Tag Archives: prabhupada

Finding Calm Amongst the Storm.

The world many of us find ourselves living in today is a radically different one that the one we all knew just a few years ago.

Despite having witnessed over recent decades the ever increasing trend towards state intrusion into our lives, and the seemingly endless downward spiral of morality within wider society. The sudden and impactful nature of events over the last two years left many of us reeling. The events that have unfolded may have been inevitable, and it is no surprise that many politicians and ‘social leaders’ alike took advantage of a perceived global catastrophe to pursue their own perverse agendas.

The experiences of recent months and years have impacted everyone differently. Some dharmis may have been impacted greatly on a daily basis, and lost much in the past few years. Others may have felt little to no impact at all, or even inadvertently benefited in some way. Regardless, in the face of such turbulence and uncertainty, it is very easy for one to fall into the trap of negative thinking, or to adopt a defeatist mentality. After all, even the great warrior-prince Arjuna found himself overwhelmed upon the eve of battle.

B.G 1.30

na ca śaknomy avasthātuṁ
bhramatīva ca me manaḥ
nimittāni ca paśyāmi
viparītāni keśava

na—nor; ca—also; śaknomi—am I able; avasthātum—to stay; bhramati—forgetting; iva—as; ca—and; me—my; manaḥ—mind; nimittāni—causes; ca—also; paśyāmi—I foresee; viparītāni—just the opposite; keśava—O killer of the demon Keśī (Kṛṣṇa).

TRANSLATION

I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I foresee only evil, O killer of the Keśī demon.

As His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explained in the purport to this verse, fearfulness and loss of mental equilibrium take place in persons who are too affected by material conditions. Arjuna envisioned only unhappiness in the battlefield-he would not be happy even by gaining victory over the foe. When a man sees only frustration in his expectations, he thinks, “Why am I here?” Everyone is interested in himself and his own welfare. No one is interested in the Supreme Self. Arjuna is supposed to show disregard for self-interest by submission to the will of Kṛṣṇa, who is everyone’s real self-interest. The conditioned soul forgets this, and therefore suffers material pains. Arjuna thought that his victory in the battle would only be a cause of lamentation for him.

“Be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna. Perform your duty and abandon all attachment to success or failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga.” B.G 2.43


None of us may compare to the great Arjuna, and we may not have found ourselves upon the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Nonetheless, there are many important lessons we can draw from such verses that can be applied to the state of the world at this very moment, and how we conduct ourselves in the face of such turbulence.

Much like Arjuna, we are faced with great uncertainty in outcome, and it often can seem like that no matter what we do, all possible futures are doomed to be bitter-sweet at best, outright tragic at worst. Despite this, it is important for us to remember that it is because of the excessive attachment to our societies and this world around us that we experience such fearfulness and anxiety. A good man experiences suffering in the presence of un-righted wrongs. Like Arjuna, we are passionately attached to aspects of the world around us, and because of that we are invested in the outcomes and possibilities that are yet to come. As a result, we are caused great anxiety.

In the face of such calamity and chaos, it is increasingly important for every devotee to take time to reconnect with God and turn their attention to their sadhana. By cultivating detachment from material world, the dharmic activist is able to view the world with increasingly greater clarity, and to see things through a wider lens. By minimizing attachment, and therefore reducing the degree in which one invests themselves in outcomes well beyond our individual control, the dharmi can live a life of purpose and understanding, even as the world burns down around him.

This does not mean the dharmi should not care, nor does it mean he should not act. To the contrary, each and everyone one of us, now more than ever, must live with integrity and be sure to do whatever is within our power to bring about a positive change within this world. A change more in line with Dharma. However, the dharmi must act with detachment. The dharmi must act in understanding that all things are in the hands of the Divine, and that whenever God has deemed the time to have come, the demons that rule our world, who at times appear to have us out-numbered in every way, will be washed aside to make room for the Golden Age that is to come. All injustice and evil is temporary, but the divine is eternal.

Thus the dharmi should ultimately take shelter of the divine, and in turn Kṛṣṇa will protect the devotee who comes to him submissively and with affection.

“We live in a world that we know is infinitely complex, overpoweringly beautiful, and often times deeply mysterious. From time immemorial, human beings have peered into the heavens and contemplated the meaning of the world around them, and the meaning of their own lives within this world. When we human beings do begin to contemplate the meaning of our reality, there are really only two mutually exclusive conclusions that we can possible come to. And we must choose between one of these two possible explanations. The first way of viewing reality tries to convince us that the world we see around us is ultimately devoid of any real and lasting meaning. That everything happens in a thoroughly random manner. That the world is an inherently chaotic place, without an ultimate purpose, or any higher principle governing what happens in our cosmos or what happens to us. We are alone. This uninspired response to the mysteries of the world around us is the typical secular materialist response. It is the depressing conclusion that the atheist comes to. This atheistic way of viewing reality is now the dominant worldview, purposefully and systematically foisted upon us for over two centuries by those who control public discourse and culture.

The second way in which we can choose to see our world tells us just the very opposite of the above pessimistic and ultimately hopeless scenario. This second way envisions the universe around us as being full of deep meaning and alive with exciting possibility. Our cosmos is understood to be a reality in which, while oftentimes seemingly chaotic or confusing at a cursory glance, is in actuality governed by a higher and benevolent intelligence. It is a reality in which a nuanced order, balance, harmony and purpose lay hidden behind every important occurrence. Ours is a cosmos that is ruled by Natural Law. Though each and every one of these eternal principles of this Natural Law are not necessarily all known to us at all times, they are nonetheless discernible by those among us who are wise, patient and sensitive enough to listen to the quiet whispers of nature and to humbly open ourselves to the many lessons to be learned from Her.

When we fully realize the nature and power of this Natural Law, and live according to its wise guidance, then we are living in harmony with the cosmos, and we open ourselves to experiencing the peace, health, joy, sense of oneness with all of creation and with every being in creation, and deep sense of meaning that each of us, in our own way, yearns for. This second response to the mystery of our cosmos represents the optimistic and hopeful world-view of Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Natural Way. The spiritual path of Sanatana Dharma, or “The Eternal Natural Way”, is the most ancient spiritual culture and tradition on the earth. Indeed, it is “sanatana”, or eternal. To one degree or another, it forms the archetypal antecedent of every other later religion, denomination, and spiritually-minded culture known to humanity.”
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way


THE DHARMA MANIFESTO

the-dharma-manifesto-frontcover-web

 

The Dharma Manifesto is a call to action for those who seek a form of social and political action that has a firm spiritual foundation, but which also challenges the prevailing social and religious order in the postmodern West. It does not merely offer criticism – it is also a blueprint for how a national community founded upon Dharmic principles could operate in the twenty-first century. Its author defines the term “Dharma,” which in the ancient Sanskrit language means “Natural Law,” in an unconventional way. For those who embrace Dharma Nationalism, Dharma is predicated upon the pressing need for the organic and munificent re-sacralization of culture and of all human endeavor, as well as the manifestation of the highest potentials attainable by every individual in society in accordance with transcendental principles. Thus, Dharma does not only refer to traditions with which it is usually associated such as Hinduism and Buddhism, but also to the Taoist, Confucian, Zoroastrian, Native American, and European pagan traditions, all of which, this book holds, share a common, basic worldview. This book is therefore a resource for those who want to carry out both an inward, contemplative revolution within themselves as well an outer, social revolution in the world around them, in harmony with one another. It is intended to serve as a systematic program signaling the beginning of a what will hopefully be a new era in humanity’s eternal yearning for meaningful freedom and happiness.

PURCHASE THE DHARMA MANIFESTO TODAY:

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Arktos Media


Dharma Revolution: An interview with Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (Part One)

The Dharma Manifesto by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya is a “blueprint” for creating a new type of society based on the ancient spiritual principles. At its core is to restore the sacred to the ordinary and dignity to the individual so that each person might fulfill their full potential. Below is the first of a two-part interview exploring Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya’s life, work, the principles and purpose of The Dharma Manifesto, and his vision for a new, very different, and Dharmic politics and nation state.

About Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya:

Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya has been a follower of Sanatana Dharma (“Hinduism”) for four decades, and has been a recognized teacher in the tradition since 1988. He holds a doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and is the founder, head, and guide of the global Dharma Nation movement.  He also lectures and writes on the Dharma. His other books include The Shakti Principle: Encountering the Feminine Power of God and Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way.


The Dharma Manifesto: An interview with Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (Part Two)

The global rise of Dharma, the future Dharmic nation state, and the thousand-year war against Hinduism. These are just a few of the subjects Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (an ordained orthodox Vedic brahmana, and author of The Dharma Manifesto) discusses in this, the second part of a two-part interview with People of Shambhala. We hope you enjoy.



About Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya:

Author David Frawley has said of Sri Acharyaji, that he “represents the Sankalpa [the will] of the Hindu people and the cause of Sanatana Dharma.” He has been a follower of Sanatana Dharma (“Hinduism”) for four decades, and has been a recognized teacher in the tradition since 1988. Sri Acharyaji holds a doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and is the founder, head, and guide of the global Dharma Nation movement. He also lectures and writes on the Dharma. His other books include The Shakti Principle: Encountering the Feminine Power of God and Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way.


Organic Government – The Dharma Manifesto

It is possible to have government function in a way that is healthy, efficient, spiritual and organic.

 

Read “The Dharma Manifesto”, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, to learn how.

Available through Arktos Media:

http://www.arktos.com/sri-dharma-pravartaka-acharya-the-dharma-manifesto.html


Consciousness Wars: The Dharma Manifesto

Consciousness Wars – The Dharma Manifesto
A New Video Event

Over the years, we have been offered “holy wars”, “class wars”, “culture wars”, and “info wars” as attempted solutions for the dire global crisis that we are currently experiencing. In actuality, what we have been experiencing has been a consciousness war. We are presently in an ongoing struggle between the forces of materialism (with its consciousness of lust, anger and greed) versus the forces of spirituality (with its consciousness of love, tranquility and compassion). The way to transform our world for the better is to help others to elevate their consciousness, and thus liberate their perception and awareness of the truth of their true identity and of what is truly happening around them.

Learn how to elevate yourself and your world.

Presented to you by the supporters of Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.


Atheism & Moral Cowardice

atheismSanatana Dharma (The Eternal Natural Way) begins with the natural supposition that God not only exists, but is the basis of all reality. Atheism is a pseudo ideology predicated upon a need to justify moral and existential cowardice. “If there is no God,” the atheist hopes, “then I am accountable to nothing but my own whims.” Sanatana Dharma offers a path free from such amoral self-delusion!


A Vedic Critique of Marxism

A Vedic Critique of Marxism
By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

Indian Marxist
The following article is from chapter 3 of the groundbreaking new book “The Dharma Manifesto“, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya. This paper represents the first seriously philosophical, Vedic critique of Marxism ever written in history. The book can be purchased at:

http://www.arktos.com/sri-dharma-pravartaka-acharya-the-dharma-manifesto.html

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If you can cut the people off from their history, then they can be easily persuaded.”

– Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Marxism is arguably the most monstrously destructive and morally reprehensible worldview the world has ever known. The perpetual violence that has been instigated by Marxist movements, totalitarian Communist dictatorships, bloody guerrilla wars, and terrorist bloodshed has been responsible for more deaths and suffering during the twentieth century than any other rival ideology of that era, including National Socialism. Marxism has led to the destruction of cultures, the dehumanization and misery of large segments of the global population, and the degeneration of the human spirit. Marxism is an atheistic and materialistic philosophy that views human beings as purely mechanistic, characterless and utilitarian automatons. For Marxists, human persons are to be reduced, both philosophically and in practice, to nothing more than soulless and bland laborers, whose existence only has meaning in direct proportion to their degree of utility by, and enslavement to, the state.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German citizen of Jewish descent who in his youth had been interested in the views of the German idealist philosopher and theologian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831). Though Hegel’s philosophical system was theistic, and most of his followers at that time were themselves primarily religious individuals, Marx’s introduction to Hegel’s thought was via the Young Hegelians, a group dedicated to misusing Hegel’s philosophical methods to undermine and eradicate religious thought itself, rather than uphold it. The two main leaders of the Young Hegelians were Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) and Bruno Bauer (1809-1882).

Karl Marx had initially (pre-1844) subscribed to the Feuerbachian program of the critique of religion. While he continued to employ the notion of a philosophical anthropology – the attempt to discern the human meaning behind every experience – he went further than LudwigFeuerbach with his attempt to perform a critique of political economy. In the following section, we will briefly examine what led Marx to attempt such a critique, and talk about the ways in which political economy is thoroughly resistant to such a Marxist critique.

Fueurbach and the Young Hegelians felt that the very apex of both the philosophical and the theological enterprises had been achieved by Hegelianism and German Lutheranism, respectively. Thus, in their monumentally insular view, the end of the philosophic enterprise had suddenly commenced in their lifetime.[1] Now, the only project left was the creation of a philosophical anthropology – an attempt to show that all philosophical ideas were dependent upon what is essentially human in the purely biologically behavioral sense. Once a general account of humanity would be attained, so their belief went, then such an account could be applied to all things. The primary tool of this project was the use of the process of criticism, which would purportedly reveal the conditions for the very possibility of any object under observation.

The Young Hegelians, including Feuerbach and Marx, had applied this process of critique to the nature of the theology of the so-called Right Hegelians, who were primarily Lutheran theologians loyal to Hegel’s theistic philosophical underpinnings. Feuerbach, specifically, felt that religion was merely an unreal projection of essential, alienated humanity. Furthermore, for Feuerbach, God was no more than the construction of human beings, and actually represented the conceptual personification of what were in actuality very human traits. By critiquing God and religion, Feuerbach thought, a greater knowledge of human beings could be attained. Marx would later fervently agree with this general premise.

While Feuerbach felt that there was at least a trans-historical human essence, however, Marx felt that such an idea was too much of a concession to the “metaphysical”, and that man’s essence was only ever revealed under real world, materialist conditions. Human beings, for Marx, are in essence, primordially, producers and makers. Work, for Marx, was both the raison d’être and essential attributive nature of the human person. Therefore, on Marx’s account, self-actualization consisted in nothing more than having the freedom to perform meaningful work. Production, for Marx, was labor that is transformative towards creating a certain outcome, a praxis. Political economy was a body of theories formulated by the classical economists (such as Adam Smith) that sees human beings as essentially productive animals. Therefore, political economy – the realm of production and exchange – now became the central object of any Marxist critique.

The French Revolution supposedly succeeded in creating political emancipation, so Marx insisted, but state equality displaced inequality into the social sphere. In the social sphere, human beings were subject to an overwhelming sense of alienation. The proletariat (the working class) was separated from what they essentially are – biologically-determined producers unleashed to create, as an expression of their own essence. Political economy was thus seen as nothing more than the projection of our collective human praxis.  Instead of political economy serving human purposes, however, Marx felt that humanity was presently serving the needs of political economy. But the present political economy is nothing more than our own creation. Now a human revolution was needed. In order to begin this purportedly emancipatory process, Marx felt that the economic system of his time needed to be translated into a philosophical anthropology.

Marx’s attempt to translate the critical program to political economy proved immediately problematic for three reasons. 1) While God is immaterial, economies are very material; 2) It was impossible at Marx’s juncture in history to imagine a world without alienated labor; 3) Marx used Adam Smith as his primary economic theorist, though many of Smith’s ideas no longer applied.

Thus, while Marx made the attempt to translate Fueurbach’s failed critique of religion into a critique of political economy, such an application was itself a complete failure, to say the least.

The Failures of Marxism

We are ruthless and ask no quarter from you. When our turn comes we shall not disguise our terrorism.”[2] – Karl Marx

The failures of Marxism are legion and have been well documented for many decades by a wide variety of scholars, researchers, thinkers, economists and political scientists. Marxism eliminates all incentive for people to engage in any form of labor, whether intellectual, artistic or physical. By eliminating wages directly reflective of the value of individual instances of labor, people living under Marxist regimes are forced to work for a rationed amount of food and basic resources. Without a fair wage to work for, people naturally lose the motivation to work at all, thus leading to economic stagnation and a sense of hopelessness. We have seen such instances of economic failure in every Communist nation in history, and we are now beginning to see such economic breakdown occur in Europe and America as a direct result of the incremental introduction of crypto-Marxist economic policies.

A nation under the bondage of Marxism is destined to failure because such a state provides its people with no reason to strive for anything higher than being a personless atom in the social mass. With no distinctions, diversity, hierarchy, or classes to order the varying social strata of society in a sane and reasonable manner, a doctor will be paid the same wage as garbage collector, and a factory laborer has no hopes of ever earning a better life even if he acquired a Ph.D. All people are paid equally for work that requires unequal levels of skill, talent, education and personal natural propensity, so the person who aspires to be a doctor has no motivation to go to school for so many years of hard work only to be paid the same amount as someone who has not gone to school at all.

Marxism is predicated upon the idea of radical egalitarianism. Consequently, Marxists strive to utterly eliminate any sense of ethnic and national diversity, pride or celebration. The policy of eliminating a people’s natural and inherent sense of distinct cultural identity is designed to deprive people of any identity-sourced empowerment to dissent against the totalitarian, atheistic government. It is precisely for this reason that we must hold on to our ethnic and cultural identity at all costs, expressing a healthy pride in who we are, and in the ethnic heritage that made us who we are. Marxists, both those who have already gained power and those who seek to force their way to power in non-Marxist societies, promote and force ethnic amalgamation at the direct expense of ethnic diversity, often in the very name of ethnic diversity. We must never allow any government to eliminate the rich and beautiful diversity of the many cultures, languages, ethnicities, races and unique peoples that make our world the fascinating and meaningful place it is.

Marxism enforces its own beliefs and forcefully prevents all free speech that departs from their own belief system. Marxism is based upon fanaticism, hatred, doctrinaire closed-mindedness, dogmatic slogans, and blind faith in unsound historical, social and economic theories. Those found dissenting against the Marxist system are taken from their families and put into re-education centers or Gulags for merciless and systematic brainwashing. Those who continue to dissent are often summarily executed, with the family expected to pay for the bullets. The nightmarish Marxist model of the state represents the very opposite model that is presented by Dharma.

Comparison of Marxism with Sanatana Dharma
(Please compare both lists side by side)

MARXISM:

Materialism.

Biological Determinism.

External environment creates human essence.

Nurture trumps Nature.

Atheism.

Radical egalitarianism.

Globalization.

Class, gender, race and social conflict.

Multiculturalism.

Ethnic disintegration.

Eradication of gender differences.

Destruction of Tradition.

Culture reflects the lowest common denominator.

“Socialist realist” art.

Destruction of the family structure.

Exploitation of Nature, and degradation of the environment.

Relativist ethics (the ends justify the means).

Lack of civil freedoms.

Personhood subsumed in the amorphous masses.

Democratic centralism.

Omnisexuality.

Abortion on demand.

All means of production controlled by the state.

DHARMA (NATURAL LAW):

Spirituality.

Vitalism.

Human beings create their external environment, which in turn can have an effect
upon the natural development of the person.

Will trumps both Nature and Nurture.

Theism.

Qualitative Hierarchy.

Tribalism/Nationalism.

Class, gender, and social harmony and cooperation.

Ethnic Plurality.

Ethnic integrity.

Celebration of gender distinctions.

Celebrating Tradition.

Culture reflects the highest ideals.

Aesthetics inspired by ideal forms, transcendent insight, eternal archetypes,
and inspiration from Nature.

Upholding the traditional family.

Preservation and reverence for Nature.

Firm non-relativist ethics.

Human values based upon transcendent truth.

Inherent freedom of the human person.

Human personality never subsumed in the amorphous masses.

Leadership principle.

Heterosexuality.

Respect for innocent life.

All means of production controlled by free and creative human persons and
families.

Marxist philosophy, and the Communist movement in general, is without doubt the most destructive ideology humanity has ever been subjected to. Marxism represents the exact antithesis of Natural Law, of religion, of positive culture, of any form of national ideal, and of healthy tradition. Marxism is the polar opposite of life itself. It is the embodiment of the final, quintessential stage of the 4000-year-old failed Abrahamic experiment.

Communism has been responsible for the death, murder, torture and pain of more human beings than any ideology in world history (with, arguably, the possible exception of Islam). In China, the former USSR, and the former Communist nations of Eastern Europe, it has led to environmental degradation that is unprecedented. Marxism is a culture-destroyer. Far from being “progressive” and leading societies toward greater advancement, Marxism has led the nations under its rule back to the dark ages. In each and every significant way, Marxism is the very exact opposite of everything that Dharma and Natural Law has ever stood for. This explains why for the last 150 years of history, communists have been one of Vedic civilization’s very greatest enemies, and have tried to destroy us every chance they get. Marxism is the natural enemy of Dharma. Every follower of Sanatana Dharma must oppose Marxist materialism with every breath we have.

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This article is the most in-depth critical analysis of Marxism from a Vedic perspective ever written. It is taken from chapter 3 of the groundbreaking new book “The Dharma Manifesto“, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.  The book can be purchased at:

http://www.arktos.com/sri-dharma-pravartaka-acharya-the-dharma-manifesto.html

The Dharma Manifesto serves as the first ever, systematic revolutionary blueprint for the nascent global Vedic movement that will, in the very near future, arise to change the course of world history for the betterment of all living beings. The Dharma Manifesto signals the beginning of a wholly new era in humanity’s eternal yearning for meaningful freedom and happiness.

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About the Author

Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya has been acknowledged by many Hindu leaders throughout the world to be one of the most revolutionary and visionary Vedic spiritual masters on the Earth today.

With a forty year history of intensely practicing the spiritual disciplines of Yoga, and with a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, Sri Acharyaji is one of the most eminently qualified authorities on Vedic philosophy, culture and spirituality.

He is the Director of the Center for the Study of Dharma and Civilization – the very first Hindu think tank in American history.

His most historically groundbreaking politico-philosophical work, “The Dharma Manifesto”, is now offered to the world at a time when its people are most desperately crying out for fundamental change. Available here:

http://www.arktos.com/sri-dharma-pravartaka-acharya-the-dharma-manifesto.html

PLEASE SHARE THIS IMPORTANT ARTICLE

 


[1] Which was, on the face of it, merely another ego-driven manifestation of what I have termed the psychological defect of temporal-centrism – or, believing that the historical era in which one is presently living represents the apex of all human achievement.

[2] Neue Rheinische Zeitung (May 18, 1849) ”Marx-Engels Gesamt-Ausgabe, Vol. VI, p. 503.


Taxation is Theft

The America Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”

– Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)

Taxation is theft.   This one of the foundational political mantras of the Dharma Nation Movement.

Taxation is TheftGovernment produces no wealth. It only confiscates wealth in the form of taxation from those who do actually create wealth, and redistributes that wealth to those who did not earn it. Moreover, government officials and corrupt politicians engage in such taxation theft, not for the actual betterment of the poor, but to buy the votes of the poor. Writing about the duplicitous nature of such corrupt politicians, Prabhupada stated the following:

“Tax exaction is not meant for the sense gratification of the so-called administrative heads. Tax revenues should be distributed to the citizens in times of need, during emergencies such as famine or flood. Tax revenues should never be distributed amongst governmental servants in the form of high salaries and various other allowances. In Kali-yuga, however, the position of the citizens is very horrible because taxes are exacted in so many forms and are spent for the personal comforts of the administrators.”

(Srimad Bhagavatam 4.16.6, Purport)

Wealth belongs exclusively in the hands of those individuals, families and businesses who are directly responsible for its creation, and is not to be forcefully redistributed by the government to those who did not create it – even in the name of poverty reduction.[1] Taxation must be recognized as a necessarily unavoidable evil that all governments must seek to reduce to the absolute minimum degree that is necessary to provide basic and foundational services to the people.

A Dharma Nationalist government would call for the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service, abandonment of the current complicated, confusing and inequitable tax system, the elimination of the progressive income tax, and a rapid transition to a more fair, flat tax system. Very simply, all households with a combined family income above the poverty level (income reflecting the year 2012) will pay a simple and fair 10% maximal tax rate, and when an atmosphere of economic prosperity warrants it, less than 10%. Whether a family makes $50,000 per year, $500,000 per year, or $5,000,000 per year, the yearly tax rate will never exceed 10% of that family’s total earnings. The property tax, marriage penalty tax, death tax, and inheritance tax will be abolished outright

 



[1] Poverty reduction is more effectively achieved via the volunteer work of private charitable organizations, and not through the inefficient and corrupt programs of government bureaucracies.


Government Regulations are Killing America

In America today, there is very little that you can actually do without getting some sort of a “license” or a “permit” first.

Do you want to leave your home?
You better get a license to drive first or find someone that does.

Do you want to start a business?
You better get ready for a very long relationship with licenses and permits.

Do you want to open a Hot Dog Stand?
A 13 year old boy up in Michigan has had his hot dog stand shut down because of a zoning violation. His parents actually thought that they had all the proper licensing.

Do you want to collect rainwater?
Could you imagine being sent to prison for collecting the rain that falls from the sky on your own property? A rural Oregon man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail and over $1,500 in fines because he had three reservoirs on his property to collect and use rainwater.

Care for a Smoke?
Santa Monica, California has decided to make it illegal to smoke inside your own home.

Want to take a drive with Fido?
In New Jersey, if you are driving around with an “unrestrained” cat or dog in your vehicle you can be fined up to $1000 for each offense.

How about a bake sale?
Hazelwood, Missouri it is actually illegal for little girls to sell girl scout cookies in the front yards of their own homes.

Don’t let junior play with chalk.
In one Denver neighborhood, children have been banned from drawing on the sidewalk with colored chalk.

And forget that lemonade stand.
All over the United States, lemonade stands run by small children are being shut down by police because they do not have the “proper permits”.

How about reading some religious scriptures?
Recently a man that was arrested for hosting a Bible study in his own home. It turns out that he is still in prison serving his 60 day prison sentence.

Are you growing a garden?
Denise Morrison in Tulsa, Oklahoma had her survival garden brutally ripped out and carted away by government thugs. She was relying on that garden to provide the things that she needed. But the government control freaks savagely ripped it all out and left her with nothing.

Does junior ever throw temper tantrums?
If so, your child may get arrested and sent to a mental institution if he or she throws a tantrum in front of the police. A 6-year-old girl down in Florida was “throwing objects, hitting administration personnel and screaming uncontrollably” so police handcuffed the 40 pound little girl and shipped her off to a mental institution for evaluation.

Don’t pack plastic utensils with juniors lunch.
An 11-year-old kid down in Florida was actually arrested by police, thrown in jail and charged with a third-degree felony simply for bringing a plastic butter knife to school.

Better get your dose of Fluoride
In Massachusetts, all children in daycare centers are mandated by state law to brush their teeth after lunch. In fact, the state even provides the fluoride toothpaste for the children.

Blogging? Forget it in Philly
It is illegal to make even a single dollar from a blog unless you buy a $300 business license. The Philly government even went after one poor woman who had earned only $11 from her blog over the past two years.

Spare some water Buddy?
In Louisiana one church was recently ordered to stop giving out water because it did not have the “proper permit” to do so.


Who Rules Over You?

For the last two and a half centuries, the primary organs of power have been under the firm control of a small cabal of demonic psychopaths who have secretly ruled over the innocent people of the world and exploited those innocent people for their own selfish ends. These parasitic demons have almost absolute control over most of the media, government institutions, bureaucratic structures, labor unions, educational institutions from kindergarten to post-graduate academia, major non-profit “charitable” institutions, and inter-governmental bodies, such as the United Nations. They have been responsible for almost every major war in the last 150 years, for the degeneracy of our culture, for our current exploitative system of wage-slavery, and for the environmental degradation that our Earth has experienced since the commencement of Industrial Era. Despite their ascendent trajectory for the last several centuries, however, these demonic, secret, would-be rulers are not omnipotent! They can and will be defeated in our lifetime! Their rule is about to end! Help us to bring about the Dharma Restoration! Help us to defeat them! Read “The Dharma Manifesto” to learn how.

 


Prabhupada on True Civilization

“People do not know what real progress is. The Vedic civilization is not interested in the false progress of economic development. For instance, sometimes people boast, ‘We have gone from the hut to the skyscraper.’ They think this is progress. But in the Vedic system of civilization, one thinks about how much he is advanced in self-realization. He may live in a hut and become very advanced in self-realization. But if he wastes his time turning his hut into a skyscraper, then his whole life is wasted. Modern so-called civilization is simply a dog’s race. The dog is running on four legs, and modern people are running on four wheels. The learned, astute person will use this life to gain what he has missed in countless prior lives – namely, realization of self and realization of God.”

 

From the book Civilization and Transcendence, by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Aurora, Colorado Shootings

We offer our deepest prayers and condolences for the victims of the Aurora, Colorado shootings, and for the eventual healing of their families and loved ones.

At all times, upon all sentient beings everywhere, may peace prevail.

Aum Shanti Shanti Shantihi.


USDA Prepares to Green-Light Gnarliest GMO Soy Yet

In early July, on the sleepy Friday after Independence Day, the USDA quietly signaled its intention to green-light a new genetically engineered soybean seed from Dow AgroSciences. The product is designed to produce soy plants that withstand 2,4-D, a highly toxic herbicide (and, famously, the less toxic component in the notorious Vietnam War-era defoliant Agent Orange).

FULL ARTICLE


Vegetarianism: Celebrating Life

Vegetarianism: Celebrating Life

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

The reasons for becoming a vegetarian are many. Vegetarianism makes sense from every possible perspective.

Health – Vegetarians have been shown to live longer, as well as suffer much less from such health problems as cancer, heart-disease and other illnesses. Contrary to popular belief, meat foods are not a necessary component of the human diet. In fact, evolutionarily and biologically, humans are not designed to be carnivores. Our teeth and intestinal structures are best suited for an herbivorous (vegetarian) diet.

Economic – A cow has to be fed up to 16 pounds of grain in order to produce only one pound of beef. If this grain were to be fed directly to human beings, world starvation could be eliminated. In addition, the meat industry is one of the most heavily federally subsidized industries in America. Your tax dollars are being wasted supporting an industry that produces an inefficient and unhealthy product.

Environmental – Central and South American rain forests are being decimated at the alarming rate of 2.5 acres per second. Much of this destruction is occurring in order to provide grazing land for beef cattle. Every burger we eat represents a tree mowed down in a rain forest. Also, the meat industry has been repeatedly cited as one of the major industries responsible for massive pollution, including the dumping of noxious wastes into our nation’s water supplies.

Ethical – To kill or give pain to any living creature, especially when such actions are unnecessary and not in self-defense, is morally unjustified. Like you and I, animals are sentient living beings, and have been proven to be capable of feeling pain and suffering. Animals, like humans, cry out if cut; they scream if killed; they mourn if separated from those they love. God created animals, not for us to torture and gobble up thoughtlessly, but to cooperate with, learn from and protect. If we are, indeed, vastly superior to animals in both our ethical development and in our sense of justice, should we not perhaps behave as such?

Spiritual – Most of the world’s varied religious traditions are opposed to creating unnecessary suffering. The two most important qualities that many spiritual paths attempt to instill in their adherents are wisdom and compassion. These qualities are impossible to develop as long as we engage in violence of any sort. However insignificant or distant an act of violence may appear to us (such as the killing and eating of animals), it nonetheless contributes to an overall social attitude of justifying violence. Violent minds lead to violent lifestyles. In such a state of consciousness, it is impossible to make any serious advancement on one’s chosen spiritual path.

These, and many other considerations, make it quite clear that the vegetarian alternative is a lifestyle that is both reasonable and healthy for your body, mind and soul. We hope these facts have given you a little food for thought, and that you will consider becoming a vegetarian. For more information on vegetarianism, please visit Dharmacentral.com


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