Hare Krsna Devi Dasi
IN THE PAST SEVERAL COLUMNS I've described the evolution of a world economic system in which cow slaughter plays a central role. Now I want to contrast that system with Krsna's varnasrama model of society as presented by Srila Prabhupada. In the next several columns I'll compare how the two systems define the relationship between farmers and the land, farmers and the cows, and finally farmers and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Let me first talk about the farmer and the land.
Independence for the Farmer
In the last several hundred years of Western history, government leaders have usually held to policies that discouraged subsistence farming. According to economic historian N. J. G. Pound, beginning in the medieval period the farmer was typically a serf who had to pay the village lord a head tax, a hearth tax, mill tolls, and rent. The lord often demanded burdensome and unpredictable services that disrupted the farmer's work. The farmer had little independence.
If the introduction of horses to agriculture put the farmer and his ox out of work, the farmer was probably glad to move to town to get a job as a laborer or craftsman. At a time when farmers were "bound to the soil, subjected to service obligations, made to perform day-works and boon-works," Pound writes, "the citizen of the town was free." ** (N. J. G. Pound, An Economic History of Medieval Europe (Longman Grout Ltd., 1974), pp. 210, 225.)
This is the opposite of the varnasrama system, in which the farmer independently contributes to society. The vaisya, or farmer, can produce his own food and needs no one else to maintain him.
Moderate Taxes
Furthermore, in the varnasrama system the farmer doesn't pay rent on his land. Srila Prabhupada explains that the ksatriyas, the governing class, "distribute land on nominal taxation, and the vaisyas utilize the land for cultivation and cow-keeping." ** (Conversations with Srila Prabhupada (CSP), Volume 19, p. 301 (April 9, 1976).)
In a bad year for crops, medieval serfs would sometimes starve or lose their land because their rent and taxes were assessed at a fixed sum. The same is still true for small farmers around the world. But in the varnasrama system there was no rent, and the farmer's taxes were tied to production. The farmer would give the government one fourth of what he produced, and that would be all. No further taxes. No mortgage. And because the farmer could pay in kind rather than money, he wouldn't have to worry about market demand or grain prices. The farmer and his land were secure.
Guaranteed Employment
In a market-based economy, efficient commercial farmers flood the market, so small farmers get less for their crops. And commercial farmers push up land values, driving nearby subsistence farmers off the land and out of work. So farming solely for profit in the marketplace brings wealth and sense gratification for some, misery and desperation for others.
Farming for profit in a market economy calls for boosting output with machines. But machines bring unemployment, both for men and for animals. When the tractor puts the plowman and the bull out of work, the plowman winds up at the unemployment office, and the bull ends up at the slaughterhouse. ** (See also CSP, Volume 37, p. 230 (February 12, 1976).)
In the varnasrama system, therefore, the farmer is cautioned against growing mainly for the market. Instead, he is advised to work for self-sufficiency. ** (See also CSP, Volume 28, p. 241 (January 3, 1977).) By caring for cows and growing his own grain, he can feed himself and his family, and if he has more milk and grains than he needs he can trade to get other things.
Spiritual Advancement
Although varnasrama makes for socially just economics, that's not its most important feature. Its true function is to bring people closer to the Supreme Lord by their daily work.
By Krsna's arrangement, simple farming helps evoke one's natural appreciation for the Lord. The New York Times recently quoted this statement from Clemente Torres, a Mexican farmer: "As long as I have faith in God, I think I would not sell my land. It has always given me something to eat." ** (Tim Golden, "The Dream of Land Dies Hard in Mexico," The New York Times, Nov. 27, 1991, pp. A1, A10.) The farmer, especially the small farmer, naturally feels dependent on God to grow his crops, and when the crops come up he is naturally thankful to the Lord.
The varnasrama system is designed to take this natural religious sentiment and gradually elevate it to the highest realized love of Krsna. That's why the varnasrama system carefully protects the small farmer. The economic strength and stability of the whole society depends on the strength and happiness of the farmer. And the farmer can be happy and spiritually strong by working his land.
Hare Krsna Devi Dasi has been in ISKCON since 1978. She spent several years on the Gita Nagari farm in Pennsylvania. She now lives in Maine, where you can write to her c/o The Ox Power Alternative Energy Club, 9B Stetson St., Brunswick, ME 04011.