What is congregational preaching? Are we all part of a congregation of KRSNA's souls?

[krsna]

 

 

 

Statements by Members of the GBC Body (continued)

 

<TABLE><TBODY><TR vAlign=center><TD width=110></TD><TD width=15> </TD><TD>HG Pragosa Prabhu:

"... Many devotees have already made great in-roads as far as congregational outreach is concerned but with billions of living entitles on this planet, in many ways we haven't even begun to scratch the surface ..." </TD></TR><TR vAlign=center><TD></TD><TD> </TD><TD>HH Radhanath Maharaja:

HH Radhanath Maharaja's contribution has been published here earlier: Caring for Devotees: The Spiritual Counselor System</TD></TR><TR vAlign=center><TD></TD><TD> </TD><TD>HH Ramai Maharaja:

"... I think that we have to see the bigger picture of spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world. There are temples, book distribution, congregational preaching and all these things have to be facilitated very nicely ..." </TD></TR><TR vAlign=center><TD></TD><TD> </TD><TD>HG Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu:

"... The history of ISKCON was that in the beginning it was not a congregational movement. It was ashram centered, and anyone who became a devotee was expected to move into the temple. The idea of congregation came a little slowly to us. We kind of discovered we had a congregation and we didn’t know what to do with them ..." </TD></TR><TR vAlign=center><TD></TD><TD> </TD><TD>HH Romapada Maharaja:

"... By analyzing these seven purposes, one can see how congregation development is aimed at fulfilling all of these seven purposes, when the congregation is properly organized and directed ..." </TD></TR><TR vAlign=center><TD></TD><TD> </TD><TD>HG Sesa Prabhu:

"... Programs like “Love Thy Neighbor” help people understand what the Hare Krishnas are doing. There are a lot of misconceptions now. People can drive by the temple every day without really knowing what goes on inside ..." </TD></TR><TR vAlign=center><TD></TD><TD> </TD><TD>HH Sivarama Maharaja:

"... I find that congregational preaching, if it’s not systematic, planned, result-oriented, just turns into a social club. In my mind, this is not what congregational preaching is meant to be ..." </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[krsna]

There is no happiness without Krsna consciousness

 

by Vishoka dasa

 

Even materially speaking, we cannot be happy in this world without

Krsna consciousness. Here we read from Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur's

autobiography, how devotees were so happy in his times.

 

"In those days there was no suffering at all in Ula. There were

fourteen hundred good brahmana families, and there were many kayastha

and vaidya families too. The Mushtaphi Mahasaya family was the most

wealthy. No one in that village went without food. One could get on

with very little in those days. Everybody was very happy people used

to sing, make music, and tell nice stories. You could not count how

many jolly [fat] bellied brahmanas there were. Almost everybody had a

good wit, could speak sweetly and was skilled in making judgements.

Everyone was skilled in the fine arts, song and music. Groups of

people could be heard all the time making music and singing, playing

dice and chess. That village was a very happy place. If anybody was in

need they could go to the home of Mushtophi Mahasaya and get whatever

they required without any difficulty. Medicine oil and ghee were

aplenty. The village was so large that at that time it took 56 men to

maintain it. The good people in Ulagram did not know the need of

finding work in order to eat. What a happy time it was!"

 

In Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur's time, everyone was happy without great

endeavor. Everyone had plenty of food even without a need for hard

work. Not like today in the US of A, where the average American works

like a slave all their lives to barely earn enough money to purchase

low quality junk food, and barely pay off mortgage or rent, if lucky.

Back in Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur's day there was no in-organic,

depleted food. There were no factory-farmed crops sprayed with

pesticides and processed until all the food value was nil. In our

so-called "modern world" with the so-called "advancement of science,"

the slaves of modern civilization pay dearly for processed junk food,

that in turn creates bad health, which proves profitable for the

health system and doctors. Often, the high cost of gasoline, [due to

the price being jacked up by big oil CEO's,] and high cost of

allopathic medicine can take away old people's food and rent money,

and they must decide whether to pay rent and eat, or get medicine and

put gas in the car. Both husband and wife have to work in order to

barely make ends meet, live a miserably life of scarcity, usually

ending in divorce. Then after a long life of slavery to the system, if

the citizen isn't forced by poverty to join the army and go to war in

the mid-east, and either get killed or maimed for life, or mentally

deranged for life, if he's lucky to avoid all that, he still works

like an ass until old age sets in, and then the government has the

audacity to offer him a mere 200 dollars or so for his funeral. If he

is lucky enough to avoid cancer and heart disease from junk food, and

he can avoid the increasing natural disasters of hurricanes and

tornadoes, wild fires, earthquakes, air and water pollution, all due

to the adverse collective karma from killing cows and babies in the

womb, perhaps he can retire to a miserable old age of constant health

problems, forced to buy expensive medications, and pay outrageous

medical bills until his savings is exhausted, with barely enough money

left for a pauper's funeral. A civilization without Krsna

consciousness is a miserable chaos wherein the average man lives a

meaningless life of drudgery and forced service to greedy leaders of

oil and pharmaceutical and insurance and health care companies, and

gets very little pleasure in return. They say we are crazy, but who is

really crazy? We believe in simple living, using what God provides,

with everyone getting their quota. We're not the ones who promote

so-called advancement of science and industries, which are ruining our

food and air and water, the very things we need for survival. We try

to teach people how to be happy without artificial need, the opposite

of the media, which promotes more and more greed, which consumes

everyone in this world, causing violence and wars. Despite all this

stark reality, it is very difficult to convince the victims of

Kali-yuga to take to the sublime life of Krsna consciousness and be

happy.

 

Your servant, Vishoka dasa