THE HIDDEN COST OF EATING MEAT:

* The Amazon Forest releases 20 Billion tons of fresh water into the atmosphere every day.

* 24 Hours of deforestation releases as much CO2 as 8 million people flying from London to New York.

* Every second, a section of rain forest the size of a football field is destroyed to produce 257 hamburgers.

* More than 90% of the Amazon Forest cleared since 1970 is used for livestock pasture.

* 16 pounds of grain is needed to produce 1 pound of beef.

* Factory-farm cows never die of hunger, yet a child dies of hunger every 2.3 seconds.

* 1.2 billion people suffer from hunger, and another 1.2 billion are obese.

* Every year, 760 million tons of grain is fed to livestock. It could solve the global food shortage 14 times over!

* Grain fed to livestock loses 90% of its energy by the time it’s consumed as meat.

* 1 hectare of land produces potatoes for 22 people. 
1 hectare of land produces rice for 19 people.

* 1 hectare of land produces lamb for 2 people.

* 1 hectare of land produces beef for 1 person.

* 1.1 billion people live without safe clean drinking water – that’s 1 in 6 of us.

* 19,737 liters of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.  This is enough water to take a 7-minute shower every day for an entire year.

* Livestock in the U.S. produces 86,000 pounds of excrement per second – that’s 130 times more than the entire human population.

If the future of the world depended on me, what would I do?
You have the power to stop this now! It’s on your plate.

Go Green! Be Veg.

The material atmosphere, in which we are now living, is called maya, or illusion. Maya means “that which is not.” And what is this illusion? The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while actually we are under the grip of her stringent laws. When a servant artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, he is said to be in illusion. We are trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal Krishna consciousness.

The Hare Krishna mantra is the transcendental process for reviving this original, pure consciousness. By chanting this transcendental vibration, we can cleanse away all misgivings within our hearts. The basic principle of all such misgivings is the false consciousness that I am the lord of all I survey.

Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original, natural energy of the living entity. When we hear this transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. This simplest method of meditation is recommended for this age. By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this maha-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum. In the material concept of life we are busy in the matter of sense gratification, as if we were in the lower, animal stage. When a little elevated from this status of sense gratification, one is engaged in mental speculation for the purpose of getting out of the material clutches. More elevated is one who tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes—within and without. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind, and intelligence, he is then on the transcendental plane. This chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness—namely sensual, mental, and intellectual. There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need for mental speculation, nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this maha-mantra. It is automatic, from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification.

THE ECSTACY OF MANTRA MEDITATION

The word Hara is the form of addressing God’s energy, and the words Krishna and Rama are forms of addressing God Himself. Both Krishna and Rama mean “the supreme pleasure,” and Hara is the   supreme pleasure energy of Krishna, changed to Hare in the vocative. The supreme pleasure energy helps us to reach the Supreme.

The material energy, called maya, is also one of God’s multi-potencies, while we, the living entities, are His marginal energy. The living entities are described as superior to material energy. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior energy, Hara, it is established in its happy, normal condition.

These three words, namely Hare, Krishna, and Rama, are the transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for God and His energy to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother’s presence. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the grace of the Father, who reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely.

No other means of spiritual realization is as effective in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy as the chanting of the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

HOW TO CHANT

“Mantra” means “sound that frees the mind from ignorance”

You can chant the mantra anywhere and at any time, but it is best to set a specific time of the day to regularly chant. Early morning hours are ideal.

The chanting can be done in two ways: singing the mantra, called kirtana (usually done in a group), and saying or reciting the mantra to oneself, called japa (which literally means “to speak softly”). Concentrate on hearing the sound of the mantra. As you chant, pronounce the mantra clearly and distinctly, in a prayerful mood. When your mind wanders, bring it back to the transcendental sound.

It is good to chant on japa beads. This not only helps you fix your attention on the mantra, but it also helps you count the number of times you chant the mantra daily. Each strand of japa beads contains 108 small beads and one large bead, the head bead. Begin on a bead next to the head bead and gently roll it between the thumb and middle finger of your right hand as you chant the full Hare Krishna mantra. Then move to the next bead and repeat the process. In this way, chant on each of the 108 beads until you reach the head bead again. This is one round of japa. Then, without chanting on the head bead, reverse the beads and start your second round on the last bead you chanted on.

Initiated practitioners chant at least sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. But even if you can chant only one round a day, a good principle is that once you commit yourself to chanting that round, try to complete it every day. When you feel you can chant more, then increase the minimum number of rounds you chant each day-but try not to fall below that number. You can chant more than your fixed number, but do your best to maintain a set minimum each day.

The japa beads are considered sacred and it is therefore recommended to keep them in a clean place. To keep your beads clean, it’s best to carry them in a special bead bag. (available from the temple store)

The film traces the life of one prehistoric and quite cute fish called the Dolichorhynchopsdali (Dolly for short). Her brother and mother got eaten by larger sea monsters, but she survived, gave birth to offspring, and finally died a natural death of old age.

This film made me think about what Srila Prabhupada, the spiritual teacher of the Hare Krishna movement, teaches about animal versus human consciousness. He teaches that the soul has an original consciousness which is blissful, eternal, and full of knowledge. In spiritual consciousness, one joyfully and voluntarily offers oneself in service to God, loves other living beings, is humble and kind, and does not exploit other living beings or natural resources.  In materialistic consciousness, however, the soul becomes covered by the dust of unlimited desires, greed, lust, envy, and illusion, forgetting its true identity, and thus suffers.

There are different levels of materialistic consciousness, and the type of consciousness each soul has leads it to take birth in an appropriate body.  The IMAX movie about Dolly the sea monster depicted the life and consciousness of an animal — most of its life is spent looking for food, reproducing, avoiding being eaten by others, and just trying to survive.  Animals live a bodily-centered life without a higher awareness of being a tiny part of a larger universe meant to serve God and unite with others in harmony.

A soul in a human body, however, has great potential to reawaken its original, spiritual consciousness. A human being has the ability to question, analyze, and discuss, whereas the animals have no such ability.  We can ask why we are here, why we suffer, why we have to die, and where we will go after death. We can use our talents in the service of God, visit places of worship, and read spiritual texts.  Instead of limiting our love to our own family, religious community, city, or country, we can expand our love to reach all living beings — humans, plants, and animals — with God in the center of that love, and thus experience unlimited and lasting love.

REACHING OUR POTENTIAL

Similarly, spiritual teachers descend or come to remind us that this human body is meant for spiritual awakening, and they teach us how to properly utilize our human bodies to attain spiritual happiness, inner peace, and eternal benefit.  They encourage us to move beyond survival mode, and to instead carve out some time in our busy lives for spiritual practices like prayer, meditation, and selfless service.  They also teach us to perform some austerities for a higher cause rather than constantly seek immediate gratification.

These spiritual teachings can also be found in holy scriptures such as the Bhagavad-gita As It Is.  Krishna (God) does not leave us here on earth without a guidebook.  Such guidance, which is found in all religious traditions of the world in the form of saints and scriptures, can help us achieve the happiness we are searching for, and can prevent us from misusing our human bodies, as the child, due to lack of proper knowledge, misuses the computer.

One type of prayer/meditation practice taught to us by Srila Prabhupada that awakens spiritual consciousness is the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. This mantra is composed of spiritual sound vibrations, and it goes as follows:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Chanting these names, this mantra, repeatedly can awaken our inner spiritual happiness, clear away old karma, and help us utilize the human body for its true purpose.  By chanting we can achieve the happiness we are longing for.  We will only find this happiness through eternal spirit, not through temporary matter, for we are in essence spiritual beings simply encased temporarily in a material body.

Just then Yamaraja, death personified, appeared on the scene for a meeting with Shiva. As he passed beneath the archway, his eyes also went to the bird, and he raised his brow in a quizzical expression—if only for a moment—and then he continued on his way.  Now, to those familiar with Yamaraja, even a slight glance by him is said to be the harbinger of death. Garuda, who’d observed Yama’s glance toward the bird, said to himself, “Yama’s looking intently at this bird can mean only one thing: the bird’s time is up. Most likely, on his way back, Yama will carry away the living entity who’s presently using the bird’s body, and provide him his next body.”

Garuda, also being in a bird-like body, was filled with pity for the helpless creature related to him in form. That the bird was oblivious of its own impending doom further agonized Garuda, and he resolved to save the bird from the clutches of death. And so he swooped it up in his mighty talons, rushed to a forest thousands of miles away, and left the bird on a rock beside a brook. Then, just as quickly, Garuda returned to Shiva’s retreat and regained his position at the entrance gate to wait for Visnu.

Shortly, Yama emerged from inside and nodded to Garuda in recognition. Garuda greeted death personified and said, “May I put a question to you? On your way in you saw a small bird, and for a moment you became pensive. Why?”  Yama answered him, “Well, when my eyes fell on the little bird, I saw that the jiva with the birdlike body was to leave his body [die] in just a few minutes. But I was puzzled, as that particular bird was to die by being swallowed by a great python some thousands of miles away from here in a forest, near a brook. And I wondered how this tiny bird would traverse the thousands of miles separating it from its destiny in such a short time. But then I ceased to think about it—but surely it must have already happened somehow.” After saying this, Yama smiled and went on his way.

From Bhagavad-gita As It Is (below)
(Translation and purports by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that for the non-existent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This is concluded by studying the nature of both.” —BG 2.16

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” —BG 2.20

“One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.” —BG 2.27

Last time there, I remember taking pleasant rickshaw rides down a sandy road, being greeted by welcoming cries from friendly locals as they drove their oxcarts or pedaled their pre-war bicycles with their entire families somehow perched aboard. Cows and bulls lay peacefully in the center of the road, and barefoot women strolled by with two or three large pots of milk or yogurt balanced perfectly on their heads. On all sides temple bells rang out along with the prayers and chants of hundreds of holy men.

I had naively imagined that this timeless scene would never change. After all, India has withstood many invasions over the centuries, shrugging them off to maintain a lifestyle unchanged for millennia. But now it seems it faces its greatest challenge. The road I remember is now a wide paved affair, with horn-blaring four-wheelers constantly jostling the rickshaws. Radios blast out rock music, and mobile phone shops and electronic-goods sellers are replacing the tea stands and cloth shops. The holy men have retreated back some distance, and all in all my attempts to soak in the spiritual mood and meditate on Krishna’s ancient activities proved rather tricky.

Some might see it as a good thing that countries like India are coming on-line with the latest scientific advances, but I am not so sure. Going there to get away from all that for a while, I have always been uplifted and inspired by the tranquil atmosphere, the peaceful people, the simple lifestyle, and above all the profound spirituality in evidence everywhere. It doesn’t appear to me that any of this is being at all enhanced by the rapid embrace of technology. No one seems happier, prices have shot skywards, and life has become generally more difficult for all.

We have our own experience, of course. Everything is available to us in abundance, but does it really improve our happiness? John Ruskin said, “Every increased possession loads us with new weariness.” Among the happiest people I saw on my pilgrimage were the simple monks who lived by the Ganges’ banks, possessing nothing but the clothes they wore and a pot for collecting water. Their days are spent in prayer and meditation, seeking union with God by constantly chanting His names.

I don’t think I’m quite ready for that, but I did manage to immerse myself in something like it for a couple of weeks, and it certainly made a pleasant change from the high tech life back home.

One morning Genghis Khan, the great king and warrior, rode out into the woods to have a day’s sport. Many of his friends were with him. They rode out gayly, carrying their bows and arrows. Behind them came the servants with the hounds.

It was a merry hunting party. The woods rang with their shouts and laughter. They expected to carry much game home in the evening.

On the king’s wrist sat his favorite hawk, for in those days hawks were trained to hunt. At a word from their masters they would fly high up into the air and look around for prey. If they chanced to see a deer or a rabbit, they would swoop down upon it swift as any arrow.

All day long Genghis Khan and his huntsmen rode through the woods. But they did not find as much game as they expected.

Toward evening they started for home. The king had often ridden through the woods, and he knew all the paths. So while the rest of the party took the nearest way, he went by a longer road through a valley between two mountains.

The day had been warm, and the king was very thirsty. His pet hawk left his wrist and flew away. It would be sure to find its way home.

The king rode slowly along. He had once seen a spring of clear water near this pathway. If he could only find it now! But the hot days of summer had dried up all the mountain brooks.

At last, to his joy, he saw some water trickling down over the edge of a rock. He knew that there was a spring farther up. In the wet season, a swift stream of water always poured down here, but now it came only one drop at a time.

The king leaped from his horse. He took a little silver cup from his hunting bag. He held it so as to catch the slowly falling drops.

It took a long time to fill the cup, and the king was so thirsty that he could hardly wait. At last it was nearly full. He put the cup to his lips and was about to drink.  All at once there was a whirring sound in the air, and the cup was knocked from his hands. All of the water was spilled on the ground.  The king looked up to see who had done this thing. It was his pet hawk.  The hawk flew back and forth a few times and landed among the rocks by the spring.

The king picked up the cup and again held it to catch the trickling drops.  This time he did not wait so long. When the cup was half full, he lifted it toward his mouth. But before it had touched his lips, the hawk swooped down again and knocked it from his hands.  And now the king began to grow angry. He tried again, and for the third time the hawk kept him from drinking. The king was now very angry indeed.

“How do you dare to act so?” he cried. “If I had you in my hands, I would wring your neck!”

Then he filled his cup again. But before he tried to drink, he drew his sword.

“Now, Sir Hawk,” he said, “that is the last time.”

He had hardly spoken before the hawk swooped down and knocked the cup from his hand. But the king was looking for this. With a quick sweep of the sword he struck the bird as it passed.

The next moment the poor hawk lay bleeding and dying at its master’s feet.

“That is what you get for your pains,” said Genghis Khan. But when he looked for his cup, he found that it had fallen between two rocks, where he could not reach it.  “At any rate, I will have a drink from that spring,” he said to himself.  With that he began to climb the steep bank to the place from which the water trickled. It was hard work, and the higher he climbed, the thirstier he became.

At last he reached the place. There indeed was a pool of water; but what was that lying in the pool, and almost filling it? It was a huge, dead snake of the most poisonous kind.

The king stopped. He forgot his thirst. He thought only of the poor dead bird lying on the ground below him.

“The hawk saved my life!” he cried, “and how did I repay him? He was my best friend, and I have killed him.” He clambered down the bank. He took the bird up gently, and laid it in his hunting bag. Then he mounted his horse and rode swiftly home. He said to himself, “I have learned a sad lesson today, and that is, never to do anything in anger.”

Text 21: Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.

Commentary: The different manifestations of body and senses among the living entities are due to material nature. There are 8,400,000 different species of life, and these varieties are creations of the material nature. They arise from the different sensual pleasures of the living entity, who thus desires to live in this body or that. When he is put into different bodies, he enjoys different kinds of happiness and distress. His material happiness and distress are due to his body, and not to himself as he is. In his original state there is no doubt of enjoyment; therefore that is his real state. Because of the desire to lord it over material nature, he is in the material world. In the spiritual world there is no such thing. The spiritual world is pure, but in the material world everyone is struggling hard to acquire different kinds of pleasures for the body. It might be more clear to state that this body is the effect of the senses. The senses are instruments for gratifying desire. Now, the sum total – body and instrument senses – are offered by material nature, and as will be clear in the next verse, the living entity is blessed or damned with circumstances according to his past desire and activity.

According to one’s desires and activities, material nature places one in various residential quarters. The being himself is the cause of his attaining such residential quarters and his attendant enjoyment or suffering. Once placed in some particular kind of body, he comes under the control of nature because the body, being matter, acts according to the laws of nature. At that time, the living entity has no power to change that law. Suppose an entity is put into the body of a dog. As soon as he is put into the body of a dog, he must act like a dog. He cannot act otherwise. And if the living entity is put into the body of a hog, then he is forced to eat stool and act like a hog. Similarly, if the living entity is put into the body of a demigod, he must act according to his body. This is the law of nature. But in all circumstances, the Supersoul is with the individual soul. That is explained in the Vedas (Mundaka Upanisad 3.1.1) as follows: “The Supersoul is so kind upon the living entity that He always accompanies the individual soul in all circumstances.”

Text 22: The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.

Commentary: This verse is very important for understanding how living entities transmigrate from one body to another.  The Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita explains that the soul moves from one body to another just as one changes clothes. This “change of clothes” is due to his attachment to material existence, or life in this world. As long as he is captivated by this false manifestation, he has to continue transmigrating from one body to another. Due to his desire to lord it over material nature, he is put into the undesirable circumstance of being reborn. Under the influence of material desire, the entity is born sometimes as a demigod, sometimes as a human, sometimes as a beast, as a bird, as a worm, as an aquatic, as a saintly person, or as a bug. This is on-going. And in all cases the living entity thinks himself to be the master of his circumstances, yet he really controls nothing and is himself under the influence of material nature.

One is placed into different bodies based on their association with the different modes of nature –ignorance, passion, and goodness. Therefore, in order to transcend the material world, one must rise above the three material modes and free oneself of the material consciousness that is perpetuating one’s rebirth.  To become situated in the transcendental position, or to become Krishna conscious, is an impossible task for an individual to undertake on one’s own.  This advancement in consciousness can be effected only by hearing from authoritative sources.  (Although the false ego in many people’s minds tells them otherwise!) The best example is here: Arjuna is hearing the science of God from Krishna. The living entity, if he submits to this hearing process, will lose his long-cherished desire to dominate material nature, and gradually and proportionately, as he reduces his long desire to dominate, he comes to enjoy spiritual happiness. In a Vedic mantra it is said that as one becomes learned in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one proportionately relishes one’s eternal and blissful life.

Americans love their pets. We feed them better than most humans in third world countries are fed. We dote on them with toys at Christmas, and we award them the honorary status of “children.” But do we acknowledge that all creatures are, like us, spirit souls? Do we honor them as living entities working their way slowly toward perfection, or do we just cater to their bodies — treating them like they are toys for our amusement?

The spiritual literatures studied by bhakti yogis teach that every living entity is, at its fundamental core, a spirit soul (called the atma). Every living being is a soul — individual and equal — wearing an individual body. In other words, the soul that is presently in your puppy, Fredo, is an individual living entity spending that lifetime inside the body of a dog. But look deep into Fredo’s eyes and you might sense the atma looking back at you.

Try this. Think of bodies as light bulbs. Some are 15-watt, some 30-watt, some 1,000-watt. The electric current that runs through the walls, into the lamp and to the bulb is the same. What is different is each bulb’s capacity to utilize the current. A 15-watt bulb can only funnel so much current into usable light. A 1,000-watt bulb can channel much more.

So, in the same way, different bodies are capable of expressing different amounts of consciousness. A dung beetle is concerned only with rolling or burrowing deeper into the cow patty. A dog can express happiness, anger and love. A human birth allows the greatest expression of consciousness. But even within the human birth, there are gradations of consciousness.

On the one hand, we treat our pets like they are little humans. But if asked “Is an animal a spirit soul?” most Westerners raised in a Judeo-Christian paradigm will say “No, only humans have souls.” Yet the symptom of the soul is consciousness. Even slight consciousness attests to the presence of the soul (atma) in the body. If Fredo stops breathing, you may say your dog “died.” I use quotes because in the Bhagavad-gita we learn,

“That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.” —BG 2.17

THE BODY IS A VEHICLE FOR THE SOUL

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from childhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” —BG 2.13

“Bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality.”—Purport to BG 2.18, by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

The next time you are on the Internet, visit YouTube and pull up the video entitled “Tara & Bella – the Odd Couple.” When you watch this video about Tara and Bella, remember that at one time in this country (not so very long ago), women and African Americans were considered property with no rights and were often treated inhumanely. Today, animals and other conscious beings, because they are not humans, suffer horrific cruelties (even with pets we often decide what’s “good” for them based on what’s convenient for us). We thoughtlessly squash a spider or ant. Some hunt animals to kill for “sport.” Yet Tara and Bella show us that we should reconsider our “dominion” over other species. Does dominion over atmas who are perhaps akin to a lower wattage bulb (in the example above) mean we have the right to kill them at will? Or does dominion mean to care for and protect all living beings? We should develop equal vision and see all living beings as spirit souls, fundamentally and qualitatively equal, though presently expressing their consciousness through a vast variety of bodies, large and small, with simple or complex consciousness.

Tara and Bella understand that their vastly different bodies should not be an impediment to friendship. Perhaps we could learn something from them.

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.

Certainly one does not require flesh and fish or iron tools and machinery. During the reign of King Yudhisthira, all over the world there were regular rainfalls. Rainfalls are not in the control of the human being. When the king and the people under the king’s administration live in harmony with the Supreme -– that is, in harmony with the objective truths of the world – 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 humans and animals, and fatty cows deliver enough milk to supply the humans 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 bars, houses of prostitution, slaughterhouses, etc.? What is the need of an artificial, luxurious, superficial life of “Hollywood” entertainment, flesh, and all other sorts of distractions? Has this civilization produced anything but quarreling individually and nationally? Has this civilization enhanced the cause of equality and fraternity by sending millions of people into hellish factories and the war fields at the whims of a particular person?

ALL LIFE IS CREATED EQUAL

Therefore, in contrast with the modern, advanced, civilized form of government, an autocracy like King Yudhisthira’s is by far superior to a so-called democracy in which animals are killed and people who behave worse than animals are allowed to cast votes for another less-than-animal person.

We are all creatures of material nature. In the Bhagavad-gita, the most famous Indian philosophical text, it is said that God is the seed-giving father and material nature is the mother of all living beings in all shapes. Thus mother material nature has enough foodstuffs both for animals and for humans, by the grace of the Father. The human being is the elder brother of all other living beings. He is endowed with intelligence more powerful than that of the animals for realizing the course of nature and the indications of the Father. Human civilizations should depend on the production of material nature without artificially attempting economic development to turn the world into a chaos of artificial greed and power only for the purpose of artificial luxuries and sensual gratification. This is but a bestial life, a life devoid of goodness, devoid of a higher purpose, and devoid of understanding of the intrinsic nature of the world we live in.

Elevator music.

Sitting in the silver towers amidst a concrete jungle. Lunch is plastic. They look out the window, dreaming what it would be like — to be out there.

Ring, ring. Come to the meeting.

Shallow superficial customer. He’s got a crisp suit and tie, yet the apple is maggot-ridden. How can you serve him? What can you do to please him? The futility of squelching maggots. This is why you got the Ivy League education. This is why you went to college. Isn’t it?

Night is falling. You’ve died for the last 12 hours in the office. Time to go home to your material things.

Rush, rush. Beep, beep.

At home at last! A house (mortgaged), a wife (with a 50% divorce rate), possibly children (Don’t disturb me. I’m hooked up to virtuality.), maybe a car (that guzzles gas).

Dinner. Dinner. Microwave ding.

Sleep? There is no sleep. Squelching Mr. Customer’s maggots preoccupies your mind.

Toss and turn. Toss and turn.

Ring! Morning time. Groggy mind. Television blaring. No time to shower. Leave home without saying good-by. The kids aren’t interested anyway.

Black suits. Black dresses. Like automatons they march out of the train…