Lord Krishna in the 21st Century
Chapter 29 - Krishna Search & Rescue
Having just mentioned how Krishna Disaster Relief is so interesting, I have been wanting to mention a couple of other aspects that we could easily incorporate, along with providing hot vegetarian meals. This involves search and rescue.
Not only does this activity make sense with the general idea of Krishna coming to the rescue, it is also a highly attractive service because it involves the most daring & exciting aspects of disaster relief.
I don't believe that anyone would argue about the need for attracting the youth of this world to participate in devotional service to Lord Krishna. Without the active participation of the young, Shrila Prabhupada's great mission could easily wither on the vine.
The point that I am making is that Krishna Search & Rescue is a tremendous service that will capture the imagination of young people, everywhere. This is an avenue of service that should not be neglected. In fact, it is already mentioned in our by-laws and is a branch of Krishna Disaster Relief.
Giving this some thought, here are some of the ideas that I've come up with:
A)- If there are some devotees who are inclined to work with animals, then I would encourage them to follow in the footsteps of Caroline Hebard. This needs to be researched but apparently she has formed a search and rescue organization that Krishna Disaster Relief would align itself with.
B)- The only word of caution is how it's important to participate with the established system. At all times we want to respect the other "actors" who have rightly earned for themselves their own "stage pass." Contacting these people, making friends, and working with them is the best approach.
C)- I have named this chapter Krishna Search & Rescue and it is perfectly fine to think of it like this (and call it that) but we don't want a bunch of splinter groups or to miss the mark. The public must first and foremost see our Krishna Disaster Relief's banner. Furthermore, I can think of another unique group that fits perfectly within our corporate mission statement and should (and is) part of Krishna Disaster Relief. This will be mentioned in the final chapters.
D)- The U.S. government has now perfected an electronic radar device that can detect the presence of someone who is alive, but behind objects. It is not expensive and I'm sure this device has greatly improved over the years since I originally wrote this. Of course, this detector has a number of possible applications. Yes, people who are trapped under fallen debris can also be detected. I would think that this item could be in our "Search & Rescue" inventory (see appendix).
E)- During earthquakes, tornadoes and violent storms, Krishna Search & Rescue could be a valuable part of our disaster relief response. This could develop into a really exciting service. Besides the possibility of locating people trapped under debris, devotees could provide all kinds of search and rescue options. During flooding, devotees could rescue people using special boats. So here is another area of Krishna Disaster Relief to be developed. Krishna Search & Rescue would be a diverse group of devotees with their own special equipment and training, such as rock climbing and mountain rescue. They would need to be trained in emergency medicine and emergency communications. This will be mentioned in the final chapters.
F)- During a disaster, Krishna Search & Rescue (which is Krishna Disaster Relief) would also be acting as scouts for Krishna Disaster Relief's other members, which would most likely be hours behind them. This advance team would relay back information on road conditions, other areas of concern, and even where to best setup to distribute our vegetarian meals.
Photo of mountain rescue generated using Leonardo Ai.
At the end of September, 2024 I took this photo immediately after Hurricane Helene devastated three communities in this immediate area and just down the road from where I was staying. Although this group was very shy to announce who they were, they appeared Amish or Mennonite. They were set up in the parking lot of the only supermarket for miles around, but it was closed due to lack of electricity.