The Solution
About Krsangi dasi
Krisangi dasi (Kaisa Leka) is a comics artist from Porvoo, Finland. She mainly works together with her husband Kamalaksa das (Christoffer Leka) and they have published several comic books and graphic novels dealing with themes such as spirituality, disability and bike travel. Read more …
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I do not get the joke. Maybe it is because this sounds a lot like me.
There is a lot of wrongs in the world, like the comic mentions (destruction of the environment, exploitation of other, cruelty to animals). But even worse is when I see the illustrious dharma of Sri Chaitanya being watered down (like the mayavada/sahajiya “Bhakti Fests”), or relegated to warm and fuzzy humanism (building hospitals). Or (worst of all), Sri Chaitanya’s movement being besmirched by people who claim to be His followers. For example, those who abused children during the gurukula scandals. Even today, some people still equate the “Hare Krishnas” with child abuse.
So what should one do? Prabhupada said that “chanting is the highest service”. Is that enough? Or should we be working to defend dharma? Or is it all an inevitable part of the progression of Kali Yuga?
The Catholics have a concept called the “sin of omission”, which is “a failure to do something one can and ought to do.” Is there something along these lines of Gaudiya Vaishnavism?
We should find a qualified guru and learn from him or her the tattva of Gaudiya Vedanta–guru-tattva, Vaisnava-tattva, nama-tattva, bhakti-tattva, rasa-tattva, and so on. And as we lean, we should put it into practice in our every day lives and set an example for others to follow. If others have done wrong and misrepresented, better than merely pointing a finger at them is to set a better example. Example speaks louder than precept.
If you cannot change a particular institution gone astray in terms of these tattvas, start or join another one.
Sometimes we want to solve all the problems of the world (or our Hare Krishna movement), and that can be truly overwhelming and confusing (as well as impossible). This can be seen as trying to play God. Since we are rather small, we need to focus on the area where we have some influence, and on our own life. The concept of “sin of omission” applies to situations where we do nothing at all. For example, if we see that not enough congregational chanting is going on, we need to organize our own hari-nama kirtana, even if it means going out alone to chant in the streets. If we see destruction of the environment, we need to limit our own consumption of products and services that contribute to such destruction. Plant a fruit tree, or plant even a pot full of herbs on your window.
I like this cartoon. It is very realistic.