Preaching is like the head of our KC society

The purpose of this article is to emphasise the great and urgent need for preaching activities (which is more important than temple management) which is the spearhead of the Mission of Srila Prabhupada and also highlighting the dangerous effect of schisms. Through the lectures, letters and conversations of Srila Prabhupada he stressed this point again and again especially to his leading devotees. When disciples do not strive to fulfill the orders of the spiritual master but instead work towards realising their own selfish ambitions there is naturally stagnation. The tendency to compromise the preaching to accommodate other things such as elaborate managerial formulas, whimsical fantasies of all sorts etc… in essence, things which tend to go in the name of "service" to the Guru's mission but in actual fact spoil it are simply different manifestations of the latent disease…personal interest.

As is always the case contamination starts with the head going bad and gradually infiltrates the entire society affecting even ordinary rank and file devotees. Behind all of Srila Prabhupada's extraordinary accomplishments it is the duty of every devotee to capture the essence of the Guru's mission.

Failure to do so leaves one at the risk of falling into material entanglement. In the great establishment ISKCON there are certainly many aspects all meant ultimately for the purpose of pleasing the Supreme Lord Krsna However these only possess value if used to carry out the orders of Srila Prabhupada. It was far more important for Srila Prabhupada to see his devotees saved from the victimization of Maya and actually advance in the Krsna Conscious Science than it was to develop a worldwide organisation. This of course is not to say that it is of no value but only to emphasise that its purpose should be fulfilled. Srila Prabhupada made the following remark about his own Guru Maharaja.

" According to the revealed scriptures, if a spiritual master can convert even one soul into a perfectly pure devotee, his mission in life is fulfilled. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura always used to say, " Even at the expense of all the properties, temples and mathas that I have, if I could convert even one person into a pure devotee, my mission would be fulfilled."" (C.C Adi lilä 7.91)

So in effect the purpose and life force of Srila Prabhupada's mission is to preach and deliver the fallen conditioned souls bringing them into the position of pure devotees. Without preaching, the movement is spiritually dead as well as its members.

"We are going to produce such Vaisnavas, not these dull rascals, sitting down . We don't want these Vaisnavas, sitting down rascals. We want Arjuna or we want no one . That is Vaisnava. That is wanted.

Jayatirtha: It's time to go back. [break]

Prabhupada: ...that if we remain rascals, then that Gaurasundara's example will be followed. One day you'll again become crazy and close up everything and smoke. That's all. My Guru Maharaja used to say, prana arthe yanra sei hetu pracara. " One who has got life, he can preach." The dead man cannot preach. So you become with life, not like dead man. Without life ... Just like all my godbrothers. They are dead men. And therefore they are envious of my activities. They have no life. If you want to make easy-going life, showing the Deity and then sleep, then it is a failure movement.

Bahulasva: Jaya Prabhupada ."

(Morning walk July 13, 1974, Los Angeles)

At any cost we should see that the preaching survives which is like the head of the Krsna Conscious Society.

"This routine work, such as chanting, speaking, rising early, cleaning, cooking and offering prasadam, arati, reading books-- these activities are the backbone of our Society, and if we practice them nicely in a regulative manner, then our whole program will be successful. If we become slack or neglect these things, then everything else we may try will fail. So it is very important that you keep your standards very high in these activities, then your preaching will be strong. Preaching is our real business, preaching and distributing books. If your preaching work is strong, then your management of temple affairs will also become automatically very strong. Just like if the head wills it, the hand will move. Preaching is like the head of our KC Society--if the head is removed, the whole body dies. Managing is the hands, which work nicely if the head is healthy. If the hands are removed, the body will not die, but it will be crippled. So preaching is more important than management, but both must be there if the whole body is to operate nicely."

(Letter to: Patita Uddharana, Delhi, 8 December, 1971)

We have broken this article into 3 Sections,

(A) Purity is the force by which to preach
(B) Trouble making, Trouble shooting and
(C) Simply by Chanting.

It would be worth the while for the reader to go through each section chronologically so as to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issues.