namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

This is a very nice and thought provoking article by Sita-pati das several comments are worth pondering over:

“It is a mistake to identify with any -ism. When someone has personal difficulties in their relationships with other persons or with an organisation, sometimes they may take shelter of a pre-packaged philosophical position. All -isms are fossilized thought. Although they may identify with that, we do not help them by identifying with it ourselves.”

Someone wrote to me a couple of times about Pandu's recent posts on Planet ISKCON, typecasting them as "ritvik stuff". Here is my reply to them:

"You know the truth of religion, and you are speaking according to the principle that the destination intended for the perpetrator of irreligious acts is also intended for one who identifies the perpetrator."

- Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.22

Letter to Satsvarupa — New Delhi 2 November, 1973:

Regarding the black lady in Cleveland, if she is actually serious about Krishna consciousness, give her a little freedom. Just behave with her a little gently, so she may be encouraged to spread Krishna consciousness amongst the blacks. Actually if she preaches the importance of this movement amongst the blacks, it will be more effective. This racial color distinction may continue, but when a devotee is actually advanced these things will disappear. Therefore we have to be a little tactful how to induce people to take to Krishna consciousness seriously. That should be our main object. Encourage her to sell books. If black men read our books, it will be a great achievement. As your President Lincoln gave the blacks equal rights, let us cooperate with them.

I would like to direct devotees attention to a proposal to the GBC by HH Mahavishnu Swami written and openly available on his website: Dynamics of ISKCON and it's Gurus

by David Haslam

This is for me the essence, this is the crucial lesson from Srila Prabhupada: that we have the cure and we have the measure to see if it works. This is our only standardization; the rest can only be achieved by forming relationships, getting to know the person, warts and all, and helping and guiding them on a single individual basis—encouraging and ever adjusting until the ultimate goal of self realization is achieved.

Like these core care plans, we need to individualize and personalize the way we administer and give the medicine. We will never be able to make a "one size fits all" devotee society, but we can make a society that recognizes individual traits, individual weaknesses, and individual strengths.

Then we can see how each one can help others in one way or another, and we will see externally the internal changes: the rough diamond becoming the glittering, all attractive gem it really is.

by Akruranatha das

I was very happy to see Niscala dasi's comments (Srila Prabhupada is Our Martin Luther, Dec. 29) to Hare Krishna dasi's article (Waiting for Iskcon's Martin Luther, Chakra, Dec. 25).

I was sorry to see the frustration and disillusionment with the whole ISKCON project that Hare Krishna dasi seemed to be expressing. Even though I've never met Hare Krishna Prabhu face to face, my first reaction upon reading her article was to want to go visit her wherever she lives and try to reassure her and listen sympathetically to her complaints. Surely her frustration must be due to a whole series of bad experiences and not only from one suggestion about "membership" raised by H.H. Sivarama Maharaja at a European GBC meeting (see: HH Sivarama Swami on Sex by Sita-pati to listen to Maharaja's podcast), which seems to have been not very well received by many major ISKCON constituencies and probably is not likely to be adopted or enforced. Hopefully Sivarama Maharaja's proposal will spark some constructive dialogue, as it already seems to be doing.

Here's a podcast that David Jorm and I recorded this morning. We talked around ISKCON membership, covering the Chocolate incident, and some wider ISKCON Constitutional issues.

• Podcast: ISKCON Membership, part A
• Podcast: ISKCON Membership, part B

Some related resources:

• David's blog
• H.H. Prahladananda Swami's 2006 paper "Duties of GBC and Guru

I've also attached a copy to this post, in case the other link goes dark at some point. Here's the section I quoted in the podcast:

In the early days of ISKCON, devotees were sometimes surprised by how spontaneously something would happen.

Here's one such incident (from Srila Prabhpada Lilamrita, Chapter 22, "Swami Invites the Hippies," about Prabhupada's first visit to San Francisco, in early 1967):

Srila Prabhupada: "No, no. 'Progress' — first you must understand what actual progress is. The thing is that if you try to progress vainly, what is the use of trying? If it is a fact you cannot change your material destiny, why should you try for that? Rather, whatever energy you have, utilize it for understanding Krsna consciousness. That is real progress. Make your spiritual understanding — your understanding of God and self — perfectly clear.

"For instance, in our International Society for Krishna Consciousness, our main business is how to make advancement in Krsna consciousness. We are not enthusiastic about opening big, big factories with big, big money-earning machines. No. We are satisfied with whatever material happiness and distress we are destined. But we are very eager to utilize our energy for progressing in Krsna consciousness. This is the point."

CAT 2: Progressing beyond "Progress"

Over the past few month’s I have been pondering how when money becomes the focus that this can cause so much problems, becomes destructive and any good cause that was initially the driving force becomes watered down or ceases to be.