CHAPTER THREE
Var£§ªrama: Neither Outdated Nor Dangerous Since the time of ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s departure from this world, there have been controversies in ISKCON on the relevance today of var£§ªrama to ISKCON and to greater society. Those who doubt or deny that relevance consider var£§ªrama to be an outdated social structure that has been supplanted both for Vai¢£avas and for the world by n§ma-sa¯k¦rtana. They say it cannot be practised today. Moreover, continue sceptics, the corrupted, prejudicial caste system of India shows the dangers associated with var£§ªrama. And the global notoriety that casteism has garnered precludes any thinking person from accepting it. However, if we study the chronology of ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s teachings, we see that as years passed, His Divine Grace gave increasing importance to var£§ªrama both for ISKCON and for the whole world.1 The twelve years of ISKCON’s history under ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s direction is evidence of that. Indeed it was a theme of his last instructions to his followers. ¼r¦la Prabhup§da wanted ISKCON to be a pilot project that could show the world the perfect social structure designed for man by God. And if thinking people 39
