Bhaktivedanta Leadership Newsletter

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Bhaktivedanta Leadership Newsletter

 

Advisory Council

 

Kings like Maharaja Pariksit had their council of advisers, and all the

members of that council were either great sages or brahmanas of the first

order. They did not accept any salary, nor had they any necessity for such

salaries. The state would get the best advice without expenditure. They were

themselves sama-darsi, equal to everyone, both man and animal. They would

not advise the king to give protection to man and instruct him to kill the

poor animals. Such council members were not fools or representatives to

compose a fool's paradise. They were all self-realized souls, and they knew

perfectly well how all living beings in the state would be happy, both in

this life and in the next. They were not concerned with the hedonistic

philosophy of eat, drink, be merry and enjoy. They were philosophers in the

real sense, and they knew well what is the mission of human life. Under all

these obligations, the advisory council of the king would give correct

directions, and the king or executive head, being himself a qualified

devotee of the Lord, would scrutinizingly follow them for the welfare of the

state. SB 1.16.1 P

 

Editor's Note

 

Since in our movement many leaders made many mistakes, we presently have a

lot of mistrust and criticism of leaders. That might not be helpful in

having excellent spiritual leadership that Srila Prabhupada wanted. Whatever

we want to develop and improve, there must be a gradual cultivation and

nurturing. To me, the duty of each ISKCON member is to contribute to the

development of high-quality leadership. It's not so hard to criticize, but

it requires an effort and patience to contribute to a positive change. If we

want to have good leaders in ISKCON, we have to nurture them as valuable

plants - give them attention, care, facilitate their development, skills

building, and education.

 

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