Lately we’ve been hearing a lot about all the problems with our world with the occupy this, that or the other. Yet not many folks are proposing solutions. This is the fallacy I’m finding with most of the new movements out there. So in response to that I’ve comprised a short list of actions to take on a personal level that could have a global impact:
Soul-ution #1: Stop eating meat. It negatively impacts the environment, your physical health & your consciousness. There is no such thing as a shortage of resources, it’s an issue of mismanaging them.
Soul-ution #2: Be mindful. Think about what you do before you do it. Don’t just tow the line, question everything & make your own education decision as to what is right. As my dear friend Jerry would say,” Live in the moment as that’s where the momentum is.”
Soul-ution #3. Follow the golden rule. If everyone treated all living beings the way they want to be treated, we wouldn’t have a bulk of the problems we have.
Soul-ution #4: Reduce your consumption habits. Reuse things as far as possible or buy other folks reused stuff instead of buying new. Lastly, recycle it.
Soul-ution #5: First be conscious, then be Krishna conscious. Follow #2…turn on. Then #5…tune in. This is not a sectarian concept just because it uses the name Krishna (literally means the all attractive One). It’s about realizing that we are all intimately connected. Our actions impact one another whether we realize it or not.
Soul-ution #6: Drop out. After you’ve figured out #2 & #5 it’s time to take it to the practical level. Don’t follow the herd. Support locally owned & operated ethical businesses instead of the big boxes. Ditch the big banks, join a credit union. Think for yourself. It’s never too late to start & every bit counts.
Soul-ution #7: Be the change. Don’t just talk about how bad the world sucks & all the problems in it. Be the example of what is right & good, put into practice the ideas you feel will make the world a better place.
Soul-ution #8: Be open-minded. You can have conviction & a strong set of beliefs but still be open to other ideas/ways to expand your perspective & deepen your understanding. As the Vedic wisdom tells us, we should be ready & willing to take something of worth even from the most unlikely places. Wisdom is everywhere, we just have to develop the eyes to see it.
With all of this remember, you can be as hardcore or softcore as you want. Even one vegetarian meal a week or one can recycled or one conscientious decision makes a difference. Of course, the more you do the larger your impact will be. This is not an all inclusive exhaustive list by any means. I’m open to hear others soul-utions as well…in fact that’d be awesome. Trying to keep things non-sectarian so please keep that in mind.
Haribol
Nice to see you writing again
Some interesting points to ponder for sure
Many Thanks
Ys Dhirabhakta Dasa
By: dhirabhakta Dasa on November 16, 2011
at 5:24 pm
Thank you, I enjoyed it. The statement,
“This is not a sectarian concept just because it uses the name Krishna (literally means the all attractive One). . It’s about realizing that we are all intimately connected. Our actions impact one another whether we realize it or not.”
seems impersonal, mayavadi, to me. Sounds like that the definition of Krishna given is that we are all intimately connected.
Narada Muni consoled Vyasa who felt that his soul- ution manifesto was incomplete because it failed. Narada explained that the failure was due his not clearly delineating that Krishna’s service is the ultimate cure of our problem.
4 big problems we have to see get solved. Death, Old age, Disease, and Birth again. All other problems are minor.
By: Nityananda Chandra Das on November 16, 2011
at 7:52 pm
You could see it like that or you could see it in the light of BG. 7.7 “O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.” Krishna is the unifying factor in everything. My Guru Maharaj often gives the example that if everyone is throwing rocks in different parts of the pond (i.e. selfish interests), there will be ripples which conflict with one another. Yet if everyone throws their rocks in the same part of the pond (Krishna consciousness) there will be no conflict only one big harmonious ripple.
Honestly I was writing this more in the vain of trying to get folks to think a bit deeper, maybe not bring them to the highest level but, at least to the conscious level. First conscious, then Krishna conscious.
No doubt those are the 4 big ones, yet I don’t think that gives us the excuse to live irresponsibly in terms of how we interact with other living entities/ the environment. After all the Earth is one of our mothers & all living entities are part & parcel of Krishna so we should in turn try to treat them as such. (i.e by attempting to living an environmentally friendly ethical lifestyle).
By: radhapriya on November 17, 2011
at 1:17 am