We Are Living in a Failed State (The Atlantic)

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/underlying-conditions/610261/

PADA: First of all, we felt for a long time that something was going to pop. And then the wheels would start to fall off the frenzied / overly stressed / way too fast paced / hyperactive / "always on overdrive" society we have had. People were commuting for hours to get to their job in San Francisco -- driving all the way in from Stockton, Sacramento, and beyond -- because they could not afford to live in the Bay Area. A number of people were spending two hours or more just getting to their job. Think of all the excess gasoline use and pollution that is causing daily.

Thus every day we have had a huge traffic mess / clogged up nightmare -- with hundreds of thousands of vehicles jammed together. And there had been so many vicious traffic accidents all the time to boot. If our vehicle was going 20 mph, that was going very fast. And this situation was getting worse by the day, the roads were basically impassible. Even the ordinary people knew, this was a "rat race." 

Did I forget to mention that since almost everything purchased in the USA has been coming in from China, the roads were also clogged with tens of thousands of giant trucks carrying shipping containers that came in from China. Meanwhile, people were struggling to pay their huge mortgage and rents here, and so they were packing many people into a teeny space to double up, triple up -- on paying rents. OK this was not a sustainable situation on many levels, just mentioning the traffic and housing crunch as examples. 

Meanwhile the leaders of the USA were glorifying the stock market's folks, same business folks who shipped the USA jobs offshore to China by investing in manufacturing over there. Then, a pandemic crept into the world and the USA did not bother to make an executive order, Marshall plan etc. to get mass testing, contact tracing, public distancing and so forth together, as was done with at least some success in S. Korea, Taiwan etc. 

Right now doctors, nurses even Air Force leaders complain they cannot get tests for themselves or their workers. OK USA was simply not prepared for such an event. And it still isn't doing too well in terms of addressing the crisis as we speak. Anyway, Srila Prabhupada gave us warnings upon warnings that the material civilization is an artificial process and it would experience all sorts of calamity, and this is just a preview of what will come to pass. 

Something will eventually evolve from all this, but it probably won't be back to "business as usual" for some time, because Krishna wanted to slow or check all these activities at least for some time. Notice that the meat processing plants are being closed.  

As devotees, we really have limited options at this point because the ISKCON society is another failed state. In fact the mundane society had to save us from the hands of the criminal goondas and hit men from the so-called Krishna society. As Harikesha said, the bogus Krishna society was way worse than the mundane society. So our only real option is to try to surrender to Krishna to save us from the conjoined meltdown of the mundane society and the false ISKCON society. In any event, Srila Prabhupada gives us many instructions on these matters, and we should try to understand them more clearly at this stage. ys pd] 

angel108b@yahoo.com

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Letter to Rupanuga -- Mayapur 21 February, 1976

Yes, this supplying of milk to the temple is wanted. Thank you. In the way that Atlanta is doing, every center must have a farm so we can get all milk and if possible vegetable, even fruit, flowers and milk.


Lecture - SB 1.8.35 -- Mayapura, October 15, 1974

Here it is said that avidyā-kāma-karmabhi. By ignorance, they are thinking by opening factories they will be happy. That is avidyā. He does not know that this is ignorance. Why you should open factory? That is... This is called ugra-karma. There is no need of opening factory. You have got land. Here are so many lands. You produce your food grains. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). You eat sumptuously food grain, milk, and that will be available without any factory. The factory cannot produce milk or food grain. 

The present scarcity of foodstuff means everybody is engaged in the city, producing bolts and nuts. Who is producing food grain? This is the solution of economic problem. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Therefore we are trying to engage our men to produce their own food. Be self-sufficient so that these rascals may see that how one can live very peacefully, eating the food grains and milk, and chant Hare Krishna. This is our mission.

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This world of maya is called durasraya, which means "false or bad shelter." One who puts his faith in durasraya becomes a candidate for hoping against hope. In the material world everyone is trying to become happy, and although their material attempts are baffled in every way, due to their nescience they cannot understand their mistakes. People try to rectify one mistake by making another mistake. This is the way of the struggle for existence in the material world. If one in this condition is advised to take to Krsna consciousness and be happy, he does not accept such instructions.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => NoI: verse 7

In the material world, people are always hoping for something. They hope against hope, yet their hopes will never be fulfilled.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => TLK Vs 22

Prabhupada: Helplessness is always there, because the threefold miseries will always exist in material life. There will always be miseries arising from the body and mind, miseries inflicted by other living entities, and natural catastrophes. In addition, there is always birth, old age, disease, and death. It is only a fool or a rascal who hopes against hope and makes plans to overcome all these difficulties. However we may plan, nature is so strong that it will smash our plans to pieces with the kick of death. Man hopes against hope to adjust material things so that he can be happy in this world, but this is foolishness. Man is helpless at every step.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Sigmund Freud [1856-1934]

They have lost the view of their self-interest. Why? They have got a false idea of becoming happy in this material world. They cannot be happy, but still they are hoping, hoping against hope

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.1 -- June 30, 1970, Los Angeles

Mind is very crippled. Therefore they are hoping against hope. They will not live here. Still, they are decorating, decorating the dead body: "This is my apartment, this is my house, this is my country, this is my skyscraper building." Painting. And one day, mrtyuh sarva... Just like Hiranyakasipu: he's challenging, challenging, "Where is your God?" "Ah, here is God! Come on!" Finished. Finished. "Here is God."

So God will appear. Don't forget that you will be godless. You will see God -- death -- and at that time, after seeing, you will be finished, no more understanding. When you will be taken away, everything, all your possession, all your scientific knowledge, bank balance, skyscraper, everything will be taken away, then you will understand what is God,

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.15.21 -- December 1, 1973, Los Angeles

Prabhupäda: Hope against hope is which is never fulfilled. "This plan has failed. Now let me this, make this plan." And then again fail? "All right, let me this." This is hope against hope. He's thinking that "This plan has failed. Let me do this plan." Again failed? "Again another, again another." [Bg. 9.12].

[Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.]

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay
Those who are not actually philosophers, scientists, educators, administrators, etc., but who pose themselves as such for material gain, do not accept the plan or path of the Supreme Lord. They have no idea of God; they simply manufacture their own worldly plans and consequently complicate the problems of material existence in their vain attempts to solve them. Because material energy (nature) is so powerful, it can resist the unauthorized plans of the atheists and baffle the knowledge of "planning commissions."

The atheistic plan-makers are described herein by the word duskrtina, or "miscreants." Krtina means one who has performed meritorious work. The atheist planmaker is sometimes very intelligent and meritorious also, because any gigantic plan, good or bad, must take intelligence to execute. But because the atheist's brain is improperly utilized in opposing the plan of the Supreme Lord, the atheistic planmaker is called duskrtina, which indicates that his intelligence and efforts are misdirected.

Srila Prabhupada, Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 7.15

So unity can be established on the spiritual platform. Unity cannot be established on this bodily platform just like the United Nations trying to unite the nation, but every year a flag is increasing. We have seen in New York. So this kind of unity will never be successful. The United Nations established at least how many years ago? So what they have done? They could not do that. Neither can do anything. Before that, there was another establishment, League of Nations. 

They are trying to unite the nations not to fight with one another. But because they are contemplating all these nonsense on the bodily platform, it is not possible. It is not possible. If you want to be united, then you have to be united on the spiritual platform. And what is that spiritual platform? The spiritual platform is to understand thoroughly that "God is great, and we are subordinate. God is maintaining us. All the property anywhere, that belongs to God, and we can use the father's property as much as I require, not to take more and stock it. No." The birds, beasts, they are very free. If you put here one bag of rice or any foodstuff, the birds will come, but they will eat only a few grains and go away. 

And if you put here, say, one thousand bags of wheat and you declare that anyone can take it, there will be fight. There will be fight. Everyone will try to take more. Everyone will try to take more. This is human civilization. The birds will peacefully take few grains and go away. But if you invite the human being, their culture is so—"Oh, I have got so much wheat. Let me take more and stock it for tomorrow or day after tomorrow or for my son, for my grandson, for my great-grandson." (laughter) This foolishness is going on on account of lack of spiritual consciousness.

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