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| A Perfect Civilization |
Adopted from Krishna Varnasrama Cultural Association
The recent course of human history has witnessed an unprecedented explosion of technological advancement.
Within only several hundred years of the dawn of the industrial revolution the entire human civilization has
undergone a nearly complete transfiguration. Plenty beyond comprehension has manifested almost as if by magic
and the people of the World have been exposed to the possibility of attaining a near material perfection.
However, at the same time and in the same places, vast segments of the Earths population have plummeted into
regions of abject misery never before experienced nor even dreamed of. So expansive and deeply rooted has the
encroachment of technology become that its actions threaten the integrity of the natural environment which
supports human civilization. Verily it threatens also to destroy the fiber of human culture.
By far the most critical challenge confronting the people of the World is to recognize the deleterious effects of
over-indulgence in the apparent benefits of this technology, and to seriously seek out appropriate alternatives.
This challenge must over-ride all other considerations of individually or collectively agreed upon importance.
Without the acknowledgement of this clear and present danger to humanity, without decisive, sustained action to
establish an alternative, the World’s people cannot expect a reversal of the rapidly deteriorating state of the
Planet and the wellbeing of its inhabitants.
The way of the Vaisnavas has been conceived and established to provide an alternative form of civilization for
those people of the World who are searching for positive alternatives to the prevailing global conditions. With
the unrestricted proliferation of machine technology since the beginning of the industrial revolution have come a
host of unexpected and unwanted cultural disorders. These disorders, in the categories of personality, social- and
environmental disturbances serve to diminish our individual and collective experiences of happiness and peace.
In effect, they submerge every one of us in a constant struggle for existence of combating the opposing elements
of technological society and of the harsh material nature simply to milk out a meager portion of contentment for
our inner self-satisfaction. Everywhere one turns there is contention, exploitation, fear, frustration and mounting
unhappiness. The dream of peace on Earth and good-will toward others has become a dim reflection of an almost
forgotten ideal as the World speeds into an unknown future, sustained by diminishing resources, an over-taxed
environment, crumbling infrastructure and a disillusioned population.
Vaisnavism presents an alternative form of civilization to the World which is based upon the Vaisnava philosophy
of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and can offer consultancy service to governments, organizations, and industries.
The source of inspiration and primary guidance for this undertaking is His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada. He is renowned throughout the Gaudiya Vaisnava World and in many circles of modern
society for his two monumental accomplishments as the Founder Acarya of ISKCON, The International Society For
Krishna Consciousness and the author of over eighty volumes of books. Practically single handedly he began to
fulfill the prediction that Krishna consciousness would be spread all around the globe in this age.
His third, and perhaps greatest accomplishment, which has yet to be recognized, understood and realized, is to
present the vision of establishing the Vaisnava way of life in the form of a World Wide Civilization capable of
accommodating the entire population of the planet. His many elucidations of the varnasrama-dharma social
system of ancient India reveal a grand scheme to synthesize the quintessence of that system with the teachings
of Sri Gauranga in order to proliferate a new form of civilization the coming 10 millennia. The prevailing
technologically based cultures are thoroughly infiltrated with numerous principles and practices which are
diametrically opposed to the cultivation of higher levels of spiritual awareness and experience. Individuals born
into these cultures are indoctrinated from pre-birth in the beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors and outcomes of an
exclusively materialistic and exploitive World View.
These mundane societies view the conception and practice of all religions to be a sub-set of human culture which
is meant to augment the primary objective of material sense gratification. There is inadequate knowledge of the
Transcendental World beyond the limited purview of the material creation, nor is there active propaganda to limit
the expansion of material aggrandizement or establish procedures for elevating the people to a higher
awareness of their divine spiritual nature. At the risk of seriously debilitating the environment which supports
them, these mundane societies praise the exploitation of nature, and one another, for limited and temporary
benefits. Having enjoyed these to their full limit, the long term reactions upon nature and the people in general
are left as a legacy of burden to their yet unborn descendants.
For these and many more reasons there is a dire necessity for the proliferation of a new form of civilization which
is based upon spiritual principles beneficial to the people of the World as well as to the environment which
supports them.
Such a civilization is also of great necessity for the world wide society of Vaisnavas who are endeavoring to
practice the Vaisnava philosophy and at the same time introduce it to the people of the World. The purity of any
organization is greatly impacted by the sources of its subsistence. Through adhesion and osmosis, the qualities
and activities of the host society are subtly transferred to the dependant society. So long as the Vaisnava
philosophy is represented as a religious sub-set of the prevailing materialistic society there shall continue the
subtle infusion of materialistic principles and practices into the heart of the Vaisnava society.
This subtle but very powerful infusion of diametrically opposed principles has the effect of corrupting the purity of
the religion and inhibiting its effective transmission to the surrounding cultures. In order to effectively eliminate
the influences of the surrounding materialistic society it is essential that the Vaisnava philosophy will be
established as a separate and independent civilization. This will then permit the people of the World who are
seeking a spiritual alternative to enter fully into a social system which has been cleansed of those qualities from
which they seek to escape. This is the correct purport of the commonly stated but generally misunderstood adage
among the followers of His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada that ‘he built a house in
which the entire world can live’. This is a house not only for his disciples and grand disciples but a house in which
all Vaisnavas can enter as welcome guests and full-time residents. A house in which every human being can enter
and become purified by the chanting of the Holy Names and the association of the gentle Vaisnavas who have no
personal motivation. A house in which every resident of this world has equal access to the resources and wealth
of the Father, a house where there is genuine love, trust and an all-pervading sense of divine security.
TOP
The recent course of human history has witnessed an unprecedented explosion of technological advancement.
Within only several hundred years of the dawn of the industrial revolution the entire human civilization has
undergone a nearly complete transfiguration. Plenty beyond comprehension has manifested almost as if by magic
and the people of the World have been exposed to the possibility of attaining a near material perfection.
However, at the same time and in the same places, vast segments of the Earths population have plummeted into
regions of abject misery never before experienced nor even dreamed of. So expansive and deeply rooted has the
encroachment of technology become that its actions threaten the integrity of the natural environment which
supports human civilization. Verily it threatens also to destroy the fiber of human culture.
By far the most critical challenge confronting the people of the World is to recognize the deleterious effects of
over-indulgence in the apparent benefits of this technology, and to seriously seek out appropriate alternatives.
This challenge must over-ride all other considerations of individually or collectively agreed upon importance.
Without the acknowledgement of this clear and present danger to humanity, without decisive, sustained action to
establish an alternative, the World’s people cannot expect a reversal of the rapidly deteriorating state of the
Planet and the wellbeing of its inhabitants.
The way of the Vaisnavas has been conceived and established to provide an alternative form of civilization for
those people of the World who are searching for positive alternatives to the prevailing global conditions. With
the unrestricted proliferation of machine technology since the beginning of the industrial revolution have come a
host of unexpected and unwanted cultural disorders. These disorders, in the categories of personality, social- and
environmental disturbances serve to diminish our individual and collective experiences of happiness and peace.
In effect, they submerge every one of us in a constant struggle for existence of combating the opposing elements
of technological society and of the harsh material nature simply to milk out a meager portion of contentment for
our inner self-satisfaction. Everywhere one turns there is contention, exploitation, fear, frustration and mounting
unhappiness. The dream of peace on Earth and good-will toward others has become a dim reflection of an almost
forgotten ideal as the World speeds into an unknown future, sustained by diminishing resources, an over-taxed
environment, crumbling infrastructure and a disillusioned population.
Vaisnavism presents an alternative form of civilization to the World which is based upon the Vaisnava philosophy
of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and can offer consultancy service to governments, organizations, and industries.
The source of inspiration and primary guidance for this undertaking is His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada. He is renowned throughout the Gaudiya Vaisnava World and in many circles of modern
society for his two monumental accomplishments as the Founder Acarya of ISKCON, The International Society For
Krishna Consciousness and the author of over eighty volumes of books. Practically single handedly he began to
fulfill the prediction that Krishna consciousness would be spread all around the globe in this age.
His third, and perhaps greatest accomplishment, which has yet to be recognized, understood and realized, is to
present the vision of establishing the Vaisnava way of life in the form of a World Wide Civilization capable of
accommodating the entire population of the planet. His many elucidations of the varnasrama-dharma social
system of ancient India reveal a grand scheme to synthesize the quintessence of that system with the teachings
of Sri Gauranga in order to proliferate a new form of civilization the coming 10 millennia. The prevailing
technologically based cultures are thoroughly infiltrated with numerous principles and practices which are
diametrically opposed to the cultivation of higher levels of spiritual awareness and experience. Individuals born
into these cultures are indoctrinated from pre-birth in the beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors and outcomes of an
exclusively materialistic and exploitive World View.
These mundane societies view the conception and practice of all religions to be a sub-set of human culture which
is meant to augment the primary objective of material sense gratification. There is inadequate knowledge of the
Transcendental World beyond the limited purview of the material creation, nor is there active propaganda to limit
the expansion of material aggrandizement or establish procedures for elevating the people to a higher
awareness of their divine spiritual nature. At the risk of seriously debilitating the environment which supports
them, these mundane societies praise the exploitation of nature, and one another, for limited and temporary
benefits. Having enjoyed these to their full limit, the long term reactions upon nature and the people in general
are left as a legacy of burden to their yet unborn descendants.
For these and many more reasons there is a dire necessity for the proliferation of a new form of civilization which
is based upon spiritual principles beneficial to the people of the World as well as to the environment which
supports them.
Such a civilization is also of great necessity for the world wide society of Vaisnavas who are endeavoring to
practice the Vaisnava philosophy and at the same time introduce it to the people of the World. The purity of any
organization is greatly impacted by the sources of its subsistence. Through adhesion and osmosis, the qualities
and activities of the host society are subtly transferred to the dependant society. So long as the Vaisnava
philosophy is represented as a religious sub-set of the prevailing materialistic society there shall continue the
subtle infusion of materialistic principles and practices into the heart of the Vaisnava society.
This subtle but very powerful infusion of diametrically opposed principles has the effect of corrupting the purity of
the religion and inhibiting its effective transmission to the surrounding cultures. In order to effectively eliminate
the influences of the surrounding materialistic society it is essential that the Vaisnava philosophy will be
established as a separate and independent civilization. This will then permit the people of the World who are
seeking a spiritual alternative to enter fully into a social system which has been cleansed of those qualities from
which they seek to escape. This is the correct purport of the commonly stated but generally misunderstood adage
among the followers of His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada that ‘he built a house in
which the entire world can live’. This is a house not only for his disciples and grand disciples but a house in which
all Vaisnavas can enter as welcome guests and full-time residents. A house in which every human being can enter
and become purified by the chanting of the Holy Names and the association of the gentle Vaisnavas who have no
personal motivation. A house in which every resident of this world has equal access to the resources and wealth
of the Father, a house where there is genuine love, trust and an all-pervading sense of divine security.
TOP
