The Alternative Future - 5
From Artificial Necessities
To Basics of Life
Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.
~Mark Twain
Throwing Money On Questionable Nonessentials
The world is afflicted with scourge of poverty and hunger. Millions are out there without a grain in their mouth and a thread on their bodies. And here we are spending more than half of world’s money on defence. Countries with severe droughts have no money to buy food but they have enough money to buy weapons. Half of world’s grain production is going for meat and fuel industry. The world is suffering not due to scarcity of resources but misallocation and mismanagement of resources.
Take the example of America where all the world’s wealth lands up. While Americans are still reeling from the nearly one trillion dollars which Congress gave to bail out shady bankers and investment firms on Wall Street, and the “common man” frets about how to afford essentials like home mortgages and food on the table, they are simultaneously throwing money away for morally questionable, even reprehensible nonessentials to which—according to traditional religious or spiritual values—it shouldn’t go.
For instance, Americans’ addiction to drugs and alcohol costs their economy an estimated 276 billion dollars each year in lost productivity, health care expenditures, substance-abuse related crime and motor vehicle crashes, etc. Each American pays nearly $1,000 for the damages of addiction.
According to Frank Rich, author of “Naked Capitalists: There’s No Business like Porn,” Americans spend between 10 and 14 billion dollars on pornography annually, and while it’s impossible to estimate how much hard-earned cash is surrendered to prostitution, prostitution is a huge, multi-billion business.
A study by economist Ben Scafidi of Georgia State University found that divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing, traditionally discouraged by the world’s religious scriptures, cost U.S. taxpayers more than 112 billion dollars each year. The “average” divorce in America costs state and federal governments $30,000 in direct and indirect costs.
Besides the suffering it wreaks, child abuse is also expensive to deal with in America. Prevent Child Abuse America, an agency, cited research by John Holton and Ching-Tung Wang, Ph.D.s, that by a conservative estimate, the cost related to child abuse and neglect in America was 103.8 billion dollars in 2007 alone. Other forms of abuse are costly as well. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an estimated 1.3 million American women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. The cost of this ungodly violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year.
Take the example of America where all the world’s wealth lands up. While Americans are still reeling from the nearly one trillion dollars which Congress gave to bail out shady bankers and investment firms on Wall Street, and the “common man” frets about how to afford essentials like home mortgages and food on the table, they are simultaneously throwing money away for morally questionable, even reprehensible nonessentials to which—according to traditional religious or spiritual values—it shouldn’t go.
For instance, Americans’ addiction to drugs and alcohol costs their economy an estimated 276 billion dollars each year in lost productivity, health care expenditures, substance-abuse related crime and motor vehicle crashes, etc. Each American pays nearly $1,000 for the damages of addiction.
According to Frank Rich, author of “Naked Capitalists: There’s No Business like Porn,” Americans spend between 10 and 14 billion dollars on pornography annually, and while it’s impossible to estimate how much hard-earned cash is surrendered to prostitution, prostitution is a huge, multi-billion business.
A study by economist Ben Scafidi of Georgia State University found that divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing, traditionally discouraged by the world’s religious scriptures, cost U.S. taxpayers more than 112 billion dollars each year. The “average” divorce in America costs state and federal governments $30,000 in direct and indirect costs.
Besides the suffering it wreaks, child abuse is also expensive to deal with in America. Prevent Child Abuse America, an agency, cited research by John Holton and Ching-Tung Wang, Ph.D.s, that by a conservative estimate, the cost related to child abuse and neglect in America was 103.8 billion dollars in 2007 alone. Other forms of abuse are costly as well. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an estimated 1.3 million American women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. The cost of this ungodly violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year.
The basic principle of economic development is centered on land and cows. The necessities of human society are food grains, fruits, milk, minerals, clothing, wood, etc. One requires all these items to fulfill the material needs of the body. During the regime of Maharaja Yudhisthira, all over the world there were regulated rainfalls. Rainfalls are not in the control of the human being. The heavenly King Indradeva is the controller of rains, and he is the servant of the Lord. When the Lord is obeyed by the king and the people under the king's administration, there are regulated rains from the horizon, and these rains are the causes of all varieties of production on the land. Not only do regulated rains help ample production of grains and fruits, but when they combine with astronomical influences there is ample production of valuable stones and pearls. Grains and vegetables can sumptuously feed a man and animals, and a fatty cow delivers enough milk to supply a man sumptuously with vigor and vitality. If there is enough milk, enough grains, enough fruit, enough cotton, enough silk and enough jewels, then why do the people need cinemas, houses of prostitution, slaughterhouses, etc.? What is the need of an artificial luxurious life of cinema, cars, radio, flesh and hotels? Has this civilization produced anything but quarreling individually and nationally? Has this civilization enhanced the cause of equality and fraternity by sending thousands of men into a hellish factory and the war fields at the whims of a particular man?
-Srila Prabhupada (SB 1.10.4)
In a 1998 report, the Justice Department estimated the annual cost of crime to victims at $450 billion a year, about $4,500 per household. But that cost skyrockets further when they pay to imprison criminals. Indeed, the Pew Center estimated that another $44 billion dollars is spent annually to jail America’s 2.3 million prisoners. It’s a sad fact that the United States locks up over 1% of its population behind bars, far more than any other nation, in both raw numbers and even ratio to population, and this includes countries with questionable human rights records like China and Iran. Such wide-scale incarceration of fellow human beings—who are largely minorities—suggests a spiritual and moral vacuum, the karma for which hits them squarely in their pockets.
Americans also throw big bucks into unhealthy habits like cigarette smoking, too. Economist Justin Trogdon, Ph.D. concluded, “Reducing the number of smokers in the U.S. could save taxpayers billions of dollars in Medicare costs,” If all Medicare beneficiaries quit smoking, taxpayers would save $10 billion.
While many of the above are considered sinful, or border-line sinful, by religions, there is a slew of vain non-essentials that Americans lavish their money on. They squander about 637 billion dollars on legal gambling annually and fork out about $17.2 billion dollars each year on video games. They cough up $35 billion on cosmetics, $13 billion on plastic surgery, $122.9 billion to deal with rampant epidemic of obesity, $112 billion on junk food, untold billions on viagra and the like, the list goes on and on.
Perhaps tough economic times will give them a chance to re-scrutinize their values. When their power gets cut off, either by the power company for failure to pay bill, or by a hurricane like Ike, will they read scripture in the candlelight and learn to live a little more simply, and a little more righteously? It’s worth considering. Maybe there will be a silver lining in world’s economic woes. (By Sarva Dasa for Houston Chronicle)
Who says spirituality, religion and our pockets are not related?
Americans also throw big bucks into unhealthy habits like cigarette smoking, too. Economist Justin Trogdon, Ph.D. concluded, “Reducing the number of smokers in the U.S. could save taxpayers billions of dollars in Medicare costs,” If all Medicare beneficiaries quit smoking, taxpayers would save $10 billion.
While many of the above are considered sinful, or border-line sinful, by religions, there is a slew of vain non-essentials that Americans lavish their money on. They squander about 637 billion dollars on legal gambling annually and fork out about $17.2 billion dollars each year on video games. They cough up $35 billion on cosmetics, $13 billion on plastic surgery, $122.9 billion to deal with rampant epidemic of obesity, $112 billion on junk food, untold billions on viagra and the like, the list goes on and on.
Perhaps tough economic times will give them a chance to re-scrutinize their values. When their power gets cut off, either by the power company for failure to pay bill, or by a hurricane like Ike, will they read scripture in the candlelight and learn to live a little more simply, and a little more righteously? It’s worth considering. Maybe there will be a silver lining in world’s economic woes. (By Sarva Dasa for Houston Chronicle)
Who says spirituality, religion and our pockets are not related?
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People don’t like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug. |
Living Gently
Rampant blind materialism lies at the root of world crisis. We are recklessly dealing with our environment and our fellow living beings. To lead such kind of life is nothing short of mass insanity. The solution lies at turning our face towards spiritual development, once again.
Its heartening to see that several influential environmental organizations in the world, though secular by constitution, are echoing this theme.
Once such forum is the Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization that works for an environmentally sustainable and socially just society, in which the needs of all people are met without threatening the health of the natural environment or the well-being of future generations.
Alan Durning of Worldwatch Institute writes, “In a fragile biosphere, the ultimate fate of humanity may depend on whether we can cultivate a deeper sense of self-restraint, founded on a widespread ethic of limiting consumption and finding non-material enrichment...Those who seek to rise to this environmental challenge may find encouragement in the body of human wisdom passed down from antiquity. To seek out sufficiency is to follow the path of voluntary simplicity preached by all the sages from Buddha to Mohammed. Typical of these pronouncements is this passage from the Bible: "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"
Allen adds,“....action is needed to restrain the excesses of advertising, to curb the shopping culture, and to revitalize household and community economies as human-scale alternatives to the high consumption lifestyle. There could be many more people ready to begin saying "enough"....After all, much of what we consume is wasted or unwanted in the first place. How much of the packaging that wraps products we consume each year -- 162 pounds per capita in the United States -- would we rather not see? ...How many of the unsolicited sales pitches each American receives each day in the mail -- 37 percent of all mail -- are nothing but bothersome junk? How much of the advertising in our morning newspaper -- covering 65 percent of the newsprint in American paper -- would we not gladly see left out?”
Allen continues, “How many of the miles we drive -- almost 6,000 a year a piece in the United States -- would we not happily give up if livable neighborhoods were closer to work, a variety of local merchants closer to home, streets safe to walk and bicycle, and public transit easier and faster?
Keith C. Heidorn sums this up when he defines ‘Living Gently’ as a voluntary manner of living which pursues a positive, satisfying life that is considerate, noble and easily managed and that seeks to produce as small an impact on the environment as possible. It is a lifestyle chosen not only for personal satisfaction, but also for the good of our fellow inhabitants of Planet Earth: animals, humans and plants. It involves frugality but goes beyond.
Its heartening to see that several influential environmental organizations in the world, though secular by constitution, are echoing this theme.
Once such forum is the Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization that works for an environmentally sustainable and socially just society, in which the needs of all people are met without threatening the health of the natural environment or the well-being of future generations.
Alan Durning of Worldwatch Institute writes, “In a fragile biosphere, the ultimate fate of humanity may depend on whether we can cultivate a deeper sense of self-restraint, founded on a widespread ethic of limiting consumption and finding non-material enrichment...Those who seek to rise to this environmental challenge may find encouragement in the body of human wisdom passed down from antiquity. To seek out sufficiency is to follow the path of voluntary simplicity preached by all the sages from Buddha to Mohammed. Typical of these pronouncements is this passage from the Bible: "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"
Allen adds,“....action is needed to restrain the excesses of advertising, to curb the shopping culture, and to revitalize household and community economies as human-scale alternatives to the high consumption lifestyle. There could be many more people ready to begin saying "enough"....After all, much of what we consume is wasted or unwanted in the first place. How much of the packaging that wraps products we consume each year -- 162 pounds per capita in the United States -- would we rather not see? ...How many of the unsolicited sales pitches each American receives each day in the mail -- 37 percent of all mail -- are nothing but bothersome junk? How much of the advertising in our morning newspaper -- covering 65 percent of the newsprint in American paper -- would we not gladly see left out?”
Allen continues, “How many of the miles we drive -- almost 6,000 a year a piece in the United States -- would we not happily give up if livable neighborhoods were closer to work, a variety of local merchants closer to home, streets safe to walk and bicycle, and public transit easier and faster?
Keith C. Heidorn sums this up when he defines ‘Living Gently’ as a voluntary manner of living which pursues a positive, satisfying life that is considerate, noble and easily managed and that seeks to produce as small an impact on the environment as possible. It is a lifestyle chosen not only for personal satisfaction, but also for the good of our fellow inhabitants of Planet Earth: animals, humans and plants. It involves frugality but goes beyond.
In the human society, they have created problem. Nobody knows where to eat. These hotels means, increase of number of hotels means that people have no place to live. They have no fixed place to live. Today in this hotel, the next day, another hotel. The so many restaurants means people have no fixed place where to eat. The solution... In India still, because they are not so materially advanced, even the poorest man has got some certain fixed up place, his cottage, he has got his wife, he has got his child, and he works, whatever he can do. He lives peacefully still, in the village, although he hasn't got very gorgeous dress and motorcar. But he's peaceful. You'll find still. And sometimes, say, about ten years ago, I was in Ahmedabad. I saw one poor man, he was pulling cart, hand cart...we call thela, in India. So the thela, in that cart there was sufficient load. So one side of the thela there was the wife, and the other side was the husband, and they had a little child, and that child was put up on the load. You see? And they were pulling. That means the husband and wife, working as God has given them to work. So they're working, taking care of the child. So after earning money, they'll go home. They have got a little cottage, and the wife will cook, the husband will eat, and they're peaceful. They're peaceful. It doesn't matter whether first-class eating, second-class... It doesn't matter. But still, they have got a home, and there they live peacefully. The wife cooks for the husband, and the husband eats, and the child is also taken care. It is not killed. There is peaceful. Peacefulness there is.
But here, the advanced civilization, the mother is killing the child, abortion. You see? Still, it is called advancement.
-Srila Prabhupada (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.23 -- Hawaii, January 19, 1974)
Downshifting or Voluntary Simplicity
In the U.S. there are 1,000 cars for every 1,000 adults.
In Germany, it's 550 cars for every 1,000 adults.
In India, there are four cars for every 1,000 adults.
Let us take a look at other figures
Within the developed world, North Americans annually consume about 340 Gigajoules per person (GJ/person), whereas Europeans consume 150 GJ/person of commercial energy. Most of the rest of the world consumes about 60 GJ/person, and India and China consume 10 and 30 GJ/person, respectively.
So technically it is possible to live with less resources and lesser damage to the environment. When one voluntarily decides to consume less, it is called voluntary simplicity. Voluntary simplicity means doing/having/living more with less - more time, more meaning, more joy, satisfaction, relationships, community; less money, less material possessions, less stress, competition, isolation. Voluntary simplicity is a growing movement of people who have realized that happiness and fulfillment do not lie in having more money, or new and bigger things.
So in this type of lifestyle individuals consciously choose to minimize the 'more-is-better' pursuit of wealth and consumption. Adherents choose simple living for a variety of reasons, including spirituality, health, increase in 'quality time' for family and friends, stress reduction, conservation, social justice or anti-consumerism, while others choose to live more simply for reasons of personal taste or personal economy.
Simple living as a concept is distinguished from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice. Although asceticism resembles voluntary simplicity, proponents of simple living are not all ascetics. The term "downshifting" is often used to describe the act of moving from a lifestyle of greater consumption towards a lifestyle based on voluntary simplicity.
The act of voluntary simplicity or cultivation of detachment has been the focal point of all religious teachings. In human history, there have been countless souls who led a life of selflessness, dedication and voluntary simplicity. These personalities are respected, revered and remembered even today.
Also known as downshifting, many today are deciding to reduce their incomes and place family, friends and contentment above money in determining their life goals.
In Germany, it's 550 cars for every 1,000 adults.
In India, there are four cars for every 1,000 adults.
Let us take a look at other figures
Within the developed world, North Americans annually consume about 340 Gigajoules per person (GJ/person), whereas Europeans consume 150 GJ/person of commercial energy. Most of the rest of the world consumes about 60 GJ/person, and India and China consume 10 and 30 GJ/person, respectively.
So technically it is possible to live with less resources and lesser damage to the environment. When one voluntarily decides to consume less, it is called voluntary simplicity. Voluntary simplicity means doing/having/living more with less - more time, more meaning, more joy, satisfaction, relationships, community; less money, less material possessions, less stress, competition, isolation. Voluntary simplicity is a growing movement of people who have realized that happiness and fulfillment do not lie in having more money, or new and bigger things.
So in this type of lifestyle individuals consciously choose to minimize the 'more-is-better' pursuit of wealth and consumption. Adherents choose simple living for a variety of reasons, including spirituality, health, increase in 'quality time' for family and friends, stress reduction, conservation, social justice or anti-consumerism, while others choose to live more simply for reasons of personal taste or personal economy.
Simple living as a concept is distinguished from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice. Although asceticism resembles voluntary simplicity, proponents of simple living are not all ascetics. The term "downshifting" is often used to describe the act of moving from a lifestyle of greater consumption towards a lifestyle based on voluntary simplicity.
The act of voluntary simplicity or cultivation of detachment has been the focal point of all religious teachings. In human history, there have been countless souls who led a life of selflessness, dedication and voluntary simplicity. These personalities are respected, revered and remembered even today.
Also known as downshifting, many today are deciding to reduce their incomes and place family, friends and contentment above money in determining their life goals.
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What we call progress is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance. |
Voluntary Simplicity - A True Story
Fast Track Fast Food To Slow Track Slow Food Life
As the following article shows, there is a movement toward "Voluntary Creative Simplicity." It appeared in The Sun on January 2, 2008.
How We Went From $42,000 To $6,500 And Lived To Tell About It!
By L. Kevin & Donna Philippe-Johnson
As a middle class American, it's been difficult for me to understand how we are supposed to make a living when there are so many things working against us. How can we go on day after day with the rising cost of food, fuel, utilities, car insurance, taxes and health care, while dealing with the insecurity of unemployment? In the past, whenever I considered these things, I felt a hopeless sense of impending doom in the pit of my stomach. There is so much talk about how to solve these issues, but nothing ever seems to stop the downward spiral of struggle and stress that millions of folks are experiencing.
Like many working people, my life went along fine during the 1980s. I had a good paying job ($42,000 a year) and though I
didn't enjoy the kind of work I was doing as an industrial draftsman, receiving a steady paycheck every week kept me going without much complaint. But then came the Gulf War in the 1990s and after that point I faced nine layoffs over the span of 10 years. By the time September 11 happened, I hadn't been able to maintain steady employment in the petrochemical industry for over a decade. I would work about three or four months, then back again to the unemployment line.
It was at this point that I realized that something was wrong. The life strategy I had grown up to believe in was no longer working and there didn't seem to be any answers. Obviously no one was going to get me out of this, so I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands and figure out a way to redefine my basic approach to living.
Lucky for me, I have an adventurous wife. She was on the same page with me and was willing to make some drastic changes in our lifestyle. As a committed team, we decided to figure out another way to survive despite these uncertain, hard economic times. Since we didn't have a lot of money and because it was getting harder to find steady employment, we decided to rethink our basic values in order to create a life for ourselves where we could be independent and free of needing a career or a full-time job.
As a middle class American, it's been difficult for me to understand how we are supposed to make a living when there are so many things working against us. How can we go on day after day with the rising cost of food, fuel, utilities, car insurance, taxes and health care, while dealing with the insecurity of unemployment? In the past, whenever I considered these things, I felt a hopeless sense of impending doom in the pit of my stomach. There is so much talk about how to solve these issues, but nothing ever seems to stop the downward spiral of struggle and stress that millions of folks are experiencing.
Like many working people, my life went along fine during the 1980s. I had a good paying job ($42,000 a year) and though I
didn't enjoy the kind of work I was doing as an industrial draftsman, receiving a steady paycheck every week kept me going without much complaint. But then came the Gulf War in the 1990s and after that point I faced nine layoffs over the span of 10 years. By the time September 11 happened, I hadn't been able to maintain steady employment in the petrochemical industry for over a decade. I would work about three or four months, then back again to the unemployment line.
It was at this point that I realized that something was wrong. The life strategy I had grown up to believe in was no longer working and there didn't seem to be any answers. Obviously no one was going to get me out of this, so I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands and figure out a way to redefine my basic approach to living.
Lucky for me, I have an adventurous wife. She was on the same page with me and was willing to make some drastic changes in our lifestyle. As a committed team, we decided to figure out another way to survive despite these uncertain, hard economic times. Since we didn't have a lot of money and because it was getting harder to find steady employment, we decided to rethink our basic values in order to create a life for ourselves where we could be independent and free of needing a career or a full-time job.
This is called jagat. Everything is going on. Your motorcar is going on. You are going on. We have a big city, especially in Europe, America, simply going on. This way, this... Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. No rest. This is called jagat. Where he is going on? You have heard Rabindranath Tagore, poet Tagore. He wrote one article that "When I was in London I saw the people are walking very fast, the cars are going very fast. But I was thinking that 'This England is a small island; they may not fall down in the sea.' " (laughter) If you let loose your dog, it will go on this way, this way, this way, this way, this way. (laughter) This is jagat, going on. Going on, but condition: "You cannot go beyond this." Just like these so-called scientists are going to the moon planet and coming back -- because conditioned. You have to remain where you are placed by your karma.
- Srila Prabhupada (Lecture, London, August 16, 1971)
And for us, that meant first and foremost, moving to the country. If we were going to be poor, we thought, at least it would be better to be poor in the country. That way we could grow our own food and reduce our expenses. Eventually we discovered that there were others who felt the same way we did. Today there is a small, but growing movement in this country towards a lifestyle we call "Voluntary Creative Simplicity."
We decided to start over, to shake loose from all the things holding us down. We got rid of all the stuff we didn't need and worked on paying off debt. Then canceling our credit cards and using cash, we followed an efficient financial plan that taught how to track every penny. By doing this we were able eventually to save a little bit of money.
Also, we wanted to be strong and healthy to do the work required for this basic lifestyle so we changed our eating habits. We broke away from the standard American fast food, pre-packaged supermarket diet in favor of organically grown whole grains, raw fruits and vegetables, fermented dairy, nuts, seeds and sprouts and eliminated all junk foods and prescription drugs. We started exercising regularly by walking, practicing yoga, and gardening. Since we no longer wanted to pay health insurance premiums, we decided to start a special savings account ($1,000) just for emergency first-aid treatment. And of course we got rid of the cell phone, cable television and Internet bills and greatly minimized our use of air conditioning. The beginning of the path to the simple life was a process of elimination in every aspect of our lives.
We decided to start over, to shake loose from all the things holding us down. We got rid of all the stuff we didn't need and worked on paying off debt. Then canceling our credit cards and using cash, we followed an efficient financial plan that taught how to track every penny. By doing this we were able eventually to save a little bit of money.
Also, we wanted to be strong and healthy to do the work required for this basic lifestyle so we changed our eating habits. We broke away from the standard American fast food, pre-packaged supermarket diet in favor of organically grown whole grains, raw fruits and vegetables, fermented dairy, nuts, seeds and sprouts and eliminated all junk foods and prescription drugs. We started exercising regularly by walking, practicing yoga, and gardening. Since we no longer wanted to pay health insurance premiums, we decided to start a special savings account ($1,000) just for emergency first-aid treatment. And of course we got rid of the cell phone, cable television and Internet bills and greatly minimized our use of air conditioning. The beginning of the path to the simple life was a process of elimination in every aspect of our lives.
“Any child born into the hugely consumptionist way of life so common in the industrial world will have an impact that is, on average, many times more destructive than that of a child born in the developing world”
~Albert Gore
Eventually we found 2-1/2 acres of land, 35 miles out of the city. Inspired by our new vision, one summer we said goodbye to the city, permanently moved out to our new place and set up a dome tent to live in. We happily lived in our tent that summer while clearing the land and constructing a rustic 10' by 12' room with a sleeping loft. We did this on a "pay-as-you-go" plan, hauling all the materials in the back of our old pickup truck. Never having built anything before, we worked hard and gained the skill of building our own shelter.
As the tiny outbuilding took shape, next came the installation of an underground cistern for collecting rainwater, and finally, the construction of our three-room (500 square foot) cabin. Since we had to borrow $9,000 to purchase the property, I continued to take whatever jobs I could find (drafting, clerk work, courier, dishwasher, bakery assistant, etc.) while Donna (my wife!) stayed busy working on our organic garden, planting fruit trees and composting. She enjoys learning about native plants and healing herbs that she can grow.
Over the next few years, while working toward our goals of self-reliance and independence, we became stronger, healthier and more confident in our ability to rely on our own skills. It was quite an empowering experience. We learned how to build things, grow our own food, take responsibility for our own health, and best of all, we learned how to laugh and have fun again. The simple joys and true pleasures of fresh, home-grown food, watching everything grow and prosper in harmony, working with our own hands and spending quality time together replaced all of the costly false values that had occupied our time before.
As the tiny outbuilding took shape, next came the installation of an underground cistern for collecting rainwater, and finally, the construction of our three-room (500 square foot) cabin. Since we had to borrow $9,000 to purchase the property, I continued to take whatever jobs I could find (drafting, clerk work, courier, dishwasher, bakery assistant, etc.) while Donna (my wife!) stayed busy working on our organic garden, planting fruit trees and composting. She enjoys learning about native plants and healing herbs that she can grow.
Over the next few years, while working toward our goals of self-reliance and independence, we became stronger, healthier and more confident in our ability to rely on our own skills. It was quite an empowering experience. We learned how to build things, grow our own food, take responsibility for our own health, and best of all, we learned how to laugh and have fun again. The simple joys and true pleasures of fresh, home-grown food, watching everything grow and prosper in harmony, working with our own hands and spending quality time together replaced all of the costly false values that had occupied our time before.
Nobody learns to smoke from the very birth. He has to eat something. He drinks milk, the child. He doesn't say, "Give me a cigarette," but you have learned it by bad association. This is called anartha, unnecessary things in life. These things you have not learnt from the beginning of your life but by bad association. So if you engage yourself in devotional service, then these things will disappear automatically.
-Srila Prabhupada (Bhagavad-gita 7.1 -- Nairobi, October 27, 1975)
Gradually we paid off the land, finished the cabin and succeeded in minimizing our basic utility costs. We began to notice that our expenses were decreasing as the quality of our life was increasing. As long as we stayed home and didn't travel to a steady job we really didn't need very much money. The lifestyle of voluntary creative simplicity was resulting in compounding efficiency and improvement in every area of our lives.
Soon, we saw the proof of the inefficiency of working a full-time job. After figuring in the work-related expenses of one job, I realized that my take home pay was only $3 an hour! At that point I was convinced that it was far more cost effective to stay home, grow our own food, split our own firewood and bake our own bread than it was to travel to a job day after day. Yet we still needed some form of income.
Though we had reduced the amount we needed to around $540 a month (way below the poverty level in America), we still had to find a way to generate that income without relying on full-time employment. Once we had succeeded in drastically reducing the amount of money we needed, I knew it would be easy to earn this income by working odd jobs such as building rustic furniture, playing guitar for tips, simple carpentry, part-time drafting, office work, plumbing, etc. However, there was one thing I really loved to do...bake handmade whole-grain sourdough bread in an outdoor wood-fired clay oven! I had always shared my bread with friends and family, but it never really occurred to me to do it as a way to earn extra money.
We soon discovered that there was no authentic, handmade sourdough bread being produced in our area, and little by little, people began asking if they could trade or buy from us. Within a year we had enough bread customers to generate the supplemental income needed to meet our modest expenses. And now there is even more demand and a waiting list of neighbors and friends who want our bread regularly. They know our bread is special because the organic wheat is freshly hand milled, the loaves are lovingly made entirely by hand and baked in our outdoor clay oven.
Soon, we saw the proof of the inefficiency of working a full-time job. After figuring in the work-related expenses of one job, I realized that my take home pay was only $3 an hour! At that point I was convinced that it was far more cost effective to stay home, grow our own food, split our own firewood and bake our own bread than it was to travel to a job day after day. Yet we still needed some form of income.
Though we had reduced the amount we needed to around $540 a month (way below the poverty level in America), we still had to find a way to generate that income without relying on full-time employment. Once we had succeeded in drastically reducing the amount of money we needed, I knew it would be easy to earn this income by working odd jobs such as building rustic furniture, playing guitar for tips, simple carpentry, part-time drafting, office work, plumbing, etc. However, there was one thing I really loved to do...bake handmade whole-grain sourdough bread in an outdoor wood-fired clay oven! I had always shared my bread with friends and family, but it never really occurred to me to do it as a way to earn extra money.
We soon discovered that there was no authentic, handmade sourdough bread being produced in our area, and little by little, people began asking if they could trade or buy from us. Within a year we had enough bread customers to generate the supplemental income needed to meet our modest expenses. And now there is even more demand and a waiting list of neighbors and friends who want our bread regularly. They know our bread is special because the organic wheat is freshly hand milled, the loaves are lovingly made entirely by hand and baked in our outdoor clay oven.
The dying process begins the minute we are born, but it accelerates during dinner parties.
~Carol Matthau
While the key to the lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, is "thinking small," many people still believe the opposite is true-"bigger is better." For example, people often tell us we should invest in a commercial bakery and produce more sourdough bread. But in order to expand and make a career out of baking and selling bread, we would have to go into debt to purchase commercial mixers, freezers and large ovens, work longer hours and face the mountain of bureaucratic permits, codes, fees and restrictions. As a result, the simple, authentic handmade artisan bread that our customers love would have to be sacrificed in favor of expanding volume and making more money. Everybody loses but the bankers and the bureaucrats. We would fall right back in the same old trap, getting into debt and sacrificing our freedom and quality of life for a job. This is an example of compounding inefficiency.
The downfall of many people who would like to break the bonds of stress and financial enslavement to the system is their tendency to think too big. But we must realize that this has been programmed into us by the industrial society and loan institutions, all attempting to excite and feed our insatiable desires. Friends, it takes a lot of mindful awareness to break free of all these traps. It also requires an ability to improvise and adapt towards an alternative model. The lifestyle of voluntary simplicity is one option and the resulting benefits are transformational.
The downfall of many people who would like to break the bonds of stress and financial enslavement to the system is their tendency to think too big. But we must realize that this has been programmed into us by the industrial society and loan institutions, all attempting to excite and feed our insatiable desires. Friends, it takes a lot of mindful awareness to break free of all these traps. It also requires an ability to improvise and adapt towards an alternative model. The lifestyle of voluntary simplicity is one option and the resulting benefits are transformational.
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True freedom is in the minimum of needs. |
The point I'm making is this: many of us can no longer think in terms of having a lifetime career anymore. For whatever reason, things are changing in this country. Outsourcing and cheaper labor costs in other countries will continue to eliminate jobs in the United States. And though the opportunity still exists to work, we must understand that it may be only temporary. While continuing to work at a job or career one should be wise and set up a plan to survive without steady employment for certain periods of time if necessary.
In the name of civilization, we have increased so many unwanted things, unnecessarily. This is called anartha. Artha means which is substance. So just like we can give so many examples. At least, in, two hundred years ago in India, there was no industry. I think I am correct. Yes. But people were so happy. They did not have to go two hundred miles or five hundred miles away from home and for earning livelihood. In Europe and America, I see people are going for earning their livelihood by aeroplane, daily passengers. I've seen. From Vancouver, they were coming to Montreal and other places. Five hundred miles. At least fifty miles, one must go. In New York, many people are coming from distant place, Long Islands, crossing the sea, and then again bus, again... Anartha, simply unnecessary. People... Canakya Pandita says that "Who is happy?" He says, "The man who does not go out of home, and who is not a debtor he is happy." Very simple thing. Who does not go out of home, and he's not a debtor, he's happy. So now we see everyone is out of home, and everyone is a great debtor. So how you can be happy? In America the bank canvasses that "You take money, you purchase motorcar, you purchase your house, and, as soon as you get your salary, you give me." That's all. Finished. You take the card... American... What is it called? Am-card? Yes.
Syamasundara: Bankamericard.
Prabhupada: "Bank-card" or something. "Bank-rupt." (laughter) You see? So you take the card and you purchase whatever you like. And deposit your money in the bank. Then again, you are without any money. Simply that card. That's all.
Srila Prabhupada (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.18 -- Vrndavana, October 29, 1972)
This could mean storing some supplies, purchasing a piece of property where a small shelter, tent or tipi can be erected if necessary, or getting out of the city and into the country where one can provide food for themselves. My old Grandpa used to say, "all the troubles in this country began when people stopped growing their own food." And he was right. The younglings of this modern age don't even know what real food is, much less how to grow or prepare it! This has to change. (That's another reason we promote sourdough bread baking. It is time to start a "slow-food" movement).
Thinking small is one of the most intelligent and powerful things one can do. Consciously reducing one's life down to the simple basics is the secret to happiness. And it is so easy. What is the solution? This is our advice, especially to young people:
"Don't get in debt, don't think in terms of a career (work at a job for one reason only, to get paid so you can buy a place to live and grow some food), live in a small shelter, unload unnecessary stuff, reduce monthly expenses, extract yourself from the enslavement of modern technological materialism, stay healthy by exercising, eat a simple, wholesome diet, develop some practical skills, practice your art or trade and serve your local community. Teach your children to value true pleasures. Real wealth is perishable: food, health, trees, flowers, herbs, healthy soil, clean water, fresh air, friends and art. Learn to value and appreciate these above all else."
Of course we realize that everyone has to creatively work out their own unique plan according to their particular circumstances, especially if there are children to raise. (We have six grown children.) But with "small thinking," so many opportunities open up and the more one can release, the more freedom there is to experience with each passing year.
If someone would have suggested to us ten years ago that there was a way for the two of us to live on much less, build our own little hut, buy our freedom, give up steady employment, work fewer hours, become happy, healthy, debt free, self-reliant, and live fearlessly without health insurance, I would have told them they were crazy. This has been an incredible, radical journey for us, but now we know from first hand experience that with vision, patience, self-discipline and courage, it is possible to create such a reality.
Creative voluntary simplicity expands faster than inflation for those who can do it, rather than waste time and energy thinking too big and chasing after more money to find happiness and security.
Thinking small is one of the most intelligent and powerful things one can do. Consciously reducing one's life down to the simple basics is the secret to happiness. And it is so easy. What is the solution? This is our advice, especially to young people:
"Don't get in debt, don't think in terms of a career (work at a job for one reason only, to get paid so you can buy a place to live and grow some food), live in a small shelter, unload unnecessary stuff, reduce monthly expenses, extract yourself from the enslavement of modern technological materialism, stay healthy by exercising, eat a simple, wholesome diet, develop some practical skills, practice your art or trade and serve your local community. Teach your children to value true pleasures. Real wealth is perishable: food, health, trees, flowers, herbs, healthy soil, clean water, fresh air, friends and art. Learn to value and appreciate these above all else."
Of course we realize that everyone has to creatively work out their own unique plan according to their particular circumstances, especially if there are children to raise. (We have six grown children.) But with "small thinking," so many opportunities open up and the more one can release, the more freedom there is to experience with each passing year.
If someone would have suggested to us ten years ago that there was a way for the two of us to live on much less, build our own little hut, buy our freedom, give up steady employment, work fewer hours, become happy, healthy, debt free, self-reliant, and live fearlessly without health insurance, I would have told them they were crazy. This has been an incredible, radical journey for us, but now we know from first hand experience that with vision, patience, self-discipline and courage, it is possible to create such a reality.
Creative voluntary simplicity expands faster than inflation for those who can do it, rather than waste time and energy thinking too big and chasing after more money to find happiness and security.
Have some small cottage, and grow your own food grains, vegetables, and have your cow's milk. Get nice foodstuff, save time. Why should you go in the city, hundred miles in car and again hundred miles come back and take unnecessary trouble? Stick to this spot and grow your own food, your own cloth, and live peacefully, save time, chant Hare Krsna. Very nice program. This is actual life. What is this nonsense life, big, big cities and always people busy? If he wants to see one friend, he has to go thirty miles. If he has to see a physician, he has to go fifty miles. If he has to go to work, another hundred miles. So what is this life? This is not life. Be satisfied. The devotee's life should be yavad artha-prayojanam. We require material necessities as much as it is required, no artificial life. That is spiritual life. Simply increasing artificial life, even for shaving, a big machine is required. What is this? Simply wasting time. Devil's workshop. Make life very simple. And simple living, high thinking, and always conscious to go back to home, back to Krsna. That is life. Not this life, that simply machine, machine, machine, machine.
-Srila Prabhupada (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.49 -- New Orleans Farm, August 1, 1975)
