Thread #3 What is it we want the GBC to accomplish?

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Text PAMHO:3498030 (110 lines)

Vaiyasaki (das) ACBSP (TP Jagannatha Puri - IN)

27-Aug-00 12:35 -0400

Madhava Gosh (das) ACBSP (New Vrindavan - USA) [5326]

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27-Aug-00 18:50 +0200)

Mahadyuti (das) ACBSP (TP Soho St. London - UK)

Srirama (das) ACBSP [4413] (forwarded: 27-Aug-00 18:50 +0200)

Samba (das) SDG (Mauritius) [9328] (received: 28-Aug-00 07:56

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GBC Restructure [219]

Reference: Text PAMHO:3495187 by Samba (das) SDG (Mauritius)

Thread #3 What is it we want the GBC to accomplish?

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Hare Krishna!

 

What do we want the GBC to accomplish? We want them to reinstate the

standards that Prabhupada gave us. On Vyasa Puja day I had a realization

that there is no systematic training of Bhagavat-gita anymore, because there

is hardly an evening program anymore. What is the point to study Srimad

Bhagavatam, the advanced course, when there is no study in the pre-requisite

course, Bhagavat-gita? The result will not be self-realization just

parroting of slokas. We will have scholars, but no sadhus.

 

This is very destructive when our philosophy is so profound. The result will

be that ISKCON stays at the kanistha level with hardly any preaching going

on and hardly anyone attracted to join, compared to earlier days, because

the GBC body is not maintaining the simple standards, like ensuring an

enthusiastic evening program of kirtan, class, and prasadam, like Prabhupada

ordered them to ensure.

 

So one of the things we want the GBC to accomplish is to maintain the

Vaishnava standards that Prabhupada mandated them to do, beginning with the

sannyasis because they are the head of the social body. Without a head there

can be no healthy body. The sannyasis MUST be in the mood of sarva dharma

parityajya, and just go out and preach. They must not be bogged down with

management issues. That is not for sannyasis. Teaching and inspiring is for

sannyasis.

 

Today I saw an article on CHAKRA by a bhaktine Teagan. After 7 years she has

had enough abuse due to being a single mother with a child. This is not what

Srila Prabhupada wanted--that people leave after 7 years of training because

they feel abused. She wrote that her young son was beginning to pick up the

woman-hating mentality as well. I have heard this same complaint before,

from a godsister in England.

 

Our godsister said that she noticed the mysoginist mentality in her young

son immediately after a sannyasi had spent a few days at the Manor

"teaching" the young boys. But the impression he left these boys with

shocked this mother. She had to patiently explain that little Sarasvati was

also a devotee. They had always been friends, so why speak so badly about

her now? Devotees see everybody as spirit soul!

 

The mothers raise their sons at home to respect all people regardless of

caste, creed, or gender, in the mood of Srila Prabhupada's and Krishna's

teachings (panditah sama darsinah). Yet the youngsters pick up a mentality

of body consciousness in the association of senior male devotees in the

ISKCON temples!

 

Many sannyasis and gurus are indiscriminate about what they say, what they

convey to their disciples, and what they say about other religions and

groups. The disciples always make comments about grhasthas. They are not

trained to serve the Vaishnavas. The sannyasis think they understand the

grhastha ashram when they don't have a clue. They don't have their finger on

the pulse; how to establish varnashram and preach progressively in the 21st

Century. How has this impurity come upon the sannyasis?

 

The position of a sannyasi is to inspire, to go door to door and preach. Not

just to sit at a computer, attend meetings and festivals. ISKCON is not

healthy, and the sannyasis should be stepping forward to enliven the

worldwide membership with their association (like Narayana Maharaja is doing

for so many people).

 

There is a huge untapped resource of devotees out there now (and they are

all grhasthas). Who is preaching them out of maya? the Sannyasis need to

inspire these grhasthas for what they can do, not to criticize then for what

they are not doing. All anybody needs is a little good association. The

sannyasis should be stepping out to preach and inspire the ISKCON

membership, first. Where is the logic to bring new people in the front door

when trained devotees are going out the back door?

 

This is the deficiency on the part of the sannyasis. They were meant to

inspire the other classes, but instead, they have lost respect because they

have more opulence than the grhasthas! They live in a position of comfort

while the grhasthas struggle to support their lives. Just like the sannysis

built all these big houses in Vrindavan, so much so that the locals became

outraged and wrote grafitti all over the sannyasis' 10 foot high walls. I

saw it with my own eyes.

 

The GBC body has allowed this to happen because Harikesh and Bhagavan made a

lot of money, which was termed "success." But the Vaishnava aparadha

eventually toppled their regimes, and now we are back to square one. We must

start with the sannyasa ashram because Srila Prabhupada placed that emphasis

on their shoulders; go out and preach, inspire others, set the example,

maintain the standards...

 

We have to start with the sannyasa ashram because they are the head of the

society. Srila Prabhupada set it up like that. What could we do as a society

if we were inspired? Look at what we did with the inspiration we got from

Srila Prabhupada? Just see how Narayana Maharaja is attracting so many

followers because he is inspiring them.

 

We must include the GBC in these discussions and convince them to agree to

restructure the GBC body in order to save ISKCON. Otherwise, we will see

ISKCON drift down to the level of Baltimore and Seattle temples where we

don't even have a morning program anymore! ISKCON temples will end up as

empty shells, like a body with no soul, if we don't act now. That would be

more painful to Srila Prabhupada than anything else. What would Prabhupada

say if we told him that some centers don't have a morning program anymore?

What would he say if we told him that many centers don't even have an

evening program anymore?

 

We must reinstate the evening program and ensure that all devotees attend.

We must reinstate sannyasa dharma, constant travel and preaching, and to

take complete shelter of Krishna to maintain body and soul together.

We must reinstate that grhastas, who don't travel and preach, remain where

they are and take care of management.

The GBC must be restructed with people who are accountable to the truth. We

don't need a brahminical body that the GBC is accountable to because the GBC

itself is meant to be that body. The GBC is meant to be truthful to the

truth, and our job is to restructure the GBC body with such sadhus.

 

 

yours in service, vaiyasaki dasa...

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