OUR MISSION IS TO SEE THAT ALL CONGREGATION MEMBERS ARE HAPPY IN PERFORMING THEIR DEVOTIONAL SERVICES
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During the early phase of Hare Krishna movement, spiritual life was perceived as meaning to live in the temple as a full-time devotee. The word “devotee” referred to someone who was fully engaged in temple activities and living in a temple for full time. Those who lived outside were referred to as “karmis”. Srila Prabhupada had just started the movement in the West where practically no one had any idea about Krishna Consciousness or devotional service. Therefore, such commitment and involvement were essential.
Srila Prabhupada was the pioneer who paved the way for the future of Krishna consciousness. Millions of his books were distributed, yet at the same time he realized there were not as many devotees to match the numbers of books that had been distributed. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada said, “Training is needed.”
That training is fulfilled by congregational preaching, which emphasizes small group cultivation of people, and training in the principles of devotional service. He wanted to see Krishna conscious communities develop all over the world. His vision was that people will practice and preach Krishna consciousness from their homes. The congregation can help preach alongside and support the temple preaching in various ways.
With the passing of time, the outlook changed – the attitude of the movement broadened and those who were unable to become fully involved for various reasons were also included. The congregational preaching mission started which changed most of the important aspect of our International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Congregational preaching means Krsna consciousness for the grihastha ashram. Today, the devotees living outside of the temple far outnumber the full-time devotees within the temple. Because of this development, the Krishna consciousness movement has grown with a tremendous speed. When ISKCON first began it was an ashram-based society. Over the past forty-one years, the society has grown vastly. Now, there are more devotees living outside the temple than within. In this way, they are strengthening the foundation of our movement. They may not be able to participate in temple activities on a daily basis, but they come to the temple on the weekends and render various services regularly.
“Make Homes Into Centers”
Congregational development is an untapped field that presents new opportunities for all kinds of preachers,. It incorporates a systematic method for contacting and cultivating new devotees and engaging them in service. New people and potential devotees should, as far as possible, be brought into the loop, their details taken and follow-ups commissioned. As Srila Prabhupada said, we have to fan the fire and cause it to burn.
In many regions of the world, we have seen attempts to enhance congregational development. Some attempts have been more successful than others. It is very important that all of our devotees embrace congregational preaching.
They should take the faithful members of our congregation, and systematically train them in Krishna consciousness. Devotees should help increase their service spirit for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission.
We should have a group of dynamic devotees who are inspired to spread harinama sankirtana. They will preach the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya caritamrta and inspire people to become first-class devotees.
The Congregational Development Ministry is an extremely important aspect of our society. I would like to request all of our members to try and understand how we can implement Nama-Hatta and Bhakti Vriksha groups in a more concrete and sound way. This will help us to further the mission of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Even though grihastha’s may not be engaged in daily services in the temple, they are very deserving of our respect as a very valuable part of our community. We have to utilize their talents and abilities for the propagation of Krishna consciousness. They should be motivated and trained to become active preachers and spiritual leaders. In this respect, we can closely follow the lives of various exalted householder devotees of the past. Of course, during Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s time, the social situation was not as complex as it has become today. In India at that time, life was very simple, food and other necessities were in abundance and the attitude of the people was also very generous. That is the advantage of living close to nature. However, today’s world has drifted far away from that lifestyle and as a result household life has become so complex. Therefore, we must recognize that in spite of such pressure and responsibility, the individuals who are maintaining their Krishna consciousness in their household situation are indeed great devotees and deserve our heartfelt appreciation. For their sake, our movement has to sincerely consider how to create appropriate situations to properly utilize their valuable time.
One of the best ways to motivate householders is by genuinely recognizing their contribution to ISKCON. It is our duty as ISKCON leaders to guide those who are earnestly involved in accepting and propagating Krishna consciousness and engage them according to their talents and the needs of the movement. Let us give congregational preaching the importance that it deserves. Let us recognize that this is the most powerful tool for the propagation of Krishna consciousness all over the world and let us not hesitate to give it all the support it needs to become a very solid foundation for our movement.