APPRECIATING ISKCON WITH A POSITIVE BALANCED CONCEPTION

[Guest guest]

PLEASE OPEN THE ATTACHED LETTER. THANK YOU

*******************************************************************************

***********************

 

"Giri-nayaka (das) BVS (Ljubljana - SLO)" <Giri-nayaka.BVS (AT) pamho (DOT) net> wrote:

Dear Mataji.

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Thank you for your points. I felt I needed to write something in response,

but was not sure how to approach the matter. You describe so nicely the mood

of humble devootee, faithful follower of Srila Prabhupada within ISKCON. How

can I not agree with any of your points! But still I was not peacefull, like

something was missing in my eyes. There is something, that I would like to

bring in, as addition to your kind view.

 

While there is a humble mood of ISKCON follower, who takes ISKCON as an

opportunity for service, association and darshan, there is also a mood of

leader, who is providing environment for service, association and darshan to

all devotees, who come with this pure motive to ISKCON. I feel that there is

some difference in both moods. While follower serves Krsna with his

submissiveness to opportunities provided by ISKCON, leader serves Krsna by

maintaining purity of ISKCON opportunities and their connection to

Pramampara. Thus leader needs to answer questions, that follower need not to

worry about.

 

Now, I do not want to phisically differentiate devotees as leaders and

followers. Rather I'm trying to say, that we are all followers, and at the

same time we are all leaders in our own situation. And while you so nicely

described the mood of follower, I wish to see defined also duties and

responsibilities of leader, in his connection to Srila Prabhupada and Krsna,

as a mediator between his followers and Parampara.

 

It seems, that my unfortunate recent personal encounter with local

leadership had some purpose in causing me to ask certain quastions, answers

to which I'm seeking also here, in Pamho conferences. I see great need for

definition in ISKCON. It seems that I will not be able to accept, that every

leadership opinion is relative, and depends on relative environment. I

beleive, that followers may not be necessary limited by some unified ideas,

but I'm sure, that our leadership must be unified. We may follow, whatever

we find inspiring, but when we teach and manage and impose ideas on others,

we must be unified as one global ISKCON. Otherwise our leadership is not

collective managment, but instead local carismatic "Gaudiya-matha type"

managment. If we claim we have working model of collective managment, then

it must show in unified leadership. Basically, it cannot be, that one

Guru/GBC/Leader is saying one thing, and another one different thing.

Especially this is important with modern westernized inventions, since any

mistake here drives away traditionally oriented devotees.

 

Therefore, we may be able to be humble and find inspiration no matter the

circumstances. Like you say, that unless one is exceptionally offensive one

should always be able to take darshan of Krsna within ISKCON. We cannot

demand from ISKCON, that it creates our own qualification for us. But at the

same time, we are responsible to give to people the best. And that means the

best, not just what we think is the best. Therefore legislation must be

there to some degree, at least for that part of us, which influences others

as our followers, be it in family, temple ot wider society. We must be

educated in what is right and what is wrong, in order to protect others from

our misunderstandings. Also if we invite people to ISKCON, we must know,

what ISKCON stands for, even in not so spiritual, social areas.

 

I would like to thank you again for your deep points of realisation, and I

hope you will not consider it improper, that I added soemthing to it.

 

your servant Giri-nayaka das

 

>

> I sense that there is a disconnect when we have a discussion about what is

> and isn't ISKCON. I also do not agree that some anomalies make the whole

> of ISKCON impure. I am convinced that is not our philosophy. That ISKCON

> can be improved is not in question, but that because there are problems

> makes the entire organization impure is not a proper philosophical

> conclusion. Purity is

>

> there because the process of chanting Hare Krsna is purifying, not because

> we have a legal dept in ISKCON to establish "punishments and rewards".

> Service is

>

> our reward, separation from Krsna is our punishment. It appears from your

> post that there is a desire to establish a universal definition of ISKCON

> and its responsibilities and authority. Perhaps, given the diverse nature

> of jivatma that is not an attainable goal nor a desirable one. One must

> define for

> him or herself, what is ISKCON to them and then connect in that way. I

> submit a

> simple definition that avoids offense for me, ISKCON is an opportunity

> for service, association and darshan. It is not an organization from

> which I expect anything else in the way of support, social, emotional or

> financial. It is

> not a governmental body per se and therefore has no need for strict laws

> that provide an immediate " punishment and reward" other than in those

> areas.

>

> It seems to me that unless one is exceptionally offensive one should

> always be able to take darshan of Krsna within ISKCON. One may also seek

> and find the

> level of association that inspires and that criterion is different for

> each person and cannot be legislated. One may also seek service in

> proportion to one's desire and devotional purity, whatever it may be. If

> one is suited for sweeping the temple, then that person may or may not be

> so strictly following, it is not so important to determine that and

> certainly not up to individual

> devotees to decide. However, if one is seeking to serve in the capacity

> of leader or pujari, then the temple authorities should have a method of

> establishing suitable devotional attitudes for that service. As an

> individual devotee

> also seeking association, service and darshan, it is certainly not my

> position to establish those qualifications. My decision is whether or not

> to aspire

> for those qualifications that allow me to serve in that capacity. That is

> one of the aspects of Krsna consciousness that is personal. Krsna knows

> our desire and service is awarded accordingly. Similarly, as a friend or

> one seeking inspirational association, it is my criteria to establish for

> myself, what

> and whose association I seek for inspiration. ISKCON cannot establish

> that for me, that is a personal decision and whatever I decide does not

> have to involve criticism of anyone else.

>

> Once, when the devotees were disturbed because Srila Prabhupada had

> lavished praise upon a couple who were certainly not following very

> strictly and even making a living in nefarious ways, a couple who the

> devotees present at the time felt did not even deserve to have Srila

> Prabhupada's association.... Srila Prabhupada after hearing the

> objections from the more "fixed up" devotees

> remarked, "if you are affected by their association then avoid it, but do

> not criticize. "

>

> If one has a need to validate themselves as a devotee by criticizing other

> devotees, perhaps it is time to look within a little more deeply. One who

> is developing the humble attitude with a straw between his or her teeth,

> would theoretically not be able to find someone more fallen than him or

> herself to criticize. Not everyone has "chastisement of aspiring devotees"

> as part of their

> service, in fact this is the service description of very few devotees. In

> my

> humble opinion we should tread very carefully in this area before

> assuming the attitude of criticizing others. If we continue to follow the

> process to purify ourselves and develop our attachment for Guru and

> Gauranga, ISKCON will

>

> certainly stay the course established by Srila Prabhupada.

> yhs, Kanti dasi

 

-----------------------

To from this mailing list, send an email to:

Prabhupada.Disciples-Owner (AT) pamho (DOT) net

 

 

 

 

Makhanlal Das