brahmacari way - local experience

[Guest guest]

Dear Mother Gunamani,

 

please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

Are you Sankirtan's and Acintya's mother? Then I remember you,

when you visited Almvik in 1996. But I bet you don't remember

me.

 

>How is it where you live? There is a lot of "old " brahmacaries there? Is

>there any cooperation between the grhastas (including children) and the

>brahmacari/brahmacarinis?

 

Well, here in our city we have a small temple, and not so small

number of devotees. Most of them are grhasthas or congregational

members. And since ISKCON appeared here in 1990, there was a lot

of events, and we could write many-volumed history book, what

was happened around here. Due to technical circumstances, temple

capacity was never enough to give place for living for many

brahmacaries. Maximum number of them was 12, as I remember, and

nowadays we have 1.5 brahmacari in the temple.

 

Yeah, I remember the times of "brahmacari upliftment", when the

preaching was aimed to point on grhasthas, how low they are

since they didn't renounce from mundane, and living by satifying

the senses. It's interesting to notice that most those

"brahmacaries" were not at all young boys. Most of them been

married and divorsed, and many of "brahmacaries" had their

children. Many lectures were not only smashing, but also abusive

and vulgar. Once one my devotee friend told me that he is going

to beat our temple president for his abusive behaviour toward

women. Somehow this incident didn't happened, but the cold war

between grhasthas and brahmacaris continued until congregation

made TP got married. Now he is much more happy. The rest of

fired-up brahmacaris left the temple, some of them got married,

some got business, some went to another temples. Now in the

temple there is much more peaceful atmosphere, and it doesn't

resemble a battlefield anymore.

 

About cooperation, yes, now there is verily a cooperation

because most of services are done by congregation. Of course, we

still have many problem to work on, such as insufficient and

unqualified public preaching, growth of Nama Hattas (we have 2

Nama Hattas, but they are not expanding), varnasrama development

(we have just a dozen of devotees, who really concerned about

it), estabishment of a small restaurant, paradigma shift of

conservative and snob devotees, and more personal and caring

relations between local devotees. But we can be an example of

successfully existing city community without brahmacari ashram

in the temple. (1-2 pujaris may be not counted).

 

>My presumption would be that the mixture of young and old will make any

>group of people more tolerant and understanding towards others. But maybe I

>am wrong according to your experience?

 

It's a question of culture. If in that time our brahmacaris

wouldn't feel an urge to roast grhasthas, the situation would be

different. Active estrangement of brahmacaris from grihasthas,

when brahmacaries don't communicate with grhasthas and grhasthas

don't communicate with brahmacaries is futile. I just want to

repeat that the word "brahmacari" should be counted as a period

of life, instead it's meaning of honory titul. So normal

brahmacary ashram should be a kind of school or college, and

normally as in usual school, there should be no place for

totally adult people, if they are not teachers. And some mixture

of young and old still is present, since young brahmacaries are

not separaterd from their families. Absolute mixture of all

people is not recommended in varnasrama, since it results not in

the peace, but in red communism.

 

>I can see the problem in people taking to an ashram which does not fit

>their need, this certainly creates disturbance.

 

Yes.

 

>But in my perception of the varnasrama-educational system I see very

>close cooperation between the different varnas and ashramas.

 

Also true.

 

>For instance the brahmacaries would go everyday begging to the grhastas

>house and the grhastas would donate, this would naturally create bonds

>of affection and appreciation.

 

If 35 years old "brahmacari" boy with athletic body will every day knock

in your door and ask for donation, I doubt that you'll like it.

I wouldn't like it. I would say him "You're not handicapped, find a

job!" and slam the door.

 

>What I see is a society in which the natural

>bonds of dependency between the people are broken.

 

Because of unnatural positions.

 

Thank you, very much Mataji for sharing your toughths with us.

 

yhs, Oleg b.