QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - 3

official source: Prout in a Nutshell Part 14

cross-references: none

this version: is the printed Prout in a Nutshell Part 14, 1st edition, version 	(spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most 	up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

	Question -- Once PROUT is established, will we reach a saturation point for the minimum requirements in the physical, psychic and spiritual strata ?

      Answer -- It has been said that according to PROUT the minimum requirements of life should be assured through the availability of essential goods and purchasing power. It has also been said that the minimum requirements of life are not of a fixed standard - they must increase in the course of time. Though physical hunger is limited, human longing is infinite, as this is something subtle.

      According to PROUT the mental pabulum of human beings is never ending. In this universe everything moves, thus our pabula are also moving and are never static. Human demands in the physical stratum can never reach the saturation point. Similarly, our psychic thirst will never be satisfied. It is ever changing.

	In the psychic stratum, as we progress, our attraction towards the pinnacled entity increases. We face newer and newer phases. This is beautiful and also never ending. Phase after phase, moving towards infinite bliss, we long to merge in Parama Purusa, the infinite and beautiful One. When one moves to attain Him one's thirst will not be quenched. From new to newer, always newer -- the newest never comes. He is infinitely new or Ciran utah. Every moment He becomes new. Thus our longings can never be satisfied unless and until we come in closest contact with the Supreme Entity.

	Question -- What are the drawbacks of well irrigation?

      Answer -- Well irrigation causes the level of the water table to go down until the subterranean flow of water eventually dries up. Shortages of water due to well irrigation are not easily perceptible.

      The negative effects of well irrigation include the following:

	(1) All neighbouring shallow wells dry up creating the problem of the lack of drinking water.

	(2) Trees, orchards and large plants don't get sufficient water so they may wither and die. Green country-side will become a desert after 30 to 45 years of intensive well irrigation.

	(3) In some deep tube wells elements or minerals which are harmful to the soil get mixed with the water, causing salinity, for example. As a result the land becomes unfit for cultivation and eventually becomes infertile.

	(4) When the flow of well-water stops, irrigation tanks supplied by these wells also dry up.

      Thus, well irrigation should be used only as a temporary measure because of the devastating effects it can have on the surrounding environment. Alternative methods of irrigation are river irrigation, irrigation from reservoirs, shift irrigation and lift irrigation.

      Question -- Should developmental schemes for the all-round elevation of an agricultural country or region and an industrial country or region be the same in theory or different from each other.

	Answer -- Development in the sense of all-round elevation is the summon bonum of economic activity. That is, development means integrated, compact and multi-purpose development.

      Principles and theories remain unchanged although policies may vary. The agricultural portion of theory, the agricultural style of theory, should be the same. However, since circumstances vary, the approach or the application of theory will certainly differ.

      Until now the structural locus standii of agriculture has not been properly developed. In fact, all aspects of the structural side of agriculture have been neglected.

	According to PROUT, agriculture should be given the status of industry. In industry raw material costs, labour costs, interest on loans, depreciation, maintenance costs, profit, the rate of outturn, etc. are fixed and included in costing. In agriculture this has not been done, so produce is usually priced uneconomically. Farmers are forced to sell their produce at low prices due to the pressure of circumstances. (This is known as a "distress sale".) If agriculture is treated as an industry, all the conditions of industry should apply to agriculture. When this occurs farmers will not be neglected and there will not be any differentiation in the style of development and costing of agriculture and industry.

      For example, Orissa produces a single crop of paddy per year. No proper irrigation exists so there is always a dearth of water. Consequently, peasants remain poor, but this poverty must be removed. If we recognize agriculture as an industry in Orissa, costing and pricing will be different. Costing will include the cost of seeds, labour costs, raw material costs, pension funds, storage or inventory costs, depreciation costs, sinking funds, etc. Farmers should also include 10% to 15% profit on their produce as part of their costs. Thus, the value of agricultural produce as an industrial output will be properly calculated.

      In a Proutistic society, buyers will have to purchase agricultural produce at this newly calculated price. This is the proper approach to integrated development. In such a system farmers will not be exploited or put to needless hardship.

      Question -- What is the significance of the value of wealth?

      Answer -- In the subtle economic sense the value of wealth is the real wealth. Wealth, if not properly defined, may mean only riches. But the value of wealth is to be measured in terms of its capacity to purchase commodities. That is, the purchasing capacity of wealth is its real value. This real value of wealth has not yet been properly understood in numerical terms by economists.

      Question -- Can you say whether PROUT is a supplement to NeoHumanism or whether Neo-Humanism is an appendix to PROUT?

      Answer -- PROUT is based on spirituality. Neo-Humanism is also based on spirituality. Neither PROUT nor Neo-Humanism are subservient to each other.

      Question -- Which is of primordial importance: PROUT, NeoHumanism or the theory of microvita?

      Answer -- All are of equal importance because they are all based on the fundamental spiritual philosophy of Ananda Marga.

25 February 1988, Calcutta