End OF MODERN CIVILIZATION & ALTERNATIVE FUTURE Total Rethinking on How We Live, Work and Prosper. By Dr. Sahadeva dasa B.com., FCA., AICWA., PhD Chartered Accountant Soul Science University Press WorldCrisisSolutions.com Modern Civilization A Legacy of Dissatisfaction, Conflict & Pollution End of Modern Civilization and Alternative Future Readers interested in the subject matter of this book are invited to correspond with the publisher at: [email protected] +91 98490 95990 To order a copy write to [email protected] or buy online: at www.rgbooks.co.in First Edition: December 2008 Soul Science University Press expresses its gratitude to the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International (BBT), for the use of quotes by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Copyright Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International (BBT) ©Soul Science University Press All rights reserved ISBN 978-81-909760-1-5 Published by: Dr. Sahadeva dasa for Soul Science University Press Designed by : Sailesh Ijmulwar, Waar Creatives. Printed in India : Rainbow Print Pack, Hyderabad Dedicated to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada “This is not good civilization. It will not stay. There will be catastrophe, waiting. Many times it has happened, and it will happen because transgressing the law of nature, or laws of God, is most sinful.” ~Srila Prabhupada (Lecture on Bhagavad-gita, Geneva, June 6, 1974) End of Modern Civilization and Alternative Future By The Same Author Oil - Final Countdown To A Global Crisis And Its Solutions To Kill Cows Means To End Human Civilization Cow And Humanity - Made For Each Other Capitalism Communism And Cowism - A New Economics For The 21st Century Cows Are Cool - Love ‘Em ! Wondrous Glories of Vraja Modern Foods - Stealing Years From Your Life Noble Cow - Munching Grass, Looking Curious And Just Hanging Around Lets Be Friends - A Curious, Calm Cow We Feel - Just Like You Do (More information on availability at the back) Contents Preface Section I : What Is Civilization 1 Civilization As A Broad Cultural Identity 4 Education - A Technique of Transmission 6 Civilizational Interaction 8 Section II : Civilizations in Historical Perspective 10 One World - Many Civilizations 11 Models of Civilizations Collapse 18 Lost Cities 20 The Sentinelese - A Tale of Survival 29 Section III : What Is Modern Civilization 32 Section IV : Evolution of Modern Civilization 35 Section V : Preindustrial Society 45 Section VI : Theories on End of Modern Civilization 49 Section VII : The Threats To Modern Civilization 65 Threat 1 - Food Insecurity 66 Threat 2 - Global Water Scarcity 98 Threat 3 - Resource Depletion 131 Threat 4 - Moral, Ethical, Spiritual Ruination 155 Threat 5 - Violence & Wars, Clash of Civilizations 187 Threat 6 - Resurgence of Diseases & Health Issues 236 Threat 7 - Brittle Economies 258 Threat 8 - Growing Cruelty and Desensitization 278 Section VIII: The Alternative Future 331 Alternative Future 1 - A World Based on Proper Understanding of Self 337 Alternative Future 2 - Ecology of The Mind, Chanting of The Holy Name 356 Alternative Future 3 - Holy Cow: Land & Cow Subsistence 385 Alternative Future 4 - Enlightened Agriculture 408 Alternative Future 5 - From Artificial Necessities To Basics of Life 428 Alternative Future 6 - Living on Mother Nature’s Gifts 444 End of Modern Civilization and Alternative Future Preface aying goes that ‘hope for the best and prepare for the worst’. SCarl Jung, one of the fathers of modern psychology remarked that "people cannot stand too much reality.” And one such reality is that end has come for many civilizations in the course of human history and the prophets of doom haven't been all wrong. In fact, it's safe to say that more civilizations have collapsed than have persisted. If we examine the reasons for their collapse, we find one or two like neglect of agriculture, moral degradation or lack of leadership. But in our present day civilization, all these factors with many more additional ones are operating. We better watch out! Purpose of this work is not to create a scare but to give a caution to not take things for granted. Our universe works under finely balanced laws and making things topsy-turvy will not work to our advantage. Our best interest lies in following the universal scheme of things and not in defying the subtle laws of creation due to foolish arrogance. Ours may as well add to that record of vanished civilizations, the primary difference being that it's global in scope and threatens the stability of the entire community of life. Civilizations have always been local and this is the first time in history that entire humanity shares a common fate. Keeping all our eggs in one basket is not a wise policy. One day we might have to pay dearly for our quest for globalization. Directions we take now would decide our fate, for better or for worse. On many fronts, the crumbling of this colossal industrial setup is becoming apparent. Material world is a calamitous place but all the previous calamities were local in nature. Now we have to be prepared for disasters on global scale, thanks to our interdependence and interconnectivity. Earlier we suffered in isolation and now if we go down, we go down hand in hand, all together. This book is an awakening call, a call to act before time runs out, before its too late. A stitch in time saves nine. We stand at the cross roads and time to act is now. Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, rightly put it in October 2006, “We have a window of only 10 to 15 years to take the steps we need to avoid crossing catastrophic tipping points.” Dr. Sahadeva dasa End of Modern Civilization and Alternative Future 1 Section-I What Is Civilization “The true test of civilization is, not the census, nor the size of the cities, nor the crops, but the kind of man that the country turns out.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson 1 End of Modern Civilization and Alternative Future 2 Civilization ivilization is a kind of human society or culture; a sum Ctotal of the arts, customs, habits, beliefs, values, behavior and material habits that constitute a people's way of life. Specifically, a civilization is usually understood to be a complex society characterized by the practice of agriculture, settlements, a diverse division of labour and an intricate social hierarchy. The term civilization is often used as a synonym for culture and it also refers to society as a whole. Thus the term can mean "refinement of thought, manners, or taste". As historians have often remarked, civilization is a word easier to describe than it is to define. The word civilization comes from the Latin word civilis, meaning a "citizen" or "townsman" governed by the law of his city. Civilizations have been distinguished by their means of subsistence, types of livelihood, settlement patterns, forms of government, social stratification, economic systems, literacy, and other cultural traits. The Oxford English Dictionary defines civilization as “the action or process of civilizing or of being civilized; a developed or advanced state of human society.” All human civilizations have depended on agriculture for subsistence. Growing food on farms results in a surplus of food, which allows for specialized careers, division of labour and a more diverse range of human activity, a defining trait of civilizations. Morton Fried, a conflict theorist, and Elman Service, an integration theorist, have classified human cultures based on political systems and social inequality. This system of classification contains four categories: * Hunter-gatherer bands, which are generally egalitarian. * Horticultural/pastoral societies in which there are generally two inherited social classes; chief and commoner. 3 End of Modern Civilization and Alternative Future * Highly stratified structures, or chiefdoms, with several inherited social classes: king, noble, freemen, serf and slave. * Civilizations, with complex social hierarchies and organized, institutional governments. Civilization As A Broad Cultural Identity Every society, civilization or not, has a specific set of ideas and customs, and a certain set of items and arts, that make it unique. Civilizations have intricate cultures, including literature, professional art, architecture, organized religion, and complex customs associated with the elite. Primitive Civilizations Nevertheless, some tribes or peoples remained ‘uncivilized’ even to this day. These cultures are called by some "primitive," a term that is regarded by others as pejorative. "Primitive" implies in some way that these people do not have hierarchical governments, organized religion, writing systems or money. The little hierarchy that exists, for example respect for the elderly, is mutual and not instituted by force, rather by a mutual reciprocal and customary agreement. Thus, the intricate culture associated with civilization has a tendency to spread to and influence other cultures, sometimes assimilating them into the civilization (a classic example being Chinese civilization and its influence on Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and so forth), all of them sharing the fact that they belong to an East Asian civilization, sharing Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism. Many civilizations are actually large cultural spheres “ Civilization is social order promoting cultural creation. Four elements constitute it: economic provision, political organization, moral traditions and the pursuit of knowledge and the arts. It begins where chaos and insecurity end. For when fear is overcome, curiosity and constructiveness are free, and man passes by natural impulse towards the understanding and embellishment of life.” - Will Durant, 4 What Is Civilization containing many nations and regions. The civilization in which someone lives is that person's broadest cultural identity. A female of African descent living in the United States has many roles that she identifies with. However, she is above all a member of "Western civilization." In the same way, a male of Kurdish ancestry living in Iran is above all a member of "Islamic civilization." Civilization As Internal Traits, Higher Faculties The term has transitioned from denoting internals to expressing externals over a period of time.