God Bless America.

I'm back on the east coast folks! For the next two months, I'll be living in the DC area working as a nanny for a friend of mine and her 9-year-old daughter. On Saturday, we decided to take a day trip into DC and check out the national peace march in which people from across the country travelled long distances just to march in.

Gathered in front of the White House, approximately 10 to 20 thousand enthusiasts were present. I came to the event armed with a bag full of Srila Prabhupada's books. The way I see it, I'd rather actively work for something than against something.

My main book of the day was a vegetarian cookbook called, The Higher Taste. As a proponent of educational awareness to create a solid foundation for the peace movement, I shared with my fellow activists how animal genocide goes hand and hand with the injustice of civilian death.

I met one nice boy from Peru, another from Mexico, a Peace Corp worker from Mali, and several activists from LA. I traded one book for a conscious hip hop record from a local Philly artist known as Tha Truth and another book for a fresh "Peace in Iraq" (written in Arabic) t-shirt from a Muslim brother who designed it himself. My Philly brother said he would definitely check out Philly Ratha Yatra next weekend.

So many amazing people were gathered. I had many conversations and some important realizations. What initially attracted me to the teachings of Srila Prabhupada was that he was a staunch follower of Gandhi in the forefront of the British resistance movement in the early 1920s. But upon the first encounter of meeting his future guru, he was told that self realization is too important to wait for a change in politics, nor is it dependant on who rules. He was told that man-made political systems come and go but real welfare work is that which helps reawaken one's original and eternal relationship with the Supreme.

Srila Prabhupada, then a young boy named Abhay Charan, thought to himself that British slaughter of innocent citizens was a reality and that independence would benefit the people. Spiritual life was a luxury that could be afforded only after independence and the people's cause was, in itself, God. Yet, he recognized this guru as being truly wise and learned, a man who was not concocting a new philosophy rather representing the eternal, timeless teachings of Vedic literature. There was something profound and intriguing about the explanation given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta who referred to the independence movement as a temporary, incomplete cause.

I'll conclude this post with several quotes from a purport written by Srila Prabhupada that talks about the historic civil disobedience movement of Lord Chaitanya.

"The Kazi's order not to perform sankirtana could stand only as long as there was no civil disobedience. Under the leadership of the Supreme Lord, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, the chanters, increasing in number, disobeyed the order of the Kazi. Thousands assembled together and formed parties, chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra and making a tumultuous sound of protest. Thus the Kazi was very much afraid, as naturally one should be under such circumstances.

In the present day also, people all over the world may join together in the Krishna consciousness movement and protest against the present degraded governments of the world's godless societies, which are based on all kinds of sinful activities.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that in the Age of Kali, thieves, rogues and fourth-class people who have neither education nor culture capture the seats of governments to exploit the citizens. This is a symptom of Kali-yuga that has already appeared. People cannot feel secure about their lives and property, yet the so-called governments continue, and government ministers get fat salaries, although they are unable to do anything good for society. The only remedy for such conditions is to enhance the sankirtana movement under the banner of Krishna consciousness and protest against the sinful activities of all the world's governments.

The Krishna consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious movement; it is a movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society. If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments. There are always rogues and thieves in human society, and as soon as a weak government is unable to execute its duties, these rogues and thieves come out to do their business. Thus the entire society becomes a hell unfit for gentlemen to live in. There is an immediate need for a good government — a government by the people, with Krishna consciousness."
- Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrta Ādi 17.141 purport