namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

thank you for this valuable comment, mataji. you probably saw that kaunteya prabhu himself dealt with this topic, that ISKCON's temples and the institution as a whole have to adjust their perception of home-based devotees, "the congregation." (Fear of Replacement/Displacement).

you are saying that first the temples have to get their act together, then we can talk about more financial support. that's fair enough, from your perspective. but as you wrote yourself, one needs to see both sides of the coin.

i'm afraid that many managers of temples, centers, and projects find themselves in a situation where they can't begin to concentrate on long term strategic planning and paradigm shifts because they are fully occupied with day-to-day crisis management, trying to raise sufficient funds to keep their projects alive.

these managers might say: "start helping us to pay the bills, then we'll have time to sit together and think about how to engage everyone, including the congregation, to their best ability."

who's going to start?

there seem to be examples of temples that work together, including asram- and home-based devotees, achieving very good results in terms of satisfaction of all members, book distribution, and outreach programs. please look at ISKCON Silicon Valley, San Jose, California:

• ISKCON News article: ISKCON Silicon Valley Sets the Example;
• a whole category of articles, imported from Gauranga Kishore Prabhu's blog, available at our site: ISKCON Silicon Valley

another example is, of course, HH radhanath maharaja's famous chowpatty temple, where congregation and asram-vasis work together for everyone's benefit. this shows that it's possible, and brings results and satisfaction for all concerned.

back to the question: who should start? i agree it's the temples' responsibility to provide an impetus for those living outside to support them. moreover, we claim that our devotional service is the highest form of philanthropic activity, giving all humanity a chance to re-establish their forgotten relationship with krishna—that won't happen by donating a certain amount, not even 50%, of our income alone.

on the other hand, home-based devotees are not dependent on temples for support, while the temples are very much depending on their congregations. they have to get their act together if they want to survive.

if you find yourself in a situation where the local temple doesn't want to cooperate in a way that takes care of your needs, you can always start your own project. find other devotees, or 'make' them, start regular meetings as some type of home-group, and find ways to spend whatever percentage of your income you can afford in krsna's and srila prabhupada's service...

ys phani.