Formula for World Peace

                             One should observe the process for begetting nice

                                    children; if each and every householder in every family

                                    observes the Vedic system, then there are nice children,

                                  not demons, and automatically there is peace in the world.

                                                                                   --Srila Prabhupada

Srila Prabhupada proposed several formulae for achieving peace in the world.  He suggested that we understand that Krsna is the Supreme Proprietor of all planets, He is the Supreme Beneficiary of all sacrifices and the Supreme Friend of every living entity, and that by understanding this fact and offering everything to the Lord, all men would become happy and peace would reign on earth. (Bg. 5.29 Ppt)  
He told us that every responsible Indian should broadcast the message of Srimad-Bhagavatam all over the world, and that this would bring about peace for the planet. (SB 1.5.11 Ppt)  
He pointed out that dovetailing everything with the established rule of the Lord will create peace. (SB 1.15.24)  
He mentioned performance of sacrifice and practice of austerity as the greatest formula for establishing peace in the world. (SB 2.6.28 Ppt) 
In his preface to the Krsna book, he writes, "...if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Krsna only, then immediately universal love, unity and tranquillity will be automatically realized." And of course, time and time again, he stressed the importance of performing the sankirtana yajna, which he described as loud singing of the Holy Names of the Lord by many people together, which is the greatest of all formulae for establishing peace on earth.  

He also explained that the reason why there is no peace in the world is because people are not following varnasrama dharma, and that if we want to have peace in the world, we must reestablish varnasrama dharma. (SB 7.8.48 Ppt)  

Along with all these methods, and integral to them, is the practice of garbhadhana-samskara, the method for calling good souls into our families through prayer and meditation at the time of conceiving a child.  Garbhadhana-samskara assures the creation of a good population of human beings to improve the condition of the planet.

Previously, we talked about encouraging and preserving shyness in girls.  Perhaps the most important reason for preserving shyness in girls is ultimately to assure the birth of a good population, or, on the other side of the coin, to prevent the birth of varna-sankara, or unwanted children who cause disturbance in the world because they are so confused and disturbed within themselves.  When women are unprotected, they can easily be taken advantage of by unscrupulous men.  When women become polluted by men with questionable scruples, there is an increased chance of unwanted children, or varna-sankara, being produced.

The meaning of varna-sankara

God created human society with natural divisions of qualities and occupations.  "According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me." (Bhagavad-gita 4.13).  What happens when people stop following the edicts of shastra?  The natural divisions of human society become cloudy, murky, and so do the respective duties of the people in general.  The specific meaning of varna-sankara is "confused about one's varna," which means that the varna sankara population don't know their respective positions in human society, therefore they don’t understand their duties.  They don’t know what to do and what not to do.  They don’t follow the regulative injunctions of the scriptures. 

  Women become polluted through illicit relations with men, and subsequently, unwanted children are born.  "…If the women are polluted, there will be varna-sankara population…who do not follow any regulative injunctions…When the population is varna-sankara, no one can know who is on what platform." (SB 7.11.25 Ppt)  When no one knows who is on what platform (varna), the spiritual advancement of the citizens is difficult because they don’t know what is to be done and what is not to be done." (Bg 16.7) 

When one does not know what he should or should not do, how can his mind be peaceful?  And when society is made up of people who are confused about their duty, how can society be peaceful? 

Varna-sankara populi don’t know what their prescribed duties are.  It is the duty of the soul in the human form of life to follow the instructions of guru, sadhu and shastra and perform his prescribed duties with loving devotion for the pleasure of God, or as we say, in Krsna consciousness.  If one doesn’t know what his prescribed duties are, then how can he perform them at all, what to speak of performing them well, much less in Krsna consciousness? 

Prescribed duties must be performed

In Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada gives a definition of prescribed duties followed by, to show the other side of the coin, a definition of capricious work.  “Prescribed duties are activities enjoined in terms of one's acquired modes of material nature.  Capricious work, on the other hand, means actions without the sanction of authority…” (Bg 2.47, Ppt)  In this definition, Srila Prabhupada implies by the word “enjoined” and by the phrase “without the sanction of authority” that prescribed duties are bestowed, or given, by one’s authority / guru, who represents the shastras, which represent the delegative authority of the Supreme Lord.  So we should understand that prescribed duties are ultimately given to us by the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna Himself through the agency of His representatives. 

“According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me.” (Bg. 4.13)  The four divisions—varnas—of human society are brahmana (priestly class), ksatriya (administrative and martial class), vaisya (business, agricultural class) and sudra (laborers, artisans).  Each of these divisions has its own set of duties.  Because the varnas are created by Lord Sri Krsna, the duties ascribed to the members of each of the four varnas are also given by Lord Sri Krsna.  Women are in their own class, and their duties are also assigned by Lord Sri Krsna (See Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.11.25-29).    

Human life is meant for God realization.  As per Lord Sri Krsna’s advice, Arjuna, the hero of the Bhagavad-gita, became self-realized first through hearing from his spiritual master (who in this case was the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna Himself), then, after hearing from his Guru, he understood his prescribed duties.  He subsequently achieved perfection through performance of his prescribed duties in Krsna consciousness.

Human beings perform samskaras

 

Human beings are enjoined by scripture not only to perform their prescribed duties, but also to observe auspicious samskaras.  Samskaras are purificatory rituals which make a deep impression on the psyches of those who participate in their performance.  A samskara leaves an indelible impression which is remembered time and time again throughout one’s life.  Such repeated remembrance of the samskara ritual aids the soul in conquering the temptations of the mind and ego, and helps him remember that he is the eternal servant of the Lord. 

There are ten principle samskaras which are highly recommended to be performed during one’s lifetime.  The first of these is garbhadhana-samskara, or the ritual of an auspicious conception.  Garbha means womb, and dhana means gift.  Garbhadhana-samskara means the ritual wherein the husband places the seed of life in the womb of his wife.  It is an important part of the sacrifice of begetting and raising a good child, and it is performed before the soul enters the body.  It is a ritual observed by a husband and wife on the day they plan to conceive a child, thus preparing the consciousness of the prospective parents to call an auspicious personality into their life and into their family. 

A child who is conceived through the auspicious process of garbhadhana-samskara has an excellent chance of being trained in the regulative injunctions of the scriptures which encourage the soul to progress in spiritual life.  He can more easily understand his place in human society as well as his material duties, and therefore he has a good chance of remaining peaceful and content in life.  A man who is peaceful and content can more easily pursue spiritual goals. 

If, on the other hand, a child is born without the help of garbhadhana-samskara, he can be confused about his duty in society, and about right and wrong.  He may even be confused about something as obvious as his own bodily gender.  He can struggle through life groping for meaning and purpose, and because he is confused, he is unable to have the peace of mind which fosters happiness.  In this unhappy state, he wanders around the material world misguided, fruitlessly looking for happiness and fulfillment while unknowingly breaking laws of God.  Thus he causes trouble to himself and others.

Referring to the varna-sankara population of the world, Srila Prabhupada lamented, "They have created their own imaginary religious principle, and therefore they are condemned." (Lecture, London, 8/23/73)  When the entire population is varna-sankara--as is practically the case in Kali-yuga--a confused, chaotic atmosphere results, and the whole society becomes hellish.  Srila Prabhupada states matter-of-factly, "When there are varna-sankara, the whole world becomes hell."  (S.B. 6.1.11 Lecture 7/25/71 New York)

Mankind is meant to follow Lord Sri Krsna’s plan for human society.  Krsna has designed His perfect plan—daivi-varnasrama-dharma—for how living beings can become purified of their selfish desires, become Krsna conscious, and obtain release from samsara, the practically endless cycle of repeated births and deaths.  When people follow Krsna's plan, they become happy.  When they follow His process for liberation, they can get out of the cycle of samsara.  But if they neglect Krsna’s plan, if they make up their own process, if they "create their own imaginary religious principle," they lose touch with themselves, they lose touch with Guru, they lose touch with Krsna in the heart, and thus, they lose sight of their prescribed duties and become more and more unhappy.  Due to not understanding their material duties, they become a disturbance to Lord Sri Krsna and to the rest of human society—nay, to all living beings—and continue to revolve in the cycle of samsara, the endless cycle of repeated birth and death. 

Human life means responsible life

 

In the human form of life, the soul is meant to become responsible.  Responsibility means delivering oneself and one's dependents from the cycle of samsara, of repeated birth and death.  When parents fail to perform garbhadhana-samskara, they take a big risk; they take the chance of producing a child who is confused about his varna, who is therefore disturbed in his mind, and who thus becomes a disturbance to others on the planet. 

Srila Prabhupada explains, "The varna-sankara population is irresponsible to the family, community and even to themselves…"  Varna-sankara populi do not know their own duties, so how can they teach their children what their duties are?  They are confused about their own duties, so how can they produce children who are clear about their duties?  Varna-sankara children grow up to be parents who produce more varna-sankara children, who then produce more varna-sankara offspring, increasing the varna-sankara population generation after generation, causing the exponential increase of confusion and disturbance in the world through their irresponsible behavior. 

             As stated above, according to Vedic authority, responsibility means to deliver oneself and one’s dependents from the cycle of repeated birth and death.  Such responsible parenting begins with garbhadhana-samskara.  The details of the ritual of garbhadhana-samskara vary from age to age and from place to place.  Because the chanting of the Lord’s holy names is most highly recommended in this age for self-purification, Srila Prabhupada has simplified the ritual of garbhadhana-samskara for his followers—he has instructed us to chant fifty rounds of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra before conceiving a child.  This adds up to chanting the maha-mantra "Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare" 5400 times in one day.  If one chants with attention and avoids distractions, this takes about seven to eight hours.  If one chants sincerely and tries very hard to hear the holy names with attention, this is a very purifying ritual, and prepares the future father's and mother's hearts to receive an auspicious child.  

              Srila Prabhupada has given us the process of garbhadhana-samskara not only for our own purification as well as to call advanced souls into the world, but also for the upliftment of human society in general.  It is each couple's responsibility to practice garbhadhana-samskara before begetting a child.  "According to Rsabhadeva, one should not become a father or mother unless one is confident that he can beget children whom he can deliver from the clutches of birth and death."(SB 3.14.12 Ppt)  Garbhadhana-samskara increases a couple’s chances of being blessed with the birth of a child who is inclined toward spiritual life.  Thus the parents will have a better chance of delivering their child from the cycle of birth and death, which is the duty of all parents in the human form of life. 

First, save yourself
 

It is to be understood that saving ourselves precludes saving others, even family members.  "First of all save yourself; then try to save others." (Conversation, Mayapura, 14/2/77)  If we ourselves are not Krsna conscious, how can we save our dependents?  But don't let this discourage you from having children.  By Krsna’s kind grace, garbhadhana-samskara also purifies the parents who perform it.  Thus not only the child’s chances of being released from the cycle of samsara are increased by this most auspicious yajna, but also the parents themselves become purified by performance of this sacrifice.  Thus they also enjoy a better chance of being delivered from the cycle of repeated birth and death.   

Srila Prabhupada offers a solution to the problem of how to ensure peace, as well as an admonition: "People are very anxious for peace in the world, but there are so many unwanted children born without the benefit of the garbhädhäna ceremony, just like the demons born from Diti.  Diti was so lusty that she forced her husband to copulate at a time which was inauspicious, and therefore the demons were born to create disturbances.  In having sex life to beget children, one should observe the process for begetting nice children; if each and every householder in every family observes the Vedic system, then there are nice children, not demons, and automatically there is peace in the world.  If we do not follow regulations in life for social tranquillity, we cannot expect peace.  Rather, we will have to undergo the stringent reactions of natural laws." (SB 3.17.15 Ppt)

Conclusion

In discussing the topic of garbhadhana-samskara, we are naturally brought back to the relevant subject of cultivating and encouraging shyness in girls.  Again, the production of good population is the most fundamental reason to preserve the shyness which is natural to little girls.  And little girls should be encouraged to preserve their shyness for their whole lives.  "Therefore, shyness is important for women.  Once this control valve is loosened, women can create havoc in society by adultery.  Adultery means production of unwanted children known as varna-sankara, who disturb the world." (SB 1.9.27 Ppt)

Srila Prabhupada calls Garbhadhana-samskara “the beginning of all pious acts to receive a good, pious and intelligent class of men in human society.”  He promises, “There will be peace and prosperity in the world due to good and sane population only; there is hell and disturbance only because of the unwanted, insane populace addicted to sex indulgence.” (SB 1.12.12 Ppt)
Lord Sri Krsna sums up for Arjuna how the much-sought-after condition of peace and its resultant happiness become easy to obtain when one is connected with Him, and one is thus blessed with transcendental intelligence and a steady mind. Krsna puts it in a reverse statement followed by a thought-provoking question: "One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krsna consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?"  (Bg 2.66)