Reality Check: An Editorial from the As It Is Magazine

    

Below is an editorial I wrote for the As It Is magazine Issue #4 in the Winter of 1993. 

Reality Check: Editors Column

What happened with Alanatha is tragic (see “In Memory of Alanatha,” page 20). I hope we don’t wait until his situation is repeated before we take action. His untimely death is a wake up call.  The problems afflicting mainstream society are not unknown in ours.  Devotee children are having sex and taking drugs, some as young as eleven. Eleven! Something must be done to help these young people.

The staff of As It Is and Gurukula Alumni Association do not promote the breaking of the regulative principles, or any other progressive guidelines set forth by Srila Prabhupada. In fact, we hold them in the highest regard, follow them as best we are able, and encourage our readers to do the same.

What we do promote is the “breaking” of the silence surrounding the hypocrisy and double standards that have crept into our society.  We’ve got to face these problems and deal with them. Such problems won’t go away just by ignoring them. Our hope is to inspire devotees, the youth in particular, to find strength in being open and honest. In such an atmosphere real advancement can be made. False (or forced) renunciation is not the answer. The ’80s proved that. False renunciation leads to broken families, abandoned and abused children, irresponsitility, etc. Openness, honesty, love and trust – these are the true pillars of growth.

We are not interested in sensationalizing, exploiting or exaggerating events from the past or present. We do, however, seek the essence of life and therefore will not shy away from important issues. We will cover real people, real problems and real solutions; in other words, real life. Our objective is not just to bemoan the ills of our society, but to open a channel for discussion in hopes of resolution, rectification and ultimately reunification. We want to help clean house, not tear it down.

You may have noticed that this issue is late. It has been a struggle for us to come up with the funding to print this issue. We are currently paying for the computer we purchased in order to publish As It Is and have had no money to go to press. Our warmest appreciation goes to Jagadisa Maharaja, whose kind donations have kept us going thus far, paying for the printing of issues #001, 002 & 003.  If you would like to help sponsor the next issue, please contact us.  Your donations, stamps, goodwill and prayers are welcome and dearly needed.

We are a non-profit organization.  Should you so desire, and be in the position to do so, you can donate time, equipment, a portion of your business’ profits, etc., to Gurukula Alumni, Inc. and directly benefit this project.  We have no over-head; only selfless, after-hours work. Every cent goes directly towards production and distribution of this magazine.

I hope this issue enlightens and encourages you. If it inspires (or incenses) you, let us know.  We are determined to continue this important project but need all the support we can get, both monetarily and morally.

For more information on how you can help, please contact us. Thank you.

Bolo Hari!

Keeping the Faith, (alive and kicking)

Chaits

Chaitanya Mangala is an executive co-editor of As It Is.