"...All the Vedic literatures strongly warn against creating varna-sankara [unwanted] population."

Unwanted Population

Sri Guru and Gauranga

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It's not overpopulation, but wrong kind of population

The problem is not increase in human population, but increase in the demonic nature of that human population. The Earth is not burdened when the human beings live in accordance with the arrangement of the Supreme Lord, but in this era of so-called industrial-technological advancement, life's goal is taken to be little more than gratifying the senses – consumerism is the mark of a high standard of living, and unrestricted sex is the norm. The Vedas condemn this as the life of animals. The real standard of living for a progressive human being is given by the sage Narada, as follows (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.11.8-12):

These are the general principles to be followed by all human beings: truthfulness, mercy, austerity (observing fasts on certain days of the month), bathing twice a day, tolerance, discrimination between right and wrong, control of the mind, control of the senses, nonviolence, celibacy, charity, reading of scripture, simplicity, satisfaction, rendering service to saintly persons, gradually taking leave of unnecessary engagements, observing the futility of the unnecessary activities of human society, remaining silent and grave and avoiding unnecessary talk, considering whether one is the body or the soul, distributing food equally to all living entities (both men and animals), seeing every soul (especially in the human form) as a part of the Supreme Lord, hearing about the activities and instructions given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead (who is the shelter of the saintly persons), chanting about these activities and instructions, always remembering these activities and instructions, trying to render service, performing worship, offering obeisances, becoming a servant, becoming a friend, and surrendering one's whole self. O King Yudhishthira, these thirty qualifications must be acquired in the human form of life. Simply by acquiring these qualifications, one can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
In order that human beings be distinct from the animals, the great saint Narada recommends that every human being be educated in terms of the above-mentioned thirty qualifications.

The present civilization practically scoffs at these principles. Religion and religiosity are ridiculed, celibacy is abhorred, control of the senses is discouraged, sober intelligence is not valued.

Srila Prabhupada goes on to explain the importance of restraint in sex life and undergoing the purificatory process for getting good children. Without this, human society becomes overrun with unwanted population, or varna-sankara. This is the current situation in the world today.

After giving a general list of thirty qualifications for one's behavior, Narada Muni now describes the principles of the four varnas and four ashrams. A human being must be trained in the above-mentioned thirty qualities; otherwise, he is not even a human being. Then, among such qualified persons, the varnashram process should be introduced. In the varnashram system, the first ceremony for purification is garbhadhana, which is performed with mantras at the time of sex for propagating a good child. One who uses sex life not for sensual pleasures but only to beget children according to the reformatory method is also accepted as a brahmachari. One should not waste semen on sensual pleasure, violating the principles of Vedic life. Restraint in sex is possible, however, only when the populace is trained in the above-mentioned thirty qualities; otherwise, it is not possible. ... The whole purpose of this system is to create good population. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, when women are polluted the populace is varna-sankara, and when the varna-sankara population increases, the situation of the entire world becomes hellish.

Therefore, all the Vedic literatures strongly warn against creating varna-sankara population. When there is varna-sankara population, the people cannot be properly controlled for peace and prosperity, regardless of great legislative assemblies, parliaments and similar bodies. (purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.11.13)

Calling for the world's nations to enact one-child policies is not the solution, however. Rather, taking the laws of karma into consideration, such measures aggravate the situation, because turning away the living entities by use of contraception or abortion incurs severe sinful reactions in the shape of natural disasters and war, causing greater disturbance to the Earth and human society.

Besides, the problem lies not in numbers but in quality, or consciousness. What we have now is basically a society made up of almost 99% varna-sankara, or people living outside of the four social orders (varnas), and without a clue as to their spiritual identity and purpose – almost totally in denial of God's existence and relevance. People's lives are constructed on top of the false premise that happiness and success can be found in material goods and sense enjoyment. This is what is driving industry and technology, the factories and environmental destruction and economic ruin, political conflicts. If human beings were content to live life as their forefathers did before the age of industrialization and globalization, building largely self-sufficient communities and eking their existence from the good earth, working in harmony with nature and with the aim to please God, a lot of problems would be solved – economic, political, environmental and social. Unbridled lust and the prostitution of money, globalized commerce is responsible for the imperiled forests and water supplies, poisoned earth and polluted air, melting glaciers and longterm drought, mass slaughter of animals and the loss of lives in war.

The so-called climate crisis is really a spiritual crisis, and calls for more than a temperature adjustment or enacting so-called family planning policies. This way of life is not only no longer sustainable. It is leading us towards extermination. This is not human civilization. It is a population of subhumans. We need a wholesale solution to raise the consciousness of people all over the world.

Therefore Lord Chaitanya introduced the Sankirtan movement, or the congregational chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Simply by hearing and chanting these names of God, the collective consciousness of nations will be purified. These names vanquish sinful reactions. They are all-auspicious, transcendental – unlike the names that belong to this material plane. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is nondifferent from His names, His forms, His features, His pastimes and His abodes; the holy names are identical with the Lord Himself and are invested with His full potencies. The Vedic literatures exhort everyone to take advantage of hearing and chanting the names of the Lord, especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which is known as "the great mantra for deliverance" and is the only recommended yajña or sacrifice for the time in which we live, the age of Kali.

So we invite you to try it. Make an experiment. Recite the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and see for yourself if it makes any difference in your life. There are no "hard and fast" rules. Anyone can chant, anywhere, anytime, any place. And it's free. Do it for yourself, do it for the planet.