ISKCON and Ukraine Parallels (PADA)

PADA: Right prabhu, there are no good guys on this stage here, it is all bad guys. However, the price of gas going up is good news for the alternate energy folks. They are applauding all this because they now say, hey we told ya! 

They wanted to get the world away from the world's biggest gas tank, Russia, all along. California now has a law, all new construction has to be solar powered. Gradually people are starting to realize, we cannot depend on Russia to supply the world with gas -- forever. And that means, alternates should be arranged in any case. 

So the cost of gas going up, should reduce the amount of gas being burnt, which is going to be good news -- for some alternate energy business folks, and for the planet. Some guy in 1955 in Los Angeles cut 50 gallon drums in half and made his house powered by the wind. That house is still powered by those same 50 gallon wind devices -- because the family had it installed before they needed a special permit. That means, millions of other houses could have ALL been powered the same way.

So the gas dependency guys are really a big problem in themselves. They wanted Los Angeles to be dependent on coal, diesel and gas fired electrical power plants, which is what happened. Did I forget to mention that massive uses of coal, diesel and gas fired power plants is helping causing climate change? 

And India is dependent on Russia to supply ammonium nitrate and other fertilizers. And they are also using Russian supplied weed killers and assorted chemicals etc. There have been recent fertilizer riots in India. Same thing, they need to start to use natural fertilizers (like cow dung). So the artificial fertilizer program is another program that needs to be addressed sooner or later, it cannot be sustained.

Anyway right now the ruble is crashing, and the common Russians will soon find themselves unable to buy groceries or pay for gas either, there will be huge inflation. So the greater number of suffering people will be -- in Russia. Just like most of the citizens of ISKCON ended up suffering, sometimes horribly, due to the megalomanic leadership. This hurts the citizens more than anyone else.  

Overall, this will be bad for the Russians themselves more than anyone else, that is, if there is anything left of Ukraine after it is bombed into the stone age. The bombing of civilians is demoniac, and that is making Russia look bad worldwide, so no matter what they do now, they already lost the public opinion courts. 

They have made their whole country look bad, just like ISKCON looks bad, and turning back public opinion takes decades, if ever in some cases. Anyway, the leaders are all bad, that is also true. 

So Russia will maybe artificially take over Ukraine, and then be hated by the population. Just like the GBC took over ISKCON artificially, but most people now hate the GBC. Taking over is one thing, sustaining the take over is another. Simply brute force take over never works in the long haul. 

How do we know? Krishna could easily take all of us over by brute force Himself, He doesn't. People need to want to cooperate willingly, or they will serve the king externally, but try to figure out how to sabotage the empire and get rid of the evil king in the background. It will be like having a captive slave, it won't be a healthy situation. If this brute force technique does not work for Krishna, it will not work for anyone else either. Ever. 

Ruling by brute force ends up badly for the population, and makes the leaders simply hated figureheads. And the population will always be trying to figure out how to eliminate the brute force folks, like they got rid of the Russian and USA army in Afghanistan. It won't work over the long run.  

Anyway I see direct parallels to ISKCON and Ukraine. You can take over by brute force. Fine. And you might even win the military control of the territory. Fine. But you will never win the loyalty and hearts and minds by these methods. It is going to cost you in other ways. 

You will lose support and be fighting a public image war forever, never mind holding people hostage with brute force costs a lot of money to maintain the occupiers. ISKCON has turned into a ghost town because -- people do not support brute force occupiers. It never works overall. 

ISKCON has yet to learn all this, and so does Mr. Putin. ys pd 

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**Alert -- Nationalism Amongst Devotees due to Current World Events** 

It may be noted the devotees who engage in Nationalist Activities have not read Srila Prabhupada's thoughts on this subject of Nationalism. Here are some Thoughts on Nationalism from Srila Prabhupada for those devotees who Proclaim Nationalistic Identities

....Please Read Carefully to Understand what Srila Prabhupada is teaching us so that devotees can be peaceful with one another.......

Prabhupada: In the Vedic civilization there is no such thing as nationalism. You won't find. Have you seen in the Bhagavad-gita any word "nationalism"? No such thing. This is the original ideas of the tribes. Just like in Africa there are still groups of tribes. This is most crude idea of civilization, nationalism. This is tribalized. It is nothing but development of just tribalism. They are not advanced in civilization. This nationalism is another form of tribalism, that's all.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- June 2, 1974, Geneva

Prabhupada: In the jungle the similar animals, they flock together. This is nationalism is like that. It is nothing better than that. Because they are animals, they have this United Nation. The animals will fight, so they are trying to compromise, "Let us live peacefully." That is not possible, because they are animals. All failure. 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- July 18, 1975, San Francisco

Prabhupada: Nationality means one who is born in that country. This is the general definition. So why you are giving protection to the human being and killing the cows and goats? They are not national? This means short-sighted. Because they haven't got the Kṛṣṇa consciousness they are always crippled. They do not know what is the meaning of nationalism, but they are pushing on nationalism. Rascalism. 

Here is nationalism, [Īśo mantra 1]:

[Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.]

Everything belongs to God. And Krsna says, [Bg 5.29].

[The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.]

He's the proprietor. He's the proprietor; everyone is His subject. Everyone requires protection. That is nationalism. Not that crippled ideas: "I am good, my brother is good, and everyone is bad." That is not nationalism. 

This is going on. "My nation," a few people, Russia is thinking, "A few people in this area, they are our men." And America is thinking like that. India is thinking like that. But what is this nonsense nationalism? Because it is not perfect. Simply taking care of some human being. Otherwise there is no question of nationalism. 

Even according to their definition of nationalism, there are so many discrimination. Nowadays in your country, now the white and the black have been given the equal rights. But formerly, although the blacks were born, they were treated like animals. But one of your president has given them right. But there are so many defects, unless you become mahātmā. So unless you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this so-called nationalism, philanthropism, altruism, this "ism" -- that is all rascaldom. It has no value. 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.3 – October 25, 1976, Vrndavana

Destroyed ISKCON, and destroyed themselves in the process.

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