Self-sufficiency closer to the ideal civilization

Socio-Economic Reformation

New World Order: On the Basis of Spiritual Understanding A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

1st point, that any civilization devoid of God consciousness or Krishna Consciousness, is no civilization at all. It is simply a polished type of animal society. This is the first point. So at the present moment, the modern civilization on the basis of so-called scientific knowledge and economic development is trying to avoid God consciousness, or Krishna Consciousness—that is the defect of the modern civilization. more

Prabhupada: We have seen in our childhood how happy people were. They were. Simple. If one has five rupees income per month he's happy. I've seen it. Husband, wife, a small family. If he has got five rupees income, they can maintain very nicely, happily. Why not? Suppose he has got five rupees income. The rice was selling at four rupees. So two person, say 1/4 kilogramme, 1/4 share each. A gentleman cannot eat more than that. So means half a share. And the whole month, fifteen share. It is about one rupee eight annas. And further, one rupee eight annas add for vegetables and other things. With three rupees they can maintain, the husband and wife. And two rupees still there. He can spend for other purposes. I have seen it. Fresh vegetables, rice, this and... Just like with banana leaf. The pots were of earthen, the wife is cooking and she's utilizing dry foliage as fuel, a little temperature, everything is cooked. The husband takes one banana leaf and spreads, and the wife gives sufficient rice, vegetables. And things were so cheap. I have seen it. And fresh.

Hansadutta Yes, everything, Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: Anything fresh. Any cultivator, he has got little land surrounding his house and he's growing vegetables like squash, chilis, and some spinach?

Hansadutta Spinach, shaka.

Prabhupada: Yes. And...

Hansadutta Eggplant.

Prabhupada: Eggplant. And this banana. So whatever he's grown he takes in a basket, goes to the market, immediately sold. And they're all fresh. Collected in the morning, and it is sold by eight o'clock. All fresh vegetables. There was no export, there was no facility of transport. These rascals introduced transport. Big scale transport, this railway. There was no railway. So transport means this villager, instead of selling locally or one mile away, he will dispatch in Calcutta. The Calcutta people, they are sitting on table and smoking and printing paper money and exploit.

Hansadutta We had this experience when we were traveling with our bus from Calcutta to Vrindavana. We would want to buy watermelon from people who were growing right on the bank of the river, and he would have huge piles. And he would say, "No, I'm not selling. I'm transporting these to Delhi, where one cannot get watermelon." He's getting five times the price he would get in his local...

Prabhupada: And from Vrindavana, we have seen, they are exporting that drumbeats? Vrindavana?

Hari-sauri: Drumsticks.

Prabhupada: Huh? Drumstick. So the transport is a dangerous thing.

Hansadutta Yes, this is a scheme.

Prabhupada: A local man cannot get. He's starving. And the man in big cities, he's doing nothing, he simply has got paper to sign and paper money he's attracting. All production. And they are starving. This is modern civilization. Everything, milk, vegetables, fish, everything, this chana. Otherwise, within the village you can get everything. Village economy. Everything very cheap. And as soon as they got these transport facilities, the local men, they could not eat, and these lazy rascals, they are getting everything. Big, big cities like Calcutta, Bombay, they have millions of population. They are not producing anything. The producer is different man. They are simply artificially cheating them by paper money and they take. This is modern civilization.

Hansadutta And on the basis of this transporting of food, other industries grow. Like for instance packing. Sometimes the package costs more than the item which is being packaged.

Prabhupada: Especially in your country. Packing is more important than the... They sent me some presentation in a huge package.

Hansadutta Consequently those persons who are farmers, they become discouraged.

Prabhupada: Now it has become a problem how to throw these packings.

Hansadutta Yes, this is another problem.

Hari-sauri: Yes. Plastic they can't dispose of, glass.

Prabhupada: Simply creating problems. Lavana haila ithe gatila jagya.[?] This modern civilization, they could not make any profit. They have created some problems, that's all. Very dangerous civilization.