niyatamkuru karma tvamkarma jyayohyakarmanah / sarira-yatrapicate
naprasiddhyedakarmanah [Bg 3.8]
[Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without work.]
Anyone who is in the material world is certainly possessed of the impure propensity for lording over the material nature and for sense gratification. Such polluted propensities have to be cleared.
The next stop for the Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra was Kadaverugu village near Hyderabad. The Yatra entered the village on 26th December 2015 and was the 37th village in the series. This village still has a few traditional potters—there are about 50 families who still subsist on this traditional occupation.
A group of Yatra devotees set out in the morning to take permission to conduct the program in the village and also to locate a suitable venue. They were informed of a Ramalayam in the village and the devotees set out to locate it. Already the whole village was abuzz with the Yatra because the news of the events in the nearby villages had already reached there.
On the way to the Ramalayam we came across a person attired in black dress and observing severe austerities for purification of his senses and mind, but in spite of practicing these austerities for years they admit that they are unable to give up even minor habits leave alone complete renunciation. However, this person approached us and appreciated our efforts in educating the villagers on the need for cow protection and the importance of Mother Cow in our daily life. He narrated a very interesting event that occurred in his childhood. He said he used to take about 60-80 cows for grazing everyday to the village grounds. One day he was playing under a tree when he spotted a few long-tailed monkeys (langur) and started crying out of fear. At that very moment many cows came running towards him and surrounded him for protection and another group of cows tried to chase the monkeys. He added that while one group of cows chased the monkeys for more than a mile away from the village, the other group protected him. His eyes glowed while narrating this childhood event. He very vehemently said that anyone who lives with the cows never suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes.
We visited the ancient Ramalayam temple and saw some ruins of “Kota”, the palace of the rulers. We distributed pamphlets for the evening program to all those who came our way.
After our lunch prasadam we readied the bus for the evening program and loaded it with all paraphernalia includingprasadam for the evening program. When we were taking the bus to the Ramalayam we were told that most of the villagers gather at the village junction in the evening to while away their time and for their indulgences. So we thought it a better idea to park the bus at the junction and started our regular practice of book distribution, sale of cow products and preaching to whoever came by. We also sent a word to the temple pujari about the change in venue and he also participated in the program. We noticed a person seriously gazing at the posters on the sides of the bus which depicted “pottery” as a traditional occupation. He became more curious and approached us. We explained to him our mission. He suddenly gleamed and said he is engaged in this profession and started giving us details of how his whole family is engaged in the occupation including his aged father, his wife and children. We thought it to be a golden opportunity to have a live video recording with the whole family engaged in the profession. He willingly took us to his home. He had wound up his work for the day and we saw freshly made pots kept for sun-drying; on our request he started demonstrating the whole process of making pots from fresh clay. We told him how this ancient technology has so much scientific basis based on the benefits of cooking and eating in this type of vessels. He was slightly disappointed when he said that this occupation is becoming irrelevant due to other substitutes like aluminum and other vessels flooding the market. Just to raise his self-esteem we told him that though in this part it is losing its significance, there are other places in the world which are realizing its worth. We encouraged him to continue with the occupation and suggested that we would be establishing a training center where such occupations will be kept alive. He readily agreed to participate in our “Varnasrama College” concept for training those interested in such occupation. He became so enthusiastic that he said he will gather all the potters and make a representation to the village sarpanch that they try and encourage the villagers in using the clay pots. He also said most of the pots made by the village are consumed during the temple festival held in a nearby Shiva temple. His whole family enthusiastically joined in the evening program.
In the meantime children gathered at the bus to have darshan of Their Lordship and started looking at the small books. As is the practice, HG Sripati prabhu engaged the children in memorizing the mahamantra and made everyone chant the Holy Name before handing out the mantra card and some calendars to them. By doing so the children got little taste of the Holy Name which made them enthusiastically participate in the nagarsakirtan later.
It was another chilly night with the villagers gathered in the open for the evening program. Many of them were drunk as their regular habit. There was no gau-puja because of the difficulty in finding a desi cow. The nagar-sankirtan was lead by HG Siddha Balram prabhu and wound through various lanes of the village before returning to the bus. This village witnessed the largest gathering of around 400 villagers in the third phase. The significance of chanting Holy Name was presented by HG Satyamadhav prabhu, as he spoke about the four miseries of life “janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi”. Jananivas prabhu spoke on the need for cow protection. When talking on the subject, there were some loud noise heard in the gathering and a question was repeatedly asked “why only cows”. The moment Jananivas prabhu gave reply to this question another person asked “when will rains come”? And this person started raising this question so many times and that too loudly that he disturbed the proceedings. Evidently he was interested in immediate solutions to the problems of life. The nearby villagers understanding the significance of the program they made the lone disturber keep quiet so that the proceedings could go on.
Jananivas prabhu said that IDVM is willing to help them provided they cooperate and participate in natural and traditional farming practices combined with cow protection. He said some of traditional rain-fed cropping patterns could be revived in the village along with cow-based agriculture so that the incidence of health problems could be brought down by nutritious food. They said they are willing to participate in this program and wholeheartedly welcomed the measures announced by the devotees. He also said how everyone can participate in the cow protection mission at four levels: keeping their own cows and bulls for agriculture purpose or sensitizing others for doing so or use of cow products which can help in cow protection or lastly by refraining from using any leather products in their personal life.
The program had two video shows- one gomatavaibhavam and other on how other villages have successfully adopted traditional cropping and plant protection methods. The villagers identified themselves with the need for such an approach and appreciated the video shows. The program ended with the distribution of mahaprasadamand there was almost a stampede at the counter. However, the local leaders helped in organizing the crowd. Some of the leaders who had heard about ISKCON earlier said that they had neither seen nor heard about this aspect of their mission.
Though most of the villagers were in an inebriated state they were open to take part in the mission and were keen on remaining in the villages and practice their traditional occupations. However, what is required is how we try to relate with them in a loving relationship through Holy Name and make their lives successful. The hardship in their lives due to bad leadership may have taken them to the lower limbs of the Supreme Lord but they are as important part of the social system as the three other varnas. It depends on how we are able to convince them of the futility of associating with material nature and at the same time make them engage in their “prescribed duties”. By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection BG 18.46
….The varṇāśrama institution also aims at this for satisfying Lord Viṣṇu. “Varṇāśramācāra-vatāpuruṣeṇaparaḥpumān/viṣṇurārādhyate…” (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.8.8) Therefore, one has to work for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu. …This is the great art of doing work, and in the beginning this process requires very expert guidance. [BG 3.9 purport]
The demigods said: O Lord, Your lotus feet are like an umbrella for the surrendered souls, protecting them from all the miseries of material existence. All the sages under that shelter throw off all material miseries. We therefore offer our respectful obeisances unto Your lotus feet. [SB 3.5.39]
Srila Prabhupada ki jai
Sri Govinda Gau Gram Prachar Yatra ki jai!!
IDVM (India) endeavoring to touch lives both materially and spiritually!
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