Human Life

Here I am sporting my new "Human Made" t-shirt at work. I got it from Devadeva Mirel, who sells human made jam through her home business Sabjimata.

I should have ordered some jam too...

Next time.

A nice photo that Janakaraj took at his house. This is after Urmila devi dasi's seminar on "Raising Children in Krishna Consciousness" earlier this year.

The only thing missing there is the Afro-American Kiwi Peruvian son.

In the 70's pundits were repeating the refrain: "Computers are going to revolutionize human life. In the future people's biggest problem is going to be 'what are we going to do with all this leisure time that computers have created for us?'"

Does anyone else remember this?

At some point this meme quietly dropped out of existence. No one mentions it as a future promise, and no one explains why it never happened.

Yesterday I had an epiphany. I know what happened.

Computers did indeed create the potential for a huge amount of leisure time for large numbers of the (post-)industrial workforce. However, very smart people solved your problem - what you would do with this leisure time - for you. They did it by converting that time into liquid cash and accumulating it into their bank balance.

Time and money can be converted in an economy. That leisure time is there, it's just not evenly distributed among the workforce, and that's why Warren Buffet has $52 billion. It's the promised leisure time of the workers.

They didn't deserve it anyway...

A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is
not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight.

- Henry David Thoreau, Resistance to Civil Government

Recently at work I was promoted to managing a team of writers. The people we service (our customers) are in various time zones around the world, and members of the team are too, so I need to be contactable at various times.

The standard way to achieve this is with a cell phone.

I've been in an email conversation talking about expensing your personal mobile (where the business reimburses your costs) and the current freeze on company mobile phones due to the end of the tax year. My situation is causing some exceptions to the normal procedures. As one participant put it:

someone who doesn't own a mobile that's a little unique

I get this all the time. People ask for my mobile number. In fact it's routine now, as routine as asking for your telephone number was when I was growing up. I reply that I don't have one (a mobile number). They do a double take, and quite a few ask me: "Really, how do you get by without one? You really don't have a mobile?"

Listen, I spent most of life living in a world where hardly anyone had a mobile phone. It's not necessary. Use the force, Luke.

Even when they do give me one for work, don't bother asking me for my mobile number. I still don't have one. :-)

A comment from an Atma regular. Interesting food for thought.

Cheers Sita-pati,

Seeing that I can't find your direct email this will have to do. Please excuse the candour but that is how I operate:

Taking a strengths based approach of what little I know of the Hare Krishna movement the following seems apparent:

Hare Krishnas are known due to their distinctive dress, topknots and the practice of Harinam (?). In this sense their are instantly noticeable if they recieve press coverage. This distinctive appearance has both positive and negative aspects. The positive being the instant recognition or branding if you will, the negative being that Harinam would tend to bewilder the vast majority of the public or possibly annoy them (pop culture references i.e. flying high, GTA).

In many ways you are dealing with what might be defined as cultural gap – the distinctive and alien appearance may attract social fringe dwellers but it is unlikely to attract people in significant numbers, and may in fact scare them off. This is why Atma is such a positive step in offering the Gita to a greater number of people as ‘yoga’ and healthy eating (i.e. organic) are considered positive and worthwhile by a growing number of people (particularly when the food is so bloody delicious). Yoga has been mainstreamed and organic is well and truly on the way if not already there. Chanting the name of a culturally foreign God on the street is not. Even the Salvos stopped adhoc public street marches with accompanying brass bands some time ago. I imagine it was considered detrimental to their broader aims.

As stated previously if Vishnu/Krishna is a universal God is dressing like an Indian essential or is it posturing. It may prove appropriate for religious service (like a priest/pastor) but may be excessive otherwise. Toning this down to the Tulsi and Tilak may be effective. Both are viable and relatively unobtrusive symbols of your faith that are aesthetically appealing and not threatening to the man and women in the street. They are more likely to inspire curiosity than ridicule or confusion.

Even though I am philosophically a Polytheist (Yep! I am a Heathen) and Impersonalist and do not support the KC (Krishna Consciousness) position , I can see that as we discussed previously the most appropriate model for the KC is an appropriate remodelling of the Christian approach to outreach for the following reasons:

KC seems to have many similarities to certain Christian churches: monotheism, ecstatic dancing/singing, sexual abstinence or control, an emphasis on non-violence, a focus on the family unit, the divine coming to earth in human form, a focus on a single scripture, universalism and missionary drive.

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

- George Bernard Shaw

Of course you can be sensitive in how you do it - but at the end of the day there has to be an uncompromising core.

Alas, all too common...

Astrologically right now is an intense period of tribulation. Many communities, couples, and individuals are passing through trials and low points.

Right now the best thing for you to do is to stay strong, avoid making any major decisions, commitments or changes, and continue to execute on what you have known to be right all along.

This time too will pass.

This week the ISKCON New Govardhana farming project in Australia received organic certification from the national Organic Growers Association. After several rigorous inspections, the farm was granted a certificate of compliance which allows all fruit and vegetables grown to carry the official OGA logo.

source: ISKCON News

New Govardhana is 90 minutes drive south of us. I am hoping that we can buy organic produce from there for use at Atma Yoga, where we serve all organic. Let's see what's available at the moment.