Sanctioning Multiple Missionary Ventures

[suchandra 1]

Multiple missionary ventures - moving from brahminical culture to varnashrama? Could it be that temples are getting empty?

When his HH Devamrita Swami says, "today often temples in such former boom countries are quiet, inactive, and shockingly inhospitable except for, at best, on Sundays," what could that mean? He says, it is a GBC resolution but goes as opinion?

 

http://news.iskcon.com/node/964/2008-03-31/the_logistics_multi-iskcon_centres_same_city

Opinion

 

The Logistics of Multi-ISKCON Centres in the Same City

 

By Devamrita Swami on 31 Mar 2008

 

Image: Dennis Gerbeckx

 

<!--paging_filter-->The 2008 Mayapur GBC annual meeting ratified as official ISKCON policy the presence of multiple ISKCON centres in the same city.

Conceived in New Vrindavan, June 2007, at the special GBC meeting for strategic planning, the “urban proliferation proposal” earned unanimous support from the brainstorming GBCs, hungry for greater ISKCON effectiveness. Their enthusiasm led to the final resolution crafted and passed at Mayapur in March.

In the eyes of many GBCs, the crucial factor for their support was the stipulation that any expansion in a city would be subject to the local GBCs guidance and authority--in other words, no loose splinters flying off on their own.

A look at ISKCON's urban history reveals why this resolution was necessary. Both ISKCON and cities have changed. During the early, developmental years of the sixties and seventies, extending into the eighties, the common devotee notion of the day was one centre per metropolis. A prime reason for this policy was the prevalence of traveling sankirtan parties roaming throughout the first major ISKCON continents, North America and Europe. Hence Srila Prabhupada established the protocol that no sankirtan party from one city could enter the sankirtan space of another city without permission of the local president.

Perhaps this protocol was taken too strictly, as justification for a rigid "city-state concept"--both of a temple and of its president's domain. Thus apparently the idea became enshrined that one temple president controlled entire sprawling metropolises such as Johannesburg (8 million), Chicago (9 million), New York (20 million), and London (14 million).

True, less expansive geo-ecclesiastics would limit the city-state temple's domain to precisely within a city’s official borders. Nevertheless, even such partially curtailed concepts of metropolitan sovereignty still encompassed massive areas, millions of people, and lengthy commuting distances. An interesting historical item is that during the eighties, considerations in ISKCON for developing more centres in the same city were often dismissed as needless "duplication of missionary services."

Since the heady, trail-blazing days of ISKCON's first phase of urban development, the preaching field has markedly changed, and so have the missionary services. By 2010 more than half of the world’s population will live in cities. That means, for the first time in its known history, humanity will be a predominantly urban species.

Cities have become gargantuan metropolitan sprawls. Traffic congestion—gridlock--has triumphed; consequently the commuting time for ISKCON’s flock has soared. Meanwhile, lamentably, especially in the established market democracies traditionally known as the First World, ISKCON's urban performance generally has plummeted.

Few traveling sankirtan parties now crisscross those nations—thus no need for the exclusive metropolitan monopolies of the golden book distribution days.

Today often temples in such former boom countries are quiet, inactive, and shockingly inhospitable except for, at best, on Sundays.

Therefore at Mayapur the GBCs voted that the time is now--under the local GBC's authority--for sanctioning multiple missionary ventures in the same metropolis, as a tool for igniting more preaching outreach, more servicing of the population.

The ISKCON historical record clearly reveals that none other than Srila Prabhupada himself was the first to advocate multiple centres and temples in the same metropolis. In London, New York City, and Mumbai, Srila Prabhupada urged multiple endeavours. His managemental requirement was that the local GBC would oversee all proliferation. London has had two temples for more than three decades; Mumbai has three (soon four); Delhi is up to six, with no limit in sight.

[Pretender 0]

What about the empty temples in America? How is this to be addressed? For Srila Prabhupada's pleasure.

[indulekhadasi 0]

Yes, I have come to the attention that there is none in Indiana. There is not even a way for devotees to get together. If we can get a project like this going then people will be able to derive the benefit from the association of devotees.

[indulekhadasi 0]

Actually not just Indiana, there are quite a few states that don't have temples. We should try to start such a project. Many people will recieve the nectar of Krishna consciousness.

[suchandra 1]

 

Yes, I have come to the attention that there is none in Indiana. There is not even a way for devotees to get together. If we can get a project like this going then people will be able to derive the benefit from the association of devotees.

Thanks Indulekhadasi, yes, if we assume that connecting with the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna is our original real life full of bliss and knowledge this question is relevant, why people are not lining up to become connected with our eternal life full of transcendental happiness and spiritual joy?

 

Why there're no temples in Indiana and everywhere else Vaishnava temples are dwindling? Isn't Lord Brahma's sampradaya a fully functioning powerhouse to immediately connect us with Lord Krishna's eternal pastimes?

 

However, as we lately read so often, if the Vaishnava institutions preach themselves that even Lord Brahma is falling down and we don't even originate from Vaikuntha, how should it be possible that people consider that there's genuine spirituality in the temples?

 

As soon you present genuine spirituality there're immediately interested people, this much should be clear. Now we have the situation of four million Hindus in US, but what is US - not only USA, everywhere else?

 

The leaders enforce upon the citizens that life is temporary and that there is no life after this life, there's only materialism. Their proof for this believe is no proof at all, nothing but pushing their luck - to bluff and fool us with their material illusions of impertinent wealthiness.

 

Just like one of their demoniac leaders, Richard Hawkins, is preaching that a fetus is just tissue and can be aborted without thinking about it.

 

This is an unproven, erroneous belief and they have no right to enforce such foolish fairy tales at schools, universities, tv and newspapers.

 

The Vedas say, stop the mudhas, wherever there's life there's a soul and to kill or even kill unborn children is the greatest sin.

 

Krishna says, yada yada, He Himself has to constantly descend to establish true religion and devotional service and this is where we are right now.

People are not able to repeat, implement and adopt the very simple teachings of Lord Caitanya's Sankirtan Movement.

 

Temples are getting empty, are being closed, in many parts of the world there're even no temples at all what is nothing but sloppiness of the Vaishnava institutions. Krishna repeatedly promises and assures again and again, as soon you serve Him there's all support. So what is this "dwindling of spiritual assets"?

 

Now there're four million Hindus in US and it is time to wake them up that they live in a system where atheism, materialism and godless understanding is enforced upon them day and night.

 

There's no problem that the demons cannot believe their nonsense, but they have no right to fool and entrain the innocent into their demoniac, hellish civilization.

 

But who's preaching this - who is actually representing Lord Caitanya Sankirtan movement nowadays?

 

Instead, "today often temples in such former boom countries are quiet, inactive, and shockingly inhospitable except for, at best, on Sundays,"

(HH Devamrta Swami on 31 Mar 2008)

[indulekhadasi 0]

 

that even Lord Brahma is falling down and we don't even originate from Vaikuntha, how should it be possible that people consider that there's genuine spirituality in the temples?

 

(HH Devamrta Swami on 31 Mar 2008)

 

Perhaps I should make it clear that my concern was about devotee association, not the fall of the jiva issue.

I believe a specific thing about the jiva issue but I do not wish to write it on a public forum. If anyone is interested about what I know, they can PM me. But if they decide to challenge what I wrote, I will not respond to them. Let them know my beliefs but I will not give them a chance to fight.