Simple Living and High Thinking part II

Simple Living and High Thinking

As we have seen, especially in the 20th Century and now in the 21st, attempts have been made at simpler lifestyles. Whole comunities have grown around minimalist living approaches. Many of these models are based on the values promoted by Thoreau, by Tolstoy and later Gandhi. But a closer look at the origins of their ideas leads us back to the Vedas.

Thoreau, Tolstoy, and Gandhi studied the Vedic viewpoint and did their best to incorporate this in their own ideas about social organization. What each of these thinkers found valuable was the tendency towards "Simple Living."

Modern economies depend on an unsustainable growth rate. But it seems impossible to slow down the machine. Social movements aimed at slowing the current velocity of social decline and  corruption may not ultimately prove successful. Time and again "utopian" communities have proven unsustainable. But to point a finger at their failures is not a refutation of the idea of "simple living" itself. We can all laugh at the various communes that sprang up in the 1960s as a reaction to rampant capitalism.  

But this does not prove the validity of a social system based on exploitation. Apparently exploitive capitalist economics have brought greater prosperity than other systems. But at this juncture, we ignore the consequences of that exploitation at the expense of our own future.

How much longer can the earth sustain an unlimited production of cars? How many more millions of barrels of oil can we burn on a daily basis? How long can we overheat the planet? Is the daily slaughter of millions of animals really the best source of food? Consumer culture governs how people all over the world eat, work, play, sleep, travel, and reproduce.  But wars are being fought to ensure this lifestyle for the few at the expense of the many. When we hear of the ancient culture of the Aztecs and Mayans, we shudder to think that they performed a human sacrifice to ensure the sungod's pleasure. 



But today, hundreds of thousands are killed in sacrifice to ensure the free flow of a flood of cheap oil that we may sustain the pleasure of our sensual consumer culture. Isn't there a better way?

The movement toward a more minimal lifestyle is one answer. By simplifying our needs we simplify our lives. Consumer culture promises that we will be happier if we get what we want. But real happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. People are obsessed with money, but the poet Emerson once said, "Money often costs too much." 

By simplifying our lifestyle, we can discover how to take pleasure in things that really matter.




The ancient principles of the Vedas advance the ideals of a simpler life. In fact, the highest members of Vedic society were honored for the simplicity and honesty of their lives. Later, institutionalized brahmanism became corrupted by a priestly class grown fond of luxuries, but originally the brahmans were known for plain living and high thinking.

A true "Vedic" lifestyle is difficult to practice these days, but we may try to follow some of the basic ideas that have resonated for thousands of years.

For example, we can reduce our carbon footprint as well as our karmic footprint by avoiding the violence involved in meat-eating. Animal slaughter depends on an industry that is not only cruel to animals but exploitive of millions of acres of arable land that could be used for agriculture. A true "Vedic" lifestyle includes a vegetarian diet for a multitude of reasons. 


One doesn't need to be a Hindu or a yogi to appreciate the idea that animal-killing is bad karma.  It is not merely unhealthy but ethically harmful, morally dangerous and spiritually damaging to live by violence. And when it is so common to practice violence against animals, it becomes easier to practice violence against other humans. Nonviolence is a basic spiritual practice that should also extend to our animal friends. http://puffin.creighton.edu/phil/stephens/fiveargumentsforvegetarianism.htm

Drugs and intoxication are also unhealthy and have no part in "high" thinking. High thinking doesn't mean "getting high." High thinking means being able to contemplate divinity and higher truth. 
The pain of modern material existence is so terrible that anaesthesia through self-medication is a multi-billion dollar existence, from marijuana and methamphetamine to beer and wine.  Drugs and alcohol may ease the pain and dull the mind and senses for a while, but in the end are harmful both to mind and body. And addiction and crime related to drug abuse is endemic. And the illegal narcotics industry spawns any number of other criminal enterprises including human trafficking, white slavery, and arms sales world-wide.  A "Vedic" lifestyle means one should avoid intoxication. 

Physical health may be achieved through yoga practice, regular exercise, diet, and balanced living. But mental health is also important. Nowadays constant brain stimulation makes our mind hyperactive through constant entertainment and amusement.  Even education must be "fun" and entertaining.  Addicted to screen-watching, people are no longer capable of conversation as they text through dinner and family gatherings. Becoming "mindful" is a new trend, as people learn to take a more meditative approach to thinking and conversation. Endless speculation and mental games take an emotional toil and should be avoided in a "Vedic" life style. Less drama, more Rama.


When people think of India and Sex, they immediately think of the Kama-sutra.  Curiously, the famous sexual positions practiced in the kama-sutra are only a fragment of that work. The kama-sutra also promotes the idea of being proficient in the 64 different arts of love which include making and solving crossword puzzles and creating flower arrangements. A "Vedic" sex life includes much more than a mere physical relationship. Faithfulness and chastity are important values for they too still the mind. A mind which is constantly being challenged by sexually temptation will be too unsteady to contemplate divinity. So a true and faithful marriage is an important component of the "Vedic" lifestyle.  If one is suited for living a detached, contemplative life one may dedicate one's self in an ashram where true Krishna consciousness is practiced, eschewing the bonds of matrimony for as long as possible. 

Vaishnavas and devotees of Krishna are highly enlightened beings. One of the characteristics of such enlightened souls is simple living.  An enlightened soul who lives a life of dedication to God should not live very gorgeously and imitate a materialistic person. Plain living and high thinking are recommended.
 

In different places in the Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrta the good qualities of the highest thinkers are listed.  These include kindness, freedom from enmity and anger and equanimity. Vaishnavas are not racists. They do not discriminate against others on the basis of prejudice. A true Vaishnava is kind and generous. The true followers of Chaitanya are pure and faultless.
They are mild. They do not covent possessions. They work for the benefit of others. Vaishnavas are peaceful, steady of mind, humble, and always surrendered to God, Krishna. Such yogis control their senses and mind and do not eat more than necessary. They are not intoxicated. They respect others and do not want prestige. A Vaishnava is merciful and grave, friendly, poetic, expert, and silent.