A Hopeful Note

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by Jagajivana dasa

If scientists and political leaders become God-conscious, they can do tremendous good for all of society. So what we are bemoaning is simply the sickness that today’s scientists and political leaders are suffering from. We might call it “demon disease”—the compulsion to deny and decry the existence and superintendence of the Supreme Lord.

In reality, as Lord Krishna confirms in the Bhagavad-gita, all living beings are part and parcel of Him. The reason we’re here in this material world in the first place is that we have forgotten our intimate relationship with the Lord. So in the strict philosophical sense of the Bhagavad-gita, all of us are demons—unless and until we reconcile ourselves with Krishna by again taking up our devotional service to Him. In other words, all of us are really the Lord’s devotees, but for now we’re playing the role of demons. Many people are open to reconciling themselves with Krishna and giving up the demonic role, but sad to say, at the present moment our scientists, philosophers, and political leaders are not only holding on to the role but also playing it quite convincingly—and as a result the whole world is in chaos.

Actually, our cultural and political leaders can end the chaos and use their professions for everyone’s benefit, if they learn the secret. In his English rendering of ancient India’s Srimad-Bhagavatam, His Divine Grace A’. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada makes it an open secret:

“Human intellect is developed for advancement of learning in art, science, philosophy, physics, chemistry, psychology, economics, politics, and so forth. By culture of such knowledge the human society can attain perfection of life. This perfection of life culminates in the realization of the Supreme Being, Visnu [Krishna]… (Bhag. 1.5.22 purport).

How can our cultural and political leaders help us all to come to the perfection of life?

“Philosophy and science should be engaged to establish the glory of the Lord. Advanced people are eager to understand the Absolute Truth through the medium of science, and therefore a great scientist should endeavor to prove the existence of the Lord on a scientific basis. Similarly, philosophical speculations should be utilized to establish the Supreme Truth as sentient and all-powerful. Similarly, all other branches of knowledge should always be engaged in the service of the Lord…(Bhag. 1.5.22 purport),

“The political leader is the representative of the Supreme Lord, and therefore his interest must be identical with that of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord wants all living beings to be obedient to Him and thereby become happy. Therefore the political leader’s interest is to guide all citizens back to the kingdom of God. Hence the activities of the citizens should be so coordinated that they can at the end go back home, back to Godhead…” (Bhag. 1.4.13 purport).

In practical terms, scientists and philosophers as well as writers, dramatists, poets, artists, and musicians should keep themselves and the rest of the populace merged in the ecstasy of hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord-through learned dissertations, narratives, plays, poems, paintings, and songs. After all, the one special quality that makes human culture different from animal culture is that human culture can be filled with God consciousness, with remembrance of Krishna. Whereas animals can remember only their bodily demands (eating, sleeping, mating, and defending), human beings can remember the Lord and thus go back to Him at the time of death. So scientists, philosophers, and men of the arts should help us to remember Krishna during life and, at life’s end, go back to Godhead.

For their part, political leaders should knock away the four pillars of sinful life—meat eating, illicit sex, intoxication, and gambling—and such attendant atrocities as cow killing and abortion. In that way they will free the populace from the terrible karmic reactions to these sinful activities-namely epidemics, droughts, famines, and wars. On the positive side, political leaders should see to it that the citizens live in harmony with nature—each person taking only his quota and thus being assured of both receiving his quota and going back to Godhead. To put it simply, our cultural and political leaders should be Krishna conscious—then they can make all of our lives both peaceful and successful.

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