prasada to poor people

[Guest guest]

> > This is the danger I see, especially when potential donors are

> > approached in such a manner: "Help the starving" -- "Every minute x

> > children die of hunger" -- etc. If the emphasis is put only on bodily

> > needs, even our own devotees tend to get in such consciousness, and the

> > whole endeavor becomes increasingly mundane.

>

> Exactly.

 

As if there wouldn't be any danger in sending bhaktas and

bhaktins to streets to sell the books and all kinds of

paraphernalia, the activities that are profitable business?

That indeed are so, externally looking. There are hundreds

of cases where sankirtan devotees go greedy and materialistically

motivated, falling down into maya. Still, devotees are being

send out, in spite of all the possible dangers.

 

In any case, it is a mute point. There is no any secrecy there

about what _exactly_ the money of the donors goes for. Everybody

is very well conscious that it is going to be not just any food,

but *Hare Krsna* food. The donors know that. The collectors of

the funds know that also. Those who aren't aware, please visit

the official Hare Krsna FFL web site and get yourself informed.

 

It is not so that emphasis are put _only_ on bodily needs.

Though, admittedly, that is of the prime concern for the donors,

that their money be used to help the needy people, thus it is

not wrong to tell them.

 

Anyway, if this kind of soliciting the donors is seen as a

real problem, then what's the problem? Let the devotees then

say "Help the starving and help them spiritually too". Do not

they say so? Then please preach to them to say so. Problem

solved. If one is really interested to help them to solve that

problem, that's to say.

 

Though there can be another kind of a danger lurking in

those very explicit statement of purpose. That is, for the

TPs and other mangers. If they would spend the money for what

they would like, they could be tracked down for the misuses of

the donors' trust and the money collected for the specified

purpose. And that can be an embarrassing thing. ISKCON managers

do not have the direct control of the collected money. Thus FFL

program, among other reasons, has contracted more than few enemies

within ISKCON. Often in such situation when a particular project

starts growing far over the limited ability of some authority to

micro manage or control it, then the preferable choice is to rather

kill the project than let it flourish. I have seen that happening

more than several times.

 

 

 

 

- mnd