[Posted August 2, 2009]

Got Work?

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Government's job to ensure employment for everyone

New York Times Aug 1, 2009 - ERIK ECKHOLM

Prolonged Aid to Unemployed Is Running Out

Over the coming months, as many as 1.5 million jobless Americans will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits, ending what for some has been a last bulwark against foreclosures and destitution.

Unemployment insurance is now a lifeline for nine million Americans, with payments averaging just over $300 per week, varying by state and work history. While many recipients find new jobs before exhausting their benefits, large numbers in the current recession have been unable to find work for a year or more.

“If more help is not on the way, by September a huge wave of workers will start running out of their critical extended benefits, and many will have nothing left to get by on even as work keeps getting harder to find,” said Maurice Emsellem, a policy director of the employment law project. go to story

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Does your government know what to do?

A President in need of solutions A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

So because they do not read Bhagavad-gita, they do not know how to maintain the whole society, therefore there is now chaos. Therefore it is needed. The rajahs, the kings, or the government – they must study Bhagavad-gita. Then it will be nice. And rishayah. Rishayah means great saintly persons, the brahmanas. They should give counsel to the government men. But who is consulting the saintly persons? more

Government needs to solve the problem

excerpt from Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.17.10-11, text & purport

It is the duty of the king to see that everyone in the social orders – brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra[1] – is fully employed in the state. Just as it is the duty of the brahmanas to elect a proper king, it is the duty of the king to see that all the varnas – brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra – are fully engaged in their respective occupational duties. It is here indicated that although the people were allowed to perform their duties, they were still unemployed. Although they were not lazy, they still could not produce sufficient food to satisfy their hunger. When the people are perplexed in this way, they should approach the head of government, and the president or king should take immediate action to mitigate the distress of the people.

1 - According to the Vedic teachings, human society is comprised of basically four divisions of occupation: (1) the brahmanas or the "heads" of society – the visionaries and truthsayers who give counsel to king or government, consultants, teachers, scholars, priests, doctors, (2) the kshatriyas or the "arms" of society – the government leaders and administrators as well as military and law enforcement, (3) the vaishyas or the "belly" of society – farmers, entrepreneurs and businessmen, and (4) the shudras or the "legs" of society – all those who assist and work under the direction of the other classes, who carry the society by their labor - company mangers and staff, factory supervisors and workers, construction workers, engineers, craftsmen, etc. These divisions of occupation are known as varnas.

The Hindu caste system is a perverted vestige of the original varnashram dharma of Vedic society. Hindus claim that a person's caste is determined strictly by seminal line, but this is not endorsed by the Vedic literature, nor by the acharyas or bona fide spiritual teachers. A person's occupation is determined according to his nature and ability, not by his birth. back to text

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