By: HG Gunaavatara Das
Yashodapura Eco Village is the beginning and pioneering developing project of 108 acres land. We started to open and built cottages structures since 2010, many challenges we face to protect the land’s boundary and also disturbances from neighbouring animals who came to attack our plants.
The idea of opening a new small village according to Vedic perspective is based on the instructions of the Shastra, Guru and Sadhu. Srila Prabhupada very often mentioned the importance of land and cows in order to establish the real module of Krishna Consciousness lifestyle.
“Vedic civilization was to keep some land and keep some cows. Then your whole economic question is solved. If you have got excess, then you can trade, you can send to someplace where there is scarcity. But every man should produce his own food. That is Vedic culture. You get a piece of land and produce your family’s foodstuff.” (Bhagavad-gita Lecture 13.35, Geneva, June 6, 1974)
“From an economic point of view, if one man has got a cow and four acres of land, he has no economic problem. That we want to start. He can independently live in any part of the world. Simply he must have one cow and four acres of land. Let the people be divided with four acres of land and a cow, there will be no economic question. All the factories will be closed.” (Room Conversation: May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio)
In this regard, it is very important to have each and every family to own some plot of land and cows if we want to solve our economic problems.
I remember how our parents in Lampung, Indonesia, were joined the transmigration program from government around in 1960, due to the disaster of Gunung Agung volcano eruption in Bali, the government brought all the victims to go to Sumatra island for transmigration. So the government distributed land and cows to each family and they also built some small houses for them and gave the basic food for the beginning. And now our elderly has expanded the community into many villages and grow up into big communities.
In the Kautilya Artha sastra there are few steps for starting the similar villages like this.
“The King or leaders who want to start new village he should start settlement of the countryside is the first step, by bringing families which mostly is Sudra Agricultural, fixing boundary land, establishing the community base, and divided some land for the Brahmana, gopas/cows protector, elephant and horse trainers, physician, and couriers, lands without the right to be sale or mortgage” (Kautilya Artha sastra 2.1.1-7)
Another point is all of the family at the beginning should be favoured with grain, cattle especially cows, and some Laksmi, they can pay back afterwards at their convenience. Irrigation works to be built with natural waters sources, King should also have parks, protecting agricultural from troubles, taxes, protection from thieves, wild animals, poisons and diseases. Protecting forest for elephants, waters harvest, irrigation work ..” ( Kautiliya athasastra 2.1.13-20)
Also, there are some portions of land which might not suitable for agricultural is mentioned ” Disposal of Non-Agricultural land should allow pastures for cows, grants to the ascetic wilderness for Veda study, Animal park, establishing forest, well made from forest products, and border establishments of forest elephant ” ( Kautiliya Arthasastra 2.2.1-5)
In this summary text we can see how are the villages and community are started. It’s mentioned in this book that the king usually make the community minimum of 100 families and a maximum of 500 families. So the farm community is established under good administration and protection of the King and in this way bring the welfare for the society.
In our case of a small pioneering project in Cambodia, we want to learn in small amounts of practice this science of land distribution according to the Vedic system.
Of course, we don’t have so many resources yet in term of manpower who really dedicated to the Vaisnava tradition but the villagers are there who need help, need guidance and need very much associations.
HH Bhakti Raghava Swami mentioned that there are two ways to establish villages, first is to establish our own village by bringing devotees to move forward to the land and the other way is by adopting the existing villages which are actually everywhere especially in Cambodia, by visiting the villages and gradually preaching Krishna Consciousness in the village. Maharaja also said if there are 10 families and gather and discuss to start a small community, first at least start from 2 families can come and live in the land while the other 8 keep supporting and preparing for moving when the time is ready.
Even by being present in the village and show the people by example, Maharaja said that this also preaching, and at the same time we develop the village as our living base.
So since we are having this land Yashodapura Eco Village in Angkor Thom District, Siem Reap, we have been trying to get some local families to help and give them one hectare for each family to grow crops, in this way we gradually get to know them and try to teach them Krishna Consciousness.
Every year we have an agreement with each of those families regarding the land use, last year there are 10 families. On the agreement, we also mention that they should not use chemical pesticides or chemicals fertilizers, and they can offer 15 per cent of the production to the Ashram if they don’t follow these regulations and once a while helping the activities of devotees, next season we can consider to stop them and get the new families. We need to fix up with this regulation and make them understand the land is belong to Krishna and will be used for helping society and connect people to Krishna Consciousness.
Last few days we measured our rice field, 5 families will grow rice, each around half a hectare. All of them are our close friends and are familiar with Hare Krishna, last year they also came to help to build the fence on the Ashram plot to protect the plants that devotees grew. These families have learnt to chant Japa regularly and also at their home we have installed Gauranitay Happy dolls. We pray that in the future some of them may take up Krishna Consciousness more seriously and at the same time solving our economic problems by living in the farm community as Prabhupada said “Whenever we get some land available we should take the opportunity to develop it into an ideal community as envisioned for New Vrndavana. We can have a great many such communities all over the world so that the people everywhere can see how, by leading a pure and simple life of Krsna consciousness, all one’s needs in life can be satisfied. Actually, the so-called civilization of the Kali-yuga with its all over industrialization has not been able to give man the happiness he is seeking. So as you say that your land is very suitable for cow protection and for Tulasi to grow, then Krsna is giving you the opportunity to develop the program. Protect some cows, grow crops, and if possible provide fresh milk and butter for the temples nearby.” (Letter to Von Paul Reed, January 2nd, 1972)
“Therefore, for the sake of the people in general, I am requesting you to pursue this farming life with great enthusiasm. Help people to see this traditional, natural way of living. You must help them see how they can become happy, how they can go back to Godhead. So advance this project — plain living, high thinking. This modern civilization is so nasty, A nasty civilization, artificially increasing the so-called necessities of life. Anartha — unwanted; unbeneficial “improvements.” (Conversation New Vrindaban, West Virginia, June 24, 1976)
Srila Prabhupada gives very clear teaching regarding this farm community mission and Varnasrama Dharma in general, and we pray so that we can gradually understand and able to practice in whatever way we can. Will need more generations especially younger people to take part in this mission, that’s why we really need Varnasrama College, our ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry in India are starting to gather some qualified teachers from different parts of the world to teach in Varnasrama College.
We invite everyone to join this global Varnasrama mission and also OM Sri Surabhi Campaign Global. Please visit our website www. Iskconvarnasrama.com and www.srisurabhi.org, also special website for Cambodia www.iskconcambodia.com.
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