Srila Prabhupada - Methods & Goals

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"COM: Harsi (das) HKS (Timisoara - RO)" wrote:

 

> [Text 2733618 from COM]

>

> >

> > Where did the idea come from "of renouncing material attachments and

> > affections" if not from Srila Prabhupada? Is he the source of this

> > "general callousness?"

> >

> > So things aren't so neatly black and white. If you want to shout invective

> > all over the place -- if you want a pure black and white world -- then

> > take it to it's logical conclusion: Stand up like a man and say:

> >

> > *I accuse Srila Prabhupada! These impossible ideas came from him!

>

> Not an accusation, just wonder if it realy worked out the way he was

> preaching:

>

> "From the very beginning of life our Krsna conscious children are getting

> the oportunity to learn how to chant and dance, so when they are grown up

> THEY WILL NOT CHANGE , BUT INSTEAD WILL AUTOMATICALLY MAKE PROGRESS."

> (SSR, p.137)

>

> "In our Krsna conscoiusness movement the guru-kula PLAYS AN EXTREMELY

> IMPORTANT PART in our activities, because right from the childhood the boys

> at the guru-kula are instructed about Krsna consciousness. Thus they become

> steady within the cores of their hearts, and THERE IS VERY LITTLE POSIBILITY

> that they will become conquered by the modes of material nature when they

> are older. (SB.7.5.56-57)

>

> "This is a revolutionary thought. We have seen the practical outcome of so

> much Godless education in technology and science. They are producing only

> hippies-one after another. The old system of guru-kula should be revived. IT

> IS THE PERFECT SYSTEM, designed to produce great man, sober and responsible

> leaders. who know the real wlfare of citizens. In the former days, all big,

> big personalities were trained in this way. Now we have got the

> responsibility to inject this idea in your country.

> Please do it with a cool head AND VERY SOON WE SHALL SEE THE PRACTICAL

> BENEFIT FOR YOUR COUNTRYMEN."

> (Letter to SDG,21.10.1971)

 

I appreciated Sri Rama prabhu's letter, and Harsi prabhu's commentary here is

also food for thought.

 

Maybe we need to distinguish between Srila Prabhupada's Goals, which are

transcendental, and his Methods which may not always have worked. My goal may

be to go the the temple for a Govardhana Puja celebration. So, I get in my car

and drive away. The car breaks down.

 

So, what do we make of this? Points to consider:

 

1. My goal is still transcendental, or at least something that can aid

spiritual development.

 

2. My method of getting to the temple -- driving my car -- is material. It

should help me get there, but as we can see, in this case it did not work.

 

3. What if Srila Prabhupada had told me to drive my car to the temple to

attend

Govardhana puja. Would I have to say that I am doubting the transcendental

potency of his word if I don't persist in my attempt to go there in my car?

 

4. What if I decide that the more important instruction of Srila Prabhupada

was

the Goal -- somehow I must get to the temple to celebrate Govardhana Puja -- in

that case what are my options?:

 

A. Take a bus, or get a ride from someone else.

B. Have someone fix my car -- as long as I can afford to do this -- and as

long

as it won't take too long.

C. Get the car fixed, even if it takes a long time, and go to the Govardhana

Puja celebration next year.

D. Sit down and cry that I am unworthy and cannot fulfill Prabhupada's

instructions.

 

So, it seems important for us to recognize that Methods (often involving using

aspects of material nature) are different from Goals.

 

Truthfulness is the last leg of Dharma. This is the only thing left that we

have to help us in our attempt to make spiritual advancement. And that is why

satyam, truthfulness, is such an important quality of the brahmana --

Prabhupada

says that it is the first quality of a brahmana. We cannot make spiritual

advancement if we are not willing to be truthful.

 

So, maybe we have to have the courage to examine Srila Prabhupada's Methods and

Goals and see what Methods actually work to achieve Srila Prabhupada's Goals,

and in which cases we may need to modify the Methods in order to achieve the

Goals he set for us. I'm not talking about basic standards such as following

the regulative principles, but things which are actually Methods, and whose

effectiveness depends at least to some degree on our material surroundings,

including the material culture that surrounds us.

 

Consider the following:

 

Goal: Protection of children, helping them become happy, healthy Krsna

conscious adults.

Method: Gurukula training

Results: Gurukula attracted pedophiles and was often staffed by people who

though in another situation would have been good devotees, proved to have

little

ability to supervise and inspire children, and ended up abusing them instead.

Many children turned away from the Krsna consciousness movement as a result.

Response: Let's look at education and raising children again, and try to find

a

way to fix gurukulas or another way to protect our children and inspire them

with Krsna consciousness.

 

Goal: Protection of women so they would be chaste and Krsna conscious.

Method: Keep women in a dependent position in society

Results: This invited men who wanted to abuse women and the abused women had a

hard time getting out of their situation because they had no training for

anything else. Many women left ISKCON.

Response: Re-evaluate the situation. Find another way of protecting women by

promoting respect of women as mothers, by respecting their range of abilities

to

do devotional service and giving them opportunities to do so. Find other ways

to promote the goals of chastity and developing Krsna consciousness in women.

 

Goal: Protection of cows.

Method: Establish communal farms with centralized dairy herds.

Results: Usually, the maintenance of the dairy herds fell to a few

lowly-regarded brahmacaris to whom no GBC would take the time to monitor. As a

result, they became uninspired to keep up their service. Neglected farm

communities struggled and dwindled. Lacking competent and well-cared for

herdsmen, the cows became abused on many farms.

Response: Re-evaluate our farms. Work to provide training for our young

devotees and to give them land so that they can get married and take care of

cows in a family situation. Work to develop varnasrama colleges for the

development of self-sufficient Krsna conscious villages. Find other means that

will help protect Krsna's cows.

 

Goal: Protecting ISKCON's assets, assuring the good character of ISKCON's

leaders, assuring cooperation of devotees

Method: Oath of loyalty to ISKCON, stress submission to authority

Results: Untrained leaders sometimes misuse and even steal ISKCON's assets,

and

it is often difficult to prosecute them. Sometimes sadistic individuals are

attracted to leadership positions which promise almost absolute power over

others. Instead of helping spread Krsna consciousness, they drive devotees out

of ISKCON

Response: Instead of using an oath of loyalty to protect ISKCON, why not (1) a

background check on leaders and administrators; (2) Careful assessment of their

character, public relations ability, and ability to act responsibly under

stress; (3) signed contract agreeing to uphold the regulative principles and

the

laws of ISKCON (4) leadership training. And find other ways to support the

development of good leaders in ISKCON. We also need to stress training of our

devotees never to become blind followers, and to refuse to cooperate with

so-called leaders who act against the interests of ISKCON and against the

interests of spreading Krsna consciousness.

 

The point of these examples is that Srila Prabhupada had certain Goals which

are

important for our spiritual development. He also instituted certain methods to

achieve those goals. When he was personally present with us, he demonstrated a

willingness to change methods which did not adequately work to achieve his

goals. For example, he stated that book distribution could only be done by

devotees wearing devotee clothing. But, in the context of Western society, it

was demonstrated to him that it was more effective to distribute books by

wearing non-devotee clothing. So, he changed the rule. He was more attached

to

the Goal of distributing transcendental literature as widely as possible than

he

was to the Method of wearing devotee clothes.

 

Now it is falling to us to see which of Prabhupada's Methods work to achieve

the

Goals he set. Many of his methods do work. I believe that chanting 16 rounds

of Hare Krsna every day definitely helps maintain Krsna consciousness. But

maybe we have to have the honesty to admit that some of the methods that he

laid

out do not effectively work to achieve the goals he wanted. It's very

difficult

for us to consider changing any of Srila Prabhupada's methods, but to actually

reach the goals he set before us, maybe we have to re-assess how well the

methods actually work. Maybe we have to be honest enough to see where a change

in methods would actually be a better way of fulfilling the goals he had for

us.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi