[Posted August 25, 2007]

From Superpower, it's a long fall to the bottom - but is USA more than halfway there?

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Time is eternal, but this body and its expansions--family, community, nation--have expiry dates.

SalonAugust 22, 2007 - DILIP HIRO

Seizing American supremacy

Throughout history, rising powers have overtaken superpowers. The United States will not prove an exception.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States stood tall -- militarily invincible, economically unrivaled, diplomatically uncontestable, and the dominating force on information channels worldwide. The next century was to be the true "American century," with the rest of the world molding itself in the image of the sole superpower.

Yet, with not even a decade of this century behind us, we are already witnessing the rise of a multipolar world in which new powers are challenging different aspects of American supremacy -- Russia and China in the forefront, with regional powers Venezuela and Iran forming the second rank. These emergent powers are primed to erode American hegemony, not confront it, singly or jointly. go to story

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A No-Win Situation

Phantasmagoria A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

The bhagavata-dharma, or the cult of Srimad-Bhagavatam, is perfectly distinct from the way of fruitive activities, which are considered by the devotees to be merely a waste of time. The whole universe, or for that matter all material existence, is moving on as jagat, simply for planning business to make one's position very comfortable or secure, although everyone sees that this existence is neither comfortable nor secure and can never become comfortable or secure at any stage of development. Those who are captivated by the illusory advancement of material civilization (following the way of phantasmagoria) are certainly madmen. The whole material creation is a jugglery of names only; in fact, it is nothing but a bewildering creation of matter like earth, water and fire. The buildings, furniture, cars, bungalows, mills, factories, industries, peace, war or even the highest perfection of material science, namely atomic energy and electronics, are all simply bewildering names of material elements with their concomitant reactions of the three modes. Since the devotee of the Lord knows them perfectly well, he is not interested in creating unwanted things for a situation which is not at all reality, but simply names of no more significance than the babble of sea waves. The great kings, leaders and soldiers fight with one another in order to perpetuate their names in history. They are forgotten in due course of time, and they make a place for another era in history. more

A flash in the eternal journey

Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.30.2-3

SB 3.30.2
Whatever is produced by the materialist with great pain and labor for so-called happiness, the Supreme Personality, as the time factor, destroys, and for this reason the conditioned soul laments.

Purport
The main function of the time factor, which is a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is to destroy everything. The materialists, in material consciousness, are engaged in producing so many things in the name of economic development. They think that by advancing in satisfying the material needs of man they will be happy, but they forget that everything they have produced will be destroyed in due course of time. From history we can see that there were many powerful empires on the surface of the globe that were constructed with great pain and great perseverance, but in due course of time they have all been destroyed. Still the foolish materialists cannot understand that they are simply wasting time in producing material necessities, which are destined to be vanquished in due course of time. This waste of energy is due to the ignorance of the mass of people, who do not know that they are eternal and that they have an eternal engagement also. They do not know that this span of life in a particular type of body is but a flash in the eternal journey. Not knowing this fact, they take the small flash of life to be everything, and they waste time in improving economic conditions.

SB 3.30.3
The misguided materialist does not know that his very body is impermanent and that the attractions of home, land and wealth, which are in relationship to that body, are also temporary. Out of ignorance only, he thinks that everything is permanent.

PURPORT
The materialist thinks that persons engaged in Krishna consciousness are crazy fellows wasting time by chanting Hare Krishna, but actually he does not know that he himself is in the darkest region of craziness because of accepting his body as permanent. And, in relation to his body, he accepts his home, his country, his society and all other paraphernalia as permanent. This materialistic acceptance of the permanency of home, land, etc., is called the illusion of maya. This is clearly mentioned here. Mohad griha-kshetra-vasuni: out of illusion only does the materialist accept his home, his land and his money as permanent. Out of this illusion, the family life, national life and economic development, which are very important factors in modern civilization, have grown. A Krishna conscious person knows that this economic development of human society is but temporary illusion.

In another part of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the acceptance of the body as oneself, the acceptance of others as kinsmen in relationship to this body and the acceptance of the land of one's birth as worshipable are declared to be the products of an animal civilization. When, however, one is enlightened in Krishna consciousness, he can use these for the service of the Lord. That is a very suitable proposition. Everything has a relationship with Krishna. When all economic development and material advancement are utilized to advance the cause of Krishna consciousness, a new phase of progressive life arises.

Sri Guru and Gauranga