need prabhupada quote on management.

[Guest guest]

> I remember the letter Prabhupada wrote was:

>

> "the members (leaders?) of the Krsna consciousness movement must keep in

> mind that the workers are volunteers, not paid servants..;. therefore they

> must be inspired to rise up and meet the challenge for the preaching work"

>

> something like that...

 

Is it this one?

 

Bombay

22 December, 1972

72-12-22

Los Angeles

My dear Karandhara,

 

........Regarding your points about taxation, corporate status, etc., I have

heard from Jayatirtha you want to make big plan for centralization of

management, taxes, monies, corporate status, bookkeeping, credit, like that.

I do not at all approve of such plan. Do not centralize anything. Each

temple must remain independent and self-sufficient. That was my plan from

the very beginning, why you are thinking otherwise? Once before you wanted

to do something centralizing with your GBC meeting, and if I did not

interfere the whole thing would have been killed. Do not think in this way

of big corporation, big credits, centralization--these are all nonsense

proposals. Only thing I wanted was that books printing and distribution

should be centralized, therefore I appointed you and Bali Mardan to do it.

Otherwise, management, everything, should be done locally by local men.

Accounts must be kept, things must be in order and lawfully done, but that

should be each temple's concern, not yours. Krishna Consciousness Movement

is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all

types of departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy.

Once there is bureaucracy the whole thing will be spoiled. There must be

always individual striving and work and responsibility, competitive spirit,

not that one shall dominate and distribute benefits to the others and they

do nothing but beg from you and you provide. No. Never mind there may be

botheration to register each centre, take tax certificate each, become

separate corporations in each state. That will train men how to do these

things, and they shall develop reliability and responsibility, that is the

point. I am little observing now, especially in your country, that our men

are losing their enthusiasm for spreading on our programmes of Krishna

Consciousness movement. Otherwise, why so many letters of problems are

coming, dissatisfied? That is not a very good sign. The whole problem is

they are not following the regulative principles, that I can detect. Without

this, enthusiasm will be lacking. Even mechanically following, and if he

gets gradually understanding from the class, he will come to the point of

spontaneous enthusiasm. This spontaneous loving devotional service is not so

easy matter, but if one simply sticks strictly to the rules and regulations,

like rising early, chanting 16 rounds, chanting gayatri, keeping always

clean--then his enthusiasm will grow more and more, and if there is also

patience and determination, one day he will come to the platform of

spontaneous devotion, then his life will be perfect. All of this I have told

you in Nectar of Devotion. So I do not think the leaders are themselves

following, nor they are seeing the others are following strictly. That must

be rectified at once. Each centre remain independent, that's all right, but

the president and other officers must themselves follow and see the others

are following the regulative principles carefully, and giving them good

instruction so they may understand nicely why this tapasya is necessary. And

GBC and Sannyasis will travel and see the officers are doing this, and if

they observe anything lowering of the standard, they must reform and advise,

or if there is some discrepancy I shall remove it. Of course, if new men are

coming, they may not be expected immediately to take to our regulative

principles cent per cent. Therefore we should not be so anxious to induce

them to live in the temple. Anyone who lives in the temple must agree to

follow the rules and regulations without fail. So if some new man moves in

with us he may become discouraged if he is forced in this way. Therefore let

them live outside and become gradually convinced in the class why they

should accept some austerity, then they will live with us out of their own

accord and follow nicely everything. It is very difficult to give up very

quickly so many bad habits as you have got in your country, so educate them

gradually, first with chanting, and do not be so much anxious to count up so

many numbers of new devotees, if such devotees go away later being too early

forced. I want to see a few sincere devotees, not many false devotees or

pretenders.

So my point is that the regulative principles must be followed by everyone.

Otherwise their enthusiasm dwindles and they again think of sex and become

restless, and so many problems are there. There is some symptom of missing

the point. The point is to be engaged in doing something for Krishna, never

mind what is that job, but being so engaged in doing something very much

satisfying to the devotee that he remains always enthusiastic. He will

automatically follow the regulative principles because they are part of his

occupational duty--by applying them practically as his occupational duty, he

realizes the happy result of regulative principles. So the future of this

Krishna Consciousness movement is very bright, so long the managers remain

vigilant that 16 rounds are being chanted by everyone without fail, that

they are all rising before four morning, attending mangal arati--our leaders

shall be careful not to kill the spirit of enthusiastic service, which is

individual and spontaneous and voluntary. They should try always to generate

some atmosphere of fresh challenge to the devotees, so that they will agree

enthusiastically to rise and meet it. That is the art of management: to draw

out spontaneous loving spirit of sacrificing some energy for Krishna. But

where are so many expert managers? All of us should become expert managers

and preachers. We should not be very much after comforts and become

complacent or self-contented. There must be always some tapasya, strictly

observing the regulative principles--Krishna Consciousness movement must be

always a challenge, a great achievement to be gained by voluntary desire to

do it, and that will keep it healthy. So you big managers now try to train

up more and more some competent preachers and managers like yourselves.

Forget this centralizing and bureaucracy.

 

Hoping this meets you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:sda