These people already have varna positions as plumbers, financiers, expert artisans or whatever. If such people form more facilities like that of Bhaktivedanta Hospital, how can ISKCON legislate their service input? We have to be repeatedly reminded that there is a big world out there besides our own. Somehow we have to be a part of it.<\/p>\n If we are unable to or unwilling to cooperate with Krishna\u2019s social placements and more liberally engage people in their eternal right of service, then we shall remain in isolationist streams of thought and deed. To be able to allow this we have to broaden and liberalise our scope of service opportunities \u2013 what we offer is quite limiting. <\/p>\n We need look no further than our devotee congregations worldwide for evidence of Krishna\u2019s natural human placements. Our congregation members are already doctors, nurses, clerks, artisans, physicists and the rest. Though they are engaged in occupations they yet practice Vaisnava principles of living. Each of these congregation devotees can go to a temple to engage in exalted menial service for the Lord. What more do we need to do on top of this? Are we going to reclassify those who are already classified? <\/p>\n Since all of these congregational devotees have specific occupations and are also living Vaisnava lifestyles, it makes it a form of Daivi-varnashrama. It may not be perfect for our purist proponents, but when are we ever going to have strictly Vedic standards of VAD? VAD implementation will not be perfect either as long as vestiges of modern technology remain. One certain answer is that it will not happen so long as we have technology that takes the place of human occupations. We have to wait for a future time if and when technology collapses along with the civilisation that depends on it.<\/p>\n For instance, the occupation of washing clothes is done by washing machines in developed and developing countries. To properly engage a class of men and women in laundry services means to do away with machines that wash clothes. Are we going to eliminate technology in order to facilitate this \u2018caste?\u2019 And if we choose to designate certain of our Vaisnavas as Dhobi men and women within our ranks, are fellow Vaisnavas going to accept their services? What right thinking Vaisnava can take service from other Vaisnavas this way? Exploitation is waiting to rear its ugly head. Some congregation members own and run laundrettes \u2013 they are already there,<\/p>\n Another class of occupation is to be a messenger. Are we going to ban cell phones and computers in order to employ human messengers? Will we wait for days and weeks for a human messenger to accomplish his task (long distance) rather than wait a matter of seconds with a cell phone, because it\u2019s VAD? Our use of technology will not allow VAD to work, and neither can we abandon technology because it would violate the \u201cUtility is the principle\u201d ethic.<\/p>\n For devotees who are banking on a future time when a civilisation collapse might herald the dawning of real VAD implementation, it would be worth looking at something which may reveal how in fact, the lifeblood (oil) of present civilisation might never be in short supply \u2013 it is a renewable resource. It may not be a dossil fuel. Some sources report that old oil wells which have supposedly dried up are refilling again. If we are to remain with technology derived from and dependent on oil related resources that mimic human occupations, how can VAD function effectively?<\/p>\n Undoubtedly a lot of effort and study has gone into trying to implement VAD within ISKCON, but considering other factors clearly visible to us, is it not better that we adapt rather than cling to being \u2018enemies\u2019 of world modernity. VAD is not really antiquated, but in terms of our use of technology for Krishna\u2019s service and the visible presence of human divisions within our numerous devotee congregations, we can try to make the Vedic past our future.<\/p>\n Are we not supposed to present an alternative to technology that takes away the livelihood of people and destroys our environment and eco-systems? Yes, of course. We are simply trying to say that there is another way of doing it, by being part of this world and transforming hearts. Society has to transform first before being able to withstand the revolutionary undertones of VAD.<\/p>\n Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa \u2013 GRS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The contentious discussion on human placements resurfaced recently, though it is ongoing. The involvement of devotee doctors serving at Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai has added extra range to it. Suddenly it seems, we are confronted with samples of varnashrama-dharma being practiced \u2018outside\u2019 of our ISKCON world. Some devotees are opposed to this because they say it does not conform to Srila Prabhupada\u2019s ideal of ISKCON being a preaching movement. Others contend that everyone has a right to serve Krishna through their human orientation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14711,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14709\/revisions\/14711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Hare](\"http:\/\/dandavats.com\/wp-content\/uploads5\/2014-12-19_22-00-41.jpg\")
By Kesava Krsna Dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n