(The following was submitted to the Brijabasi Spirit by a devotee who wanted to remain anonymous. It isn’t really suitable for that site so I offered to post it here for him.)

Dear All,

I wanted to share with you a few thoughts, and I begin with an excerpt from an article on Wikipedia:

“Magis (pronounced “màh-gis”) is a Jesuit phrase that means “the more”. It is taken from Ad majorem Dei gloriam, a Latin phrase meaning “for the greater glory of God”. Magis refers to the philosophy of doing more, for Christ, and therefore for others. It is an expression of an aspiration and inspiration. It relates to forming the ideal society centered around Jesus Christ.

“The roots of the phrase are ascribed to St. Ignatius‘ exercise of doing more for God. He would encourage people around him during his time by asking: ‘What have I done for God? What am I doing for God? and What MORE can I do for God’  “

(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magis)

The term magis was used in another article I read that seemed to resonate with the mission we should be creating for New Vrindaban. Here is an excerpt from that article:

“Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit paleontologist, biologist and philosopher, described in many of his writings that there is a spiritual connection between humans and their earthly surroundings since God created both, and that in honoring the environment, we honor God. This is reflected in the following passage by de Chardin in his book, The Divine Milieu:

“At the heart of our universe, each soul exists for God, in our Lord. But all reality, even material reality, around each one of us, exists for our souls. Hence, all sensible reality, around each one us, exists, through our souls, for God in our Lord.

“In Planet U: Sustaining the World, Reinventing the University (see Suggested Readings), M’Gonigle and Starke point out that universities have an opportunity to set a new agenda for ecological progress and “to create diverse models of local and global innovation.” Jesuit campus communities have already begun to meet that challenge by creating action agendas to care for their “material reality” and by educating students on how to live eco-friendly lifestyles.

“It is important to acknowledge the steps taken by Jesuit schools to contribute to a healthier earth, but in striving for the magis, there is a need to do more and better with the work already begun since healing the planet will take some time.”

(from http://office.ajcunet.edu/connections/display.asp?issue=55&article=1)

As we move into what we hope and pray will be a new era of prosperity for New Vrindaban, it would appear to be incumbent upon us to create a vision and a corresponding mission statement that reflects our desire to “contribute to a healthier earth” while “striving for the magis” or the higher good. We need to hold as a core value the desire to attain eternal transcendence while simultaneously translating and conveying the benefit of such attainment into meaningful work to create a more just and perfect society and a healthier earth. While we fully realize that life on this plane of existence can never be completely perfect, let us strive to create a semblance of perfection on earth by our sincere endeavor. That is the indication of Rama raja, the kingdom of God on earth.

We need to be able to say to our members, guests and supporters, “While we are striving for to please Krishna, we are also working to create a more perfect society. We are striving to “contribute to a healthier earth.” And we are setting a “new agenda for ecological progress.”

This, I believe, will be an integral part of the fulfillment of our earthly mission, and the service entrusted us by our spiritual preceptor, Srila Prabhupada.

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