Ants
Biologists say that ants are the most successful of all the land based creatures, in fact, despite not being found directly in acquatic environments, ants are ubuiqitous in all but the wettest locations.
Synergy
The secret to the ant's success is synergy. Synergy can be defined as "the cooperation of a number of individual units to achieve a result as a system, the magnitude of which is beyond the ability of any of the individual units on their own".
Thus, by all working together, ants have conquered every dryland habitat the earth has to offer.
An orchestra is another, albeit less spectacular, example of synergy.
In business, despite it's innate competitiveness, the cooperation required for enabling synergy is achieved by the cohersive technique of economic reward (payment). In some cases as with ants, the result, is payment enough to engage participants.
This brings me to the point that I wish to bring to your attention.
Work it out amongst yourselves
Srila Gurudeva has told us so often to "Work it out amongst yourselves", that I consider it to be the most important of all of his instructions to us as a community, group or yatra. Yet we consistently find ways to collectively disregard this very important and loving, instructive communication.
To disobey the instructions of the spiritual master is an offence against the holy name. If you wish to attain the bhakti resultant of hari nama, oh gentle sages, you will need to eliminate this offence from your heart.
Spiritual selflessness
I firmly believe that this cooperative instruction lies at the heart of spiritual life because service to the divine couple in any of it's forms is lovingly achieved and loving is not only to Sri Sri Radha Krsna, for isn't that mentality how we describe a mere kanistha adhikari? Obviously, advancement in spiritual life entails tolerance and cooperation with others. If this is not manifest, neither is spiritual life.
Think about that
Whilst it can be said that success begins with failure, constant failure cannot be regarded as success, and if we are to attract Sri Sri Radha Krsna into the kunja of our hearts, we first need a heart environment that attracts our associates.
Hearing
Spiritual life begins with hearing. Hearing from great souls is excellent, but if we take no notice of what we hear, we can hardly be said to have heard.
Via the cooperation of master and disciple a synergy is developed that permits the advancement of the disciple and simultaneously gives the master the opportunity to give his compassionate mercy. Both participants benefit from the paired effort, as vaisnavas undertake great endeavour in order to be merciful to qualified disciples. It's their purpose for coming here. We, also, can learn a valuable lesson from this beautiful interaction.
I believe that we also need to hear each other.
If we have set ideas regarding the outcome of some community endeavour, so much so that we refuse to accept the ideas of others and also refuse to cooperate with them unless they are willing to do things according to our directions then we cannot achieve the magic of synergy; in fact, all we achieve is the misery and uselessness of conflict which is wastefully inefficient and dooms to failure our precious "communal" endeavour.
The acheivement of spiritual harmony is more valuable than any single project
Better to relinquish our own ideas and to accept the ideas of others, thus achieving a workable outcome, than to doggedly adhere to championing our own cause, regardless of how good our cause may be and how untenable the ideas of others. Surely, any achievement is better than none. Especially if we acheive tolerance and cooperation via the process, thereby pleasing Srila Gurudeva. (See Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami's comment on this in his purport to BG 4.34).
A new direction
I would like to put forward a proposal that, whilst the proposal itself is of limited value, offers a new venue for communal cooperation. Got a better idea? Great! Make a proposal to the community. Let the community decide.
The current deadlock between the party spirits of our community is delivering no positive result, thus it is surely not pleasing to Srila Gurudeva. This impasse must be resolved. It has been years since our community has had an "official" address, for worship and seva.
Devotees need a temple, wherever it is. In this respect, as a community, we have failed to please our Gurudeva. The opportunity is always there (within limits), it's up to us as a community, to change the situation that now stands.
Going one way on a two way street
It is apparent that there is now a widespread reluctance to build a temple or preaching centre on the land in Nullum Street Murwillumbah due to council expectations and the ongoing cost of parking requirements, so my proposal is to meet each other half way.
Please consider the following strategy:
- Liquify the Nullum St block by selling it for its market price (possibly up to $180k)
- Use the resultant liquid assets to purchase and build a dome kit, or complex of domes, at the Garden Ashram (owners willing) for the community to utilise as a temple, kitchen, etc (please see chart and links below regarding kit domes sizes and prices).
- Come together regularly as a caring community and serve Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga.
- Utilise excess funds to purchase a "troop carrier" 4WD vehicle to ferry people across the river and up to the dome temple. There will undoubtedly be times when even this access is "at risk" and thus no access is available, certainly not a worse situation than currently prevails.
- OR (in lieu of point #4), utilise excess funds to construct a suspension bridge walkway that permits all weather access across the river by foot.
- At a later date, build, purchase, rent (as applicable) a premises in town to use as a combined PREACHING centre, medical centre, and, if circumstances permit, a kindergarten or even a small school.
NB: up to, and including, point 5, all proposals involve no expenditure beyond what is currently Srila Gurudeva's Murwillumbah assets, therefore no financial input will be required by any individual(s).
Harinama eva kevalam
Kirtana, an excellent example of synergy, is not only symbolic of spiritual life, it is our means of acheiving spiritual life and indeed, spiritual life itself.
A suitable building for performing this yuga dharma, this expression of our intimate being is a must. If one is not doing anything that they previously weren't doing then they are not growing. Spiritual growth is necessary to our survival as devotees. It's time to be creative. It's time to cooperate.
We need to build a GREAT community if we are to achieve GREAT things. However we achieve it, synergy is required.
Or perhaps ants are more intelligent than we are and more deserving of spiritual life than us.
http://kwickset.net/specs.html
Joy to all beings
