Srila Prabhupada’s Direction of Management is essential

by  Nimai Pandit das, Temple President Long Island, NY

Subject: ISKCON Long Island, NY

Testimonial Ref: Direction Of Management (DOM)

Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2005 Dear Mukunda Prabhu,

Please accept my most humble obeisances! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Prabhu, thank you very much for compiling the Srila Prabhupada  Lilamrita As   It is. The box of books which we got, we have been distributing to  our  congregation and many have liked it. I had sent one box to Kapindra  Maharaj  and 1 box to Nara Narayana Prabhu, as instructed by Jaya Krishna  Prabhu. We read  from the book every day after Srila Prabhupada’s Guru  puja. I have read your postings about the Direction of Management  implementation  – that now is not the time to implement it, more need is  there to concentrate  on Hearing from Srila Prabhupada and raising the  general standard of the Temples.

I agree with you to a large extent. Your  compilation book “All  of Us should hear Srila Prabhupada”, has been well  read and distributed by  us for the last 4 years. We hear from Srila  Prabhupada extensively in the temple,  the ISKCON Long Island, NY. We also  all read and distribute His Divine Grace’s  original books and we go out  and chant(singing in the original style of kirtan  as taught by Srila  Prabhupada), distributing prasadam and books weekly thrice  and doing house  programs. When the colleges start in September, we will start  regular  college programs too. I myself read at least one hour daily Srila  Prabhupada’s  books and letters.

In the temple we have Srila Prabhupada  singing kirtans 24 hours  thru speakers in all places in the temple. We  even have a 24 hours internet radio  station where one can log onto  www.iskconny.com and here the temple kirtans and  lectures or  singing/lectures from Srila Prabhupada or his early disciples all   day/night long. All in the temple are being trained to be Srila  Prabhupada’s disciples.  The deities Sri Sri Nimai Nitai, were installed by  Srila Prabhupada in 1975 and  were worshipped by Visnujan Maharaj. We  change their clothes twice daily, daily  abhishek and make offerings 4  times a day. We have been gradually trying to implement  the original way  of deity seva instituted by Srila Prabhupada in his ISKCON temples.

So, at  least by some standards, this is a functioning ISKCON temple,  as Srila  Prabhupada desires it to be. Obviously, we could do much more to purify   ourselves and others. And we will continue to increase our endeavor’s  specially  by the blessings and instructions of devotees like your good  self. We came to know of the Direction of Management last year in court   (Supreme Court of New York) during a hearing on a lawsuit brought by the  so-called  “GBCs” who were trying to kick us out of the temple, on the  charge that  we are “ritviks”. It was their argument that they are  appointed GBC  by Srila Prabhupada according to the document- the DOM.

Hence they had the right  to demand obedience! That is the time Sriman Nara  Narayana Vishwakarma Prabhu told  us the importance of Srila Prabhupada’s  DOM and the weak points in the presentation  of the “GBCs”.  He even  submitted an affidavit to the court to lay the  real background of this  document. Especially that these are not the real GBCs  as they have not  been elected. Partly, due to his brilliant exposition of the document, the  judge  ordered the so-called “GBC”s to stay away. So now, for the last  almost  1 year, we have been free to practice KC, as ordered by Srila Prabhupada to his  disciples, in an organized manner. We do not associate  with the so-called ISKCON temples. All “GBCs”  or their representatives  have to take permission to come in the temple – which  they have never  asked for.

Basically, we are practicing Krishna Consciousness,  keeping the  Acarya in the center and associating with like-minded devotees around  the  world. During the lawsuit, we requested Locanananda Prabhu to come and   speak about the Gurukuli abuses to show the corruption in the current  ISKCON to  the  Judge.  His 5 minute testimony was powerful and moving, even  he choked up!  We have also been helping the poison investigation, details  of which I am not  at a liberty to reveal. My point is that even though we  are an ISKCON temple, we do not  associate with the corrupt  ISKCON “leadership”, rather are trying to  educate others(innocents) about  it.

Since last year’s court battle, we have also been implementing  the  Direction of Management in the temple – gradually. We have resisted  the “GBC”s pressures to change our  name from ISKCON to something else,  Direction of Management specifically is made  by Srila Prabhupada on the  letterhead of INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS,   INCORPOATED. This is the legal organization which owns our temple property.

So  this is the first thing we have done in implementing DOM. Not to change  the name  to anything else other than ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada moreover  says, “Then in 1966, July, I incorporated the Society under the  name and  style the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, briefly ISKCON.

The lawyer was Mr. J. Goldsmith. Gradually the Society increased, and one  after  another branches were opened. Now we have got thirty-four (34)  branches enlisted  herewith”. Srila Prabhupada is specifically saying he  incorporated a society  name(d) ..”briefly ISKCON”. All real property  should be in the name of ISKCON. This is his  order. “7. Advice will be  given by the GBC in cases of real property  purchases, which will be in the  name of ISKCON, INC. (Trucks or other vehicles  will be purchased in the  name of the local president).”

Hence these are the first instructions of  DOM that we have already  implemented here. We considered that these  instructions we heard from Srila Prabhupada  via his DOM are as important  as his instructions we heard from in his lectures.  I am sure you will  agree and see the practicality of the situation. I have found  here that  devotees are more agreeable to help and cooperate if they can work under   the name of ISKCON.

You can understand that fighting a lawsuit to defend  ourselves,  keeping the temple program going daily, keeping regular  preaching programs in  NYC and taking care of the medium size congregation,  for the last more than 1  year, takes some amount of resources,  organization and cooperation among a good  many like-minded devotees.

Another instruction of Srila Prabhupada from the Direction of  Management  which we have implemented is the next one: “8. Removal of a Temple  president by the GBC requires support  by the local Temple members.” All  devotees in the temple(currently 5 brahmacaris, 2 grahastha  couple) know  it and have seen this in writing and have been told by me several  times,  that if the devotees feel that the current Temple President, myself, is   not doing his duty properly and is not qualified to do the service, then he  can  be removed by the Temple Members and a new one can be elected by the  Temple Members.  This instruction became paramount to implement now as  devotees are all serving  here, voluntarily, and giving up all their  material possessions, and they wanted  to know who is my authority. As I am  definitely not a pure devotee, I found it  a very good question to think of  an answer of. Who is there to correct me? Srila  Prabhupada.

But what if I  refuse or am unable to take the chastisement or correction  from Srila  Prabhupada. Is there another method Srila Prabhupada has set up in  his  organization for the managers to be accountable? According to the DOM,  GBCs  supervise Temple Presidents. But what if there are no real GBCs  supervising me,  as is the case now? At least the temple members have a say  in keeping me in check  if I become autocratic.

Without that safety check,  which intelligent, Brahman  like devotee would like to surrender fully in  such a temple environment for a  long time? Otherwise, generally we have  seen, and I know you have also experienced  in “your” temple, the devotees  in the temple start feeling that the  TP thinks it is “his” temple. I see  that this DOM instruction of Srila Prabhupada would work  the other way  round too, when there are elected GBCs, they wouldn’t be able to  remove a  TP whimsically, and hence a householder would feel much more secure in  making his house into a preaching center in the name of ISKCON, legally,  and put  his hard-earned earnings in ISKCON’s bank a/c to be used according  to the instructions  of Srila Prabhupada for preaching.

This is how the new  centres were opened in  the early days. To insure that kind of trust again,  without the DOM as a safety  check, how will the householder’s make their  home’s into ISKCON temples? The other DOM instructions we have implemented  are based upon  this instruction of Srila Prabhupada “They are already  managing individual centers represented  by one president, one secretary  and one treasurer, and in my opinion they are  doing nice.” At that time,  according to my research, and I may be wrong, there  were regular  istagosthis of the devotees.

In the temple the men and women were  living  separately in the respective ashrams, even if they were married. All  devotees  would attend the whole morning program, especially the TP, and  they would go out  on sankirtan, which meant, distributing Kirtan, books  and Prasadam. So we are  gradually implementing these instructions. You are  welcome to come, stay with  us in the Men’s ashram and check and give  suggestions on what more can we do.  Another statement of Srila Prabhupada  is “Gradually the Society  increased, and one after another branches were  opened. Now we have got thirty-four  (34) branches enlisted herewith.”

So  we are trying to see which other temples/preaching  centres around the  world, whether called ISKCON or not, are willing to form the  real ISKCON  organization, under the banner of INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA   CONSCIOUSNESS. Maybe in a year’s time, things will get cleared up, on who  are  real ISKCON temples and who are not, so that new contacts can be told  the references  of the temples. We are trying to make new ISKCON centers,  based upon Srila Prabhupada’s  formula of householder’s opening preaching  centers, men work initially, and in  spare time, they go out on sankirtan.

NY has many householder’s who are Srila  Prabhupada’s disciples, and we are  working with them, having regular Istagosthis  in their homes, and  generally helping them start their own centers in their homes  -gradually.  Of course, as you say, the first thing is to infuse in everyone the  strong  desire and importance of hearing from Srila Prabhupada. And to understand   that Srila Prabhupada is a nitya-siddha associate of Lord Caitanya,  Personality  of Servitor Godhead and that all his activities are executed  from a platform of  ecstatic love of Lord Krishna. Krishnalingita Vigraha.  I am not under illusion  that it will take some years before these places  would become ISKCON centres.  But this is where we have started, and  simultaneously these are the principles  of DOM which all of us are  familiar with while preaching.

They know that the temple  is governed by  Srila Prabhupada’s Direction of Management and in some years when  there  are enough temples, and most of those temple presidents feel that “we  have  increased our volume of activities, now I think a Governing Body  Commission  (hereinafter referred to as the GBC) should be established. ”

Then we would  be in a position to implement even this instruction of Srila  Prabhupada in his  expanding real ISKCON. I can definitely say that I would  not be today talking to you  as President of a functioning growing ISKCON  temple(albiet small), if I had not  started studying the DOM with the  understanding that this is a practical instruction  manual kept by Srila  Prabhupada to manage his institution.

And I can also safely  say that this  understanding has been progressively made possible by the assistance  of  our senior Godbrother Sriman Nara Narayana Vishwakarma Prabhu. I am  grateful  that he preached the importance of DOM in ISKCON to us, we won  the lawsuit partly  due to this angle. I see that he is preaching to ISKCON  temples with a view to  enlightening some other ISKCON temples like us with  the hope that some of them  will overthrow the corrupt leadership so that  they can implement the hearing process  of Srila Prabhupada in the right  environment.

Otherwise, maybe some intelligent  devotees may come out of  the temples on coming to know of the reality. The hearing process of Srila  Prabhupada, as emphasized by you  is of paramount importance and should be  really propagated. This is the most effective  method to change our base  qualities of nature to goodness and then to suddha goodness,  from which  platform we can preach. I do not see from his postings or in his temple  that Nara Narayana Vishwakarma Prabhu is not agreeable to this fact.

But I  can  also maybe bring to your kind attention that to maintain the hearing  environment  in an organized temple setup, which can provide a powerful  tool to hear and discuss  in an association, progressive implementation of  Srila Prabhupada’s Direction  of Management is essential. I can testify to  it. Thank you for your great contributions to the resuscitation of  ISKCON,  and look forward to hearing from you. Your humble servant, Nimai Pandit das Temple President

ISKCON Freeport Long Island, NY