namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

by Devaki dd

The highlight of my visit to Mayapur this year was Anuttama Prabhu's seminar on leadership and management—an extremely valuable course, which teaches so many important skills and principles of effective leadership and management.

Taking this course confirmed my realization that there is another reason why we have lost so many devotees worldwide over the past years besides the fact that we have failed to create a supportive spiritual culture which would give nourishment and shelter to each and every devotee joining this movement. We have also failed to educate and train our leaders systematically and equip them with the necessary skills in order to become true servant-leaders, who lead with affection and detachment. Rather we have so often allowed that dangerous weed to grow and flourish: the attachment to power, position and facilities...

by Devaki dd

After arriving in Australia, I was eagerly anticipating the first Sunday Feast, hoping to meet well-known faces. However, to my surprise and disappointment I could hardly discover any. I thought to myself, "Let's wait until visiting sannyasis and gurus will come—surely devotees would then attend the temple programs." But I was to be disappointed again. My last hope was for Janmastami and Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa-puja, but again, not many of the older devotees turned up.

The situation made me wonder; I couldn't stop contemplating why it was so difficult in the Western world to keep devotees active in their spiritual life. I had been truly shocked how few of the "old faces" were still coming to the temple. It seemed that many devotees had stopped chanting, and quite a few marriages had broken up. This was not just a phenomenon in Australia, but all over the Western world—something which indeed pained me. As we are always proclaiming, "Srila Prabhupada has built a house in which the whole world can live." With pain in the heart we have to admit that although so many conditioned souls do enter the front door of this house very eagerly, many also leave again through the back door.

by Akrura das

You can learn from the past--but don’t get stuck in it. Don’t cling to it, don’t dwell on it, and don’t grieve over it. For example, the old way of leadership of command and control doesn’t work anymore. Both in spiritual and material organizations you experience the same. You can’t lead people as you used to. There has to be a new style, a new type of leadership. I think that right now our leaders are staggering between the old and the new style.

I had a good experience of what I call the new style of leadership in ISKCON. I had a conversation with our GBC secretary about an important question. During the conversation he took notes. When I finished he said:  ”Let me see if I understood everything correctly.” He read his notes for me. He asked a couple of questions to be sure that he had understood everything correctly. You can imagine how I felt. I felt completely understood and very inspired over the fact that this leader was interested in what I had to say. I spoke 95 percent of the time.

From Vaisnavas Care, by Gunamayi dasi, New Jersey, U.S.A.

After joining the International Society for Krishna consciousness (ISKCON) in the early 1970’s, Radhanatha dasa was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in New York in June, 1976 at the age of 21. Since then, he has faithfully served Srila Prabhupada as a sankirtana devotee. After an unsuccessful operation on his neck, contracting tuberculosis, and even after having both of his legs amputated, Radhanatha Prabhu continues to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental literature from his wheelchair. He presently lives in Southern California (U.S.) and gives books to everyone he meets while selling flowers in order to support himself.

Unfortunately, Radhanatha’s health continues to fail and he is now going blind in one eye. His godbrothers and friends report that he never complains about his situation. In fact, we heard about this incredible devotee after receiving a letter from his dear friend. Radhanatha Prabhu is an extraordinary person, a staunch follower of Srila Prabhupada, and he deserves help from our worldwide devotee community. 

By bringing this “saint” to the spotlight, we are hopeful that devotees pledge a monthly donation of $1, $5, $10, $21, $51 etc. or give a one-time donation to help with Radhanatha Prabhu’s living and medical expenses. All donations can be sent directly to Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. so they are tax deductible. You will receive a receipt for your tax purposes. One hundred percent of the money collected will be directly sent on a monthly basis by our V-CARE treasurer to Radhanatha Prabhu.

Please become involved by offering your monthly pledge or send a one-time donation in order to help Radhanatha dasa, a wonderful book distributor and cherished disciple of Srila Prabhupada.

Link to VaisnavasCare's donations-page

[ End ]

Satyavati devi dasi Bornholz, RN
Triple Springs, North Carolina

Given the importance of focusing one's mind on Krishna during the last moments of life, it's no surprise that the hospice movement carries great importance in Vaishnava society. However, before we leave our bodies, we have a lot of living to do in them, and as those bodies get older, they require more care.

There does not seem to be much of an interest in long-term, convalescent, skilled nursing or custodial care in our society. Perhaps because it is just now that we're seeing the reality of aging and disease, or perhaps because just no one's thought of it; but a great and urgent need is going to exist very shortly, if not immediately, for this kind of facility for devotees.

July, 2006

Hare Krsna.

Welcome to the July newsletter for Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. (Counseling, Assistance, Resource, and Education for the Terminally ill and Their Families). As a reminder, our website is www.vaisnavascare.com We are here to serve you, so kindly contact us if you or someone you know is in need of our services.

Prayer Partners Needed:

Volunteers are needed on a continuous basis to post prayers on our website for devotees, friends, and families who write to us asking for the blessings and well wishes of our worldwide Vaisnava community. Many devotees have written to thank our Prayer Partners who post their prayers for those who request them. This service only takes a few minutes a week, but means so much to so many.

Harinam in front of the cathedral of Arequipa.

Arequipa, in the South of Peru, is known as "White City" because many of the old buildings in the center are made of a whitish stone from the lava of a nearby volcano; and the white flag is the universal symbol of requesting a truce. ISKCON Arequipa has been traditionally marred by interpersonal and inter-groups conflicts and tensions (for a change…). Somehow it seems that presenting the "Vaisnava Self-Reawakening Course - Level One - Sattvik Introspection & Effective Communication Skills" has helped ease the burden among the devotees. It seems that they opened up a lot to each other and shared deeply, with emotion and sincerity. This was the eighth time I presented this course and, in one sense, it had the most impact, also because the devotees took it very seriously and because they all knew each other so well (or so they thought…).

Here in South America it's a popular practice, in supermarkets and other commercial situations where they sell food, to give out free samples: sausages, granola, whatever. In our propagation work on behalf of the acaryas our main "product" is the holy name, and devotees all over the world endeavor to spread the Yuga-dharma. Now, this (I intend the whole Sankirtan Movement) is the Nama-hatta, the market of the holy name. Although "Nama-hatta" is often used to indicate

“In the mode of goodness, one can see things in the right position, one can hear things in the right position, and one can taste things in the right position.” - Bhagavad-gita 14.11, purport.

This is an essay I wrote a few months ago; today I noticed that it got published. So, I feel to give a little introduction. These courses (actually I have not presented the Second Level so far, only the first) help those who deal with others, for instance congregational preachers and supervisors, by providing listening and helping skills. They only help communities in getting closer to each other and possibly resolve long-standing tensions. Yesterday, for instance, I completed one Level One course in Arequipa, Peru, and the devotees really appreciated the opportunity to get closer to each other and work on their relations. Their words of praise and gratitude confirmed my conviction that such courses can be a God-sent for our congregations, for building harmony and cooperation.

Today we are going to have the first of three sessions on strategic planning for the local congregation.

It happened a couple of days ago, during the First National Congregational Educational Festival in La Paz, Bolivia. We had scheduled a three-hour "Introduction to Mediation," which was supposed to start after breakfast. But after the Bhagavatam class a devotee (a senior and controversial person in these parts) approached me asking for a mediation with his guru, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja. Maharaja considered the offer and while taking breakfast the table got gradually crowded with different local leaders, and all got involved in discussing the proposal. To make a long story short: the idea of the mediation was accepted in principle, but not to have it immediately, in the middle of the festival (and the scheduled seminars). Instead everyone was invited to attend the presentation and learn more about the process of mediation.

Kaunteya prabhu wrote: My Godsister Vaisnavi Rani wrote me:

"As far as ISKCON Germany is concerned, I see it as a priority to work on keeping devotees within this movement, providing a security net for them and make them happy in Krishna Consciousness. Otherwise what is the use of talking about gradual approaches and making many new devotees if we are not able to keep them and are still losing so many devotees to NM or other non-ISKCON Gurus? As far as I have learned from BTS´s disciple conference there are a lot of devotees in other countries worldwide, too, who are leaving ISKCON for some reasons.

From myself I also know that I would not be any longer in ISKCON if Bhakti Tirtha Swami had not provided a security net for me during the last years. So for me it is very, very clear that any kind of NH- or Bhakti-vrksa-preaching must go hand in hand with Bhakti Tirtha Swami or, in other words, with his extraordinary example of compassion and sacrifice for the fallen souls.

Congregational preaching without him is incomplete in my understanding."

Food for thought ...

Vaisnavirani dd explains:

I have been asked to explain the "security net" that Bhakti Tirtha Swami provided to me:

It consists of two parts: Forgiveness and Compassion. But the most important one is "Forgiveness". So often we hear that a Vaisnava has to forgive but nobody ever explained it so much in depth, detail and at length to me like Maharaja did it. Never before did I have a clue how important forgiveness is for my whole well-being, not only spiritually but also materially. What it really means for me and for those who are connected with me in some relationship, to forgive. I remember that the need for forgiveness in ISKCON in general was one of Maharaja's last appeals to us. And it is true, so many of us are stagnant in life, suffering so much or even leaving ISKCON, due to a lack of forgiveness.