Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

It is clear that there is not a good flow of information between leaders and us

There seems to be no formal way to "Interact"

The Constitution could definitely help because it could define and require such a communication plan and monitor and review its use.

Do you think they want to change this or leave everything as it is now?

any flow there is is clearly a one way street

It depends on what you mean by " information ",what kind of information? there is a plethora of Iskcon related web-site availble today providing us with all sorts of valuable information for devotees and the public,most sites have contact email.

I am not so sure about the "good flow" part.The North American GBC,not to be confused with The South American GBC,recently held a meeting with NA Temple Presidents to discuss the Turley suite and how the GBC was to find another $ 6 milion to fullfill the judgement,We have just seen the results of their secret meeting.

Dandavats posted a story on the First Annual Patron-Leader Weekend of Bhakti at New Vrindaban.

Heres why they met : " Between June 22 to 24, New Vrindaban was the place to be in the ISKCON world. A privileged number of ISKCON leaders and supporters gathered from around North America for an extraordinary lineup of kirtan, association, prasadam, and festivities at the inaugural Patron-Leader Weekend of Bhakti. Thirty of ISKCON North America'92s top donors, supporters, and managers found themselves hosted by luminaries such as... "

The purpose of the meeting was to: " ... proceeds from this year'92s event are going to fund the creation of ISKCON North America'92s Temple Support Office which will help all the temples in North America in legal and financial issues such as branding, grants, advertising, organizational management, fundraising, and more."

Earlier reports tell us Kuladri das will be in charge of this new office,his duties will include the Turley judgement.

There are so many questions that beg to be asked,like where will the next meeting be held? how will those donations be spent? what is the budget for the new office,how much will Kuladri das be paid? why does Iskcon NA even need a suport office? how many staff will the office suport ? what does this have to do with the new by-laws?

A Dandavats reader posted the following question : Perhaps, for those of us who are not in the know, you could explain what the '93patron-leader'94 event was? I have never heard of that before. Thank you."

Lets wait and see if they post a response.

I would assume "they"would want better communication. Just because youre in charge doesnt mean you know how to do things.

There is a strong tendency to personally blame leaders (see who is talking!) but in a more cool headed analysis I believe more in the strong influence of the gunas coupled by immatureness, not a "conspiration" theory. To make a conspiration plan you need to be really intelligent and looking at the record, that s not likely.

Another thing is that to give a position to an immature, non prepared person (not talking about management skills but plain spiritual stature), results in more disaster than you can wave a stick at.
As an example, I remember a devotee telling me: "since I became an authority (he was temple treasurer) I HAVE to get upset with everybody.
Sad thing is that for one reason or another our movement is being displayed more and more as an organized religion and that is BAD news.

But again, what is the big surprise, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta writes:
"But no stable religious arrangement for instructing the masses has yet been successful. The Supreme Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in pursuance of the teachings of the scriptures enjoins all absence of conventionalism for the teachers of the eternal religion. It does not follow that the mechanical adoption of the unconventional life by any person will make him a fit teacher of religion."
the rest below as attachment for the eager.

On the positive side, ISKCON has a future, but its not in the hands of anointed elite officers, but in the hands of us the preachers.
And I mean anybody with a clear mind that is reading this and knows what Srila Prabhupada want us to do.

...its been over two weeks now and Dandavats nor the GBC have been willing to answer Shrutadevs question

" Perhaps, for those of us who are not in the know, you could explain what the '93patron-leader'94 event was? I have never heard of that before. Thank you. "

why are all the details of this meeting being kept secret by Kuladri das ?

It seems that some of our leaders have been carrying on with a style of managing that is in many ways outdated.

The question here is simple; communication. Everything boils down to how each individual carries him/herself with those who are managed. Beyond resolutions or even the proposed constitution, a more humane and natural form of relationship needs to pervade in our institution, -at every level-. Certainly it has been a problem to try to link the absolute (Krishna Consciousness) to the relative (an organized religion). This difficulty has been generally assigned to Iskcon officers, and the resultant state of affairs has been also attributed to the way in which management has taken place. However, we, -the citizenry of Iskcon-, also has a decisive role to play in how things are run.

Our experiences may differ since we live in different areas and is unfair to generalize. Also it is a matter of personality and realization. Not all GBCs are the same and they deal with their people differently. Nevertheless, my subjective observation is that there is a lingering prevailing tendency to keep the file and rank out of the communication loop. Managerial topics are not only kept as untouchable matter, but in many instances, as soon as devotees start inquiring of such issues, they might be deemed as conflictive, political, separatists, etc (to mention the least demeaning used terms).

For many of the devotees that I keep in contact, the GBCs presence is not as relevant as it used to be in bygone years. This -I think- is detrimental for the growth of our movement, since potential resources and services remained untapped. Conclusion; communication is the basis of good relationship, with the lack of it, the movement -in some places- will lack strength and the opportunity to expand as Srila Prabhupada wanted.