From the President S Desk (Cont.)

From the President’s Desk (Cont.)

Rabindra Svarupa Prabhu brilliantly points out how the fourprevious Founder Acharyas were preparing the way for Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu synthesized their teachings intoacintya beda- abeda tattvawhich the Six Goswamisthen taught. Then Vaishnavism almost disappearedand wasbrought back to life by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur and was taken all over the world by Srila Prabhupada.The spiritual master prepares a path back to godhead. This is Srila Prabhupada’s position, it is what he has made and created for us. He is “the 5th Founder Acharya” for the iron age, because he is teaching the accumulated work of the other four.

He concluded by tying this into the management of ISKCON : the GBC only functions and works when people come together and cooperate. This creates stability you cannot get if there is one single leader. Having interest separate from the guru’s interest will break the organization apart. (“Krishna’s lotus feet” Srila Prabhupada said, ”are big enough for everyone”).

Srila Prabhupada is the soul of ISKCON. There is no concept that Srila Prabhupada our Founder Acharya ever fades into the background (for example: the vyasasana with his murti in every temple, his picture on the altar with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai ). The idea of preaching in the west was Bhaktivinode Thakura’s and organizing this was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura’s. Srila Prabhupada just continued this idea. In ISKCON we act as his assistants in bringing people back to Godhead.

BBT PRESENTATION given by Vaisesika das and Svavas das

GOALS ARE POTENT (20% increase was the goal for 2012 and+28.6% was achieved in BBT sales!)

In 2013 we are using the slogan: TAX YOUR BRAIN so we can increase it again by 20%.

Srila Prabhupada said often, “this is my only solace in life, to see the BBT scores”. Some of the temples only really got started this year (using teamwork plus monthly sankirtan festivals). In Philadelphia and Laguna Beach there are only a few temple devotees who have so much engagement already, their congregational members took it up, and they reallygot a taste. (“when the leaders are in, everyone has access”). Hillsborough NC used creative ways to get books out (in bunches, as gift packs during Janmastami, Thanksgiving on campus, Christmas- gifts to spread peace in the world). One devotee who had been trained in Toronto moved to Austin Texas, where there is just a loose congregation of devotees, and through tables at farmer’s market and harinama book tables, she coordinated a successful book distribution marathon there. Los Angeles increased by working with their congregation, having a manned book table every Sunday feast and using Sunday announcements about the importance of book distributionand how pleasing it is to Srila Prabhupada. Educate the congregation, they get excited, and they want to be part of something.

Book distribution is high sadhana, so go outside your comfort zone and as you become more comfortable then you are in the right zone. Srila Prabhupada said to always look for “a fresh challenge”.

In this age the fire yajna wood we carry for the spiritual master is the books, because distribution of books is the yajna for this age.

How will we smash last year’s goal?: Motel Gita, Training, Rathyatra (at the parade and at the book table), Festivals and Events, and selling Full Set sales

KRSNA’S MYSTIC POWER + STRAGTEGIC PLANNING + UNITY = 20% increase

Shyam Bihari das gave a short presentation on the MOTEL GITA program, the perfect channel to get our books out. 65% of motel owners are Asian American, and he sees this as clearlyMahaprabhu’s arrangement to get the Gitas out. Today there are over 135K BGs in motels/hotels. The team has attended motel owner conventions, with the maximum number placed in December- 16,000. These go in prestigious chain motels, not just mom and pop businesses. (Motel owners report that guests come to breakfast with the Bhagavad Gita in hand!).

50th ANNIVERSARY of ISKCON is in 2016 . When an organization lasts till 50 that’s a powerful sign that you’re here to stay. Let’s talk about ways we can celebrate in our own temple.

PREACHING IN CUBA by Bhaktimarga Swami Through a branch of ISKCON Toronto, a center was opened in Cuba. Some devotees mixed their vacation with spreading the mission, going to different cities and giving alittle lecture, japa, kirtan and prasad. Devotees in Toronto and Brampton donated money, supplies, and spices. Programs have been going on for five years now andnow there are initiated devotees there. Their economy is the worst in the western hemisphere and is worse now than ever before. Our temple is not even legal there yet. You can’t bring books over, so the devotees there take the little money they have and get one book translated and printed there.

FESTIVAL OF COLORS in New Vrindavan by Jaya Krsna das

Taking instruction from Caru Prabhu New Vrindavan held their first annual Festival of Colors this year. Caru Prabhu started in Utah in 2001 with 16 participants. Last year he had 80,000 participants, the line of cars waiting to get in was 32 miles long! The state of Utah is now adjusting the highway to Spanish Fork so they don’t have this problem in the future. These events produces a lot of media coverage, his youtube video was on page one, and hadover a million hits.

Following in their footsteps, we are planning a Festival of Colors, Alachua in April this year. More news on this to come next week.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY RELIGIOUS LEADERS Praharana dd This is a new national department overseen by Praharana dd ACBSP from Toronto. These kinds of incidents do happen and they can destroy a community. The department is creating awareness information among temple leaders as prevention will save temples a lot of problems. Praharana prabhu discussed effective ways temple leaders can deal with reports, and stressed the importance offostering a temple and community environment of morality and principles as established by Srila Prabhupada. The Pastoral Abuse department has put together a helpful brochure we will have available in our temple office.

ISKCON RESOLVE by Braja Bihari das They facilitate Srila Prabhupada’s principle of cooperation. They deal with distracting conflicts and temples can refer issues to them, confer with them, direct devotees to them. They also do executive coaching, facilitation, mediation, and training.

STRATEGIC PLANNING by Romapada Swami Planning the future of ISKCON.

ISKCON TODAY: 15 schools, 272 temples (not including preaching centers and bhakti vrksha groups), 15 restaurants, 54 farm communities; millions+ devotees.

The SPT is charged with creating a strategic plan to address the needs of the future, making a plan to support the growth of ISKCON. Putting in considerable persona time (hour long conference calls 2x a week)they alsomake sure all the work that is done at the two annual GBC meetings gets put into action.

In this way they focus on strengthening our foundations:
creating a constitution, understanding who is a member of ISKCON, defining ISKCON culture (VANDE promoting cultural presentations that are Krishna conscious), lines of authority (includes spiritual authority, managerial/organizational authority, monies given to the guru vs. using in local temples, what is the point of convergence/divergence), Srila Prabhupada’s position (meaning of Founder-Acharya), (creating courses on Srila Prabhupada, “SP the Living Bhagavatm”), films on how to properly worship Srila Prabhupada’s murti), and more ideas for developing our fidelity and understanding of Srila Prabhupada.

The SPT looks at building our capacity for leadership: team building-working together globally, succession: the ongoing process of systematically identifying talent among younger devotees, developing a culture of succession, this requires current leaders to put in time and effort. Create systems of succession, training leaders. Identify candidates; assessment of capabilities: training; deployment; evaluation

Go to .iskcon.org

They also have teams working on developing systems of Devotee care (hospice in Vrndavan; retirement enclave for those who have devoted their lives to ISKCON), Expanding outreach(bringing the plan out the to the world), What does surrender mean: (Srila Prabhupada said it means to “use your intelligence”). Additionally they are creating service descriptions for GBCs (assessment, training, reassignment if necessary, new gbcs,/succession). Strategic Planning is our gift to future generations.

Other results of the SPT meetings:

Sannyasi deployment for two months out of the year, wherever GBC needs help
Performance accountability, reviews for the GBC
Special Initiatives such as temple development seminars, parameters of being a service organization or an affiliate of ISKCON
>looking at conflicts of interest

KRISHNA HOUSE by Kalakantha das
His vision is“to expand the kirtan and elevate the devotees”. He brought five members representing the different types of people who reside in Krishna House and they each gave their personal story.

Kalakantha Prabhu recognizes and understands that people coming into our movement will have different natures and not everyone will become aminister. He has created a program that gives his residents a good hold in Krishna conscious life while they decide how they will use that when their two year tenure is over. He is a shining example of how we can make more devotees and happier devotees.

ISKCON OVERVIEW by Badrinarayan das

Focusing in on development around the world Badrinarayan Prabhu gave an interesting overview from some remote parts of the globe: Africa: they have their own BBT office, producing Zula and Mandela language editions of Coming Back, using African design and imagery in the books. They have a good core of brahmacari book distributor; there are college programs; a Rathyatra in Soweto, well received Harinamas inSwaziland. In Dhaka , Bangladesh there are Jagannath deities, with 200 devotees living on the site (125 brahmacaris), at the Sunday feast up to 1000 people come; a lot of the temple is funded by one woman, Devaki devi dasi from Germany. They use posters to advertise Srila Prabhupada books, they print and distribute BTG magazine, have a bakery, restaurant, book store, youth forum, and Sunday school (200 kids); the Rathayatra in Dhakha goes right past the national Mosque, (this countryis 85% moslem) and 50-60K attend, it goes 9 days serving 80K full plates of prasad, and then it goes to 11 other cities. They incorporate a soy chunk product that is made by devotees into the subji because the country is so heavily meat eating. Indian businessmen who have been forced to leave have donated land for ISKCON temples. We saw slides of the TRAVELING PRASADAM TRUCK with big tents that open up at the back creating its own space for kirtan and prasad serving. They go to big festivals (Burning Man and Bhakti Fest). We saw slides on a CHANGING BODIES WEBSITEwhere one fills out a questionnaire, and at the end you will get back a photo of what you will look like in your next life. It takes your photo and it morphs into an animal, human, deva, etc. then slokas from Bhagavad Gita come up.In six months the creator has had 150K hits, and sold thousands of books. There is a SENIORS ENCLAVE being planned in MAYAPURA, where devotees who have given their lives in service can be recommendedfor retirement living there. Plans are to build the same in Jagannath Puri, then later Vrndavan. CHENNAI TEMPLEjust opened with 25000 attending, it is designed like a little planetarium.
ISKCON ITALY has a successful program distributing books in one spot for five days, then have a festival on the last day. They travel with a huge semi truck with a tent, stage and sound system, seats 400; they even travel with a cow!

We learned about preaching inChina where it is illegal for groups larger than 12 to congregate. To get around this the devotees hold scholarly conferences on Vedic themes, seminars and teacher training courses (they teach bhakti shastri), do presentations at martial arts school, and hold “birthday parties”. They rent a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant, and when inside they all change into devotee clothes, hundreds of people come, they chant and preach, and then everyone leaves and goes home. Srimad Bhagavatam is now printed in China through a collaboration of the government press and the BBT press combined.
In HUNGARY, the government recently tried to de-register them. The devotees set up in front of the parliament with their cows and put up a stage. Theyplastered cartoon signs all over Budapest to publicize what the gov’t was trying to do: “we take the land you keep the religion”. So many international scholars and gov’t people spoke out in defense of the devotees the government did not prevail. The Bhagavad Gita isnow translated intoVietnamese, and Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta and the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam is published in Burmese.

TEMPLE OF THE VEDIC PLANETARIUM presentation by Ambarisa das, similar to the one he gave at our Sunday feast program last month.

There is a POLICY ON LEADER SOLICITATIONS being crafted by the North American Executive Committee, so that sannyasis and leaders from outside the US who come here to collect for their projects in other countries become more accountable to our GBCs and North American temples. This practice is Illegal according to tourist and R-1 visas, creates tax concerns for individual donors as well as other problems.

GREEN GARDEN INITIATIVE Tapapunja das
Connecting the dots between why plain living leads to high thinking.
He presents an alternative world view of farming using animal power, the oldest system in the world. Hegives a popular seminar called Bad Karma Is Not Sustainable – how to farm like your next life depended on it. Part of the presentation uses the diorama of the man with cow’s face raising an axe to the cow with man’s face. People get the point quickly. His idea is to share a secret of sustainable farming that is very important to one’s personal destiny.

There is a huge potential for preaching in this field. 1 out of 200 teenagers is a vegetarian. But the animal rights groupsare quite shut down to talking about animal power and using milk, so this is our niche. He finds success by combining prasad outreach with sustainable gardening: vegetarian Meals on Wheels. He finds many people visiting New Vrindavan connect with the simple living, farming life.

He does partnerships with the local colleges/plant and soil sciences dept. He partners with the organic seed partnership, and recruits from the universities for helpers for specific projects. He has 15 shaded gazebos around the farm for gueststo learn about sustainability and Krishna consciousness. He takes surplus produce to soup kitchens and food pantries which has built a lot of social capital. He put gardens in at WV Northern CC as a culinary Arts Garden and as a result he got to give two lectures to 2 groups of students about the responsibility of being a cook.

He has his apprentices putting in some of the gardens now, putting them in all over at schools, public housing developments, and this includes curriculum about growing and eating right. This is a way we can get into the global green and sustainability movement that deals with real problems that other groups such as PETA cannot touch.

HH BHAKTI MARGA SWAMI put on another wonderful short drama called Bhagavad Gita Concise, with three young actors who came down from Toronto, and several others who jumped in right from Houston with only three days preparation. Thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable.

I missed the Sunday presentation by Lilasuka dd on the North American Child Protection Office and the Brahmacari Programs presentation by Maha Tattva das from San Diego.

By Mukhya devi dasi