sociopolitical pages
About the sociopolitical opinions:
The following are some of the sociopolitical opinions presented by the author of this website.
More will follow later.
About varn'a and caste:
The varn'a system and the caste system are two completely different and contradictory systems of classification of human beings into different categories. Neither of them actually has anything to do with Vaishnavism, or Hinduism, although commonly associated with Hinduism. The varn'a system is a classification based on work and occupation, the caste system is based on birth in a certain class. These systems exist in all cultures, and are not limited to Hinduism. The varn'a classification is definitely supported in the Vaishnava scriptures, but the caste system is more questionable.
About sexuality:
It is my opinion that sexuality and nudity is not ugly, as some people seem to think, but instead it is very natural for human beings, indeed for all living beings. It is only natural that people get married, have children and take care of those children.
About communities:
Religious communites, also known as aas''rama, are not meant to be slave camps. This means that people who choose to live in a spiritual / religious community should not be forced to work so hard that they don't have time for studying their scriptures and performing their rituals. The goal is to develop bhakti, and this means that the service the inhabitants of an aas''rama perform should be voluntary as far as possible.
About marriages:
Marriages are family situations where a man and a woman agree to provide for, and take care of, the children that are a natural result of sexual intercourse. The goal should be to remain married for at least as long as the children need their parents in their lives. Religious communities and associations should also allow their members to get married if they want to, and not oppose this.
About saadhus in the Western world:
The Western part of the world has a tendency to misinterpret and misunderstand their saadhus. Often, this goes so far that the saadhu is declared to be mentally disabled in some way. It has been noticed that people who would be considered to be saadhus in the Eastern civilizations are considered to be crazy in the West. This is also connected with the fact that the modern Western society is a very un-human society, where normal human qualities are discouraged, and people are brought up to think, and act, in a very special way, which is actually very unnatural.
About premature sannyaasiis:
In some vaishnava groups, there are some people who give up their families to become sannyaasiis, even though their children are still very young and their family needs their support. This is not at all the true meaning of becoming a sannyaasii, but it is instead a very irresponsible way of leaving one's natural responsibilities. Such premature renunciation is not supported by this author.
About separation of interests:
The division of humanity into different varn'a is also a division of separate interests. In modern society, there is a conception of separation of church and state, which is, in most places, seen as a necessity for a reasonable society. When you have classifications according to varn'a, there are different groups of people who perform different duties. One group performs the religious/intellectual work, another group performs the governing/administrative work, and another group perfoms the financial/agricultural work. This division takes place because the qualities needed by a religious leader are not the same as the qualities needed by a political leader, and neither are the same as the qualities needed by an econimical leader. If the same person tries to be a leader in two or three of these fields, it rarely works.
About cults:
Cults are groups where the leaders abuse the members spiritually and emotionally, and in many cases physically as well. Membership in such a cult is not at all necessary for practicing the Vaishnava religion. Actually, membership in such a cult mostly does much more harm than good. Therefore, it is my recommendation to stay away from cults. Cults are recognised by their disrespect of other traditions, by hypocrisy, and by bizarr teachings and practises.
About modern development:
In modern society, there has been a tremendous technological development in the last 100 years, but there has also been a cultural, moral, and intellectual decline in the same time period. In some ways, it seems that people have become dull because of all the modern technology. The technological advancement can certainly be good for a lot of purposes, but it is also necessary to keep oneself in touch with nature, and not become too addicted to the technological advancements of modern society.
About the internet:
The internet is a wonderful opportunity to exchange thoughts, and to spread information about different subjects. However, there are also powerful people who would like to censor the internet by stopping people from getting information that the people in power consider inappropriate. This has already started in some countries. I consider freedom of speech to be a good thing, and it has to be defended otherwise it will be lost.