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The Compendium and This Volume
CHAPTER ONE The Compendium and This Volume
The Compendium
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This handbook is the first instalment of publications that will define and regulate the implementation of var£§ªrama for members of MKTHK. It is not for the general public but for practising devotees.
The subject matters of this first volume are the qualities and duties of devotees in general, as well as those specific to each var£a. By developing the qualities and duties of their var£a, devotees can feel confident that they are living in the world in a way that is pleasing to K¥¢£a and which facilitates their K¥¢£a consciousness.
Var£§ªrama-dharma is not about pigeon-holing devotees according to their qualities and work. It is about helping devotees cultivate those qualities, perfect their service to K¥¢£a, and practise their profession in the most dharmic way. Since this handbook is meant to be concise, these practices are described succinctly, the in-depth explanations being left to the education process that will follow this volume.
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Devotees who have or have not embraced a var£a may use the online var£a-finder to see what kind of work is most suited to their nature. The link to the var£a-finder can be found in chapter 30. For those who are still either volunteers or students, this will be a helpful guide to their future. Moreover, devotees who want to see their suitability for brahmac§r¦, sanny§sa, or g¥hastha life can do so with a similar §ªrama-finder.
Codes of conduct are generally accompanied by consequences for their breach. That is not the case with this compendium, as we had neither the time for such an undertaking at present, nor a way to comprehensively implement sanctions. The subject of sanctions and their enforcement, like other subjects, may be added to revised editions of this handbook at later dates.
In conclusion, readers should note that this handbook is not meant to be an exhaustive exposition of its subjects: it is an introduction. And while not complete, it is the standard for our devotee society until it is revised. This is the same as the process of law-making in our country. Whatever form a law is in, it is incumbent on all citizens to follow it, and the current form of a law is the basis by which citizens are judged. That law may be repeatedly amended or even repealed, but whatever form it stands in at a given time, that is the law.
Devotees may question the statements in this handbook or fault its delivery. Such issues can be discussed with the local var£§ªrama representative, who will then bring that information to the var£§ªrama council for deliberation and response.
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The Purpose of the Compendium
K¥¢£a consciousness is based on the eternal values found in the Bhagavad-g¦t§ and ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam as taught to us by ¼r¦la Prabhup§da. But because both texts teach the essence of the Vedic literature, they do not deal with themes of religiosity, economic development, and sense gratification. However, devotees—especially householder devotees—come in contact with these aspects of life daily.
Yet we find that there is no systematic body of information that tells devotees, for example, what principles they should work by in business, how much profit should they make, or how they should deal with employees. Nor are devotee business owners or managers clear what conduct and work codes are expected of them as Vai¢£avas.
While answering every individual’s question requires personal guidance, such guidance must be based on eternal principles, and it is these principles that this compendium presents.
In short, this handbook hopes to extend and strengthen the values by which devotees live, work, play, and worship, as well as offering principles to resolve leading ethical and behavioural issues.
Scriptural Basis
The subject of var£§ªrama is dealt with in the dharma-ª§stra branch of the Vedas. ¼r¦la Prabhup§da mentions twenty dharma-ª§stra, of which Manu-sa°hit§ is the foremost and likely the most well known.1
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The study of the Vedas, however, is difficult, and so conclusions drawn by its students may not always be clear or correct. For pure Vai¢£avas, therefore, ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam is the preferred first port of call for scriptural guidance. Fortunately, both the Seventh and Eleventh Cantos of ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam deal extensively with var£§ªrama. And for the former we have extensive commentaries by ¼r¦la Prabhup§da.
Considering the wide scope of ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam’s treatment of the qualities and duties of both var£as and §ªramas, we considered its guidance eminently sufficient for inaugurating this first step of var£§ªrama in the y§tr§.
The first two volumes of Var£§ªrama Compendium are current dharma-ª§stra. They deal with the first of the genre’s three topics, §c§ra—the appropriate duties and the conduct of the var£as (Volume 1) and §ªramas (Volume 2). The other two, not dealt with in this book, are vyavah§ra, judging misconduct, and pr§yaªcitta, sanctions and atonements for misconduct.
Both sections of ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam describing var£§ªrama-dharma deal almost exclusively with §c§ra, and so this volume is more or less a synthesis of N§rada Muni’s and K¥¢£a’s teachings on the subject. What this book brings to the fore is the context of ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam’s teachings. Whereas ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam speaks to a culture five thousand years ago, this handbook tries to speak to devotees in twenty-first century Hungary.
In addition to ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam, we have referred to other books and statements of ¼r¦la Prabhup§da and of our §c§ryas. Nonetheless, ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam remains the primary reference.
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We consider ourselves very fortunate that the primary scriptural basis of this book is ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam. Our hope is that we have done justice to our spiritual lineage’s greatest scripture.
Scope
Laws or guidelines are addressed to an audience. While this handbook addresses all devotees in the Hungarian y§tr§, not all of them may immediately appreciate that this compendium has a say in almost every aspect of their lives. But var£§ªrama-dharma is all-encompassing. It sets out everyone’s conduct and duties in all times, places, and circumstances. So, yes, it has a say in every aspect of a follower’s life.
Do we like that?
Like it or not, as conditioned souls who are products of a materialistic culture, our entire lives have already been moulded by Kali-yuga. If we want freedom from Kali, then we need to revise every aspect of our lives based on K¥¢£a’s advice. And it will be for readers to decide whether they are ready to do so.
After instructing Arjuna, K¥¢£a left it to him to decide for himself whether he wanted to follow the Lord’s teachings: vim¥ªyaitad aªe¢e£a yathecchasi tath§ kuru, “Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.”2
Reading this book the reader may ask, “Am I ready to follow var£§ªrama-dharma?”
For those who are, this book is for them. And those who are not must accept that, until they are, they will not derive
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the same benefits from life as followers. These benefits are described in the subsequent two chapters, and the societal benefits are hinted at below.
A devotee who does not follow the tenets of var£§ªrama cannot expect the same rights from the devotee society as those who do. Arjuna could not expect to be part of the future governance of the world if he did not fight the war. Everyone would have considered him a coward and thus unwilling to follow him.
The mission and social structure of MKTHK is var£§ªr§ma. Every society in the world offers rights only to the degree that their members fulfil their obligations. A person cannot expect running water in his house if he is not willing to pay the municipal water bill. Similarly a devotee may not expect, for example, the Society’s representatives to perform family sa°sk§ras if their life is not in accord with those sa°sk§ras, and with the principles of the Society.
It is our hope, however, that devotees—especially initiated devotees—see it as their duty to fulfil ¼r¦la Prabhup§da’s expressed desire, and thus adopt the mission of var£§ªrama by observing and adhering to its principles.
We have spent many years discussing the concept of membership in MKTHK. 3 While we viewed our Society as a church, membership was based solely on belief in K¥¢£a. However, as we make the transition to a broader social structure, we may have to review and redefine membership in terms of those who accept and put into practice the tenets of var£§ªrama. Membership is not the subject of this handbook, and its implementation is some way off, but it is inevitably an important agenda item.
Over and above the need to follow institutional norms is
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K¥¢£a’s desire. What does K¥¢£a want of His devotees? In creating the material world, K¥¢£a also gave us the social system and accompanying rules of conduct by which to achieve liberation. A lifestyle that deviates from K¥¢£a’s plan does not serve that end, but following the principles of var£§ªrama does. Thus N§rada says, “Simply by acquiring these qualifications, one can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”4
Finally, all devotees are interested in their spiritual advancement. We follow K¥¢£a and ¼r¦la Prabhup§da, being convinced that they know what is best for us. And according to them, our spiritual lives will be best served in a var£§ªrama-based society. The concept of “outcast” refers to conditioned souls who choose to stay outside of the guidance of var£§ªrama. Defining an outcast, Bhaktivinoda çh§kura writes,
“Those who do not distinguish between proper and improper action, who have no inclination for righteousness, who are fond of argument, extremely selfish, think only of food, and who are devoid of marriage rules, are called antyaja or outcast. Without giving up such a nature, the real nature of a human being does not manifest.”5
Implementing Guidelines
Laws only have worth if they are enforced. In an ideal society of transcendentalists we would not need laws, or this compendium. Being directly in touch with K¥¢£a, perfect
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devotees would know what to do, what is right and what is wrong. But that is Satya-yuga and we live in Kali-yuga, and we may not all be transcendentalists.
In this age there is a need for laws, which Plato described in this way: “Laws are made to instruct the good, and in the hope that there may be no need of them; also to control the bad, whose hardness of heart will not be hindered from crime.”6
Because as a Society the Hungarian y§tr§ does not have comprehensive means to enforce laws, and also because in some cases there is no need for formal enforcement, this compendium is a book of guidelines. Guidelines are more advice than command.
Let us briefly consider the two reasons why this compendium is underpinned by minimal enforcement: we have little means for it and it is not always needed.
Our Society has not appointed and recognised k¢atriyas to identify and apprehend transgressors, judge them, and then mete out punishment. We don’t have a functioning constabulary or judiciary. To the contrary, the same devotees who guide others’ lives, br§hma£as, often have to be both policeman and judge—hardly a desirable mix, and hardly a proper division of work.
We do have and enact sanctions for serious offenses, such as a spouse abandoning his or her family. But even these sanctions are limited to the sphere of influence of individual temples and centres, and not necessarily to the wider devotee society. In other words, while temple management may deal one way with an offender based on one set of values, devotees outside the temple may deal another way with that person based on another set of values. The
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result is limited enforcement and a varied approach to those who transgress principles of dharma.
These are the very reasons that we need var£§ªrama. Were we a real dharmic community—people living together based on common ideals—, the response to transgressing codes of conduct would be uniform throughout the Society and based on common values. Var£§ªrama establishes those eternal values called san§tana-dharma. 7
Therefore, before any efficient enforcement can be established, our Society needs to be able to delegate different roles to different devotees. We are in the process of establishing a judiciary; an independent department for enforcement will follow.
As for the need to enforce guidelines:
Law enforcement and judiciary bodies are generally for major transgressions, those that seriously obstruct the functioning of the Society. For the most part the qualities and duties, and their infringement, are an individual or family affair. In such cases it will be the devotees’ inspiration to better themselves—as well as the guidance they receive from peers and superiors—that will help to them to correct and elevate themselves.
In such cases it may be said that there is little need for enforcement. That said, when devotees choose a lifestyle or conduct that contradicts the criteria of their membership in, or their community service to, MKTHK, they may deprive themselves of certain rights and services. These rights and services are comprehensively explained in the MKTHK publication entitled Közösségi Szerepek (Social Roles). 8
Thus, at the present time, this volume remains a book of guidelines—advice which the aspirants for pure devotion
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voluntarily embrace as a template for both elevating themselves and humbly correcting others. As the k¢atriya wing of var£§ªrama is further established in Hungary, this compendium will become a law book.
Dissemination and Education
This handbook is published by the MKTHK and is sold to all devotees and sympathisers of the movement. It will be available at our centres throughout the country and we urge all devotees to read and study its contents. We believe that the challenge of transforming our church to a real society is both a serious and plausible one. However, it will require participation by all involved: in many cases it means a different way of thinking, a change of lifestyle, and above all, education.
Starting in 2016, the contents of this handbook will be taught as widely as possible: wherever our Society has the capacity to educate and train it will do so. That means this booklet will become mandatory curriculum for all new volunteers, the counsellor system, our centres, Bhaktivedanta College, and our schools. Additionally we would hope that the family tradition will embrace the values of this book and family members will assist each other to imbibe them.
As other handbooks on var£§ªrama topics become available in successive years—the next one dealing with §ªramas and the interaction between men and women—their contents will be added to the devotee-training curriculum.
A teaching guide will be produced for this handbook, and that will be the standard teaching format, as well as
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the guide for home education. The very key to establishing var£§ªrama is education. That means accepting the need for it, studying, assimilating, and practising it. Then the different sections of our Society will systematically evolve from strength to strength, because its members will have become duly qualified, in N§rada Muni’s words, as human beings. ¼r¦la Prabhup§da said, “So we are stressing on the point of education. You educate certain section as br§hma£a, certain section as k¢atriya, certain section as vaiªya. In that education we don’t discriminate because he’s coming of a ª¡dra family. Take education. Be qualified.”9
NOTES
1. A Second Chance, chapter 16, page 107. 2. Bhagavad-g¦t§ 18.63. 3. Readers will recall that the standards for community services do not equate with membership in the Society. The latter is something that, in Hungary, the National Council has yet to finalise. 4. ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam 7.11.8-12. 5. Caitanya-ªik¢§m¥ta, chapter 2.3. 6. The Republic, Book IX, Laws. 7. The term san§tana-dharma is used by scriptures and ¼r¦la Prabhup§da to denote both var£§ªrama and devotional service. The former is the eternal principles of social order, and the latter the eternal principles of serving K¥¢£a. 8. The standards that have been established by MKTHK to facilitate devotees’ community services and which are to be found in the booklet Közösségi Szerepek do not correlate in any one-to-one way with the principles of var£§ªrama, although some of those standards may reflect var£§ªrama principles. 9. Conversation, M§y§pur, February 14, 1977.
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