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Current Events & Money Issues

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:47:17 -0500 From: RJ Watkins To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: Current Events & Money Issues Baba "Sukhe ele na'ko, shoke sa'ntvana' dite ele..." (PS 3091) Purport: Baba, when I was feeling happy and content that time when You did not come. Those days I was so enamoured with myself and I was so involved in my own glory that I did not even think to call You. So You did not come. But when I lost all that happiness and when I become drowned in my sorrows of self pity and when I was suffering and overwhelmed by various problems, then by Your grace You immediately came and consoled me. Baba in that desperate moment You graciously relieved me of my grief. Baba, I did not ever feel that You are mine. In this life I was always suffering from the vanity and ego of my own I-feeling. Those days I was thinking that 'I am everything'. Due to my ego I did not accept You as the Supreme One-- as my Goal. I did not take You as that most loving One who can solve all my problems; I did not surrender at Your feet. Baba, even then by Your grace You came deep inside my heart and became mine. Now, by Your grace, I understand that You are ever helpful and that You remain with me always. Baba, those days when I was overwhelmed by that severe suffering, I did not outrightly tell You about my problems. I did not openly say anything. I did not express my pain to You. But because You are ever-present in my heart and because You are my eternal shelter, with Your infinite compassion You fully understood the desperate state of my mind-- You understood my sorrow. And by Your grace You instantly poured Your eternal sweetness and love. By Your grace You filled my whole existence with Your divine bliss. Baba, due to my ego and vanity I could not recognise you. You were showering huge grace on me but I could not recognicse that. I thought that due to my own qualities everything was happening. In those happy times I could not recognise You. Only did I begin to recognise You in my sorrow. Baba, in my state of terrible suffering, when the mountain of misery started falling on my head, then all my friends left me. I was all alone. When I was happy then they were along with me but when I became sunk in misery all those friends disappeared. Baba, You are the exact opposite. When I was sunk in woe then by Your grace You immediately came and removed all my pains and troubles. Baba You bathed me in Your infinite love. Filling my I-feeling with Your bliss, You surrounded me each and every second. Baba, You showereed Your grace and saturated my heart. Baba, You are so gracious. You are love Personified. You have done everything for me. Baba, I surrender at Your alter...
== CURRENT EVENTS & MONEY ISSUES ==
Namaskar, Right now the world is in an economic quagmire, desperately wondering how to fix the economy. Communism is gone; capitalism is reeling; and all kinds of band-aid approaches are in vogue to revive the current free-market system. The most common measure in the US being the so-called stimulus program, wherein the government prints & pumps huge amounts of money into the economy. While so many other countries are cutting back dramatically on their spending such as in Europe and South America. But these token approaches are not bringing stability. Each and every day we see the economic landscape changing - even witnessing entire governments like Greece going bankrupt, or nearly so. In Ananda Marga, we know that the only real solution is Baba's teachings on Prout and His samaj theory. These self-sufficient economic units are the answer for today's problems as well as the way of the future. This letter aims to highlight our samaj theory and apply it to present world circumstances like Greece's place into the European Union (EU). By these practical examples, we can better understand, value and utilise Baba's Proutistic teachings. If the current economic turmoil is not properly addressed, then everyone's financial situation is jeopardised - the banks, the stock market, even government bonds may all become suspect. And those are the main places where we keep our money. So we should be in tune with this critical issue on the macro level as it will also affect our personal lives.
BABA'S TEACHINGS ON SAMAJ
To review, a socio-economic unit, or samaj, is based on certain criteria. Baba says, "While forming socio-economic units, several factors should be considered. These include same economic problems; uniform economic potentialities; ethnic similarities; the sentimental legacy of the people; and similar geographical features." (PNS-13) These elements allow a particular region or area to rally around certain common bonds and sentiments, complementary resources & landscapes, and a shared vision, all of which allows them to function as an independent, self-sufficient socio-economic community. That is what a samaj is. Such socio-economic units will enable each area to grow well, valuing their human and natural resources. Such samajas (i.e. socio-economic units) will not allow stronger economic regions to come in and capture all their natural resources. Thus they will avoid one of the major pitfalls of capitalism that plagues the world today. At present, places like Africa, the Philippines, South & Central America and even parts of India which are rich in natural resources fail to develop a thriving economy because they sell their own natural resources to more industrially developed nations and in turn those poor countries buy back those same resources in the form of finished goods from those wealthy nations. For instance, wood from tropical areas gets made into furniture by more industrialised nations, and then those poor countries become the consumers of those goods. Hence those impoverished areas do not develop an economic surplus from their own resources - rather they face an economic deficit even though the raw materisals are from their own area. This is the not way to go. With Baba's samaj system, the resources and assets of a particular region or samaj stay within that area. That will enable each samaj to grow. Baba says, "Each socio-economic unit should prepare and implement its own developmental programmes. Factors like natural resources, topography, river systems, cultural conditions, communication and industrial potential need to be considered to facilitate proper planning and development so that each unit will become economically self-sufficient and prosperous." (PNS-13)
MERGING SOCIO ECONOMIC UNITS
Now we come to the point of Greece and the European Union (EU). As everyone knows, Greece suffered a terrible economic collapse, and if we do not learn from this, then such episodes will be repeated. First let's read Baba's guidelines about merging samajas, or uniting economic units. Although, Greece is not a samaj, per se, we have to consider how beneficial their joining is with the European Union (EU). And Baba's below teaching sheds light on this matter. Baba says, "Where there is economic parity, cultural mixing, communication facilities and administrative efficiency, it will be easy and natural for two or more adjoining units to cooperate, because they will have attained a high degree of socio-economic uniformity. In such cases they should merge to form a single larger unit. This will further the welfare of their respective citizens and enhance their socio-economic interests." (PNS-13) Thus, under certain conditions, samajas, i.e. socio-economic units, may merge and that will be a fruitful partnership. The first condition for such a merger is economic parity. In the case of Greece and the European Union (EU), this condition of economic parity was not met - as well as other missing requirements. Greece, with its weak economy, joined the economic platform of the EU, and in turn Greece had to compete with strong, industrialised nations like Germany and France etc. Obviously Greece was not up to the task. Germany is a country that thrives on exports and takes in large sums of money. Greece's economy could not compete in this way, so they mostly became consumers of Germany's finished products - like cars, machines, computers and textiles etc. Plus the Germans invested heavily in Greece, set up companies there and used the Greek labor force to build German enterprises. No doubt Greece does export certain products to Germany, but on the whole Greece could not keep step with the more advanced economies of the EU. This caused a lot of problems. Baba "As each unit becomes strong and prosperous it will merge with other units." (PNS-13) Here the main point is that when regions or nations do not share the same economic strength, then they should not be combined together - not until the weaker economy becomes stronger. That is Baba's main warning. So the very platform of Greece and the EU goes against our Prout policy.
PROBLEM WITH THE EU: INDUSTRIALLY DEVELOPED & LESS DEVELOPED NATIONS UNDER THE SAME ROOF
We must remember that the European Union brought 27 countries together wherein all use the same currency and economic platform. This gives industrially developed nations a greater advantage and more opportunity to sell their goods in poorer countries within the EU. Ultimately that leads to a surplus of money in some countries whereas other less industrially developed nations - like Greece, Spain & Portugal - are put in a compromised situation and may even default. In order to function, such poorer countries need subsidies and / or direct help otherwise their per capita income will be very low in comparison to rich countries. All because of a lack of industrialisation and the inability to produce goods. With respect to the EU platform, the rich countries get richer and the poor ones becomes more poor. This is an ongoing phenomenon with no end in sight - the situation cannot be fixed through capitalistic means. When the economic strength of two countries is quite similar then they can unite and form one currency. But when the economies of two countries are not similar then a merger will not work. That is why even 20yrs after the reunion of East and West Germany into one nation, still the east is suffering from dire poverty and most of the money in the east is controlled by the west. And when you take 27 countries of varying economic capacity and put them under one roof, massive disparities are going to develop. And that is what we see happening with the EU.
COMPARING STATES WITHIN A PARTICULAR COUNTRY
The above theory of wealth disparity does not just apply from one nation to the next, but within nations as well. In the US , when the various states united under one banner then certain states were highly developed while some not. So the US federal government started programs like Social Security and Medicare as well as other safety nets to help those states that were not industrially developed and lacked purchasing power. That is the only reason why these states could function together. Still today within the US there is a great disparity: Some states are extremely poor and some are very rich - like California and New York are very rich. (Note: Here we are not talking about the state governments but rather the overall flow of money in the state.) Thus economic programs are needed to adjust for this wealth disparity - but ultimately that is just a band-aid measure as well. In India also, those states that are industrially developed - like Punjab, Gujurat, Kerala & Maharashtra - are very rich in comparison to poor states - like Orissa & Bihar etc- which are not industrially developed. So that same formula applies here too. And those rich states gobble up all the natural resources and profit from selling finished goods made from raw materials in poorer states. There is an extreme imbalance at work.
FINAL REMARKS
Hence it is not state lines or national boundaries that define a socio-economic unit. Baba's guideline is that a samaj must be formed based on these following factors: 1) same economic problems; 2) uniform economic potentialities; 3) ethnic similarities; 4) the sentimental legacy of the people; and 5) similar geographical features. And then once formed, that socio-economic unit must become economically self-sufficient and keep hold of all its natural resources. Merging such socio-economic units, or samajas, can only occur with samajas of similar economic strength. Baba's theory is applicable both inside and outside a particular country. And it is applicable to the European Union also. When EU was first formed, all the countries thought they would be better off, but now it is quite clear that mixing poor and rich nations together does not work. Rich countries get more of the benefit. The conclusion is that the existence of the EU is threatened by its own way of functioning. Industrially developed countries have more economic surplus and less developed nations have less purchasing capacity . This disparity creates problems - i.e. a downward spiral of the economy into poverty. Tragically, this we are all going to witness if Baba's Proutistic teachings are not put in place.
GLOBAL & PERSONAL RAMIFICATIONS
Now the entire money market system is interconnected due to global trade so when this imbalance is present in the EU, then the economic fate of EU will spread and the whole globe will be affected. In this present global climate some countries are supplying raw materials and some are producing goods and selling to other countries. Those countries producing something will be most benefited and those supplying raw materials will face serious problems. That is the essence of the matter. Because banks are investing all over the globe, if a certain country or region goes bankrupt then other places are affected. So we should be careful about putting money in banks, stocks and bonds as the economic future of the planet does not look good right now because the current (defective) polices do not match Baba's teachings.
BABA'S BLESSING
Baba says, "PROUT advocates the formation of self-sufficient socio-economic units throughout the world. They will work to enhance the all-round welfare of the people in their respective areas and unite humanity on a common ideological base. The interests of all local people will be guaranteed and gain proper recognition. As each unit becomes strong and prosperous it will merge with other units. The formation of a world government will assist this process of integration. Socio-economic units will thus facilitate the comprehensive, multifarious liberation of humanity." (PNS-13) Namaskar, Rasa Deva
Note: FURTHER READING
For a better understanding of this topic of socio-economic units and Prout's financial mandates, please read this following discourses:
Socio-Economic Groupifications Developmental Planning Some Aspects of Socio-Economic Planning Some Specialities of Prout's Economic System Socio-Economic Movements Decentralized Economy Block Level Planning Economic Dynamics
*************************************** Solution
Baba says, "This has been our failing: that we neglected the spiritual faculties of human life, we neglected the cardinal spiritual points of life. If we are interested today in the welfare of this beautiful universe, we should try more and more to accelerate the speed of spiritual progress. If the acceleration of spiritual progress becomes tremendous, then not only in the human world, but also in the physical, psychic and spiritual spheres of the entire world -- and not only of the entire animate world, but of both the animate and inanimate worlds -- there will be tremendous progress. And this is what we want. Now we are anxiously waiting for that crimson dawn on the eastern horizon." (AFPS-5) Note: Generally people do not realise this very thing which Baba has explained above. To understand this fully it needs agraya' buddhi (pointed intellect). Only those who are blessed sadhaka can understand that sadhana is the panacea.
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