Should we adjust and tailor our preaching according to the public?
Philosophy · asked by user [] · 2009-01-01 · 7 answers
Seems that we may have watered down our preaching to some extent according to what we think the public will accept....I certainly was part of this when travelling with the Hare Krsna band for 9 years (we phased out kirtan to accommodate this style of preaching).
"I am not much fond of the idea of changing things to accommodate the public--better to change the public to accommodate us."
Prabhupada letter to Bali Mardan. 28 December, 1971.
"I am not much fond of the idea of changing things to accommodate the public--better to change the public to accommodate us."
Prabhupada letter to Bali Mardan. 28 December, 1971.
user [2] · 2009-01-01
we must show compassion, friendship and openness to people but we cannot change the philosophy. That does not mean we hammer someone with it. A more natural style of preaching is by example as a person and in character and let people ask when they are ready. One question, one answer and wait for more. That works.
user [2] · 2009-01-01
and most important, PRASADAM, some chanting and a book. Let the Lord and the pure devotee act.user [166] · 2009-01-01
[quote][cite] mishra:[/cite]we must show compassion, friendship and openness to people but we cannot change the philosophy. That does not mean we hammer someone with it. A more natural style of preaching is by example as a person and in character and let people ask when they are ready. One question, one answer and wait for more. That works.[/quote]Yes agreed we shouldnt hammer anyone...not sure if Srila Prabhupada is referring to the philosophy or our preaching techniques or maybe both? Definitely prasadam is our secret weapon to save the world.
user [2] · 2009-01-02
related:http://www.pariprashnena.com/discussion/240/compromising-for-the-sake-of-preaching
user [265] · 2009-01-02
I would be very happy if people took to chanting Hare Krsna even if they still smoked, ate meat and had illicit sex. How else can they get purified? Devotees who were first initiated in America by Srila Prabhupada only found out about the need to follow 4 regs AFTER the initiation. There is no need to change the philosophy. We only need to change our presentation of KC and our expectations.user [13] · 2009-01-02
There are degrees of "changing to suit the public". Translating the books from Sanskrit to English is one example of changing to suit the public, rather than ddemanding that they change to accommodate us. Writing a commentary aimed at the (then) modern west for Bhagavad-gita, rather than simply reproducing another previous commentary, is another.Each generation of the parampara must imbibe the tradition and strive to make it relevant to the current world. Some people will deviate while doing that. In the long run their branch will die. Innovation flies, deviation dies. Thats the process of natural selection of religious tradition.
user [166] · 2009-01-03
I guess the question is to what extent or degree do we strive to make our preaching relevant to the current world - do we fit our preaching around what the public would like to see? Or do we influence the public in such a way so they can digest our presentation and accept it on our own terms - as Srila Prabhupada has indicated in the quote.