24 September 2004
Boston, USA
Premananda Dasa

Since its founding by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1966, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has undergone dramatic changes. In its formative stages, ISKCON was primarily a monastic movement comprised of Western converts who became well-known for enthusiastic proselytising.

In the past twenty years, monasticism in North American ISKCON has dwindled, and the organisation has become congregation-based. The face of these congregations has grown increasingly Indian. The asramas (monastic quarters) have been weakened further by a dearth of Canadian and American recruits. Temples now regularly sponsor priests from other countries to perform basic functions.

Some people believe ISKCON is maturing, finding its niche as a chaplain to the Indian diaspora. Organisers of the first Bhakti Vedanta Mission Conference, held in Boston on 24 September 2004, questioned the appropriateness of this downsized role from a new perspective, making an historic first attempt to codify a mission theology for Gaudiya Vaisnavism.

The Conference drew twenty participants—all ISKCON members—to discuss three presentations. Governing Body Commissioner Ravindra Svarupa Dasa began by underscoring the missiological themes of ‘Markine Bhagavata Dharma’ (‘Teaching Krsna Consciousness in America’), a prayer written by Srila Prabhupada upon his arrival in the United States in 1965.

Ravindra Svarupa Dasa noted that Srila Prabhupada understood that it seemed unlikely that he—an impoverished elderly monk in poor health with no institutional support—would be successful in single-handedly evangelising the West.

Through the poem, Ravindra Svarupa Dasa said that readers come to understand that Srila Prabhupada’s mission was to spread the glorification of Krsna all over the world. For this mission to be successful, however, Srila Prabhupada prayed that the Lord bless him and his audience.

Ravindra Svarupa Dasa concluded that the act of Gaudiya mission is based upon the humility, sincerity, and compassionate insight of its proponents. These qualities will enable the presentation of the message of Krsna in ways that are meaningful to modern audiences. The success of that mission is based upon the blessings and authority of the Lord and the teachers in disciplic succession.

Essential principles of Gaudiya mission

In my paper, informed by a review of literature by Eastern Orthodox and Protestant theologians, as well as Gaudiya scripture and history, I articulated eight doctrinal and practical principles of Gaudiya missiology as follows:

Doctrinal principles

• Avatara: The Lord’s descent as the model for mission
• Yutha: The sampradaya as the Lord’s service group and missional instrument
• Saragraha: The essence according to time, place, and candidate
• Yukta-vairagya: Utilising everything favourable in Krsna’s service

Practical principles

• Vairagya-vidya: The foundation of mission in preaching, practice, and worship
• Adhikara: Mission’s appeal to various audiences
• Ei desa: The native expression of worldwide mission
• Sva-cestitam: The wholeness of each Vaisnava community

The rise and decline of the tradition throughout the past five centuries has rested in the ability or inability of its leaders to contextualise these imperatives. I expressed my opinion that ISKCON’s current nadir in North America is fundamentally a result of its members’ lack of awareness of missiological principles.

The impetus for mission begins in Sri Krsna’s compassion for all souls. The Lord descends to induce humanity to remember Him by His teachings and pastimes. These vary according to the era, but the purpose is the same: ‘Krsna should always be remembered and never forgotten. All rules and prohibitions mentioned in the sastras should be the servants of these two principles.’ (Padma Purana)

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu deputed His followers to expand congregational chanting to new nations and generations. I noted that Gaudiya acaryas (teachers in disciplic succession) contextualised widely and deeply, thereby making Krsna consciousness relevant to their audiences. By necessity the mission takes various forms to address audiences in various countries: sacred texts are translated into local languages, natives are enfranchised as laity and clergy, and so on. Adaptation and appropriation are imperatives as the mission addresses new candidates and cultural forces.

Much of the discussion regarding my paper focused on who is qualified to adapt the tradition’s teachings and practices in the absence of Srila Prabhupada. One participant noted that some would oppose any such attempts, insisting that ISKCON’s success lay in simply imitating Srila Prabhupada.

One of the conference organisers, Nimai Nitai Dasa, replied that imitating Srila Prabhupada would demand that devotees show the same flexibility Srila Prabhupada did in adapting and contextualising Krsna consciousness to suit its audiences.

Ravindra Svarupa Dasa proposed a conciliar model in which dedicated and sincere devotees who feel the urgency to make Krsna consciousness available to everyone could work together to discuss and experiment, following the guidance of the scriptures and the acaryas. Participants noted precedent in Gaudiya history for this method in establishing unity among Gaudiya schools and ascertaining best theological practices.

Overcoming nominalism and developing a new strategy for American mission

Lacking a strong and active commitment to contextualisation of mission principles, ISKCON has become increasingly Hindu in appearance and tone, according to Nimai Nitai Dasa, whose paper concluded the Conference. Rather than representing the maturation of the Hare Krsna movement in North America, Nimai Nitai said, ‘Hindu-isation’ represents the weakening of mission and the growing influence of nominalism.

He emphasised the roles of sectarianism and phyletism in weakening ISKCON’s appeal to mainstream audiences. He defined sectarianism as the loss of spiritual relevancy, defined in terms of transforming the lives of followers.

According to Nimai Nitai, a disciplic lineage (sampradaya) can be defined in spiritual or secular terms. The spiritual sampradaya focuses its energies on helping its members overcome worldliness. Its secular counterpart places greater emphasis on institutional survival: ‘If it cures the living entities—if it makes the correct diagnosis of the disease, and if it knows the way of therapy—then it is the divine and not the secular sampradaya.... When the sampradaya does not cure the living entities, but rather is concerned with other matters, it ceases to be divine and becomes secular.’

Phyletism is the idealisation of religious ethnicity. In North American ISKCON, Nimai Nitai Dasa observed, devotees adopt the language, ritualism, and appearance of Hinduism to gain ‘authenticity’ in the eyes of Indian congregations. ‘They exchange a Western ethnicity for an Indian ethnicity, without realising that both are external designations arising from material conditioning.’

By implication, Nimai Nitai indicated that ISKCON in North America has gotten sidetracked by matters of institutional survival and has, perhaps unconsciously, embraced ethnocentrism as a means to that end.

He prescribed maximalism—the endeavour to embrace higher spiritual standards—as the antidote for nominalism. ‘We must organically transform ISKCON in North America into a missional community that fulfils the theological, liturgical, and pastoral needs of devotees, and serves as a beacon for integration of Westerners into bhagavat-dharma.’

He said the first step toward this goal is to educate and train asrama members in monastic vocations steeped in spiritual practice. ‘The heart of the sampradaya has always been its renunciates.... Our society needs dedicated and educated vairagis [renunciates]; not a professional clergy, as in contemporary Western religious institutions, but a committed, inspired, and inspiring core (heart).’

Inspiring faith among congregational members and the general populace is a crucial element of mission. Nimai Nitai noted that elements for successful outreach are already in place. He proposed a strategy to encourage seekers to become devotees through gradual and specific commitments—an expansion of the asraya-krama process adopted by the GBC in 1993. ‘ISKCON has different constituencies, with different levels of commitment to the sankirtana movement of Mahaprabhu.... Our approach for addressing these diverse levels must be to invite devotees to go a step further—that is, the Society must facilitate their progress to the next higher level of commitment.’

Organisers expect to publish the full proceedings of the session in early 2005 and hold another conference this autumn. An obvious challenge will be raising awareness of the importance of missional principles among ISKCON leaders and members in North America. The Conference organisers noted that a mission-based approach would provide valuable insights to ISKCON reform efforts—such as the North American GBC-sponsored Spiritual Strategic Planning initiative.