Written by HG Gunaavatar Das
Nowadays staying at home is the only way that we can think about how to be safe from the Pandemic Covid-19. This global Pandemic has been going on for the last few months and massively just within a few weeks back, on 18 March 2020 people who are positively affected by the Covid-19 is counted 2.342.066 people (Tempo.co), and 161.324 people are facing death because of it, and 542 of it are from Indonesia. Indonesia as one of the largest population countries in Asia is getting worst in this pandemic situation. The government predicted that around 95.000 people will get affected by Covid-19 up to the peak time around May 2020.
And what about Cambodia? why Cambodia is more save than Indonesia or China? I spoke to one of our Khmer Bhaktas and he said that one of the reasons is because the Cambodians are still mostly living in the villages and Localized not so much traveling. As we know that this pandemic is spreading very fast because some countries cannot properly control their people for social distancing and some countries are not prepared and they’re very late in taking decisions for National Lockdown due to so many reasons. But some countries like Cambodia and Vietnam, they are small countries but they are ready since before the Covid-19 came, some numbers of the positive Covid-19 are properly being taken care and almost all got cured. The most important thing is because people in Cambodia live simpler, localized, and not much mixing with the unknown people, doesn’t mean that they are not friendly but Cambodians are more lovely to just with their family or friends rather than freely mixing with foreign people.
Living Localized is a natural way of social distancing which nowadays every government is stressing on this rule.
The founder acharya of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada, has given us a clear message that living localized in the village and grow our own food is the ideal and sustainable way of living for keeping our life happier and healthier. Living Localized means living self-sufficiency based on cows and land to produce food that we need.
“Now we should have self-sufficiency. This means to make our own food grains grow and weave our own cloth-like Mayapur. If we have good grains, milk, and cloth life becomes easy and we can save time for preaching and chanting’’ (Prabhupada’s Letter to Mahamsa Swami, 19th January 1975)
“Yes! Go on acquiring the surrounding lands and in this way, we will establish a local self-governing village and show all the world a practical example of spiritual life as Krsna Himself exhibited in Vrndavana. Agriculture and protecting the cow, this is the main business of the residents of Vrndavana and above all simply loving Krsna. The cows, the trees, the cowherd men and gopis, their chief engagement was loving Krsna, and in New Vrndavana we want to create this atmosphere and thereby show the whole world how practical and sublime our movement is” (Prabhupada’s Letter to Kirtanananda Maharaja, 27th July 1973)
Srila Prabhupada wanted to establish in the world, either as a whole or at least in the world of his International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON. The economical foundation in a Vedic society is the land and cows organized around small-scale self-sufficiency. Ideally, every householder has a piece of land and some cows – enough land and enough cows to grow sufficient food for his family. (iskconews.org)
Living Localized and developing a self-sufficient community will help us to bring everyone to the mode of goodness and easier to develop a peaceful life and Krishna consciousness practice.
“That is the Vedic civilization, that you work for three months, not very hard, simply till the ground and sow some food grain seed, and within three months it will grow, and you will have ample food grains, and you’ll keep it in stock. And keep some cows. Dhanena dhanavan. They say that a rich man means one who has got sufficient stock of food grains. Foodgrains. Dhanena dhanavan. …Everyone should possess some land for growing food grains and some cows to take milk. Then the whole economic problem is solved.” (Prabhupada’s Lecture on BG 16.10 – Hawaii, February 6, 1975)
“Now our next program will be to organize farming land to set an example to the whole world how people can be peaceful, happy and free from all anxieties simply by chanting Hare Krsna maha-mantra and living an honorable life in Krsna consciousness” (Letter to Kartikeya, 19th October 1975)
Living Localized, living on agrarian base is the way to be freed from virus contamination, both physical virus and mental virus. Mental virus means the influence of materialistic desires and Urga-karma or destructive work. It is understood that self-sufficiency and self-realization are like two rails of Dharma, both Material Dharma and Spiritual Dharma. Developing a self-sufficient community as Srila Prabhupada said actually can solve 50% of our problems in life which is the economic problems, basically food and shelter.
It is our desire to have an ideal self-sufficient community in Cambodia. We have been based in the village for several years and trying to grow some fruit trees, rice, vegetables, and other crops as well. This Is still a long way to go to make an ideal community and bring more local people to be in.
Recently Bhakta Khear has joined our village project, and also Shuka Mataji has direct and indirectly join the village department. And we are waiting in the next few months other Cambodian devotees will come to help, by Krishna’s will. In December 2020 we want to do our next village festival at our new project Vedic Culture and Education Center.
Some local families in the village where we are based are connected to our village project and Village outreach programs, gradually they get to know about Krishna consciousness philosophy and have started to chant “Hare Krishna Mahamantra” on Japa mala.
We wish that we can continue to serve Srila Prabhupada’s mission in Cambodia to the best of our capability. By the mercy of Guru and Gauranga, we are planning to conduct the Varnasrama college in Cambodia to give some training to the youths and systematically implement Srila Prabhupada’s teaching.
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