When our spiritual teacher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, explained the philosophy of Bhakti Yoga to all of us students in the 1960s-70s there was already a small ecology movement in this country. We were part of that movement, and when we encountered his teachings, we were pleasantly surprised that, in addition to everything else it offered, the philosophy he taught was “Green” (though it wasn’t called that back then). The mission statement he wrote for his organization of followers included, among other points, an aim to “bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life.”

Srila Prabhupada’s motto of “Simple Living, High Thinking” was very attractive to us because we believed Western culture had lost it’s way, and was overwhelmed by greed and materialism. It seemed futile to think that accumulating “things” would make us happy. Prabhupada’s motto rang true.

He told us that everything is the energy of the Supreme (Krishna), that everything is interconnected. And since it is, to waste Krishna’s energy is short-sighted and unacceptable. He related stories of how his father would pick up a rice grain from between the cracks in the floor, rather than waste it—telling our guru (his son) that it was not good to waste what Krishna had given them. He also talked about how his father would set out little bowls of rice at night in his cloth shop for the mice so they would not eat the cloth. Rather than trap and kill the mice, he supplied their meager needs so that they would not bother his goods.

Prabhupada taught us that we would each receive our “quota” from Krishna and material nature, and that we should be satisfied with what Krishna supplied, and not to envy or try to assume anyone else’s quota. He said we should not focus on accumulating wealth or possessions, but accept what came to us in the course of our service and use it to serve Krishna and his devotees. He told us “Utility is the Principle” we should follow. We need not renounce something (like technology) which can be effectively used in the service of Krishna and his devotees. The trick is in having the individual and collective honesty to determine when the technology (or whatever) is being utilized for Supreme service, rather than solely for personal sense gratification. He also said that “Purity is the force”—that along with living simply, we should endeavor to live purely. When you live purely, and consciously, the earth does not suffer.

Prabhupada established farm ashrams because he believed that the general populace should be shown how living simply and in harmony with nature, combined with serving the Supreme, could be a satisfying way of life. We lived at one of Prabhupada’s farm ashrams for several years. The farm was practically self-sufficient. We cared for cows who supplied abundant milk, and we used their manure for fertilizer. We trained oxen to plow the fields to grow the vegetables we ate each day. We heated the buildings with dead trees we cut up from the farm property, and we worked together to build by hand whatever needed to be built. And while it was an austere life, it was also satisfying. In addition to the training in Bhakti philosophy, the farm taught us practical lessons, and trained us that happiness did not come from “things,” but from within.

Those years at the farm ashram changed the course of our lives. Since then, many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples have started communities around the world that aim at self-sufficiency, and explore self-contained techniques such as natural pest and weed controls, the production of alternative fuel, waste management, and crop rotation. In keeping with the Krishna conscious ideal of “simple living and high thinking,” they’ve made it their goal to produce only what they need and to avoid selfish excesses, thus providing a model for a conscientious spiritually-centered society.

One of the green aspects of our spiritual master’s teachings was a commitment to vegetarianism. In his constitution for his students, one of the points he wanted to accomplish by his teaching was “To popularize the vegetable-grain diet under approved methods in order that full value of protein, carbohydrate, fat and vitamin benefit may be derived therefrom.”

Below are listed just a few statistics which will help explain why a vegetarian diet is the diet required for those who care about the environment and the impact of their actions on it:

• 50% of all the earth’s water consumption is used for livestock production. It requires 100 times the amount of water to produce 1 lb. of meat—than it does to produce 1 lb. of wheat.

• It takes less water to feed a vegetarian for a YEAR, than it does to feed a meat-eater for a MONTH.

• One acre of pasture produces about 165 lbs. of beef, but the same acre can produce 20,000 lbs. of potatoes, for example.

• It takes 16 lbs. of grain to produce a lb. of beef. The American livestock population consumes enough grain & soybeans each year to feed more than 5 times the entire American population.

• 50 times more fossil fuels are needed to produce a meat-centered diet than for a vegetarian diet.

• Feeding grains to animals is a circuitous, wasteful, & inefficient way of producing food for people. For example, in the U.S., livestock eat 145 million tons of grain and soy per year, but produce only 21 million tons of animal products. No car owner would appreciate buying 145 gallons of gas, but only being allowed to use 21 gallons. [dated stats, the situation, presently, is even worse]

• Agriculture is the leading cause of water pollution in the U.S.—with most due to livestock manure.

• From 1960 to 1985, alone, 40% of all Central American rain forests were destroyed to create pasture for beef cattle.

• A typical 4 oz. Hamburger (harmburger) made from rain-forest beef represents the destruction of 55 sq. feet of tropical forest (an area = to the size of a small kitchen).

• An acre of trees is spared, each year, by each individual who switches to a meatless diet.

The philosophy of Bhakti Yoga is so ancient it precedes the environmental impact we’ve seen meat based diets have. It was not the primary reason Bhakti Yogis are vegetarian. A Bhakti Yogi is a vegetarian because it is requested by the Supreme, Krishna. Krishna considers all living beings to be significant, each a spirit soul worthy of His love. He has asked that we treat the animals in this world as brothers and sisters, and allow them to live out their natural life without fear of slaughter. It is noteworthy, however, that the diet promoted by Krishna also happens to be the most beneficial for the planet, and for our bodies. A coincidence? We don’t think so.

When one examines spiritual philosophies to be considered as guidance for one’s life, one ought to investigate where that philosophy stands on, and if it addresses, issues that are important to us. Back in the early 1970s, when we were introduced to Bhakti Yoga, we were happy to see that, in addition to satisfying our spiritual needs, Bhakti Yoga promoted directly within the philosophy, a gentle footprint on the planet.

]]> http://www.bhaktivedantacenter.com/2009/12/558/feed/ 1 http://www.bhaktivedantacenter.com/2009/11/516/ http://www.bhaktivedantacenter.com/2009/11/516/#comments Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:31:58 +0000 Editor http://www.bhaktivedantacenter.com/?p=516

The following is a speech given at a vigil in support of the people of Darfur, hosted by Students Taking Action: Darfur (STAND) at the University Chapel, University of Virginia.

Good evening.

We have all come together this evening to pray for, and show solidarity with, those who are suffering at the hands of others in Darfur. Certainly prayer is appropriate and powerful.

But we should also inquire: Why is there so much suffering, not just in Darfur, but everywhere? And what can we do about it? Because if we are really compassionate and sane, we want to stop the suffering in Darfur and around the globe, permanently.

My comments will be framed by the teachings of Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti  teaches us that the root of all suffering is mis-identification with the body.

Aham Brahmasmi—“I am spirit.” I am not this body. My only connection to this body is that I am inside it, it houses me, like a suit of clothes. I energize the body, I animate it, but it is not me. It is like a car that I use to drive through my life. And all living beings on the planet are spirit, equally significant, but housed in different bodies.

When we mis-identify with the body, if we think we’re this body and we approach the world from that paradigm, it gives us the excuse, if you will, to cause all sorts of suffering to others who are housed in bodies different from our own.

For instance: If you are in a female body, then those in male bodies (stronger and more powerful) can exercise control over you. In some cultures you can’t vote, or drive a car, or have a bank account, or even be educated.

If you are born in VA and you think you’re that body, then you are a Virginian, a Southerner, an American. Immediately, half the world will hate you—just for being American. You may be the nicest person on the planet, but some will hate you. And if you are unfortunate you might even hate them back.

In Darfur, if you are an Arab from the north you hate the black African from the south. Or if you are from one tribe you hate those from another tribe.

If you are in a light body, you may fear and dislike those in darker bodies. If you are in a dark body you may hate all light-skinned people, not knowing how those individuals feel about you, but supposing that they want to victimize you.

And if you are not in a human body, if say, you are in a deer body, and it is hunting season, look out because humans will shoot you for sport.

So when we see each other as the body, we see differences. And when we see differences, in creeps all the bad behavior we can rain on each other. But, when we see all living beings on earth as spirit, we see that we have what is most important in common.

It doesn’t matter if we are different colors or races, or religions, or are from different tribes. We are spirit, and we are fundamentally equal.

So what can WE do about the suffering? How can we help change the world?

Ultimately, the most important thing we can do is get our own house in order. We can practice seeing all living beings as spirit, as significant, as worthy of compassion. We can, as Gandhi suggested, “become the change we want to see in the world.” First we need to do that.

Then we help others, our friends and families to not mis-identify with the body. We can tell them we won’t tolerate judgements on the basis of race or sex or culture, nor will we tolerate abuse of other living entities based on their body.

In the last year or so, people all over the world have started talking about global ecology. How we treat the planet has taken a more significant place in the common agenda. Why can’t we do the same thing with how we treat each other? Why can’t we start a movement that places the emphasis on what we all have in common? That we are all spirit souls? Why not work to change the consciousness of our communtities, our country, the world? We’re working so hard to save the planet, but then we pollute it with hate, and innocents in places like Darfur suffer and starve.

So my prayer tonight is that we all begin to raise our consciousness and help others do the same. If we do that, we will be doing something SIGNIFICANT—because changing consciousness is more than a band-aid solution, it snowballs and affects generations to come. That is one powerful way to honor those in Darfur who have suffered so needlessly—to make the changes in consciousness that might prevent another atrocity like that in Darfur from happening.     

Thank you, Mayapriya dasi

Before I turned 18, I lived in 4 countries and attended 6 schools. Transition, adjustment, flexibility – these were concepts I understood and embraced. It was after I settled into a dorm room at Columbia University as a freshman that time stopped moving so quickly, and my attitude started to shift from adaptation to identification and independence.

I was no longer living with my parents, so obedience and duty had to come from within. Suddenly I was relying on my conscience instead of my parents to discipline me, and navigating a moral code for the sake of principle and not deference. College juxtaposed endless opportunity – hundreds of academic majors, internships and lectures – with inescapable mundanities – assignments, alarm snooze buttons, laundry – and it was up to me to prioritize all my activities in the way that best expressed my identity.

Inevitably I signed up for a class on Middle Eastern and Indian Civilizations, eager to see my culture in a glossy textbook. Conversations erupted about religion, caste, education and the controversies embedded in these constructs. I’d contribute with personal experience, having lived in India, but 21st century Bombay does not explain these things very effectively. I remembered what my father would always say to my siblings when we had questions  – and were not satisfied with his answer: Go to the source, go to the texts. All the answers are there! Don’t make judgments before you have fully sought out an answer.

Study which texts? Pray to Whom? Visit which temples/ashrams? Where did one start? Spiritual life is overwhelming in the plurality of ways it can be approached and analyzed in order to understand, embrace, and live by it. Yet Bhakti yoga appeals to people the way Krishna appeals to the Gopis (Krishna’s milkmaid servants): by calling out to the curious individual, singling him out and welcoming him.

My foray was an on-campus Bhakti Yoga discussion group that involved copious amounts of free, Indian, vegetarian food and two very friendly Bhakti monks in saffron robes, armed with many copies of the Bhagavad-gita. The crowd was casual, the conversation comfortable and the food consummate! Perhaps my priorities were misaligned at the time – my focus being more on the food than on the text – but a fulfilled stomach abets a fulfilled mind, and I was moved to speak up, when my mouth was finally empty.

At first, I felt like I knew more than my counterparts since I knew the premise of the Gita, the principal characters, etc., but with each verse that we explored, I became less concerned with the pace of the pack, and more disarmed by the language of the Gita. Love everyone the same way – your mother the way you would a neighbor, and a stranger the way you would your mother? Dust off the layer of lust that coats your heart and turns love into attachment? The Gita chastised human temperaments, without temper, and revolutionized our discussion group’s thoughts, without starting any fights: we were all Arjunas, blessed with Krishna and his words just inches away from our ears (next to our plates of pasta and halava!). I was amazed at the potency of the words.

I questioned The Gita teachings still further, and received patient responses from the same monks at the Columbia Bhakti get-together. They helped me put life, mortality and meaningfulness in the perspective of karma and dharma (duty). We glorify Krishna to practice compassion and humility, and Krishna glorifies us for our efforts, creating distractions from the illusion that surrounds us and allowing us a glimpse of pure interaction. It was easy to compartmentalize my Gita study into a weekly activity and keep busy with academics, other extra-curricular activities, and the wealth of distraction that New York City had to offer! But after graduating and starting a full-time job, my thoughts seemed to toggle between tasks at work, and subsequent fatigue at home. Having spent the day staring at a computer screen, I was too tired to read at night. My copy of the Gita sat on a shelf, collecting its own proverbial layer of dust, hiding from me its potential to lessen the stress from my daily routine.

This could not last forever, of course; circumstances found me at a Krishna-Bhakti center, hungry for halava and an honest discussion. I found the energy to pick up the Gita again, determined to read it from Chapter 1 to Chapter 18. Comparing the examples of service and compassion in the Gita to my varied interactions at work have shown me how power and control wrongly dominate the workplace – and how easy it is to get caught up in it. Every visit to the ashram is personal and intimate, while the office can feel like a maze of cubicles. I have re-prioritized once again, to define my attitude toward work with the determination and humility I draw upon when discussing the Gita. I am hearing its language – or noticing its lack thereof – in newspaper headlines about greedy leaders, in lust-filled enterprises, and rejoicing in the examples Krishna puts forth to his devotees when we most need it. I have tasted the endlessness of the Gita, and I have returned to it!

Aditi Sriram graduated from Columbia University in 2007 and has been working in New York City since then. Her spiritual heritage and contemporary search for truth and wisdom led her to a time-tested source—the Bhagavad-gita.

This article was first published in Spirit Matters Newspaper, in NYC

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Below are the Gitas we recommend at the Bhaktivedanta Center.

Left: The Bhagavad Gita: its feeling and philosophy by Tripurari Swami. Clear, erudite, well-written verse explanations. Tripurari Swami is the blog editors’ Godbrother, and has ashrams/monasteries in northern California, and Costa Rica.

Middle two: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Critically praised as having the right blend of literary accuracy and spiritual insight. This is the Gita used at the Bhaktivedanta Center and is the Gita responsible for inspiring thousands to become Krishna bhaktas. Each verse has a purport to explain it. Next to it (in the photo) is and Interactive CD of the same Gita which allows one to hear the sanskrit and english read, see audiovisual shows, conduct searches, and more.  (A.C. Bhaktivedanta is the spiritual teacher of this blog’s editors.)

Right: Bhagavad Gita: The Beloved Lord’s Secret Love Song by Graham M. Schweig, Ph.D. (aka Garuda dasa). A beautiful, lyrical translation, saturated with beauty. No purports but with good footnotes and almost 100 pages of textual Illuminations, which reveal the authors great insights into the subject matter of the Gita. Garuda dasa is the blog editors’ Godbrother and comes to the Bhaktivedanta Center to give class when time permits.