The National Conference on Spirituality and the New Economy, a Proutist Universal event, took place over Saturday and Sunday, on the weekend of April 4th and 5th in Dallas, Texas. It was organized by a veteran Proutist and journalist Dada Acharya Shubhacetanananda. Mr. Dada Acharya is known in practically every college and university in the Dallas region for his expertise in Yoga, meditation and his social service efforts. Unknown to most in the Dallas community, he is also the primary leader, the Chief Secretary, of the international service and education organization, Proutist Universal of New York Sector, with its head office in Washington,
DC. The website for the event is www.prout.org/ Texas.
Acharya had the assistance of the community of Proutist Universal members in the area to put together and to manage the event. It was held at the Funasia Convention Center in Richardson, Texas and was promoted nicely on the radio for weeks in advance by the Funasia Radio station. Additionally, Mr. Acharya arranged the live web-streaming of the event on the web through the partnership and services of
desiplazza.com. There were many reports from around the country that viewers were able to enjoy the activities of the event and presenters remotely as it happened.
Each day the program started with a Yoga Asana class and a guided Meditation session. These sessions, led by Acharya Shubhacetanananda, were helpful for the hundred or more attendees to learn the simple and effective practices and to give them a chance to experience the benefits immediately. Dada was helped by a two Proutist youths who demonstrated every single move while he provided guidance. Additionally, each day, the attendees were provided a quality Indian-style vegetarian lunch. From the beginning of the program to the end, the participants were nourished with nutrition, good personal practices and informative presentations.
On Sunday, there was a wonderful cultural program performed by the Proutist youth, singing beautiful songs and dancing based on Prabhata Samgiita. This was organised by Onkarnath Pandey. Everyone was touched by the grace of the performers. Each artist and child present was awarded with a small gift of appreciation by Moody of Funasia Radio.
The keynote speaker at the Dallas event was Dr. Ravi Batra (noted economist and author of “The Great Depression of 1990”, “Greenspan’s Fraud” and “The New Golden Age”). Dr. Batra displayed his remarkable ability to take something very complex and make it seem remarkably simple. Dr. Batra stated that a coming depression is inevitable. He further offered some suggestions as to how the effects of the depression could be minimized, but he said that now it was too late to avoid a depression.
In the future, there should be a new economic model based on PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory) using economic democracy to keep wages and demand increasing with productivity. Interestingly, Batra’s response to the question: How to survive the coming depression? Take shelter of the Supreme and meditate. Batra says the coming changes will be very difficult for everyone and he recommends the practice of yoga meditation to help maintain mental balance during times of change. He also said that meditation helps develop a spiritual outlook on life which gives the courage to fight against corruption.
Marc Friedland of Charlotte, North Carolina gave a talk about Spirituality and the New Economy. He stated that the old economy was based on greed as the prime motivator and it has been the unchecked greed of monopoly capitalism that has lead to the current economic collapse. This greed is nothing other than a misplaced desire for happiness, for when the source of happiness is material wealth, and then the capacity for acquisition becomes endless. Friedland went on to clarify, that the new economy needs to support a concept where people can find happiness within themselves so the economy can be based on ethics and rationality. To do this will require spiritual personalities to become leaders in the society. Those leaders will not come by magic but instead will develop through personal disciplines and practices designed to promote spiritual awareness. Friedland encouraged participants to become the solution that they seek as one way to solve our economic problems.
Clark Forden of Washington, DC, the Executive Director of Proutist Universal New York Sector, presented the subject of Neo-Humanism- A New Outlook for the New Economy. Mr. Forden clarified that this innovative and refreshing way of framing the world and our relationship with it was conceived by Mr. Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, the founder of the Progressive Utilization Theory.
Forden stated that Neo-Humanism is a simple, philosophical bridge connecting ourselves with one another and with the practical world in a manner that is uplifting and devotional in both spirit and in practice. He said that this devotion that we all have experienced in our lives needs to be infused in every aspect of life and be expressed to all, not just human beings.
He explained that this devotional expression should include the earth and physical life around us and also to all other living animals and plants, big and minute. A pond of water gets stagnant if the water in it slows down its movement and becomes shallow. Similarly the basic philosophies of life stagnate and become detrimental if they do not provide vital and practical improvements to life functions, physical and psychic in nature. Neo-humanism asserts that humans are mostly psychic as compared to animals who are mostly physical in nature.
So, philosophies must remain dynamic and relevant, enhancing the mental and refined qualities, or they will be rejected by society. Dogmatic approaches and their resulting degeneration should not and will not be tolerated in the long run as they bury the innate devotional and expansive qualities of the mind and of society.
Forden described the various sentiments that limit society – geo-sentiments, socio-sentiments. And, he went into the universal sentiment, the healing salve that can pervade all relationships, institutional life and every transaction to create a glorious future. The universal sentiment sees the Home in everyone sees the Oneness in everything and then allows each of us the opportunity to approach every challenge with that subjective wealth, adjusting objectively to give the final and most appropriate action.
Forden went on to say, this Oneness, this Home, this Ek, this Eco can be seen as being in and around everyone and everything. When we get home and we rest for the night, we can visually imagine that we rest our mind in this ultimate Home or the Lap of the Divine that we share with everyone. With this spirit of Neo-Humanism, as we all tried the path together towards our collective Home, we do not let anyone fall to the wayside. We stop and make sure everyone is moving together in the true purpose of society.
Mr. Forden concluded with one example of how Neo-Humanism can be simply, yet powerfully, put into practice. In every future governing constitution, there should be amendment guaranteeing prosperity for every citizen, and if anyone dies of hunger or poverty, then the elected President should be recalled and a new election organized.
The final program at the National Conference on Spirituality and the New Economy was a panel presentation “The Practical Application of PROUT to Current Economic Problems”. Panelists were Acharya Subhacetanananda, Marc Friedland, Jyoti Friedland, and Clark Forden.
Each panelist gave a short presentation on how PROUT could be applied in a practical manner — addressing many of the core issues and problems that had been raised by the attendees over the weekend. The audience then plied them with a number of questions. Many of the responses were specifically related to what could be done from a Proutist point of view to create a healthy economic future for the Dallas area and Texas.
It appeared that a good and informative time was appreciated by all at the National Conference on Spirituality and the New Economy in Dallas.
