Vaisnava Economic Development

[Dr Jayanth G Paraki]

Originally posted by Vaisnava dasa:

Dear Gauracandra:

 

I was engaged for a few years as an officer in an economic development not-for-profit organization.

 

What would immediately be helpful would be to compile a list of Vaisnava businesses -- a directory.

 

Add to that your contact information and then freely distribute your business directory with much relevant information about the businesses and how to contact you for more information regarding the idea of Vaisnava economic development.

 

This can be done immediately without waiting for anyone. This would be a great service to the Vaisnava community.

 

Those businesses listed in your directory can also agree to become a member of such a Vaisnava Business Association. The directory becomes an important tool in the marketing of the businesses, as well as an opportunity for the Vaisnavas to have a market.

 

Vaisnava dasa

 

Hare Krishna Vaisnava Dasa Prabhu,

It is indeed a good idea to have a business directory. I might add to it; a directory listing of Vaisnavas by profession for ex., doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc will assist disseminate information about individuals and organisations.

 

Incidentally, i am keen to interact with you more regarding your experience as an economic officer in a not for profit organisation. I have started a similar foundation in Bangalore, India to engage ourselves in rural community development employing a varnasrama model, which i hope is what Srila Prabhupada wanted us to carry out. Kindly provide an email to which i can send information.

 

Dr Jayanth G Paraki

paraki@vsnl.com

 

[JRdd]

All these ideas are pretty exciting to me. I hope I get some of this information, maybe you will be able to share it when it arrives, GC? And this business directory, a great idea, reminds me of the bartering system--anyone ever heard of or taken part in one of these organizations? All goods and services are listed, with value points attached to each (at the discretion of the one offering the service). Everyone has the lsit and can pick whatever they want in the way of service or goods, and the appropriate number of points is dedecuted from the person's account, or added to if he or she gives something to someone else. No one is limited to trading with the same person for services rendered or taken. The secretary or secretaries also get points for keeping the whole thing together, and giving out regular updates of the list. This is a simple summary of barter clubs, but I would be glad to help research if someone had the acumen to initiate such a project.

 

JR

[Jagat]

This is an interesting and important area of discussion. I think some of you may be interested in E. Burke Rochford's "Prabhupada Centennial Survey: Final Report", where he highlights this issue as one of the areas where ISKCON needs to take action. Unfortunately, Iskcon seems to have, after engaging Rochford in the work of surveying more than 2000 devotees from 53 countries, to have swept his conclusions and recommendations under the rug. By so doing, they have simply confirmed the conclusions of the report itself. One cannot read this report without feeling doom.

 

I scanned pages 21-24. If there is any interest, I will continue with the section on Recommendations (pp. 24-29).

<hr>

 

<h3>Summary and Recommendations</h3>

 

The following represents a summary of the major findings presented in this report.

 

There is a striking lack of trust between ISKCON members and the movement's leadership, as well as between devotees themselves. Survey respondents across regions expressed the view that there is a lack of honest and open communication between devotees; that impersonalism has been allowed to dominate devotee relations in place of friendship, respect, and caring. The findings presented also demonstrate that a lack of authority (and a related lack of trust) attributed to the gurus and/or the GBC institution has had major consequences for devotees' commitments to ISKCON (full-time, congregational, and former ISKCON members alike).

 

Many devotee respondents expressed the view that ISKCON suffers from poor management and that leaders are not always responsive to those they serve. There is reason to suspect that this only breeds mistrust and a sense that local as well as regional leaders are out of touch with the needs and lives of the average member.

 

A set of concerns expressed by devotees worldwide falls under the general heading of social development. As the data demonstrate conclusively, the nuclear family has effectively displaced communalism as the movement's foundational structure of social organization in most parts of the world. Even in the newly formed ISKCON communities in Eastern Europe and the CIS, a sizable percentage of householders are living and working outside the movement's communities. By favoring a renunciate-sectarian model organizationally in the face of an expanding grhastha ashram, ISKCON has generally failed to integrate families and family life into its communities. Until recent discussions of "social development,' ISKCON has done little toward building an internal domestic culture capable of supporting householders and their children. Two elements of social development were given special attention by survey respondents:

 

(a) The lack of employment opportunities within ISKCON. As the findings demonstrate, a large portion of ISKCON's worldwide membership is working in conventional jobs. As sankirtan has become (and becomes) less of a source of revenue for ISKCON's communities, devotees have been forced to seek employment in the outside labor market. This has primarily affected householders. The result is that devotees working in non-devotee work environments are less involved in and committed to their religious beliefs and practices, and to ISKCON as a religious organization. Of telling significance is that 80% cf the respondents working outside of ISKCON say they would work within the movement, if employment was available allowing them to support themselves and/or their families.

 

The survey findings give further support to ongoing discussions concerning the urgency cf developing varnashram within ISKCON. Although varnashram appears to mean different things to different devotees it nonetheless remains clear that there is a pervasive belief that something must be done to ensure that ISKCON members have the opportunity to work together, rather than in non-devotee jobs.(fn11)

 

(b) Inadequate educational alternatives within ISKCON. Findings from the survey suggest that children, like their parents, are spending a good portion of their daily lives associating with non-devotees while attending schools outside of ISKCON's communities. As the evidence presented suggests, parents report that their chudren often grow up having few commitments to ISKCON and, more often than not, remain more or less uninvolved in the practice of sadhana-bhakti. While such a finding is hardly unusual, as many young people become estranged from their religious faith in adolescence, it still raises questions about ISKCON's future given the paucity of new adult recruits to the movement in at least some parts of the world. Yet in the case of young devotee children who attend public/state-supported schools there is another force at work which differs from the average non-devotee young person who withdraws from his or her faith during adolescence. As I have shown elsewhere (Rochford forthcoming b), attending public-state-supported schools for devotee youths tends to erode their collective identity as ISKCON members; although many hold te their identity as devotees of Krishna. In seeking social acceptance from their new non-devotee peers, devotee young people have essentially felt the need to subvert their ISKCON identity to avoid the stigma attached to being a Hare Krishna.

 

Without adequate schools to train ISKCON's children spiritually and academically one can only expect that more and more parents will choose to educate their children outside the movement. While most survey respondents suggest a preference for ashram-based gurukulas one wonders if such a view continues to hold given recent revelations about child abuse within the ashrams during the 1970s and 1980s. It may be that the ashram-based schools are seen as a viable alternative because some parents express general dissatisfaction with the spiritual and academic training provided by their local ISKCON community day-school. Also, of course, Prabhupada established these schools with the best interests of the children in mind.

 

Both women and men recognize that (mis)treatment cf women within the movement over the years has negatively affected women's sense of self-esteem and limited their ability to make spiritual progress. Most also agreed that the climate toward women within ISKCON has improved in recent years. Men and women supported the idea that women's roles should be expanded within ISKCON and that women, being the spiritual equals of men, should have the same opportunities for devotional service where performance, not gender, is the determining criteria. As was true during the early days of the movement (see Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi 1997) respondents tended to agree (with some gender variations) that men and women should worship on different sides of the temple, chant japa collectively in the temple (slightly less than a majority of men support), that women should be able te lead public kirtans in the temple, give classes, and serve as Temple Presidents when qualified. Fewer men and women supported the idea of women serving as gurus.

 

Of critical importance te the stability of ISKCON has been the erosion of traditional religious authority in the face of scandal and controversy involving ISKCON's gurus and sannyasîs <see Rochf ord 1985,1998b; Goswarni, Tamal Krishna 1997). These very scandais have served te promote ritvik ideas, both within ISKCON's communities and among dissidents outside the movement's ranks. But even aniong devotees whe reject the ritvik philosophy there still has been an effort to further elevate Prabhupada as the primary source of religious authority within ISKCON. In sum, the authority of the present gurus has been openly questioned and Srila Prabhupada has become the source of legitimate religious authority within ISKCON and the broader movement.

 

Because of continuing scandal involving gurus, survey respondents expressed a desire te place strong bureaucratic controls on qualifications for becoming an ISKCON guru, and on the behavior and lifestyle of the gurus. Many respondents offered the view that the reform movement of the mid-1980s did not go far enough in piacing adequate centrols on the independent autherity and power of ISKCON's gurus.

 

Related to the demise of religious authority has been the apparent decline of GBC authority among some portions of ISKCON's membership. Many cengreg~tionai members fer example expressed the belief that they have been left with littie input in how ISKCON is geverned. As a resuit many feit that the GBC had littie real relevance te their lives as devetees. This is perhaps most pronounced in the area of the GBC's failure te address the needs ef householders and their chudren. A sizable percentage of ISKCON's congregational members believed that a representational form of government would help broaden the variety of viewpoints feund on the GBC. Full-time members, congregational members and former ISKCON devotees alike expressed the view that the GBC had not gone far enough in its efforts to control the gurus and the guru institution.

 

As the regression analyses demonstrate, member commitment to ISKCON is most influenced by views about the GBC and ISKCON's gurus (among a number of other variables, see Tables 12-14). For full-time members the authority placed in the GBC had a strong influence on ISKCON commitment. Those full time respondents who viewed the GBC favorably (having a high level of authority) were also most likely to be highly committed to ISKCON. Conversely, these who saw the CBC as having little authority were more likely te have less commitment to ISKCON.

 

Interestingly, guru authority was not a significant predictor of ISKCON commitment for initiated full-time ISKCON members. For congregational members, the authority of the GBC had a significant influence on commitment to ISKCON; yet the strongest influence for initiated congregational members was the authority of the gurus. The pattern among former ISKCON members parallels the findings for full-time members. The authority of the GBC had by far the greatest influence on ISKCON commitment with the authority of the gurus having no significant effect.

 

[mahak]

Haribol, I really appreciate the desire to create a "community" atmosphere, and see the desperate neeed, but if successful, there will be trouble as well.

 

One should study the history of the MOVE group in Philadelphia, which was bombed out by the cops. Their crime was a compost pile for their vegetarian truck farm project in the row house, and the community complained about their "unique" lifestyles (vegans, loved to sing and dance, home schooled their children, worshipped god, oh yeah, they were black and wore their hair in dreadlocks and did not have much in common with their neighbors).

 

Sixty homes were destroyed when the bombs fell, all MOVE members, including women and children, were killed, the one survivor, Ramona Afrika, was kept in jail for over six years, force fed drugs and meat because she refused to give another name.

 

How bout Branch Davidians, now there is another wonderful religious community of vegetarians who were most intelligent, but damn their independance and their unwillingness to fit in with the surrounding McWaco world. Result? Women and children Bombed to the cheers of millions of freedom lovin amerikkkans by the beloved "Justice Department".

 

Perhaps it is not the time to gather together, rather it may be a better thing to hide in the cracks and take this to a guerilla type situation. Its sad, it would be nice, this togetherness desire, but the hebrews and the gypsies know too well what is on down the highway.

 

mad mahax

[Jagat]

I went ahead and scanned in the remaining bit of Rochford's report, which I find to be as devastatingly dead-on now as it was when it came out two years ago. Any signs of action on any of these recommendations?

<hr>

 

<h3>Recommendations</h3>

 

The findings presented in this report document the ongoing change of ISKCON as a religious organization. It points to the existing and building tensions between a monastic, high commitment, and communal form of social organization and one characterized by independent householders whose religious and organizational commitments are often less intense and whose involvements are more irregular and segmental. These findings are compatible with other studies of ISKCON in North America (Rochford 1995b, 1997) and in Western and Eastern Europe (Rochford 1995a, forthcoming a). With the decline of communism many devotees--especially householders and their children--spend much of their everyday lives within mainstream cultures, either working outside jobs and/or attending state-supported or other non-ISKCON schools. As devotees have moved outside the movement's communal structure to establish independent households, ISKCON has lost its previous control over the lives and behavior of its membership (Rochford 1995b). Communal control has been vastly reduced and individual devotees freely make choices about how they wish to live their lives and raise their children. ISKCON, as this implies, can be characterized as an increasingly pluralistic movement comprised of members with strikingly different commitments and levels of ISKCON involvement. Given this pattern of change the question of paramount importance is how will ISKCON go about the task of integrating this increasingly diverse congregation into its communities? Perhaps more to the point, is it the position of the leadership that families should be, in fact, more fully integrated into ISKCON and its communities? But this question raises a broader one that I think must be allowed by leaders and anyone else who claims either membership in ISKCON, or to be a follower of Prabhupada.

 

What is your image of what ISKCON should be, should aspire to in the future? Is the ideal ISKCON you hold in your mind's eye tied largely to the movement's past; communities of devotees living communally, members dedicated first and foremost to missionary activity, a membership with high levels of commitment to and involvement in ISKCON and Krishna Consciousness, sannyasis with considerable political as well as spiritual authority and power? Or, is your image of ISKCON one that more reflects ISKCON as we see it today in the West, and increasingly in other parts of the world; a congregation of people holding varying levels of commitment to ISKCON and their Krishna conscious beliefs and practices, where members are as much or more involved in the conventional world as with ISKCON?

 

I raise these questions only because the meaning that readers give to the findings presented in this report relate directly to their visions of ISKCON and what Prabhupada's movement "should be." Just as obviously any person's recommendations about what must be done to make ISKCON a better instrument for Prabhupada's movement will also be derived from these at least somewhat idiosyncratic images. To someone committed to an organizational model based on renunciation, preaching, and communalism, ongoing changes in the direction of pluralism and congregationalism may well be seen as trends that lead ISKCON away from its true purposes. For others, these very same changes reflect the building strength of the movement because it is

increasingly reaching into conventional societies in more diverse and perhaps influential ways.

 

As a sociologist, my own images of ISKCON are seen through lenses shaped by theory and research in the sociology of religion. I assume that change is an inevitable part of the development of any religious organization or community; though, it is true, that some groups have remained far more resistance to change than others. Yet there is a clear tendency in the social science of religion to attend to the social forces that push religious groups and movements in the direction of secularization (accommodation to the conventional secular culture and its values and way of life>. I believe, for example, that the inability to integrate family life within ISKCON's communities has been a (if not the) major force giving rise to growing congregationalism (Rochford 1995a, 1995b,1997). The widespread concern throughout the movement today with issues of social development suggests that many devotees share such a point of view. For, in fact, social development as presently being discussed in ISKCON is largely about families and family life.

 

I offer the following recommendations for no reason other than to help guide the leadership as it considers the question of ISKCON's social development and the broader future of the movement. I am not trying to tell the leaders what to do, although at times it may seem like it. Rather my intention is to suggest what could be done and what areas represent the most immediate problems requiring attention. I realize that it is easy to make recommendations when one is under no obligation to make them happen. I am mindful of that, even if my recommendations sound bold and often ignorant of the conditions under which the leadership is often forced to work.

 

In the most general terms, it is time for ISKCON's leaders to move beyond the crisis mode. Most well informed members or observers of ISKCON realize that ISKCON's leaders have spent the last 20 years "putting out fires" of one sort or another. Although this has often been a necessary stance it has made it impossible for the leadership to address the fundamental needs of ISKCON's membership. In fighting battles of one sort or another, be they internal (e.g., guru issues) or external (e.g., lawsuits), the fact is many devotees have come to believe that the leadership has failed to vigorously address their needs--most particularly householders. ISKCON has evolved as a religions movement but that evolution more often than not has been unplanned and spontaneous. As the findings presented here suggest, members often feel estranged and powerless because they believe that the leadership is generally unresponsive to their needs for devotee-based employment, education for their children, fair-minded and efficient management, and the like. Please understand I am talking perception. But this perception has ultimately eroded the fundamental trust between those who lead and ISKCON's membership. I believe that one result of this is that devotees are aligning themselves with the ritvîk movement and other challenging groups not out of any conviction about what Prabhupada intended for the guru system1 but because they are frustrated and even angry that ISKCON's leadership has net responded constructively as they struggle to raise their families in Krishna Consciousness. I think it time for the leadership to dedicate itself (even in the midst of present and future "fires") to making progress on a few specific issues that will benefit ISKCON's membership. In saying this I realize that progress has been made on a number of fronts such as child protection and education. But more could be done and this should be made an institutional priority and not one that grows out of an immediate problem that must be fixed. Think and plan pro-actively. There is both real and symbolic value in such an approach. Devotees' needs will be better served and, in time, the membership will come to trust that the leaders have their interests squarely in mind.

 

Given this perhaps overly bold preamble allow me to raise a few specific issues that are candidates for immediate attention. Some will take long-term planning and involve considerable resources. Others could be done rather quickly given the will of the GBC. I begin with economics, because I think a number of other things rest on building an adequate economic infrastructure to support devotees and ISKCON's communities.

 

(1) Building an Economic Infrastructure. As this report has amply demenstrated, devotees--especially householders--have been forced to seek employment outside of ISKCON's communities. The results of this trend have not always been beneficial to ISKCON or to the spiritual lives of devotees themselves. ISKCON members working outside are less likely to remain as involved in their religious practices, are less involved in and committed to ISKCON, are more involved in the outside conventional culture, and less committed to a Krishna conscious world view.

 

But the unavailability ef movement/devotee-based employment has other implications for ISKCON and its membership. Over the last few years greater attention has been focused on education within ISKCON. This has involved educating new adult members to the movement as well as children growing up in ISKCON. While most people would applaud these efforts it remains the case that, even should ISKCON build a laudable system ef education, a serious problem remains. Even if ISKCON were able to build a gurukula system that was ideal, however defined, it still remains the case that young men and women who complete their secondary education have little or no future within ISKCON's communities. This is because there are few paying jobs that would allow devotees to be self-supporting, especially if they have families. However educated ISKCON's young adults become, they ultimately have few viable options open to them except to seek empleyment in the conventional labor market. This very fact suggests that ISKCON's social needs must be considered holistically. It is not enough to "fix" one part of ISKCON's social system without addressing the system as a whole. Prabhupada, and many of his followers, have suggested that varnashram provides such a holistic solution.

 

Leaders have to think of sankirtan primarily in terms of preaching, rather than in terms of the financial resources it brings. Without question sankirtan has brought large sums of money into ISKCON and has bankrolled ISKCON's worldwide expansion (Rochford 1985). Yet in every case that I am aware of, sankirtan revenues begin to diminish in time, most often at the very moment when householder life expands and the need for resources increases. Sankirtan should be considered a short-term economic strategy; one that can help finance other types ef entrepreneurial activity supportive of ISKCON's membership and ISKCON itself. Without a stable financial base ISKCON's communities have fragmented and devotees have in various ways lost the social supports that encouraged their spiritual pursuits and goals for self-realization.

 

I recommend that the GBC immediately establish regional economic committees comprised of devotees who have proven themselves productive businessmen and businesswomen and/or economic strategists. I say regional because I expect that while a movement-wide economic strategy might be possible, it is more likely that economic plans will vary by region, country, and perhaps even by community. These planning committees should be given authority to develop economic proposals, raise funds to launch businesses, and maintain a degree of autonomy that allows for werking without being compromised by political considerations. I think the goal of these committees should center foremost on employment for devotees, not raising money per se. As such entrepreneurial activity that is labor intensive and capable of employing large numbers of people should be favored. Computer businesses may be profitable for example but they usually are incapable of employing significant numbers of people. Work not profit should be the fundamental goal.

 

(2) Restoring Trust in the Leadership. This report has shown conclusively that the authority (or lack thereof) of ISKCON's gurus and the GBC represent the most significant predictors of member commitment to ISKCON. Quite simply, it is clear that many ISKCON member's (temple devotees, congregational members) and former members alike place minimal trust in ISKCON's leadership. Child abuse, the mistreatment and abuse of women, the neglect of householders, guru scandals, etc., all have eroded the trust that binds devotees to Prabhupada's movement. In organizational terms as well as spiritual ones, ISKCON at its core is in the midst of a crisis of trust. As Seligman argues, the "existence of trust is an essential component of all enduring social relationships" (1997:13) and is indeed necessary for the continuation of any social order. Leaders can only be effective when followers have faith in those entrusted with positions of leadership. This not uniformly the case in many portions of the ISKCON world. Now, with the demise of Harikesa Prabhu, there is reason to believe that this crisis has grown deeper.

 

I recommend that the GBC immediately form a committee whose purpose is to consider how the movement's leadership can restore the trust of ISKCON's membership as well as among those who have chosen to leave the movement. The committee's work should not be about how to strategically defend ISKCON against its critics. Rather it should focus on how to honestly address the concerns of devotees who have been mistreated and abused directly, or by the policies of ISKCON's leadership. As an act of good faith, the committee should consider the possibility of including a limited number of devotees who have been critical of the leadership. Obviously such persons, like all other members of the committee, would be required to affirm his or her commitment to the committee's goals and purposes.

 

(3) Reenfranchising ISKCON Women. It is clear that both women and men see the need to expand women's spiritual and material roles within the movement. As this report has shown, there is considerable support for women playing a more active and equal role in ISKCON's spiritual and community life. Men and women overwhelmingly agree that Prabhupada viewed his male and female disciples as spiritual equals. And there is evidence that Prabhupada implemented policies and procedures that were meant to be inclusive of women. It seems clear that the majority of the devotees surveyed want women to have rights and responsibilities as given to them by Srila Prabhupada before a backlash against women occurred in the early and mid-1970s (see Ravindra Svarupa 1994; Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi 1997; Radha Devi Dasi 1998).

 

While ISKCON has an obligation to protect women (Executive Committee Letter 1998) leaders also have a responsibility to keep ISKCON a functioning organization able to preach and meet the spiritual needs of its membership. Given the manpower shortages that exist in many temples, ISKCON can ill afford to disenfranchise a large portion of its membership. While perhaps wrong theologically (Jyetirmayi Devi Dasi 1997), and with respect to fundamental human rights (Radha Dasi 1998), it is also simply foolish as an organizational strategy. While many regions of the ISKCON world are in desperate need of human capital to deal with the day-to-day functioning of temple communities, it remains the case that women and women's contributions too often remain undervalued and underutilized.

 

Organizationally ISKCON cannot afford such a position and in fact there are growing numbers of women serving as temple presidents and holding other significant management and administrative positions.

 

I recommend that ISKCON leaders immediately move to restore the rights and responsnbilities afferded women by Srila Prabhupada. Men should be educated accordingly. (A good start for everyone would be to read the articles by Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi 1997, and Radha Devi Dasi 1998.). Guru and non-guru leaders should teach respect for women; women should again be viewed as capable devotees in the service of Prabhupada's movement rather than as temptresses or other such derogatery characterizations. To do so would immediately increase the self-esteem of women and make them more productive members of ISKCON. By acknowledging women's value and worth as human and spiritial beings it will also make the movement more attractive to potential members who view ISKCON's position on women as antiquated and morally objectionable.

 

(4) Education and Children. ISKCON is slowly losing its most significant resource for the future: its children. A startling percentage of the movement's children are leaving ISKCON or are choosing to remain marginal to it (see Kraybill 1989, on the retention of Arnish children into adulthood). Friendships and ties with parents eften have more holding power on ISKCON's second generation than ties to ISKCON, or even to the practice of Krishna Consciousness. Certainly, child abuse has directly and indirectly affected significant portion of ISKCON's new young adults, but this is only one part of the story. For the fact is that ISKCON has yet to find an adequate replacement to the ashram system of schooling. Many parents in the survey express the view that the ISKCON day-school in their community is not adequately meeting the spiritual and academic needs of children. Teachers often feel that ISKCON has not done nearly enough to support them in their efforts to create better schools.Over the past two years ISKCON's leadership has committed itself to improving education within the movement both for adult members and children. From what I can tell, a substantial start has been made on this front. Yet this initiative has recently been hampered by the defection of Harikesa Prabhu and the (momentary?) loss of resources he had committed to educational projects. Yet ISKCON must begin to build for the future, and like any society that prospers, education must become part of the equation that produces that prosperity. Here I mean education in the broadest sense of the word. Parents, with the assistance of ISKCON, must educate their children, but this education must be centered on goals and purposes that are distinct to ISKCON as a religious organization. Because of this, ISKCON has a central role to play in the socialization and education of the movement's youngest members. In doing the job well ISKCON promises to reap the benefits of a core of young, enthusiastic devotees wanting to push forward Prabhupada's movement. to fail means that ISKCON has essentially squandered its most vital resource and the basis of its future. One only has to stand to the back of any temple in North America to see that there is a clear "graying of the Hare Krishnas." (This too will likely be an issue of significance in the immediate future.)

 

I believe that the movement has to continue in its efforts to acknowledge the mistreatment of second generation devotees in the 1970s and 1980s. It also has to do whatever possible to respond to the real needs of these young men and women. Certainly "Children of Krishna" is precisely such an initiative. But ISKCON's leaders must continue to work with and provideresources to teachers and schools if the movement is to nurture the development of its children.

 

I recommend that recent efforts to improve education within ISKCON continue at full-pace. The education committee now in place must continue to receive the financial and other means of support it needs to promote education in ISKCON. Of equal importance, the leadership must not waver in its commitment to education and thereby to ISKCON's future hope. Educators and children must be seen as the keepers of ISKCON's future, not simply as parties who make demands on scarce resources. The sociologist of religion Rodney Stark writes that any new religion that hopes to succeed must "find important things for young people to do on behalf of their faith" (1987:25). It is time that ISKCON provide the training and support its children need in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead for ISKCON in the twenty-first century.

 

 

[Jagat]

I didn't know about the MOVE case. Here is a URL that a search uncovered:

 

http://www.iacenter.org/movetrl.htm

http://www.media.mit.edu/people/davet/mop/film-info.html

http://shadow.autono.net/sin001/mum_case.htm

[Gauracandra]

These are very good ideas. Certainly the business directory should be relatively easy to create. Also, I like Dr. Paraki's idea of listing by profession. The most successful religions are those that can utilize their members various skills towards common aims. We have plenty of talented people, they just don't know one another, or have a common goal. Being small is actually an advantage in this situation. For instance, suppose we had a listing of computer programmers, artists & sanskrit experts. We could bring together say Jagat (Sanskrit expert) with Mother Jadurani (Artist), with say some Indian computer programmers (there are many affiliated with Iskcon). Bringing these diverse people together we could create some fantastic Sanskrit software. If we had enough people certainly each could contribute a little towards the project and we could make something very valuable. Similar ideas could be for doctors. Suppose we want to build a hospital in India. Bring together Doctors, architects, builders etc.... and then work on raising the funds through the temple congregation. Each person gives a little, but we build a nice hospital.

 

As for my idea of a mutual fund, I started liking the idea so contacted the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) and am looking into it further. I think a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is very viable. My background is in finance so maybe I can dovetail that to better the Vaisnava society.

 

Gauracandra

[Gauracandra]

Whats great is that the Internet actually makes this uniting of talents feasible. We don't all have to be in one place. Just wanted to make this quick point.

 

Gauracandra

[Dr Jayanth G Paraki]

Organizations all over the world are adapting to rapid changes in different ways and an approach that has made invaluable contributions to resurrection of post war Japanese industry is the Deming philosophy of Total Quality Management. The Deming philosophy and principles of TQM is indeed applicable to health care management in small and big hospitals.

 

There is an urgent need for health care professionals to be multi-skilled. Doctors and nurses have to introspect periodically and adopt a plan for self-improvement that should include acquiring new knowledge, developing a positive mental attitude and learning new skills to meet the rapidly changing health needs of people.

 

 

The Clinic for Holistic Healing is a private clinic established in 1994 to develop and initiate a holistic paradigm of health, education and business activities which has an impact on the socio-economic, health, education and employment indices within a community. It has utilized organizational networking, professional management and knowledge sharing to achieve its goals. The last six years has seen the paradigm being applied successfully in the urban city of Bangalore. The paradigm has greater scope for application in the rural community of India and other countries.

 

 

Nature of Consciousness

 

Vedanta states that nothing exists apart from the all-pervasive Absolute, and this is True. Universal Consciousness is Energy that we observe all around and within us. The world in which we live is made of Universal Consciousness. This Consciousness is nothing but a play of God's energy. In short, Universal Consciousness is simply Energy emanating from God.

 

The Bhagavad Gita As It Is states that Lord Krishna is the Supreme God and the source of all energy. All life forms derive energy for sustenance from the Lord. The Vedanta clearly states that the only goal of human beings should be to know the Absolute Truth. Knowing the Absolute Truth entails the comprehension of the 5 basic elements - isvara, the controller; jivas, the controlled (human beings); prakriti, the material nature; kala, duration of existence (whole universe, manifestation of material nature) and karma, activity.

 

Purified consciousness means acting in accordance with the instructions of the Lord. This is the whole sum and substance of purified consciousness. Consciousness can be purified through the path of Bhakti yoga or devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. This according to the Vedic scriptures is the highest endeavor one can make in life.

 

Holistic Medicine

 

The philosophy and principles of Holistic Medicine practiced at the Clinic for Holistic Healing, Bangalore, India is based on the philosophy and principles of Krishna Consciousness.

 

As stated in the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, everything emanates from the ultimate source of the Personality of Godhead. The Personality of Godhead also inaugurated medical science or knowledge in medicine in His incarnation Dhanvantari, and thus the knowledge is recorded in the Vedas. The Vedas are the source of all knowledge, and thus knowledge in medical science is also there for the perfect cure of the diseases of the living entity. The embodied living entity is diseased by the very construction of his body. The body is the symbol of diseases. The disease may differ from one variety to another, but disease must be there just as there is birth and death for everyone. So, by the grace of the Personality of Godhead, not only are diseases of the body and mind cured, but also the soul is relieved of the constant repetition of birth and death. The name of the Lord is also called bhavausadhi, or the source of curing the disease of material existence.

 

It is proposed to establish a center for Holistic Medicine at Bangalore. This center will then construct a holistic health hospital and well being retreat in accordance with the laws of natural healing.

 

 

[Dr Jayanth G Paraki]

Originally posted by Gauracandra:

Whats great is that the Internet actually makes this uniting of talents feasible. We don't all have to be in one place. Just wanted to make this quick point.

 

Gauracandra

Prabhu,

A valid point !

A model for internet based economic

activities is the 'Organic loosely held Bodies'. It implies ownership of enterprise by employess even though they report to the top management.

 

Economic independence is a must for all devotess and that is the central core of all counseling i do for devotees in Bangalore.

 

Dr Paraki

 

 

[Vaisnava dasa]

Looks like you just raised your hand!

 

but I would be glad to help research if someone had the acumen to initiate such a project.

 

JR

 

[Vaisnava dasa]

There used to be an ISKCON Directory. I don't know if there still is. But I've seen such a directory published, oh, about 10 years ago or so. And about two issues published.

 

This Directory was huge, about 120 pages or so. I now recall it was back sometime about in 1988, and I got a free and unsolicited listing in the directory for running a fulltime BBS called the Hare Krishna BBS.

 

The Vaisnava world is bigger than ISKCON nowadays, and should not be limited to those devotees who may be considered as GBC-approved or other such institutional concerns. As varnasrama-dharma is not restricted to ones membership in such-and-such religious institution, a directory containing the professions and businesses of Vaisnavas should not be limited to a person's allegiance to such-and-such institution. Rather, the criterion of inclusion and participation within such a directory should be the social responsibility the business or professional person fulfills within the society. Does he perform his service or product with responsibility and professionalism?

 

Such a directory of Vaisnavas and their professions and services is not the end-all. An organization should be formed by interested Vaisnavas to facilitate and educate Vaisnavas in becoming successful businessmen, as well as provide much needed opportunities for networking and education in the matter of doing business. Chanting "Hare Krishna" is no substitute for practical methods of conducting business as is done in the everyday world. No prospective client wants to do business with a Vaisnava businessman if he doesn't know the basic protocols of organizing his business. A Vaisnava Economic Development Association is certainly a fulltime job in itself created to provide the resouces to the business community.

[Vaisnava dasa]

Dear Dr Paraki:

 

Please feel free to contact me at vaisnava@tsa.ppp.ripco.net regarding any questions or comments you may have.

 

Yours in Srila Prabhupada's service,

Vaisnava dasa

 

Originally posted by Dr Jayanth G Paraki:

Hare Krishna Vaisnava Dasa Prabhu,

It is indeed a good idea to have a business directory. I might add to it; a directory listing of Vaisnavas by profession for ex., doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc will assist disseminate information about individuals and organisations.

 

Incidentally, i am keen to interact with you more regarding your experience as an economic officer in a not for profit organisation. I have started a similar foundation in Bangalore, India to engage ourselves in rural community development employing a varnasrama model, which i hope is what Srila Prabhupada wanted us to carry out. Kindly provide an email to which i can send information.

 

Dr Jayanth G Paraki

paraki@vsnl.com