The environmental quandary in which contemporary society finds itself is unprecedented throughout history. Modern genius has created new plateaus of consumption resulting in unprecedented levels of air and water pollution while simultaneously eroding incalculable quantities of soil. Though the current circumstance is particularly acute, it is not unprecedented since environmental exploitation has typified human dealings for thousands of years.This can be illustrated by examining the history of how man integrates himself with the biophysical environment. Human Geography provides an interesting perspective on how man sees himself in relation to the planet and simultaneously points to a solution to our social and environmental plight.
Vernon Carter points out that “civilized man was nearly always able to become master of his environment temporarily. His chief troubles came from his delusions that his temporary mastership was permanent. He thought himself as ‘master of the world,' while failing to understand fully the laws of nature.”1 In the rush to exploit the bounty of nature and in an effort to create an elevated lifestyle, man has transgressed these natural laws rendering society unsustainable.
The method of how a civilization controls nature is reciprocal to the development of its technology. This has been observed within all different arrangements of society starting with the hunters and gatherers, pastoral nomads and shifting cultivators. By no means were these societies strictly living off the bounty of nature. They often changed their environment through the use of fire to encourage the grasses to better graze their domesticated or wild herds and by killing off competing predators. In fact, the pastoral nomads “measured wealth/prestige in terms of the numbers of livestock owned and thus were tempted to increase livestock holding to the point that they threatened the stability of the system. In many areas occupied by pastoral nomads the carrying capacity of the pastures varied from year to year with climatic cycles. Thus there was serious environmental deterioration in many areas occupied by these groups. Likewise, the shifting cultivators changed the landscape with their “slash and burn” techniques. As population increased and land became scarce against competing land use, there was a decrease in fallow periods which in the end resulted in a permanent changing of the biophysical environment.2.
In the more complex societies of the sedentary plough cultivators, man's relationship with nature manifested according to his views towards the use of the land. In fact the developmental hierarchy of the land depended solely on the value that man placed on the commodity being produced in that area. The focus, or the center of the system, was simply the area where man himself lived while the core, the area immediately surrounding the focus, was given the burden of producing higher value items or commodities which did not lend themselves to transport. The periphery, in turn, was left to less important crops, and due to the distance away from the focus, as a rule, degenerated environmentally since it was given little attention to any management technique, as there was little economic incentive to do so. As societies developed from small self-sufficient villages to a large global economic system (please refer to figures 1, 2 & 3), these designations of focus, core and periphery continually remained as an expression of self-interest. Nothing changed as far as man's view of the land, but rather his periphery and core expanded from influence over a village to control of countries and continents. The degree of domination was simply commensurate with man's evolving technological skill.
It is important to realize that for a civilization to continue “it is an absolute essential under all conditions (to produce a surplus). The primary producers must produce a surplus. Without such a surplus there can be no cities...
It is this ability to produce a surplus that enables a civilization to grow, and conversely, its inability to produce a surplus which ushers in its demise. Human history is rich with examples of seats of culture and trade losing their dominant role as natural resources, or control of resources, diminish. A few examples would be Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, the Roman Empire and more recently colonial Europe.“The factors that determine the amount of surplus produced by the primary producers largely limit the status of any civilization. These factors are homely fundamentals: the fertility and extent of arable soil, the extent and reproductive success of forest, the quantity and quality of grasslands, the abundance of beneficial wildlife, fish, and water life, the supply of usable water, the abundance of mineral fuels, metals, construction materials, and other deposits of the earth's crust. These are the natural resources with which the primary producers work. The quantity and quality of these resources largely determine the amount of surplus produced.” 3."With the production of a surplus comes the challenge of who controls the production and accumulation of wealth (surplus). Since the 1500's, Europe has seen urban development change from small self-sufficient villages, where the community produces its needs within a region of less than ten miles, to the isolated city focus, with greater emphasis being placed on trade between a large city and its surrounding villages and hamlets (approximately a 50 - 60 mile radius). Land use was determined as a function of distance from the focus with the areas closer to the center receiving greater care (i.e. return of animal wastes and improved agricultural practice) with the periphery dedicated to lesser value crops and subsequently experiencing increased neglect. The next sequence was the development of the trading, then political empire, later global economic system. Its hierarchy consisted of a metropolis, regional cities in the core and head link cities in the periphery, market towns, villages and hamlets."4 The means of development along these lines came as a result of advances in technology within the fields of industry and transport. What is important is that in each of these three scenarios specific areas are designated as focus, core and periphery. In essence, through advances in technology, the strength of man's grasp increased exponentially; however, his attitude to the environment changed little. Economic and social development continued to center on siphoning wealth and resources from the periphery to the focus.
In this latest stage of economic arrangement, specific areas are forced via market and financial forces to concentrate on the cultivation of specific commodities (monoculture). Due to the growth of population in large urban centers, the mass production of food and fiber crops became compulsory. This concentrated land into the hands of a few and the development of unsustainable, mass production agricultural practice. Nowhere has the effect been more harshly experienced that in the developing countries.
“When lands are best suited for a valuable export crop, ideally they might be planted to it and the proceeds then be channeled back into economic activities that provide jobs and increasing income to the rural poor. Instead, the peasants; are all too frequently left with the worst of all worlds. The more productive lands are pre-empted by a few local or foreign investors and diverted to crops meant for sale abroad. The profits from this commercial agriculture wind up financing the luxurious lifestyle of the local landed gentry, being remitted abroad, or if effectively taxed by the national government, mainly being spent in the cities to support bloated bureaucracies, urban services, and industrial development. 5
“Seldom does the imagination translate abstractions into the events on the ground that gives them meaning, farmers forced onto mountain slopes so steep that crops and topsoil wash away within a year, peasants making charcoal out of forests that are essential for restraining flood waters and soil erosion; drought-prone pastures plowed up for grain despite the high odds that a lifeless dust bowl will ensue. In some respects, these are Malthusian phenomena with a twist. Exponentially growing populations not only confront a fixed supply of arable land, but sometime they also cause its quality to diminish. However, a second addendum to Malthus' gloomy formulation is also crucial. Today the human species has the knowledge of past mistakes, and the analytical and technical skills to halt destructive trends and to provide an adequate diet for all using lands well-suited for agriculture. The mounting destruction of the earth's life-supporting capacity is not the product of a preordained, inescapable human predicament. nor does a reversal of the downward slide depend upon magical scientific breakthroughs. Political and economic factors, not scientific research, will determine whether or not the wisdom accumulating in our libraries will be put into practice.” 6
It is mandatory, if we are going to make any advancement towards improving these social and environmental adversities that we begin evolving a deeper understanding of how human action affects this planet. As already outlined, historically man has depleted resources within confined areas forcing the crown of power to pass onto areas in possession of greater bounty. However, in today's case, with international trade being the rule, our resources are being depleted throughout the globe leaving a situation where the grass is no longer greener on the other side of the fence. If we are to survive, there must be a radical shift towards a simpler lifestyle with controlled consumerism and focused on sustainable agricultural and forestry practice.
Four Laws of Nature
Dr. Stuart Hill of the Ecological Agriculture Project at McGill University provides the following four “laws of nature” as the basic tenets of a sustainable society.
• The first law of nature is that survival for any species is dependent on needs.
• In nature all relationships are cyclical. In a sustainable agrarian system, it is important that ecological design work towards the closing of these cyclical relationships for the achievement of self-sufficiency.
• All natural ecosystems become more complex with time and these complex systems develop naturally by means of energy from the sun. It is therefore imperative that if a sustainable ecosystem be achieved that diversity be encouraged in plant, animal and soil life populations.
• Another important consideration is that there are various biochemical constraints that apply to all life. For example, there are many compounds which do not exist in living organisms. Consequently, the decomposers that break down dead organisms have adapted to a very restricted diet. Thus if organic compounds are produced that have no counterpart in nature, they will not likely break down biologically. We must establish a life-style that relies only on those organic materials that have a counterpart in nature and ban or severely restrict the production of other organic chemicals.7It is necessary that future social policy encompass these four laws. To do so, social development must migrate from materialistic to spiritual values where present and future generations are treated with equal consideration. The alternative is to follow in the footsteps of those whose peripheral vision led to decay. Nature does not run on a one way street. If social interaction does not change its priorities, then nature itself will act and force a change of direction on a macro-social level.
Krishna as the focus
The greatest impediment in changing course is both the individual's and society's inability to control greed. Unfortunately, as history illustrates, the effect of fear on changing consumption levels is quite temporary. Without a deeper understanding, as soon as the cause of fear begins to dissipate, so does the motivation for change. If there is to be any lasting adjustment, then a process of sense control coupled with a higher philosophy is required. As His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada comments:
This greed and hankering for sense enjoyment is the propellant for developing new technology to exploit the planet's resources. And there is no limit to where the sensual pushings fueling consumerism will travel. This has been illustrated above with the description of focus, core and periphery. Be it in a localized, self-sufficient economy or one stretching across the globe, the lower pushings of human nature degrade both the societal and environmental landscapes.Because people have no education in actual knowledge, they become irresponsible. To stop this irresponsibility, education for developing the mode of goodness of the people in general must be there. When they are actually educated in the mode of goodness, they will become sober, in full knowledge of things as they are. Then people will be happy and prosperous. Even if the majority of the people aren't happy and prosperous, if a certain percentage of the population develops Krishna consciousness and becomes situated in the mode of goodness, then there is the possibility for peace and prosperity all over the world. Otherwise, if the world is devoted to the modes of passion and ignorance, there can be no peace or prosperity. In the mode of passion, people become greedy, and their hankering for sense enjoyment has no limit. One can see that even if one has enough money and adequate arrangements for sense gratification, there is neither happiness nor peace of mind. That is not possible, because one is situated in the mode of passion. If one wants happiness at all, his money will not help him; he has to elevate himself to the mode of goodness by practicing Krishna consciousness. (Bhagavad Gita As It Is; 14.17, purport)
Therefore, the pre-requisite in developing a sustainable society lies in control of the mind and senses. Anything else will lack the basic philosophical, material and spiritual foundation for interminable change. In essence, the focus of society must revert from self-centered action to becoming God-centered, if it is to ever defeat the treadmill of social and environmental degradation. Only a society which replaces consumerism and "man over nature" with a paradigm which embraces high thinking and simple living can fit the bill.
What the world is waiting for is a working model embodying these principles. The last three axioms revealed by Dr. Hill can be implemented through sustainable, organic agriculture and permaculture systems. If the emphasis of society is changed to simple living, then the desires for consumer goods requiring vast energy and resource investment will diminish. There also must a repopulating of rural areas and families must begin taking more responsibility for growing their own food. Local food production will greatly reduce the energy subsidy required by the transport of produce from distant fields while providing high quality foodstuffs. And the byproducts of food production will no longer eclipse the recycling ability of the local ecology, thereby reducing pollution.
Hare Krishna Mahamantra
However, the principle to only strive for needs over wants provides the greatest challenge since unlimited desire is the hallmark of consumerism and spiritual degradation. In this regard, the Vedas emphasize the chanting of God's holy names in the form of the Hare Krishna mahamantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
This mantra purifies one's consciousness enabling an understanding of one's spiritual nature to develop, i.e. that one is not the body but rather an eternal soul and servant of God. That Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the Supreme Proprietor and that all resources belong to Him and are to be used in His service. The lifestyle change flowing from these realizations is extremely dynamic, practical and potent.
An important catalyst for the Hare Krishna movement can be found in this lesson of focus, core and periphery. This concept clearly illustrates both the effect of consciousness on the development of civilization and even more importantly, the effect of a lack of Krishna consciousness on the same. The root of materialism manifests from trying to be the enjoyer. Imagine the effect if a large enough percentage of the populace would embrace action based upon spiritual principles. It would have a profound effect on the world. Those effects would include:Vegetarianism: Have you ever taken a drive in the country and enjoyed the fields of crops blowing in the wind? A beautiful sight? Perhaps, but 60 to 70% of what you see is likely animal feed and therefore directly linked to a slaughterhouse. A meat-centered diet is ecologically inefficient, violent and unhealthy; and is the ultimate expression of enviousness of God. Moving down one level on the food chain provides dramatic health, environmental social and spiritual effects and should be one of the first criterions of an enlightened society.Certainly these are principles which are not going to be implemented overnight. But if any progress is to be made, then it must be directed to a well-defined, conceptually-correct goal. To emphasize, the principles of self-sufficiency et alia fulfills the mandates of Dr. Hill's four "laws of nature" as well as being congruent with a practically-based spiritual philosophy. Therefore, they must be given careful consideration as underpinnings of an action plan meant to alleviate the impending ecological catastrophe.
Organic agriculture: The Vedic scriptures prohibit the use of inorganic chemicals and unnatural means of food production. Animal draft, crop rotation and village life are encouraged with a saner, simpler lifestyle becoming the norm. Such changes would result in an overall improvement in health and a dramatic reduction in pollution.
Animal draft: Gone are the freeways and the massive energy consumption required to push these cars and trucks along black ribbons of tarmac. The economy would become localized and diet would change to regionally-grown produce and grains. Food would once again become nutritious rather than quick, effortless and frozen. Traffic jams, urban sprawl and pollution generated from the internal combustion engine would evaporate. Employment would be found in the back yard and cultural development would gain importance over shopping at the mall.
Self-sufficiency: This is an important component of a spiritual lifestyle. Bhakti yoga is a turning away from the external forms of pleasure to an internal pleasure concentrated on service to God. As a result, happiness comes from within rather than without. This cannot be done without a change to fulfilling one's needs rather than chasing one's wants. What makes it possible is a process which results in sense control. As this develops, so does its external incarnation of self-sufficient food and energy production. In effect, the above three characteristics of a spiritual society are contained within the implementation of self-sufficiency.
Indeed, all of these principles are contained within the lifestyle described by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He states that "there are many other instances showing that a devotee needn't practice anything but Krishna consciousness; all the good qualities of the demigods automatically develop within him. Those who are intentionally practicing to be vegetarians or to become nonviolent may have good qualifications by a material estimation, but these qualifications are not sufficient to make them devotees. A vegetarian is not necessarily a devotee, nor is a nonviolent person. But a devotee is automatically both vegetarian and nonviolent. We must conclude, therefore, that vegetarianism or nonviolence is not the cause of devotion" (NOD 14: Devotional Qualifications).
The responsibility of implementing a spiritually-biased society falls directly on the shoulders of the Hare Krishna movement. It has all of the required ingredients for success for developing a sustainable society. Vedic philosophy, the chanting process to cleanse the heart and mind plus the understanding of the importance of a simple lifestyle, are all well-understood by the devotees and are essential components on the road map to success.
The challenge is to develop practical skills within the above-mentioned departments but this is by no means an insurmountable hurdle. We owe it to ourselves but most importantly we owe it to Srila Prabhupada to strive towards these goals. He has given us the tools for success and we need only to follow his instructions. That essentially means to give up our material consciousness of exploiting material nature and make Krishna our focus. Indeed, it is what we are really looking for and simultaneously provides a panacea for the world's ills. As such, it is proof positive that the doctrines espoused in the Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita are indeed the Absolute Truth.
B.G. 2.38
Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or
defeat—and by so doing you shall never incur sin.
B.G. 2.39
Thus far I have declared to you the analytical knowledge of sankhya philosophy. Now listen to the knowledge of yoga whereby one works without fruitive result. O son of Prtha, when you act by such intelligence, you can free yourself from the bondage of works.
B.G. 2.40
In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path
can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.
B.G.2.41
Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus,
the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.
B.G. 2.42-43
Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this.
B.G. 2.44
In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place.
B.G. 2.45
The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental to these three modes. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the self.
B.G. 2.46
All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.
B.G. 2.47
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
B.G. 2.48
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure.
Such equanimity is called yoga.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
