by Matsya Devi Dasi of Hare Krishna Melbourne (ISKCON) Temple
Societies whose collective consciousness is dominated by a lifestyle directed by passion and ignorance will lack the ability or even realize the need to apply concepts such as life comes from life, karma, and reincarnation in their daily lives.
People who are born into a world driven by economic development and sense gratification, will not be able to apply the morality, contained in the religious principles, in their day-to-day activities.
They will have to depend on the collective consciousness that has developed ethics in the form of codes, rules, regulations, etc., that support industrial scale exploitation of society and the natural world.
Therefore, we need to understand how technologies can supply most of the needs of society from the neighbourhood.
In this way the lifestyles, material energy, in the form of high technology can be gradually replaced with life, the marginal energy, in the form of people and creatures.
So instead of industrially exploiting the creation and the creatures, mankind can learn how to co-operate with Mother Nature and create an environment where life (souls) depends on life (souls).
In other words, we can live in a world where life comes from life.
This will create conditions where the mode of goodness (religious principles) can begin directing society towards developing a collective spiritual consciousness that will lead to happiness (goodness) rather than continuing on the present course which is madness (ignorance) and distress (passion).
The world is not wholly left to itself.
It is under the careful control of an intelligent Supreme Person.
To comprehend this Personality, a great effort backed with Divine Grace must be applied.
A person’s duty is to make this necessary effort with all sincerity.
Divine Grace is not bestowed mechanically, irrationally, and blindly on its recipient.
There is a rational, intelligible, method of receiving it.
Words play a decisive part and possess spiritual potency not only in ordinary social intercourse, but also in the revealed scriptures.
To access them, one has to enrol as a spiritual student.
Many personalities were recruited for this purpose as pupils.
Their history is inextricably mixed with loyalty and disloyalty.
Loyalty is the natural disposition of man.
Disloyalty to God is unnatural.
Because of lust, anger, greed, infatuation, vanity and malice, man’s natural loyal disposition to God is perverted.
In the spiritual realm, a person will have no misconceptions and God is in the highest harmonizing centre.
When living in a world where life comes from life, conditions are created for goodness and love.
Love is the language of hope.
When love and compassion are expressed towards others, hope is nurtured and returns its blessings.
