Äèñöèïëèíû:
New Vision for Graduates
We all know how much Çréla Prabhupäda stressed the importance of preaching to the youth, in particular the educated youth. On many occasions, while writing to his young disciples, Çréla Prabhupäda would express his happiness when such attempts were undertaken: “I am so very much pleased to hear about your successfully preaching widely in the youth clubs and halls and colleges, this is my dream coming true.” -Letter to Revaténandana däsa, 25 September, 1972.
In trying to please Çréla Prabhupäda, many of his earlier disciples took active part in college and university preaching. Indeed, many of them were themselves former university students.
In the context of the varëäçrama system, the Vedic literatures enjoin that the earlier formation of young minds and young bodies, beginning from early childhood up to the time one enters family life, is to be taken most seriously. The words of the five year old saintly student, Prahläda Mahäräja, are of particular significance:
kaumäraà äcaret präjïo dharmän bhägavatän iha
durläbhaà mänuñaà janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam
* literal meaning New Gétä-nagaré
“One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life—in other words, from the tender age of childhood—to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements. The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection."
[SB. 7.6.1]
Those earlier days of training (or non-training) will determine how well one will succeed in adult life. This period is technically known as brahmacarya life or student life, following strict vows of celibacy, as traditionally imparted in the ancient educational system of gurukula. Unfortunately, most young people, in our present modern age, are never exposed to such training and education.
In many ways, it is for this reason that Çréla Prabhupäda so much stressed reaching-out to today’s youth. Whatever devotees can provide by way of good association, useful instructions and personal example will, in the very least, give them a chance to take up some elements of brahmacarya life. Without imbibing such practices, entering household life is practically suicidal, as both the young man and young woman will remain ill-prepared for such a grave commitment.
What follows is but a small testimony of what proper cultivation of educated youth can produce. This short story is not particularly unique, in that many seasoned preachers have achieved similar results by focusing on the systematic cultivation of young people in different countries around the world.
This story begins in 1994 when I had just started visiting Indonesia on a regular basis to assist one of my Godbrothers, His Grace Gaura Maëòala Bhümi Prabhu, in his preaching work. He was quite keen that I spend time in this somewhat isolated country of 220 million souls, spread over 14,000 islands, the fourth largest populated country of the world. Some years before, while I was serving in India, we had traveled together and conducted preaching programs in different schools and colleges. He had seen the work being developed under the newly organized Bhaktivedanta Youth Services (BYS) in both Calcutta and Secunderabad and he was eager to introduce similar student programs in Indonesia.
I first met bhakta Wayan at our temple in Puncak, our first and oldest devotee training center near Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. He was from the island of Sumatra, pursuing his university studies in Mathematics at the Unila University in the city of Bandar Lampung. After coming in contact with the devotees, he had quickly developed an attraction for Kåñëa consciousness. He spoke a little English, just enough to communicate. I came to know that he had a small group of students who were also showing interest in devotional service and, together, they had rented a small house close to the campus. It was not long that a few of us decided to visit them in Lampung. This provided them with additional encouragement to continue their practices in Kåñëa consciousness. After leaving Indonesia, I continued corresponding with bhakta Wayan on a regular basis.
By the time I returned the following year, the group of students had increased considerably and now they had rented a second house. The enthusiasm was not only amongst the boys. By the following year, the girls had rented their own house, also near the campus. And so it was that in 1996, we had three separate groups of university students, staying in three rented houses, all enthusiastically practicing Kåñëa consciousness while being full time students, and with more showing interest. We then discussed the feasibility of having our own private hostel right on campus, as opposed to renting these small houses. Naturally, the students had no resources to purchase land, but upon approaching some of our well-wishers in Jakarta, we were able to raise funds to acquire a plot of land within five minutes walking distance from the university campus. All the students helped in the construction of the hostel. In this way, the Prahläda- Kunté Äçrama was established, making it the first Kåñëa conscious student hostel in Indonesia.
By the year 1998, some of the students were beginning to graduate and some of them were making plans to get married. We became a little apprehensive that soon we would lose many of these well trained and dedicated devotees. They will either seek some job on the labor market or return to their villages; in either case, they would once again become immersed within the world of non-devotees. How to give them the best opportunity to continue practicing devotional service? How to help them maintain and protect their still tender devotional creeper? These were all sincere souls, carefully cultivated since the last four years; many of them had already accepted initiation. Then…“dadämi buddhi-yogaà taà” [Gétä 10.10], Kåñëa gave us the needed intelligence. Why not convince these young students about the prospects of establishing their own Vaiñëava village community? As we unveiled this plan to the students, the idea quickly caught hold. Within no time, they fully supported the proposal. Our four years of cultivation had already established a strong bond of friendship and mutual trust amongst us. They quickly became convinced that this was indeed not only possible, but factually the most practical course of action.
The next step was to actually locate a large enough piece of land where we could practically begin to set up our small community. The students traveled far and wide searching for suitable land. After six months of extensive exploration, and after visiting a number of potential sites, they finally located a piece of land covering sixty hectares, in one single piece, having proper legal certificates. And so it was that, in the year 1999, we negotiated and finalized the purchase of the “promised” land. Once again, with the help of our well-wishers in Jakarta, we managed to raise the needed funds. In keeping with Çréla Prabhupäda’s vision of a God centered village, we gave our new community the name “Gétä-nagaré Baru"(GNB) or New Gétä-nagaré.
During that first year, the previous owner still had some crops of singkong (tapioca) on his land and thus he had to keep a small crew of men on the site until harvest time. The only building on the land was an old run-down wooden house, elevated four feet above the ground to protect the residents in case of flood or wild animals. In order to secure the land, two of our brahmacärés, and one recently graduated student, moved on the premises. We soon installed Deities of Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi and purchased our first bull, Dharma. Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi mercifully stayed in one of the small made-shift rooms while Dharma lived in the lower portion of the house. The brahmacärés slept on the wooden floor above Dharma. That first year was quite austere with little to no facilities. The handful of devotees had to contend with an unknown and unfriendly environment, where scorpions and snakes could regularly be uncovered in the house and ground area. When I first visited our fledging village project in the fall of year 2000, I was fortunate to stay in that same house, in the good association with Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi on one side and Dharma our bull, just below me.
Two of our graduates from Unila University, Keçava Prabhu and his wife, Näräyaëé Dasi, were the first gåhastha couple to move on the land. They built their own house not far from the old building. During this time, we invited the Temple President from Puncak, Matsya Prabhu, to survey our land and map out a Master Plan following the Vedic principles of Vastu. We thus divided the land into three main sections, the residential quarters comprising of twenty hectares (which would accommodate up to forty families), the agriculture section, another twenty hectares and the balance of twenty hectares as forest land. The Master Plan included plans for a Temple, Guest House, Residential Quarters, Recreational Area, Administrative Building, Library, Clinic, Gurukula and School, Market, etc. The architecture plans for the temple building were drawn and ready in November 2000. The devotees went on a marathon and constructed the temple within a record breaking three months time period, ready for Gaura-pürëimä of 2001. By that time, we had six homes built by devotees, the second house being that of bhakta Wayan. By this time bhakta Wayan had received initiation and became Ñaòbhuja Gauräìga Dasa and his wife, also a graduate from the same university, was Rädhä-Govinda Dasi.
Over the past five years, devotees have continued to establish themselves on the project and we now have a total of twenty-five families with a population of eighty-four residents and three cows. Following the Master Plan, many of the planned structures are now in place. The village is administered by our own local Pancayat (local council). The Pancayat members are all these former students who graduated from Unila University, with Ñaòbhuja Gauräìga Prabhu being the head of the Yayasan (organization). Once the number of families’ reaches forty, our community will become registered and recognized as an official village by the local government. Although many of these early graduates now reside at GNB, every year they return to Prahläda-Kunté Ashram in Lampung to attend the yearly Alumni Reunion, thus encouraging and helping to cultivate the new students at the hostel.
The story illustrates that by sincerely cultivating young people during their student life, the chances of their committing themselves fully to Kåñëa consciousness, to the point of establishing themselves in a remote village atmosphere where they live a simple life with no electricity, no running water, and all engaged in agriculture work, is very much plausible. No doubt, this is the special mercy of Çréla Prabhupäda. The thoughts of a pure devotee are such, that by his simple desire, he can empower otherwise unqualified souls to somehow or other establish this kind of self-sufficient community.
Although varëäçrama concepts within our ISKCON society often remain debated amongst many devotees, it is our conviction that the future hope of our young people, both within ISKCON and within society at large, will be in helping them set up such self-sufficient communities. The long term stability of ISKCON lies in establishing Vaiñëava Villages. The Youth of today have a primary role to play in helping make this happen. But, it will only be possible if our present day leaders show the way “practically”, as Çréla Prabhupäda wanted to personally demonstrate himself in his expressed desire: “I will go to Gétä-nagaré... I will sit down, and I will teach you how to live off the land.” [BTG, #30-04-1996]
Conclusion
Çréla Prabhupäda writes in one of his Bhagavad-gétä purports: “Therefore, after reading Bhagavad-gétä one should promptly come to the conclusion of Bhagavad-gétä: one should give up all other engagements and adopt the service of the Supreme Lord Kåñëa, the Personality of Godhead. If one is convinced of this philosophy of life; that is faith.” (Gétä 9.3)
Similarly, after reading Make Våndävana Villages, one should promptly take up the service of varnasrama dharma if one is convinced of its philosophy (that is faith, as Çréla Prabhupäda mentions above). In Back to Godhead Magazine Vol. III, Part VI published May 20, 1956, in an article entitled Classless Society, Çréla Prabhupäda makes a most profound statement when he remarks: “The classless society so often demanded by the people in general is made possible by the process of 'yajna' or sacrifice for the Supreme… Spiritual existence of devotional activities and classless society are two identical terms. The one without the other has no meaning.”
The clear understanding is this: sanätana dharma (activities of the pure spirit soul, devotional service to Lord Krishna) and varëäçrama dharma (activities of the conditioned soul through the four varnas and the four äçramas) go hand in hand, or as Çréla Prabhupäda so brilliantly states above “the one without the other has no meaning”.
Some will argue that how is this possible in Kali-yuga where everyone is mandäù sumanda-matayo, lazy and misguided (SB 1.1.10). The simple answer is that Lord Caitanya has inaugurated a new age,
the predicted golden era of 10,000 years, the Age of Enlightenment, which is in its embryonic stage at this particular juncture. So we are not factually or no longer in the Age of Kali with the advent of Lord Caitanya’s Saìkértana Movement. Of course one may go on presenting so many arguments for not implementing the varëäçrama mission. The bottom line should be this: the Founder-Äcärya of our society and Lord Caitanya’s foremost General in his Saìkértana Mission, Çréla Prabhupäda, as well as his predecessors, Çréla Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvaté Öhäkura and the foremost Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, all of them expressed the need to do it. In a letter addressing his son as “Sarasvaté”, Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura writes:
“People of this world who are proud of their own aristocratic birth cannot attain real aristocracy. Therefore they attack the pure Vaisnavas, saying, ‘They have taken birth in low-class families because of their sins.’ Thus they commit offenses. The solution to this problem is to establish the order of daivi-varnasrama dharma - something you have started doing; you should know that to be the real service to the Vaisnavas.”
The conclusion should be clear: Make Våndävana Villages!
Glossary
A
Äcärya—a spiritual master who teaches by his own example, and who sets the proper religious example for all human beings.
Adharma—irreligion.
Age of Kali—the "Age of Quarrel and Hypocrisy”. The fourth and last age in the cycle of four yugas.
Angkor Wat—the world’s largest Viñëu temple complex situated in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Äçrama—one of the four spiritual orders of life—brahmacäré-äçrama, or student life; gåhastha-äçrama, or married life; vänaprastha äçrama, or retired life; and sannyäsa-äçrama, or the renounced order of life; the home of the spiritual master, a place where spiritual practices are executed.
Asura—a demon; one who does not follow the principles of scripture; atheist; gross materialist.
B
Bhagavad-gétä—a seven-hundred verse record of a conversation between Lord Kåñëa and His disciple, Arjuna, from the Bhéñma Pärva of the Mahäbhärata of Vedavyäsa.
Bhagavän—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who possesses in full the opulence of wealth, beauty, strength, knowledge, fame, and renunciation; an epithet of the Supreme Person.
Bhägavata—anything related to Bhagavän, the Supreme Lord, especially the devotee of the Lord and the scripture Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura Gosvämé Mahäräja Prabhupäda—(1874-1937) the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda.
Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura—(1838-1915) the great-grandfather of the present-day Kåñëa consciousness movement.
Bhéñma—the grandfather of the Päëòavas, and the most powerful and venerable warrior on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra.
Brahmacäré—a celibate student under the care of a spiritual master. One in the first order of spiritual life.
Brahmacarya—celibate student life; the first order of Vedic spiritual life; the vow of strict abstinence from sex indulgence.
Brähmaëa—a member of the intellectual, priestly class; a person wise in Vedic knowledge.
C
Caitanya Mahäprabhu, (1486-1534)—Lord Kåñëa in the aspect of His own devotee. He appeared in Navadvépa, West Bengal, and inaugurated the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord to teach pure love of God by means of saìkértana.
Chamara—a yak-tail wisk or fan.
D
Daiva-varëäçrama—the social system given by God for the upliftment of mankind. See also: Varëäçrama.
Demigods—universal controllers and residents of the higher planets.
Devotional service—the process of worshiping Lord Kåñëa by dedicating one’s thoughts, words and actions to Him with love.
Dhäma—abode, place of residence; usually refers to the Lord’s abodes.
Dharma—religious principles; one's natural occupation. The capacity to render service.
Dhruva Mahäräja—a great devotee who at the age of five performed severe austerities and realized the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
G
Gaura-Nitäi—Kåñëa and Balaräma as they appeared 500 years ago.
Glovesco—Global Varëäçrama Educational Social and Cultural Organization (GLOVESCO).
Gosvämé—a person who has his senses under full control: the title of a person in the renounced order of life, sannyäsa. (go—senses + swami—master) master of the senses.
Gåhastha—Regulated householder living according to the Vedic social system; the second order of Vedic spiritual life.
Guru Paramparä—disciplic succession of spiritual masters.
Gurukula—a school of Vedic learning. Boys begin at five years old and live as celibate students, guided by a spiritual master.
H
Hare Kåñëa mantra—a sixteen-word prayer composed of the names Hare, Kåñëa, and Räma: Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare, Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare is the personal form of God's own happiness.
Hari—the Supreme Lord who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress. Lord Viñëu.
Harijana—“children of God”.
Harijana Movement—Mahatma Gandhi started the hari-jana movement to purify the untouchables.
I
Impersonalism—the impersonal philosophy first propounded by Çaìkaräcärya; the philosophy that everything is one and that the Absolute Truth is not a person.
ISKCON—the abbreviation for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness; the Hare Krishna Movement. The society was founded in New York in 1966 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda.
Éçopaniñad—one of the 108 principal Vedic scriptures known as the Upaniñads.
J
Janaka—King Janaka was the father of Sétä and father-in-law of Lord Çré Räma.
Jéva Gosvämé—one of the Six Gosvämés of Våndävana and the nephew of Rupa and Sanätana Gosvämés.
K
Kaöha Upaniñad—one of the 108 Vedic scriptures known as Upaniñads.
Kértana—glorification of the Supreme Lord. Narrating or singing the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His Holy Names.
Kåñëa—the original, two-armed form of the Supreme Lord, who is the origin of all expansions.
Kñatriya—second of the four orders of the varëäçrama system. A warrior who is inclined to fight and lead others.
Kurukñetra—a holy place due to the penances of King Kuru. It was here that the great Mahäbhärata war was fought; Lord Kåñëa spoke the Bhagavad-gétä to Arjuna five thousand years ago.
L
Lakh—one hundred thousand, written as 1,00,000.
M
Mahäbhärata—the epic Sanskrit history of the ancient world. The Mahäbhärata tells of events leading up to the present Age of Kali.
Mahäräja—king, ruler, sannyäsé (renounced order of life).
Mahätmä—a “great soul” an exalted devotee of Lord Kåñëa, free from material contamination.
Mahatma Gandhi—Gandhi was the leader of the movement for nonviolent civil disobedience in India.
Mayajana—a materialistic person.
Mäyäpur—The Kåñëa consciousness movement has established its world-headquarters in Çré Dhäma Mäyäpur (W. Bengal, India) the birth site of Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.
Mlecchas—uncivilized humans outside the Vedic culture who are generally meat-eaters.
N
Näma-aparädha—an offense against the holy name of the Lord.
Näma-saìkértana—congregational chanting of the holy names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya and the Vedic literatures recommend this saìkértana as the most effective means of God-realization in the present Age of Kali.
Närada Muni—a pure devotee of the Lord and one of the sons of Lord Brahmä.
P
Parékñit—the son of Abhimanyu and grandson of Arjuna. He was later cursed to die by an immature brähmaëa boy and became the hearer of Çrémad-Bhägavatam from Çukadeva Gosvämé, and thus attained perfection.
Prabhupäda, Çréla—(1896-1977) His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda. The founder-Äcärya, spiritual master, of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Çréla Prabhupäda was the widely-acclaimed author of more than seventy books on the science of pure bhakti-yoga, unalloyed Kåñëa consciousness.
Prahläda Mahäräja—a great devotee of Lord Kåñëa who was persecuted by his atheistic father, Hiraëyakaçipu, but was saved by the Lord in the form of Nåsiàhadeva.
Puräëas—the eighteen major and eighteen minor ancient Vedic literatures compiled about five thousand years ago in India by Çréla Vyäsadeva.
R
Rädhäräëé—Lord Kåñëa’s most intimate consort who is the personification of the internal, pleasure potency of Lord Kåñëa.
Randhun Kértana—referred by Gandhi as Randhun Kértana Meeting and within ISKCON as the Sankirtana Movement; chanting the holy names of the Lord.
S
Sädhu—a saint or Kåñëa conscious devotee, or Vaiñëava.
Sahajiyäs—a class of so-called devotees who ignore the scriptural injunctions and try to imitate the Lord’s pastimes.
Saàskära—one of the Vedic reformatory rituals performed one by one from the time of conception until death for purifying a human being.
Sanätana-dharma—literally, the “eternal activity of the soul”, or the eternal religion of the living being–to render service to the Supreme Lord, which in this age is executed mainly by chanting the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra.
Sandarbhas— Jéva Gosvämé has compiled six sandarbhas (books): Tatwa Sandarbha, Bhagwat Sandarbha, Krishna Sandarbha, Priti Sandarbha, Krama Sandarbha, and Bhakti Sandarbha.
Saìkértana-yajïa—the sacrifice prescribed for the Age of Kali, namely, congregational chanting of the name, fame and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Saìkértana Movement—Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu spread the worship of Kåñëa by the saìkértana movement (congregational chanting of the holy names).
Sannyäsa—the renounced order of life and fourth stage of Vedic spiritual life in the Vedic system of varëäçrama-dharma.
Sattva-guëa—the mode of material goodness, predominated by Lord Viñëu.
Smaraëam—the devotional process of remembering the Supreme Lord; constant thinking of Kåñëa (one of the nine methods of devotional service).
Çravaëam—hearing from an authorized source. (This is the chief of the nine methods of devotional service).
Çrémad-Bhägavatam—the foremost of the eighteen Puräëas.
Çüdra—a member of the fourth social order, laborer class, in the traditional Vedic social system.
U
Ugra-karma—evil and degrading activities born of ignorance.
V
Vaiçya (Vaishyas)—member of the mercantile or agricultural class, according to the system of four social orders and four spiritual orders.
Vänaprastha—retired family life; the third order of spiritual life.
Varëäçrama-dharma—the system of four social and four spiritual orders established in the Vedic scriptures and discussed by Çré Kåñëa in the Bhagavad-gétä.
Varëä—one of the four Vedic social-occupational divisions of society. See also: Brähmaëa; Kñatriya; Vaiçya; Çüdra.
Vastu— västu-vidyä is an art of engineering and architecture.
Vasudeva—the father of Kåñëa, and the half-brother of Nanda Mahäräja; the state of pure goodness, which transcends the material modes of nature and in which one can understand the Supreme Lord.
Väsudeva—the Supreme Lord, Kåñëa, son of Vasudeva, and proprietor of everything, material and spiritual.
Vedic—pertaining to a culture in which all aspects of human life are under the guidance of the Vedas.
Viñëu—the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His four-armed expansion in Vaikuëöha.
Våndävana—Kåñëa’s eternal abode, where He fully manifests His quality of sweetness; the village on this earth in which He enacted His childhood pastimes five thousand years ago.
Y
Yamaräja—the demigod of death who passes judgment on non-devotees at the time of death. He is the son of the sun-god and the brother of the sacred river Yamunä.
Yavana—a class of humans fallen from the Vedic culture; a low-class person, generally a meat-eater; a barbarian.
Yogeçvara—the supreme master of all mystic powers, Kåñëa.
Yuga—one of the four ages of the universe, which differ in length and which rotate like calendar months.
Bibliography
Bhaktivedanta, A.C. (1994). Bhagavad-gétä As It Is. Los Angeles: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Bhaktivedanta, A.C. (1999). Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Mumbai: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Bhaktivedanta, A.C. (1956). Back to Godhead Magazine Vol. III, Part VI, published May 20, 1956.
Rüpa-viläsa däsa, (1989). The Seventh Goswami. New Jaipur Press.
Real L. J. Gagnon (2003): A Comparative Study of Gurukula and
Pondok PesantrenTraditional Educational Systems: A Case Study of Three Gurukulas in Indiaand Three Pondok Pesantrens in Indonesia. Thesis. Yogyakarta: Graduate Study Program in Informal Education at State University of Yogyakarta.
Index
Äcärya 2, 3, 11, 43, 60, 61, 66
Adharma 48, 61
Age of Kali (Kali-yuga) 13, 14,
15, 21, 42, 59, 60, 61, 65, 66,
Agriculture 12, 19, 40, 57, 58
Agro-Business 40
Animal Rights movement 48
äçrama 25, 37, 55, 59, 61
Association i, 23, 26, 27, 32, 53,
Atheism 6
Back to Godhead 1, 5, 14, 59
Bhaktivedanta i, iv, 9, 10, 54, 62,
64, 66, 76
Birth v, 6, 7, 14, 41, 60, 65
Birthright 4, 7, 9
Brähmaëa 4, 7, 8, 10, 15, 19,
31, 36, 42, 66
Brahmacäré 41, 53, 56, 61
Brahmacarya 53, 62
Båhad-mådaìga9
Bull 28, 29, 56
Bullocks 17, 18, 19
Byproduct 28, 50
Campaign 48
Canada I, 76
Car (motor) 17, 18, 19
Caste 4, 7, 9
Casteless 7, 8, 9, 10
Celibacy 53
Caitanya Mahäprabhu 1, 2, 21,
23, 49, 60, 63, 66, 68
Chand Kazi 49
Chanting 9, 16, 21, 25, 43, 63,
66, 68
Children 26, 28, 31, 37, 39, 50, 64
Circumstances 29
City 17, 18, 21, 36, 37, 39, 43,
48, 49, 55
Civilization 12, 13, 14, 23, 40,
Classless 4, 10, 60
Cloth 16, 20, 31
Colleges 34, 53, 54
Commerce 13, 28
Communities 10, 17, 33, 34, 35
37, 38, 39, 47, 59
Community v, vii, 4, 9, 18, 34,
38, 55, 56, 58, 61, 62, 66
Conscious 17, 25, 43, 44, 46,
48, 55, 67
Consciousness 1, 12, 13, 14, 18,
25, 32, 34, 36, 39, 40, 42, 43,
46, 50, 51, 55, 58, 62, 64, 66,
Country 38, 41, 43, 47, 49, 54
Cow protection 12, 13, 14, 19,
22, 28, 48, 50
Cows 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 28, 29, 35,
36, 38, 43, 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 58
Culture 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 18, 30, 36, 41, 46, 74
Daivé-varëäçrama 27, 29, 30, 38,
Death 13, 14, 28, 67, 69
Demoniac 5, 6, 35 Development vii, 9, 12, 13, 26,
28, 33, 37, 40, 76
Devotees 6, 10, 15, 23, 28, 33,
34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 43, 44,
45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 53, 54, 55,
56, 57, 58, 67, 69
Devotional service 9, 10, 11, 25,
34, 43, 45, 53, 54, 55, 59, 62,
Dharma i, ii, iii, iv, vi, vii, 11,
Diploma oriented 40
Disciples 2, 39, 52
Division 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 23, 68
Duty 14, 21, 22, 48
Eco-village i
Education iii, 6, 9, 10, 17, 19,
26, 27, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42,
53, 63
Essence 5, 11, 35
Eternal 11, 14, 41, 67 ,68 Example 6, 14, 20, 31, 35, 46, 49, 53, 61
Exploit 16, 23, 28
Factory 16, 18, 19, 26
Farm Project vii, 19, 22
Farming communities 10, 22,
32, 36, 37
Farms 18, 20, 26, 28, 32
Farmer 31
Fifty percent Farmer 31, 33, 34,
39, 43
Food 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22,
Forest 14, 57
Formal Education 41, 42
Gandhi see Mahatma Gandhi
Generation 39
Ghee 50
Gétä-nagaré i, 1, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11,
33, 37, 38, 52, 56, 58
Glovesco 10, 63, 76
Goal 14, 15, 34, 51
Godbrothers I, 54
Godhead 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 15, 59, 61, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 70
Goodness 8, 27, 67, 68
Graduate 52, 55, 56, 57, 58,75,
Grains 17, 28, 31
Gåhastha 57, 61, 63
Guru 10, 43, 63
Gurukula 53, 57, 63, 76
Hari 3, 63
Haridäsa Öhäkura 21
Harijana 3, 4, 7, 10, 63
Harvest 31, 56
Health 17, 24, 27, 32
Hell 20
Home 13, 17, 36, 57, 61
Hostel 13, 17, 36, 57, 61
Household 3, 4, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 23, 24, 28, 41, 53, 61, 65,
67, 68, 69
Illiterate 19, 42
Indonesia i
Ireland vii
Impersonalism 50, 67
Incarnation 15
Indifference 13, 15, 50
Initiation 3, 10, 32, 55, 57
Instruction 11, 15, 16, 32, 33, 43
50, 53
ISKCON 1, 9, 10, 28, 32, 51,
58, 64, 66
Kali-yuga see age of Kali
Kill/killing 13, 22, 37, 73
Kértana 2, 3, 4, 9, 64, 66
Knowledge 10, 14, 15, 23, 49, 61,
Kåñëa 1, 6, 9, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22,
23, 25, 29, 32, 33, 34, 36, 39,
41, 44, 45, 50, 54, 55, 58, 59,
61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66
Kñatriya 7, 8, 19, 22, 23, 64, 68
Lakhs 3, 8
Land vi, 10, 16, 18, 22, 26, 29,
31, 35, 37, 38, 46, 49, 55, 56,
57, 58
Life 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 31,
35, 38, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 50,
52, 53, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65,
67, 68
*** 67, 69 Life-long education 40, 41
Local materials 28
Local moving 18
London vii
Mahäräja 7, 13, 14, 33, 39, 47,
52, 62, 63, 65, 66, 68, 73, 75, 76,
Mahätmä 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10,
11, 16, 63, 65, 66, 72
Material 14, 17, 22, 23, 28, 29,
41, 44, 45, 65, 67, 68
Mayajana 3, 65
Mäyäpur 16, 19, 22, 65
Milk 13, 16, 17, 20, 50
Minds 20, 21, 30, 45, 50, 52
Mission i, 1, 6, 10, 33, 60, 77
Modes 4, 8, 27, 68
Mother Earth 35
Movement iii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9,
10, 11, 25, 29, 32, 48, 50, 60,
62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
Nature vi, 4, 8, 22, 23, 27, 42, 68
Organization 10, 16, 25, 48, 57,
63, 76
Parents26, 31, 41, 75
Passion 8, 27
Philosophy 16, 17, 29, 45, 59, 61,
Poverty 45
Prabhupäda i, ii, iii, iv, vi, vii, 1,
10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,
22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34,
35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43,
44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 52, 53, 56 58,
59, 60, 62, 64, 66
Problems 18, 41, 43, 44
Produce 8, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 27,
28, 53
Prosperity 13, 29
Protection 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19,
21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 48, 50, 51
Quality 4, 43, 69
Residential 37, 57
Results 28, 41, 53
Sanätana dharma 11, 14, 59, 64,
67
Saìkértana 1, 2, 9, 11, 60, 62, 65,
66, 67
Sannyäsa 14, 21, 61, 63, 67
School 19, 40, 41, 42, 54, 57, 63
Science 9, 10, 29, 66
Scientific 3, 4, 9, 12, 34, 38, 74
Scriptures 3, 4, 8, 64, 68
Self dependent 17
Sense gratification 23, 27
Sin/sinful 11, 12, 14, 18, 36, 60
Slaughterhouse 18, 28, 36, 47, 48
Spiritual degradation 6
Spiritual life 5, 27, 45, 46, 50,
62, 63, 67, 68
Sporting 17
Çrémad- Bhägavatam 2, 12, 23,
25, 34, 35, 61, 66, 67
çüdra 7, 19, 22, 36, 38, 42, 68
Teacher 31, 41
Temple worship 2, 9
Temples 3, 6, 9, 17, 35, 39, 50,
51, 70
Theistic 2, 3
Traditional 26, 30, 32, 53, 68
Training 9, 14, 17, 34, 39, 42, 53, 54, 55, 76
Transcendental 3, 8, 25
Truth 8, 29, 64
Ugra-karma 27, 28, 68
Universe 8, 69
Vaiçya 7, 22, 38, 42, 68
Vaiñëava 2, 52, 55, 58, 67
Values 6, 26, 27, 30
Vänaprastha 14, 61, 68
Varëäçrama i, ii, iii, iv, vi, vii,
10, 11, 12, 14, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26,
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37,
38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 45, 52, 58, 59,
60, 62, 63, 64, 68, 76, 77
Varëäçrama Colleges 10, 33
Varëäçrama communities 10, 33,
37 ,77
Varëäçrama Dharma 10, 23, 59,
Village 16, 18, 26, 31, 32, 37, 42,
43, 44, 46, 52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59,
60, 68, 76
Våndävana 18, 22, 24, 32, 59, 60,
64, 68
Well-wishers 55, 56
Work 2, 4, 16, 22, 26, 27, 28, 32,
33, 36, 38, 43, 44, 48, 49, 54, 58
World 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 13, 20, 21
22, 23, 26, 30, 38, 39, 40, 43, 45,
48, 50, 53, 54, 55, 60, 61, 65
Years 1, 26, 31, 32, 34, 42, 46, 48,
49, 54, 55, 57, 60, 63, 65, 66,
68, 75
About the author
Born as Real Gagnon to French-Canadian Roman-Catholic parents in Northern Ontario, His Holiness Bhakti Räghava Swami Mahäräja spent seven years of his undergraduate studies in a seminary before completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Ottawa in 1968, majoring in philosophy and psychology. After serving as a Social Worker and Counsellor from 1968 to 1971, he joined the Hare Krishna Movement in 1974 serving at the ISKCON Ottawa temple. From 1976 to 1992, Mahäräja lived in India, engaged in village and youth outreach programs. From 1979 to 1986, he became the Regional Director for the Nama Hatta program based in Çrédhäma Mäyäpur. He accepted the renounced order of sannyasa at Gaura Purnima of 1985. In 1986 Mahäräja relocated to Kolkata where he set up the Bhakti Vedanta Youth Services (BYS) in Kolkata and in the year 1990 he became Temple President of ISKCON Secunderabad as well as co-President for the Hyderabad farm. From 1993 to 2000, Mahäräja served as co-GBC for Canada and as the Temple President for the ISKCON Montreal temple. From year 2001 to 2004 Mahäräja relocated to Indonesia where he helped develop and oversee six rural community projects, in addition to two Youth Hostels.
During this period, in the year 2002, Mahäräja established the Global Varnasrama Educational Social and Cultural Organization (GLOVESCO) and its website www.glovesco.org for the purpose of promoting the varnasrama mission. GLOVESCO was officially registered in South India in the year 2005 when devotee acquired 15 acres of land at the foothills of the Sahyädri Mountains calling the varnasrama project Sahyädri Çré Krishna Balarama Kñetra (SSKBK). In the year 2004 Mahäräja completed his Master’s degree in Education, Cum Laude, from the University of Yogyakarta, writing his thesis entitled: A Comparative Study of Gurukula and Pondok Pesantren – A Case Study of Three Gurukulas in India and Three Pondok Pesantren in Indonesia.
In the year 2006 His Holiness Bhakti Räghava Swami returned to India after a long absence of some 13 years. In 2007 he became a founding member of the National Varnasrama Development Committee for India. In the year 2008 Mahäräja registered an NGO called GLOVESCO – CAMBODIA and established a preaching center in Siem Reap as well as a rural project near the famed Angkor Wat temple (www.bhakticambodia.com). Since 2008 Mahäräja oversees the yearly Global Varnasrama Seminar in Çré Mäyäpur. In January of 2009 Mahäräja inaugurated the Sahyädri Varnasrama College at SSKBK. In November 2009, the leadership of India formally established the ISKCON Daiva Varëäçrama Ministry (IDVM) Promoting Rural Development and appointed Mahäräja as its National Minister.
Readers interested to contact His Holiness Bhakti Räghava Swami Mahäräja or desiring to assist in the preaching mission of varëäçrama dharma may write to him at the following address: Bhakti.Raghava.Swami@pamho.net. Readers may also visit the Ministry’s official website at www.iskconvarnasrama.com.
[1] Ray of Vishnu: p. 9
[2] Reference taken verbatim from ‘The Final Lesson’ DVD.