Herd Immunity and Vaccines

I have heard that many devotees refuse to get vaccinated because they're waiting for everyone else to get vaccinated so that the entire population will develop "herd immunity," and then they won't have to do anything.

First of all, reaching the levels of infection needed to achieve herd immunity without a vaccine could be devastating, and leading to an extraordinary number of deaths in our Vaisnava communities.

Last summer, the World Health Organization advised public officials, especially the foolish former leader in the US, as well as ignorant blind leaders in the UK and Brazil against trying to achieve so-called herd immunity to the coronavirus by allowing it to rapidly spread throughout their communities, saying it will overwhelm hospitals and kill a lot of people. Herd immunity is necessary to really contain a virus, according to epidemiologists. That is generally achieved once enough people either get vaccinated or survive the virus so they have the antibodies to fight off new infections and the virus doesn’t have enough new hosts to spread out of control. It is always possible to spread, because it’s never going away completely. Most scientists think 60% to 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated or have natural antibodies to achieve a manageable herd immunity, Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said on a live Q&A streamed across multiple social media platforms. “Whatever that number is, we’re nowhere near close to it, which means this virus has a long way to burn in our communities before we ever reach that,” he added. Simply waiting for herd immunity to happen by allowing the virus to spread, as some opponents of social distancing measures have suggested, is dangerous, he added. 

“The idea that we would have herd immunity as an objective, in some sense, it goes against controlling the disease because if you were to say, ‘We need to have a herd immunity of 70% and we should let the virus spread until we get to 70%,’ we’ve seen what happens,” he said. “Hospitals get overwhelmed. A lot of people die.”

Even if people don’t die from the disease, there are still long-term problems, Ryan said. “Anyone who looks at patients who are severe with Covid realizes this is a very severe, multiorgan disease that stresses many systems in the body, the cardiovascular system, the neurologic system. And we have to assume in milder cases a similar process is happening at a milder level.” Young people with Covid-19 have left hospitals healthy, only to experience problems 10 or 15 weeks later, he said. “They can’t run. They can’t exercise, they are out of breath, having coughing fits,” he said. “Who wants or needs that?” The coronavirus has a wide range of symptoms, according to infectious disease experts and doctors who treat patients. Some people can be asymptomatic, where they never develop symptoms, while others get mild symptoms or severe symptoms that require hospitalization and even intensive care.“We have to come to grips that Covid might kill me but it could also debilitate you over a significant period of time. And therefore we have to take it seriously. We have to take protecting ourselves and protecting others seriously,” he said. “At some level, we have the right to potentially risk harm to ourselves. We have no right to risk harm to others.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said it is unlikely the coronavirus will ever be eradicated. While the virus may not totally disappear, it’s possible world leaders and public health officials could work to bring the virus down to low levels. I think with a combination of good public health measures, a degree of global herd immunity and a good vaccine, which I do hope and feel cautiously optimistic that we will get, I think when we put all three of those together, we will get control of this, whether it’s this year or next year. I’m not certain, but I don’t really see us eradicating it.”

Recently, new variants which are rapidly mutating with transmission, and if people wait for "herd immunity" the vaccines could be rendered less effective, which makes the it even more urgent for as many people as possible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Other devotees have been fed misinformation about vaccines, and continue to believe them, ignoring the experts like Fauci, the CDC, and the World Health Organization.

The WHO highlights six common misconceptions about vaccines:

1.) Diseases were already declining before the invention of vaccines due to improvements in hygiene and sanitation.

2.) Most people who get diseases are already vaccinated.

3.) Some batches of vaccines are safer than others.

4.) Vaccines cause many harmful side effects and illnesses.

5.) The diseases that vaccines prevent are no longer prevalent, so there is no need for vaccines.

6.) Giving children multiple vaccines at once increases the risk of harmful side effects.

The WHO have outlined comprehensive responses to each of these misconceptions, providing evidence to the contrary.

My initiating spiritual master got polio before the vaccine was available. He lived, fortunately, but he had a distended belly throughout his life as a side effect. Other people weren't as lucky. Thousands had to go through their whole lives on an archaic respirator called an "iron lung." The 1952 Polio epidemic was the worst year. Of nearly 58,000 cases reported that year, 3,145 people died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis, with most of the victims being children. A Polio vaccine first became available in 1955 – the year I was born.

The coronavirus pandemic is telling the tiny polio epidemic to “Hold My Beer.” Covid has claimed more than a half a million in this country alone, including many dear devotees such as sweet Bhaki Caru Swami. Since the virus is not going away, why would devotees be so callous as to put that off under the false impression that there will eventually be “herd immunity” and risk putting the health and lives of themselves and others in danger in the meantime? It’s one thing to drink, or do drugs and just harm yourself. But it’s whole thing to drive drunk or high and put others in danger. Is it just laziness? Do we think we are immune just because we're devotees? Krishna's devotees are very dear to Him, and their service if very important to the whole world. Otherwise why do we value Srila Prabhupada’s contribution or care to carry on his mission? 

If we claim to be servants of Krishna, we should care about His dear servants. Don't be selfish, lazy, callous, or act like you're "above it all." Don't be in maya and imagine that you live in a bubble. Get vaccinated! As soon as it's available to you! In the meantime, take all precautionary measures to protect your Vaisnava community. Don't be so puffed up to think you are so advanced that Krishna will serve you and protect you if you flagrantly flaunt the laws of material nature! Krishna is not our order supplier. If you show a lackadaisical callous disregard for His parts and parcels by your own ignorant mentality and irresponsible behavior, you might get away with it among your peers, but God knows, sooner or later there WILL be a reaction.

Hacks & Quacks

We owe a debt of gratitude to the health care workers – the doctors and nurses who have dedicating their lives and are currently risking their lives to care for humanity during this crisis. They are helping us by giving us guidance to stay safe, and if we actually contract the disease, they are the last defense we rely on combined with the grace and will of God to nurse us back to health if they can. These are the real doctors. 

But then there are also so-called doctors, experts, or pundits if you will, who claim to have medical expertise, who go on TV to dispense that advice, but actually they are not doctors. They are what are commonly referred to as “quacks.” They often go by one name, and call themselves doctor this or that, but actually, they are quacks that give bad medical advice, while simultaneously playing the role of political hacks that go on propaganda networks to cater to and reinforce the biases of a certain demographic in order to get exposure and gain popularity and profit. They have a history of trying to politically divide people by telling them what they want to hear, that this pandemic is just an overblown hoax to bring down the president, often minimizing the severity and danger the pandemic, saying it’s just like the flue – they decry the necessity of wearing masks, and spew conspiracy theories about vaccines, or 5G, or Bill Gates, or “the deep state,” or the “money grubbing corporations” etc., ad nauseam, at the expense of the advice of the real experts which mislead people to think and thus act recklessly and thereby put them in danger. Their talking points are often incompatible, therefore, their misinformation is antithetical to the Hippocratic Oath that real doctors take. I wrote this song about these one name so-called doctors, like, Dr. Oz, or Dr. Phil, or Dr.  Drew, etc. entitled “Hacks and Quacks.”

Evangelical Supporters of Trump Give a Bad Name to Christianity, Other Religious Traditions, and America

The Washington Post wrote on December 20th, 2019, “Exit polls in 2016 suggested that 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump. A NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll from earlier this month found 75 percent of white evangelical Christians approved of Trump, compared with 42 percent of U.S. adults overall.”

In his now famous (and infamous) op-ed in Christianity Today, editor in chief Mark Galli called out Trump's supporters. "To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record, we might say this: Remember who you are and Whom you serve."

The problem is, it is difficult for these professed Christians to remember who they serve, because they've been blinded by a hyper-partisan political atmosphere. America is embroiled in a culture war - where evangelicals view the demographic as having only two sides: secularism vs. Christianity. Because of the rhetoric of their chosen political and religious leaders, they view the left as an evil usurper who pose an existential threat to the nation. People are desperate because they think they only have one leader and there’s no one else to protect them and it’s so divided that they don’t trust the other side. Due to that fear of what they perceive as the secular left and ignorance of Christ's actual will, they think Donald Trump is the only one who can save them.

It is due to this one sided spiritual blindness that Christianity Today said in a follow up article to explain why they "feel compelled to say that the alliance of American evangelicalism with this presidency has wrought enormous damage to Christian witness."

America has always been seen as a beacon of principled morality - an example of tolerance and religious freedom, so it's painful for true Christians to witness others who profess to follow the same Christ tolerate the president of the United States blatantly use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents, which is, in the words of Galli, "not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral."

It's not only painful for Christians. Other vibrant spiritual movements see it as a sign of the degradation of the this age of quarrel and hypocrisy. Srila Prabhupada chose to come to America, because it was an example of opportunity, equality, and freedom of religion. He thought if America led the way, then the rest of the world follow. The damage that this President and his sycophants has done to America's formally respected image in the world may be irreparable.

It is time for true devotees of different faiths to stand together with brothers and sisters around the world who actually follow God's will and expose these power hungry cheaters, who are not really devotees, but "wolves in sheep's clothing," or "demons in devotee dress." A bona-fide devotee who is surrendered to God has no problem distinguishing the angels from the devils, so they alone can call the cheaters out with authority. Any other propaganda from either side of the controversy is just smoke, mirrors and confusion, and will not lead to any firm conclusion between right and wrong - righteousness and sin.

Innocent Americans need non-sectarian guidance, firmly based on universally concise authoritative spiritual principles so they can be led out of the confusion, division and despair of this age -  which is an ocean of endlessly mutable bad qualities. Therefore I urgently call on all surrendered souls to lead the way, because without the causeless mercy of the true devotees of the Lord, the masses will find no hope.

4 year old Bimala Prasada's Lifetime Vow of Mango Abstinence

Bimala Prasada (1881 - 

at the ripe old age of seven, 

three years after his vow)

I 💗 mangoes. They are a perfect juicy combination of tartness and sweetness. So tasty.

Srila Prabhupada said they are the "King of Fruit."

For a major portion of my devotee career, I have been what has been termed in ISKCON vernacular a "picker" - one who collects donations from the general public for various ISKCON projects. Sometimes I would say, "Instead of being a 'picker' in this material world, I can't wait to instead be picking mangoes in the spiritual world!"

When I repeated my saying to a much more advanced Godbrother, he told me that I have to remember "for Whom I am picking the mangoes." Then, I realized, to my great embarrassment, that the personality he was referring to was Kṛṣṇa, and that I hadn't even thought of that. I thought to myself, "My God, I've got a long way to go before I get to the spiritual world with my selfish mentality!" This is a place that is not easy to get into. I have heard it said that after one leaves one's body, and as  the soul is traveling past the upper planetary systems, if one has even the slightest desire to taste - a sweet ball, for example, one cannot get into Vaikuntha. "Long way to go" indeed.

Recently my shame was compounded exponentially when I read the following passage from Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta Chapter 3: "A Very Nice Saintly Person" within a short bio of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, who was given the name Bimala Prasada by great father Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

"One day, when Bimala Prasada was still a child of no more than four years, his father mildly rebuked him for eating a mango not yet duly offered to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Bimala Prasada, although only a child, considered himself an offender to the Lord and vowed never to eat mangoes again. (This was a vow that he would follow throughout his life.)" 

I am 62 years old. I've been a devotee for 4 decades, and I have broken my vows to follow the 4 regulative principles countless times, what to speak of the discipline of properly offering food to Kṛṣṇa. I thought I was somewhat advanced, having read much of Srila Prabhupada's books, but due to the lack of steadiness caused by my indulgence in all manner of sense gratification, it took me decades to vaguely understand what devotional service and renunciation is.

So, who am I compared to this toddler - this 4 year old child, who "considered himself an offender to the Lord and vowed never to eat mangoes again. (This was a vow that he would follow throughout his life.)"?

My only hope is to pray for the mercy of little Bimala Prasada to give me strength, so I can, in some future lifetime, acquire the steadiness to desire only Kṛṣṇa's sense gratification instead of my own, so that I may someday gain entrance into the spiritual world and finally pick mangoes for Kṛṣṇa, not for me.

#taketheknee

The thing people don’t get about this whole #taketheknee thing is that this protest is not about politics. These players are protesting the treatment of African-Americans by police in this country, which is, everyone should admit, a real disproportionate problem. It has nothing to do with (as our President said about taking a knee during the national anthem AND the taking down of the confederate statues) “Honoring our heritage.“ Whose heritage? White supremists? We are not this body!!! We are spirit soul. Everything is politicized because people are missing the point. That is spirituality 101. Thinking we’re these bodies is the root of all of the problems in this material world. Racism, nationalism, etc. These players are grown intelligent men with a right to free speech under the first amendment of the constitution. To conflate free-speech with “honoring our heritage“ turns it into divisive and political issue that is used by politicians to rabble rouse and gin up hatred among right wing nationalistic flagwavers who are offended by what they see as an affront to their illusory bodily conception of life, in that they feel that their allegiance to nationality is being disrespected. Like Congressman Joe Walsh, said of Stevie Wonder taking a knee in solidarity, "Stevie Wonder takes a knee for the Anthem during a concert. Another ungrateful black multi millionaire." What a condescending racist statement! The flag and the nation is not being disrespected. The players and kind souls like Stevie Wonder are the ones being disrespected.

Leaders Who Disregard the Well Being of Their Constituents are Destined to Suffer

The Lord is the seed giving Father in everyone's heart, and as such every living being is dear to Him. If anyone - especially leaders and lawmakers, are callous toward any living entity, they will be punished by the laws of nature which were created by God for the guidance of human beings. The duty of government officials and leaders is to provide for the well being of the citizens.

The supporters of the Graham/Cassidy "health care" bill (including the President) claim that the measure keeps in place protections for people with preëxisting conditions, but experts have concluded that this bill affects about fifty-five million Americans, and many of them "would be unable to purchase comprehensive coverage with premiums close to those under current law and might not be able to purchase coverage at all.”

The Vedas describe the fate of those who are callous and devoid of empathy and compassion. For example, those who enact such laws as this simply for political reasons, (even if they claim to be good Christians), ignoring the suffering they would cause the people they are supposed to represent:

“When someone worships the Deity of Lord Visnu, but disrespects or disregards Lord Visnu residing in everyone's heart, then they also go to hell - what to speak of committing offense or violence to a Vaisnava devotee! If someone offends or tortures even an ordinary living entity yet worships Lord Visnu, the Lord of every living entity, then all their worship is worthless, and they suffer great pain. It is verified that to worship Lord Visnu on one hand, but on the other hand to be ignorant about Lord Visnu as the Supersoul in everyone's heart is like touching a brahmana's feet for blessings with one hand while beating him on the head with the other.” - Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya Lila, Chapter 5

Devotees Don't Play the Blame Game

In the aftermath of the riots and murder in Charlottesville, and subsequent equivocation by the president by blaming both sides for the violence for many, some say that it is not enough for lawmakers to denounce racism and bigotry in general. There is a hew and cry over naming the President of the United States personally for blurring the lines when it comes to who is to blame.

The Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, said,

"We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity." 

In answer to which, Charlie Pierce, writer at Esquire magazine wrote,

"Say his goddamn name. Don't tell me how much you deplore racism in the abstract. That does not make me feel good as a citizen. Tell me you deplore racism in the specific human being who's now president* of the United States. For anyone whose moral compass still points true north, that's the proper response. Otherwise, shut up."

On the popular Late Show, Stephen Colbert called out cowardly Republicans who refuse to stand up to Trump.

Of course, naming the president or putting pressure on congressional leaders to rebuke the president may make citizens feel good, especially if they are are in the opposing party and/or don't like him, but it turns out, the reality might not be that simple.

A Devotee Doesn't Name the Mischief Monger

5000 years ago, at the beginning of this iron age of Kali-yuga - the age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the King of the world at that time,  Mahārāja Parīkṣit, came upon a man who was beating the legs of a cow and a bull, who happened to be Kali, the personification of the evils of this age, the cow was Bhumi, mother earth, and Dharma, the personification of the principles of religion. This was not just an allegory. This event actually took place, and all the personalities were involved in this pastime which is recorded in the Bhagavatam in order to instruct human beings who find themselves living in this age of Kali about the intricacies of the codes of religion.

When the king asked the Dharma who the perpetrator was, the bull said that it was

"very difficult to ascertain the particular miscreant who has caused our sufferings, because we are bewildered by all the different opinions of theoretical philosophers."

The king said,

"O you, who are in the form of a bull! You know the truth of religion, and you are speaking according to the principle that the destination intended for the perpetrator of irreligious acts is also intended for one who identifies the perpetrator. You are no other than the personality of religion."

In other words, the identifier of the perpetrator is equally to blame as the perpetrator himself.

Srila Prabhupada kindly supplies the siddhanta in the purport:

"A devotee’s conclusion is that no one is directly responsible for being a benefactor or mischief-monger without the sanction of the Lord; therefore he does not consider anyone to be directly responsible for such action. But in both the cases he takes it for granted that either benefit or loss is God-sent, and thus it is His grace. In case of benefit, no one will deny that it is God-sent, but in case of loss or reverses one becomes doubtful about how the Lord could be so unkind to His devotee as to put him in great difficulty. Jesus Christ was seemingly put into such great difficulty, being crucified by the ignorant, but he was never angry at the mischief-mongers. That is the way of accepting a thing, either favorable or unfavorable. Thus for a devotee the identifier is equally a sinner, like the mischief-monger. By God’s grace, the devotee tolerates all reverses. Mahārāja Parīkṣit observed this, and therefore he could understand that the bull was no other than the personality of religion himself. In other words, a devotee has no suffering at all because so-called suffering is also God’s grace for a devotee who sees God in everything. The cow and bull never placed any complaint before the King for being tortured by the personality of Kali, although everyone lodges such complaints before the state authorities. The extraordinary behavior of the bull made the King conclude that the bull was certainly the personality of religion, for no one else could understand the finer intricacies of the codes of religion."