I was very surprised and a moment later not so surprised to learn that organisers are planning to erect. more prison houses in London, to meet the challenges of a peaceful Olympic games in the year 2012.
As I am writing this piece. I learn that the budget for the london Olympic has crossed the 92 billion pound limitanda full one billion pounds are to be spent for security purpose, inclooing the construction of new prisons
prisons?
Certainly THAT could be an avoidable expenditure. One can just consider the number of other things like feeding people constructing houses, schools, hospitals etc that could be done withso much money. But if you ask the organisers they will tell you that in order to ensure that the games proceed safely without any Munich Olympics type terrorist activity they need to spend money and that too on new prisons. These prison facilities would be necessary to put behind bars a minute percentage (hopefully) of those trying to disrupt the games. The organisers are neither "overly 'pessimistic" or for that matter "cruel" oreven idiots'''.
The Vedic scriptures declare that the world we live in is actually a prison for the soul. In Sanskrit, the material world is also known as a durga: or a fort. This fort has a Super intend Durga Devi. She. is the warden of this prison, and it is her job ta see. that not a single. mischidmonger escapes this prison in order to wreak havoc in the free. spiritual world. The spiritual world is aptly termed as Vaikuntha or a place free from all anxieties.
As prison in mates are condemned lot,we too are forced to accept three kinds of painful situation meseries given by other living entities, miseries given by our own body and mind, and miseries given by supernatural forces in the form of earthquakes, floods, fires etc.
The Olympic Games have a definite purpose to foster the Spirit of unity among the participating nations. Similarly God has a definite purpose in constructing this material world. Those living entities who do not want to follow God's laws, but would rather be a law unto themselves hav to be put into a location where they would stop being a menance to the law-abiding free citizen. Similarly the goes' organisers are interested in curbing the so-called freedom of terrorists and other anti -socials by putting them into prison house.
The state considers its considers its citizens to be its parts and parcels, and when a citizen misuse his relative independence, the state puts him under police authority. The life of a citizen with in thw prison are not the same. Similarly, the sufferings of the living entities within the prison of material nature cannot be equated with the pastimes of the Supreme Lord which exist in the absolute freedom of saccid ananda or an eternal life full of bliss and knowledge
No government wants its citizens to act in such a way that they must go to prison and suffer tribulations. Indirectly, the disobedlent citizens force the government to construct the prison house. It is not done for the pleasure of the government which has to span a great deal of money in constructing and maintaining it. On the contrary' the government would be very glad to demolish prisons altogether,provided there are no disobedient citizens in the state.
In the same way, this material world is created by the Supreme lord, but the Supreme lord does not will that living entities be put in it. The Iiving entities themselve make their decision. The residents of this material world are therefore different from tha;e who are eternally engage in transcendental pastimes of the supreme lord
The impersonal monists have no information of full fledged independent life in the eternal spiritual realm.According to them, the spiritual realm is simply void. This is like. prisoners thinking that there is no life outside the prison. Life outside of a prison is certainly free from prison activities but is not devoid of activity
The soul is by nature eternally active but the impersonalists try to negate the activities of the soul in the spiritual realm. Thus they misunderstand the meseries of prison life to be the pastimes of the Supreme lord. This is due to their profound of Knowledge
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has therefore advised that the easiest path to freedom is attained by chanting
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
(Syamananda dasa)