Greetings Namaskar As mentioned already social service is a vital part to spiritual life and meditation. Below are inspiring pieces of work being done in this regard. In addition a comprehensive socio-economic philosophy based on spiritual values, properly taking into account the physical and mental and mundane and supramundane worlds is also need for a healthy society. This is also mentioned in the below articles. Cheers Dharma --- AMURTEL COMMUNITY CENTER, BARLOVENTO, VENEZUELA OCTOBER 2004 REPORT The project began in the year 2000 with the purchase of three and a half hectares of land. Now the second floor of the 160 square-meter AMURTEL Community Center has almost been finished. The focus of the Center is to serve the surrounding impoverished rural villages of Barlovento through education, health, agriculture and cooperatives. During April and May 2004, the children of two villages regularly attended a special reading and writing program in which stories, drama and art helped strengthen their literacy skills and their self-esteem. In July 2004, Children's Day was celebrated in four villages, with clowns, games, songs, and food. This is the fourth year that AMURTEL has celebrated this event with the people of the villages nearest to the center. For two months during the summer vacation period, a special program was designed for 20 young people of two villages aged 9-12. A bus was hired to bring them twice a week to the AMURTEL Center where a variety of activities developed their self-esteem and sense of values. Science classes, a field trip, games, stories, reading, writing, art and drama all focused on presenting universal moral principles. The attendance was excellent, and both the kids and the AMURTEL volunteers thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The center also pays for four young people to attend a tutoring institute to finish their high school diploma. The sewing cooperative received from the Newcomers Club of Caracas a second industrial sewing machine, a large storage cabinet and US$500 of cloth, thread and materials. They have produced a large order of underwear and also beach bags that were later sold on the beach at Easter. The apiculture project started last year now has 21 bee hives, and just four hives produced 41 kilos of delicious honey. Frozen and processed mango was produced, as well as the regular harvest from 600 plantain trees, 100 papaya, 30 mandarin, five lemon and five huge mango trees, all bearing fruits. We have begun processing commercial foods, including mango jam, plantain and yucca flour, that we now are trying to market locally. The biggest setback the center faced happened in the late afternoon of 19 May 2004, when three armed young men wearing masks cut through the security fence. They tied up and threatened Dada Atmapranananda, the only person present, and stole the jeep and all the movable goods that they could find, including the computers, camera, kitchen utensils and building tools. Because of this an additional electric security fence and alarm is being installed, paid for by the Newcomers Club. A Rotweiler puppy was also donated by a veterinarian and is under training. Afterwards the center received donations of a computer, TV, VCR and some tools from supporters. The Proctor & Gamble Company donated a seven-year-old Toyota Corolla car (plus an identical car was donated to the AMURTEL kindergarten in Caracas). Two very inspiring weekend meditation retreats were held at the center, attended by 20 and 30 people respectively. PDVSA (the Venezuela oil company) donated $2000 for a cultural project that will allow the youth of a poor village to get their own drumming instruments. They will be taught the art of drumming by a local grandfather, the only one in the village who knows how. A dance instructor will be hired to teach traditional dance. Alexa Carson, a volunteer for 6 months from November 2003 to April 2004, returned to the AMURTEL Center, this time not as a volunteer but as a student in international studies doing her thesis in one of the villages AMURTEL attends. Five sympathizers are each contributing US$20 per month which helps tremendously. Two volunteers from Germany helped for one month. Donations to this project with money, goods or volunteer time allow us to serve more. Didi Ananda Sadhana, Director Centro AMURTEL Carretera Mamporal - San José de Río Chico Caserío Madre Vieja Barlovento, Estado Miranda Venezuela Tel. 58-234-514-5663 Email: amurtve@cantv.net --- Prout - Progressive Utilization Theory As human beings our goal is self-realization – complete awareness of the infinite Cosmic Consciousness. That's our inner search. But there's also our external world of social relationships and responsibilities. So we need to strike a balance between the internal and external aspects of life. In 1959 Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (Shrii Shrii Anandamurti) introduced a socio-economic theory to achieve just that. It's called Prout – the Progressive Utilization Theory, meaning the progressive utilization of resources for the welfare and happiness of all. We'll go through some of the main aspects of it, and how it relates to our spiritual search. Prout is based on spirituality and universalism The thirst for infinite happiness is the overriding human desire, and to quench that thirst a proper system of spiritual practice is needed. But for spiritual practice you need a healthy mind, and for a healthy mind the body must also be strong and healthy. Physical requirements must be met before one can think about spiritual development and elevation. So spirituality is linked to the socio-economic necessities. "Prout is a spiritual theory. It will be established by seeing One in many" - Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar The outlook of a truly spiritual philosophy cannot be anything other than universalism: love for all creatures of the universe; not just human beings, but animals and plants too. "It is the Cosmic ideal alone which will unify humanity" because only when one realizes the unity in all diversity can the feeling of love for all beings be developed, transcending all apparent differences. Love for the Infinite inculcates love for all as members of the same Cosmic family. "Human society is one and indivisible. Don't try to divide it. Each and every individual should be looked upon as the manifestation of the Cosmic Entity." - Shrii Shrii Anandamurti A happy blending of individual liberty and collective responsibility A tree has the freedom to grow and produce fruit, but it also has the responsibility to give shade. Likewise a proper social system needs to be a happy blending of individual liberty and collective responsibility. Individual good lies in collective good and vice-versa: the welfare of the individual is inextricably linked to the welfare of the collective. "One will have to promote individual welfare motivated by the spirit of promoting collective welfare." - Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar Same constitutional structure For all people of the world to live in harmony, we will need to have fundamental principles of life common to everyone. That is, we should have a common constitution by which we will all live by, including a common philosophy of life (that of Cosmic fraternity), a world language (in addition to local languages), and a world government to coordinate, develop and settle regional and international disputes. Fundamental human rights will have to be guaranteed, as well as the minimum necessities of life for all people. Moral leadership Human capacity and potentialities, both individual and collective, need to be developed for the benefit of the world as a whole. This implies that the leaders of society, responsible for determining resource allocations and making policy decisions, should have strong moral integrity and selfless dedication to society, thus avoiding the diversion of resources away from the public interest. Authority should not be centered in the hands of individuals, but should be expressed through collective leadership. In any electoral process the electorate as well as the candidates would need to possess three qualities in order to validate the election: morality, education, and socio-political consciousness. Political centralization and economic decentralization The most effective method of legislation and coordination would be that of a world government for overall supervision, combined with local (immediate) governments and federated states for control of local resources, economic planning and coordination. Both world and local / federal governments must have an overall board of ethical moralists as well as legislative, executive, and judicial boards. While political power must be in the hands of socially ethical moralists, economic power and decision-making should be under local control, because it is the local leaders and planners who understand the problems of the area and are able to implement policies quickly and effectively. The freedom of the local people to make all their economic decisions is called economic democracy. Generally a local area is defined on the basis of common factors such as ethnicity, culture, language, economic situation, and geographic location. With increasing similarity among these factors neighbouring local areas can merge, improving their collective wealth. With improvements in technology and communication it will eventually be possible for all local areas in the world to merge as one. So while the application is regional, the outlook is universal Cooperatives Cooperatives are "the best expression of human sweetness in the physical realm" because they function as units of coordinated cooperation, and each member has the feeling of oneness with the job because she or he contributes directly to the operation and decision-making process of the cooperative. Incentives provide inspiration and motivation, and the wealth and resources of many individuals are combined in a united way. Cooperatives will be the optimal means of production and distribution of goods and services in any decentralized economy. In fact, they must operate within a decentralized economy for their success. In general, production should be for consumption rather than profit. It should be according to real demand, not artificial demand created by misleading advertising or other means. Maximum utilization of all resources and potentialities Maximum utilization means that any particular object serves the maximum number of people for the maximum amount of time. This implies modernization. The effects of modernization in an economy where production is for consumption and not profit are: decreased work hours, increased quality and quantity of production, the saving of time and energy, and the freedom of people to use their leisure hours in enjoyable and elevating pursuits. Rational distribution of wealth The universe is the collective property of all, because we are all members of the one universal family. But people often express their inherent desire for expansion materially; by accumulating physical wealth and resources. The world's physical resources are, however, limited. The human desire for acquisition must be catered for, but at the same time it is unrealistic for any one person or group to accumulate physical wealth without limitation. "If a person acquires and accumulates excessive wealth, he or she directly curtails the happiness and convenience of others in society. Such behaviour is flagrantly antisocial." - Shrii Shrii Anandamurti So the resources of the world should be rationally distributed, just as a healthy human body distributes and utilizes all its resources in a balanced way. Rational distribution means the distribution of wealth primarily according to a minimum necessity for each person (food, education, medical care, housing, clothes) and similar needs (eg transportation, power and other utilities), and secondarily according to one's contribution to society. It does not mean equal distribution regardless of contribution, as that would destroy the incentive for work in people's minds. Minimum requirements of life guaranteed to all The basic necessities of life are food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care. Everyone should have access to these necessities through adequate purchasing capacity from either meaningful employment or social insurance measures for those unable to work or incapacitated in any way. All work should be counted be it domestic, childcare or social contributions. "If a single person dies due to lack of the minimum requirements of life, the whole society is to blame." - Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Purchasing capacity is the true reflection of the standard of living. It should increase with increases in the collective wealth. In addition, appropriate incentives for special merit and skills beneficial to society should be provided to encourage the dynamism and evolution of human endeavour and achievement. The spirit of the workforce should be one of coordinated cooperation, leading to a steady increase in the collective wealth of the society and all-round social progress. Freedom of expression in all spheres Prout encourages freedom of expression that is elevating in all aspects of life beneficial for the collective good. The fundamental human rights are spiritual practice, local / indigenous culture, education and local / indigenous language. Education should be free for everyone up to the highest level, and requires a strong base ethics and spirituality. Art, music and literature – as with science – is for and in the spirit of welfare. For this reason science and technology should always be under ethical control, and the media – along with the arts and education – should be completely free from political interference, either direct or indirect. "Always utilize science for the welfare of humanity. Those who misuse science for destructive purposes are enemies of humanity. Science should always be cultivated with a sentient motive. The collective welfare of living beings will remain a distant dream unless science and worldly power are fully controlled by sentient people." - Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Ecologically sound policies such as integrated farming, forestation, water conservation and alternative energy must cater for the integration of human culture within the ecosystem, thus extending the concept of welfare to animals, plants and the whole planet. "Human beings must be cautious from now on. They must restructure their thoughts, plans and activities in accordance with the dictates of ecology. There is no alternative" - Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar These are some basic of Prout founded on spiritual values. --- Cooperatives by Ac. Samanvayananda Avt. Dada Samanvayananda has helped to encourage the introduction of cooperative based enterprises as recommended by PR Sarkar in his many discourses on Prout. The following short article was written by Dada as an introduction to the basic concept of cooperative based economy. There are two types of economic policy in the world capitalist economy and communist economy. Both capitalist and communist economies believe in centralized economy. In capitalist economy, the money is controlled by a few capitalists. The defect is that they believe in money, not in humanity. They invest money in production industries. They say: "We have invested money, so the profit is ours". That is their theory. However, they forget that to procure raw materials, the labourers worked and later, when production started, more labourers in hundreds and thousands were employed on daily wages. They can be unemployed any day. There is also factory staff, too. But, the factory owners are either individuals or companies. These owners of individual firms or companies do not distribute the profits among either labourers or workers of the factory. Instead, much of the profits are swallowed up. P.R. Sarkar says keep the money rolling and, to do that, industries should run based on cooperatives. It is the most efficient form of enterprise in an economy. In the communist economy, the capital is invested by the government in industries and the profit goes to the government. The factory workers or labourers do not get any profit. So, in communist industry neither the people who supply raw materials nor factory staff nor labourers, none of them get any profit. This is injustice. Hence P.R. Sarkar advises to run most, nearly all, industries through cooperatives. In cooperatives, however, there are members of the cooperative. This is a humanitarian organization. Therefore, they distribute the profit among the suppliers of raw materials and to the factory staff and labourers who are employed in the industry and then they distribute the rest of the profit to members of the cooperative. There are three types of cooperatives. They are producers cooperatives, consumers cooperatives, and service cooperatives. In producers cooperatives come the farmers cooperatives or agricultural cooperatives where agriculturists join together for agricultural benefits. Along with cooperatives we should also develop agro-industries. Agro-industries are those that are run by the processing of agricultural products. Grain and oil seed mills, bakeries, sugar cane processing, jute, hemp, fruit and vegetable processing, medicinal plant production are all examples of agro-industries. Now I want to explain what is a social cooperative. A cooperative is an organization where people work together with the feeling of equality and respect for each other. Mostly people think cooperatives to be a merely economic organization. It is not so. Cooperatives are fundamentally social organizations and can also be formed to work for social service. Social reformation cooperatives or social development cooperatives can work to help reduce the various the social problems such as alcoholism, gambling, prostitution, divorce, or removing dogmas and feeling of differences of religions, as well. Everything should be done in a collective spirit. Individual effort is at its height then. The individual also prospers at all levels of existence. We have to remove the feeling of castes, creed, colour, language, race, even national feeling. We have to bring people on one platform of undivided humanity. Cooperatives of all types have a major role to play in establishing a healthy human society for the benefit of everyone. === Planning for the Maha'vishva (Great Universe) Now the universe has become very small. People will soon be able to travel from one planet to another. When there was no convenience of conveyances, Lord Krsna planned the Mahabharata to unite the scattered India. Today the universe has become small. Planning for Mahavishva (The Great Universe) and not Mahabharata ( Great India ), is required. The guiding factor behind the creation of the Mahabharata was dharma -- the creation of a great human society in which there would be peace, happiness, fraternity and no poverty. In that period, it was the rule that the country was held responsible if a person died of starvation. Not merely this, if there was an early death, if a child of five or so died, people regarded it as a flaw in the ruling structure. Today you have to create Mahavishva (The Great Universe), and the guiding principle behind it will be that all human beings are the progeny of the Supreme Progenitor. Hence all are God's children, hence all should live together -- nay, will have to live together. Black or white, literate or illiterate, small or tall, all are the children of the same Supreme Entity. Hence all will have to live together. So the important thing is that all are the progeny of the Supreme Progenitor. According to this, there will be unity in the physical stratum, and so will there be in the psychic and spiritual strata. But to strengthen this unity yet more, there is one more factor which should be there, and is there -- that factor being the common goal for all the children of the Supreme -- the merger of all in Cosmic Consciousness. All have come from God and are in God; therefore, all people will have to live together. Remaining together is natural for you, and to remain disunited is something unnatural. You know well that unnaturality is not tolerated by the Cosmic Operative Force. Unnaturality is ultimately destroyed. So it is natural for human beings to live together and to make a great Universe. By not doing so, and by mutual fight, all will be destroyed. This is the law of the Operative Force of the universe. Hence, united you will have to remain, this is your duty. So that the people of the world may remain united, it is your duty to bring the Mahavishva as soon as possible. There will be peace and happiness in the Universe, and, established in one indivisible ideology, humanity will march ahead toward the Supreme Goal. Victory be with you! Shrii Shrii Anandamurti 3 December 1967, Ranchi This is an excerpt from Discourses on Mahabharata by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. Ananda Marga Publications, Kolkata, India. ---