By Dayananda das
Today, most Vaishnavas make efforts to lead a theo-centric life. They struggle to remember that they are souls who are equal to the plants and animals, and that they are not their bodies, with the associated desires to exploit and kill the Lord’s nature. They try to remember that the universal soul or Supreme Soul is their friend who is in their hearts and who with love beckons them to turn away from violence and exploitation. Recent Vaishnava sages, like Prabhupada and his predecessors, envisioned the great contributions that the Vaishnava and genuine Vedic perspectives can make in a world of selfishness. They became Vaishnava activists and requested their followers to practice Krishna-centrism, which includes a non-anthropocentric relationship with His nature. Moreover, they urged their followers to propagate that view. There are more than half a billion Vaishnavas around the world. By Krishna’s grace and that of His divine nature, their struggles to have a deep ecological impact in the world will be successful.