We're Looking for a Few Good Vaisnavas

After having a substantial discourse with one of my favorite senior god brothers, friend, and disciple of srila Prabhupada, Chandra Shekar Prabhu and I labored over the future prospects of the IPM (ISKCON Prison Ministry). How do we meet the demands of a growing inmate populace with a fixed number of IPM volunteers?

Due to my great fortune I was honored to tackle this issue with one of the pioneers of IPM. Hence, we appropriated the slogan "We're looking for a few good men," and replaced "men" with the word "vaisnavas." Naturally, this slogan morphed into a mission statement which spawned our desire to meet the needs of the most fallen and often neglected, "the prisoners within the prison, within the prison."

Our dilemma is how to expend a growing demand for preaching programs, books, and letter correspondence, etc. The obvious solution is to get more vaisnava volunteers. This is easier said than done, though. In our estimation, Europe and south America are growing leaps and bounds and it seems that many devotees are indulging themselves in these fertile pastures, all the while neglecting the starting point, the geneses of this illustrious movement in the west, ISKCON.

There have been vast discourses about what caused the drought stricken North America to be so challenged with attracting new devotees. some have conjectured that the golden age of ISKCON, when one would shave up and move into the temple, was over. Others maintain that interest in the philosophy is not the same anymore; that there is no great crisis that spawned a cultural revolution, which was concurrent with srila Prabhupada coming to North America. Others simply say that a combination of new and old generations of devotees have become materially fixated and/or complacent with spreading the movement in their respective communities.

Oddly enough, srila Prabhupada was confronted with a unique set of objections, which were not all that dissimilar to the challenges we face today, as he endeavored to spread this movement to the west. For example, his contemporaries chastised him for initiating women, mlecchas, and those not born of a brahminical parentage. similarly, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu encountered formidable malaise, ranging from being the dancing sannyasi (not complementary), to physically embracing and initiating the untouchables, which was taboo for the upper crust, or "first class men."

A notable mention, srila Haridasa Thakura, certainly stood out as an issue of contention for a community preoccupied with material status and caste. He was an intimate associated of Lord Caitanya in spite of him being a mleccha, as so termed, from the Mohammedan faith. Yet, we all are fully aware of the exalted position srila Haridasa Thakura holds in the propagation of the holy name.

Regardless if there is some anecdotal validity to our modern consternation to reaching and preaching to inmates, it does not specifically address the aversion many hold to preaching to this community of imprisoned jivas. A direct account from Chandra Shekar helps shed some light on sentiments offered by many devotees. Yet, before we recount these statements, we would like to first state that our efforts to report these comments is not meant to disparage the devotees who were open and honestly expressing their fears and reservations; we rather want to illustrate that this mind set does exist, prior to offering recourses for these objections.

Chandra Shekar Prabhu reiterated statements he has collected from years of requesting devotee participation, going as follows:

• "They are getting what they deserve… "
• "Why should we help these rascals… "
• "It's not safe to associate with this caliber of people... "

It is safe to say, as previously illustrated, that Lord Caitanya, srila Prabhupada, and Jesus, as well as other pioneers heard similar statements. How fortunate we are (the once untouchables) that we have the luxury to repeat these statements while basking in the comfort of the mercy of those who sacrificed much for our spiritual emancipation.

At some point these inmates will be released, released with the very same tools (if not better) that brought them into prison within prison. Our shelter from them is loosely constructed of straw, wood and mortar, resembling a glass houses at best. Our criticisms of this serviceable group can be equated to throwing stones at them while inside our glass domain.

Many of us have been expert in identifying the problem, but solutions have been less than forthcoming. Therefore, Chandra Shekar Prabhu and I consulted the scriptures, believing that this dilemma is not a new one. subscribing to the axiom "there is nothing new under the sun," we found in CC Antya-lila, 3.50–90, a wonderful dialog between sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and srila Haridasa Thakura that specifically addresses some sentiments about devotees' aversions to ministering to the leopards of society. Lord Caitanya offers his anxiety to srila Haridasa Thakura with the following statements:

"My dear Thakura Haridasa, in this age of Kali most people are bereft of Vedic culture, and therefore they are called yavanas. They are concerned only with killing cows and brahminical culture. In this way they all engage in sinful acts." (CC Antya 3.50)

"How will these yavanas be delivered? To My great unhappiness, I do not see any way." (CC Antya 3.51)

Haridasa Ṭhakura replied, "My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety. Do not be unhappy to see the condition of the yavanas in material existence." (CC Antya 3.52)

"Because the yavanas are accustomed to saying ‘ha rama, ha rama' ['O Lord Ramacandra'], they will very easily be delivered by this namabhasa." (CC Antya 3.53)

"A devotee in advanced ecstatic love exclaims, ‘O my Lord Ramacandra! O my Lord Ramacandra!' But the yavanas also chant, ‘ha rama, ha rama!' Just see their good fortune!" (CC Antya 3.54)

Namacarya Haridasa Ṭhakura, the authority on the chanting of the holy name, said, "The chanting of the Lord's holy name to indicate something other than the Lord is an instance of namabhasa. Even when the holy name is chanted in this way, its transcendental power is not destroyed." (CC Antya 3.55)

"‘Even a mleccha who is being killed by the tusk of a boar and who cries in distress again and again, "ha rama, ha rama" attains liberation. What then to speak of those who chant the holy name with veneration and faith?" (CC Antya 3.56)

"Ajamila was a great sinner during his life, but at the time of death he accidentally called for his youngest son, whose name was Narayaṇa, and the attendants of Lord Visnu came to relieve him from the bonds of Yamaraja, the superintendent of death." (CC Antya 3.57)

Our weapons in this age of Kali are the vaisnavas. They, like srila Haridasa Thakura, are armed with the holy name. We can provided that instrument and facilitate the mission of sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu only by accepting the order of spreading the holy name in every town and village, which does not exclude the prisons within the prison.

If you feel that you have a suitable set of skills to embrace this endeavor, please contact Chandra Shekar at chandra16108@yahoo.com, shyama Priya devi dasi at shyamapriya@aol.com, Bhakta Jerry at IPM, 1716 West Lunt Chicago, Ill 60626.