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WORLD January 24, 2000 VNN5331 Comment on this story Prabhupada Cenntenial Survey: Final Report (5) BY KUNDALI DAS USA, Jan 24 (VNN) — Fifth in a Series on the PRABHUPADA CENNTENIAL SURVEY: FINAL REPORT This portion of the Centennial Survey of ISKCON consists of the recommendations of Burke Rochford, who not only has the survey results as a basis for his suggestions but as a trained sociologists has a sense of where energies ought to be focused. Recommendations: (Excerpted From the Survey): I offer the following recommendations for no reason other than to help guide the leadership as it considers the question of ISKCON's social development and the broader future of the movement. I am not trying to tell the leaders what to do, although at times it may seem like it. Rather my intention is to suggest what could be done and what areas represent the most immediate problems requiring attention. I realize that it is easy to make recommendations when one is under no obligation to make them happen. I am mindful of that, even if my recommendations sound bold and often ignorant of the conditions under which the leadership is often forced to work. In the most general terms, it is time for ISKCON's leaders to move beyond the crisis mode. Most well informed members or observers of ISKCON realize that ISKCON's leaders have spent the last 20 years "putting out fires" of one sort or another. While this has been a necessary stance it has made it impossible for the leadership to address the fundamental needs of ISKCON's membership. In fighting battles of one sort or another, be they internal (e.g., guru issues) or external (e.g., lawsuits), the fact is many devotees have come to believe that the leadership has failed to vigorously address their needs--most particularly householders. ISKCON has evolved as a religious movement but that evolution more often than not has been unplanned and spontaneous. As the findings presented here suggest, members often feel estranged and powerless because they believe that the leadership is generally unresponsive to their needs for devotee-based employment, education for their children, fair-minded and efficient management, and the like. Please understand I am talking perception. But this perception has ultimately eroded the fundamental trust between those who lead and ISKCON's membership. I believe that one result of this is that devotees are aligning themselves with the ritvik movement and other challenging groups not out of any conviction about what Prabhupada intended for the guru system, but because they are frustrated and even angry that ISKCON's leadership has not responded constructively as they struggle to raise their families in Krishna Consciousness. I think it time for the leadership to dedicate itself (even in the midst of present and future "fires") to making progress on a few specific issues that will benefit ISKCON's membership. In saying this I realize that progress has been made on a number of fronts such as child protection and education. But more could be done and this should be made an institutional priority and not one that grows out of an immediate problem that must be fixed. Think and plan pro-actively. There is both real and symbolic value in such an approach. Devotees' needs will be better served and, in time, the membership will come to trust that the leaders have their interests squarely in mind. Given this perhaps overly bold preamble allow me to raise a few specific issues that are candidates for immediate attention. Some will take long-term planning and involve considerable resources. Others could be done rather quickly given the will of the GBC. I begin with economics, because I think a number of other things rest on building an adequate economic infrastructure to support devotees and ISKCON's communities. (1) Building an Economic Infrastructure. As this report has amply demonstrated, devotees--especially householders--have been forced to seek employment outside of ISKCON's communities. The results of this trend have not always been beneficial to ISKCON or to the spiritual lives of devotees themselves. ISKCON members working outside are less likely to remain as involved in their religious practices, are less involved in and committed to ISKCON, are more involved in the outside conventional culture, and less committed to a Krishna conscious worldview. But the unavailability of movement/devotee-based employment has other implications for ISKCON and its membership. Over the last few years greater attention has been focused on education within ISKCON. This has involved educating new adult members to the movement as well as children growing up in ISKCON. While most people would applaud these efforts it remains the case that, even should ISKCON build a laudable system of education, a serious problem remains. Even if ISKCON were able to build a gurukula system that was "ideal" however defined, it still remains the case that young men and women who complete their secondary education have little or no future within ISKCON's communities. This is because there are few paying jobs that would allow devotees to be self-supporting, especially if they have families. However educated ISKCON's young adults become, they ultimately have few viable options open to them except to seek employment in the conventional labor market. This very fact suggests that ISKCON's social needs must be considered holistically. It is not enough to "fix" one part of ISKCON's social system without addressing the system as a whole. Prabhupada, and many of his followers, have suggested that varnashram provides such a holistic solution. Leaders have to think of sankirtan primarily in terms of preaching, rather than in terms of the financial resources it brings. Without question sankirtan has brought large sums of money into ISKCON and has bankrolled ISKCON's worldwide expansion (Rochford 1985). Yet in every case that I am aware of, sankirtan revenues begin to diminish in time, most often at the very moment when householder life expands and the need for resources increases. Sankirtan should be considered a short-term economic strategy; one that can help finance other types of entrepreneurial activity supportive of ISKCON's membership and ISKCON itself. Without a stable financial base ISKCON's communities have fragmented and devotees' have in various ways lost the social supports that encouraged their spiritual pursuits and goals for self-realization. I recommend that the GBC immediately establish regional economic committees comprised of devotees who have proven themselves productive businessmen and businesswomen and/or economic strategists. I say regional because I expect that while a movement-wide economic strategy might be possible, it is more likely that economic plans will vary by region, country, and perhaps even by community. These planning committees should be given authority to develop economic proposals, raise funds to launch businesses, and maintain a degree of autonomy that allows for working without being compromised by political considerations. I think the goal of these committees should center foremost on employment for devotees, not raising money per se. As such entrepreneurial activity that is labor intensive and capable of employing large numbers of people should be favored. Computer businesses may be profitable for example but they usually are incapable of employing significant numbers of people. Work not profit should be the fundamental goal. (2) Restoring Trust in the Leadership. This report has shown conclusively that the authority (or lack thereof) of ISKCON's gurus and the GBC represent the most significant predictors of member commitment to ISKCON. Quite simply, it is clear that many ISKCON member's (temple devotees, congregational members) and former members alike place minimal trust in ISKCON's leadership. Child abuse, the mistreatment and abuse of women, the neglect of householders, guru scandals, etc., all have eroded the trust that binds devotees to Prabhupada's movement. In organizational terms as well as spiritual ones, ISKCON at its core is in the midst of a crisis of trust. As Seligman argues the "existence of trust is an essential component of all enduring social relationships" (1997:13) and is indeed necessary for the continuation of any social order. Leaders can only be effective when followers have faith in those entrusted with positions of leadership. This is not uniformly the case in many portions of the ISKCON world. Now, with the demise of Harikesh Prabhu, there is reason to believe that this crisis has grown deeper. I recommend that the GBC immediately form a committee whose purpose is to consider how the movement's leadership can restore the trust of ISKCON's membership as well as among those who have chosen to leave the movement. The committee's work should not be about how to strategically defend ISKCON against its critics. Rather it should focus on how to honestly address the concerns of devotees who have been mistreated and abused directly, or by the policies of ISKCON's leadership. As an act of good faith, the committee should consider the possibility of including a limited number of devotees who have been critical of the leadership. Obviously such persons, like all other members of the committee, would be required to affirm his or her commitment to the committee's goals and purposes. (3) Re-enfranchising ISKCON Women. It is clear that both women and men see the need to expand women's spiritual and material roles within the movement. As this report has shown, there is considerable support for women playing a more active and equal role in ISKCON's spiritual and community life. Men and women overwhelmingly agree that Prabhupada viewed his male and female disciples as spiritual equals. And there is evidence that Prabhupada implemented policies and procedures that were meant to be inclusive of women. It seems clear that the majority of the devotees surveyed want women to have rights and responsibilities as given to them by Srila Prabhupada before a backlash against women occurred in the early and mid-1970s (see Ravindra Svarupa 1994; Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi 1997; Radha Devi Dasi 1998). While ISKCON has an obligation to protect women (Executive Committee Letter 1998) leaders also have a responsibility to keep ISKCON a functioning organization able to preach and meet the spiritual needs of its membership. Given the manpower shortages that exist in many temples, ISKCON can ill-afford to disenfranchise a large portion of its membership. While wrong theologically (Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi 1997), and with respect to fundamental human rights (Radha Dasi 1998), it is also simply foolish as an organizational strategy. While many regions of the ISKCON world are in desperate need of human capital to deal with the day-to-day functioning of temple communities, it remains the case that women and women's contributions too often remain under-valued and under-utilized. Organizationally ISKCON can't afford such a position and in fact there are growing numbers of women serving as Temple Presidents and holding other significant management and administrative positions. I recommend that ISKCON leaders immediately move to restore the rights and responsibilities afforded women by Srila Prabhupada. Men should be educated accordingly. (A good start for everyone would be to read the articles by Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi 1997, and Radha Devi Dasi 1998.) Guru and non-guru leaders should teach respect for women; women should again be viewed as capable devotees in the service of Prabhupada's movement rather than as temptresses or other such derogatory characterizations. To do so would immediately increase the self-esteem of women and make them more productive members of ISKCON. By acknowledging women's value and worth as human and spiritual beings it will also make the movement more attractive to potential members who view ISKCON's position on women as antiquated and morally objectionable. (4) Education and Children. ISKCON is slowly losing its most significant resource for the future: its children. A startling percentage of the movement's children are leaving ISKCON or are choosing to remain marginal to it (see Kraybill 1989, on the retention of Amish children into adulthood). Friendships and ties with parents often have more holding power on ISKCON's second generation than ties to ISKCON, or even to the practice of Krishna Consciousness. Certainly, child abuse has directly and indirectly affected a significant portion of ISKCON's now young adults, but this is only one part of the story. For the fact is that ISKCON has yet to find an adequate replacement to the ashram system of schooling. Many parents in the survey express the view that the ISKCON day-school in their community is not adequately meeting the spiritual and academic needs of children. Teachers too often feel that ISKCON has not done nearly enough to support them in their efforts to create better schools. Over the past two years ISKCON's leadership has committed itself to improving education within the movement both for adult members and children. From what I can tell, a substantial start has been made on this front. Yet this initiative has recently been hampered by the defection of Harikesh Prabhu and the (momentary?) loss of resources he had committed to educational projects. Yet ISKCON must begin to build for the future, and like any society that prospers, education must become part of the equation that produces that prosperity. Here I mean education in the broadest sense of the word. Parents, with the assistance of ISKCON, must educate their children, but this education must be centered on goals and purposes that are distinct to ISKCON as a religious organization. Because of this, ISKCON has a central role to play in the socialization and education of the movement's youngest members. In doing the job well ISKCON promises to reap the benefits of a core of young, enthusiastic devotees wanting to push forward Prabhupada's movement. To fail means that ISKCON has essentially squandered its most vital resource and the basis of its future. One only has to stand to the back of any temple in North America to see that there is a clear "graying of the Hare Krishnas." (This too will likely be an issue of significance in the immediate future.) I believe that the movement has to continue in its efforts to acknowledge the mistreatment of second generation devotees in the 1970s and 1980s. It also has to do whatever possible to respond to the real needs of these young men and women. Certainly "Children of Krishna" is precisely such an initiative. But ISKCON's leaders must continue to work with and provide resources to teachers and schools if the movement is to nurture the development of its children. I recommend that recent efforts to improve education within ISKCON continue at full-pace. The education committee now in place must continue to receive the financial and other means of support it needs to promote education in ISKCON. Of equal importance, the leadership must not waver in its commitment to education and thereby to ISKCON's future hope. Educators and children must be seen as the keepers of ISKCON's future, not simply as parties who make demands on scarce resources. The sociologist of religion Rodney Stark writes than any new religion that hopes to succeed must "find important things for young people to do on behalf of their faith" (1987:25). It is time that ISKCON provide the training and support its children need in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead for ISKCON in the twenty-first century. Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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