Thirty-one thousand schools and twelve million pupils! The figures leapt from the page and danced before my eyes. 'This isn't small,' I thought.
It was June 1990 at Bhaktivedanta Manor as I prepared my first report for the Communications Department. Six months earlier, Saunaka's encouragement had propelled me on a tour of universities but as the programme continued, I was becoming more interested in the school groups that visited the Manor - thus my avid research, and these enlightening statistics.
School parties had been visiting the Manor ever since we acquired the property in 1973. An impressive mock-Tudor mansion set in seventeen acres of Hertfordshire countryside, it now featured a dozen cows and bulls, a private school, and a fully-equipped theatre. Within twenty miles of London, it proved an ideal setting for visiting groups.
At times the whole community throbbed with life. Each morning from four till nine the temple buzzed with music and mantra. On festival days and Sundays, coach-loads of pious Hindus arrived from Wembley, Southall, and so on, to throng and chatter before the altar. Inevitably, prasadam time was always busy, whatever was or wasn't happening on that particular day.
But, the rest of the time, I noticed, it was quiet. A handful of devotees cleaned, cooked and served the Deities, Shri Shri Radha Gokulananda, as they smiled resplendently from Their altar. Outside the building, the biggest event (beside the children's playground) was the rose garden. Squirrels and birds scampered and fluttered, and pecked and nibbled at remnants of prasadam, perched on the stone sun-dial - ill aware that despite the tranquil, idyllic surroundings, they were inevitably revolving round the wheel of birth and death.
'We should have groups visiting every day,' I pondered (and occasionally complained to a colleague). 'If it weren't for the Hindu programme, there'd be hardly anything going on! We should have two or three programmes every day.' A few more calculations: three programmes per day; fifteen each week; about thirty-five weeks in the school year - that totalled five hundred annually.
Destiny thus began to unfold her plan. We had a wonderful facility (practically free of charge) and a huge market; with thirty-one thousand schools throughout the UK, about five thousand were within easy striking distance of the Manor. Enough to have three visits per day for ten years - with no school coming twice! I felt tempted by the lure of success.
Doubts, however, began to creep in. 'No recruits.' 'No profit.' 'No immediate market for books.' The slogans of the past whispered disparagingly in my ear. At the same time the millenarians warned of the Earth's forthcoming axial shift and of social and global doom. The thought of Britain's imminent tropical climate slightly dispelled my gloom. I hesitated. How long do we have? Schools seemed to be a long-term programme. Was it worth it? I might put in so much groundwork . and then it'd all prove useless. Best just chant Hare Krsna!
Anyway, driven by destiny, and a compulsion for spreading the word, I pushed on and became more involved with schools. I designed a brochure, a cover-letter and a 'Freepost' reply card. We mailed them to three thousand schools - and waited. Not for long. The replies came pouring in. Within ten days we'd received a hundred cards. Within a month nearly three hundred, and eventually we topped eleven per cent.
From there on we had little time to look back or to attempt to predict the future. Whilst the real benefits of our programme is the subject of another article, I'd like to share with you some of the explicit results, which, by the grace of the Lord and Srila Prabhupada, we managed to achieve over the last couple of years. What I realised is that you can achieve very fast and substantial results through determined and deliberate effort. I anticipate and hope that this'll inspire other devotees throughout Europe to initiate similar programmes or to build on existing ones. We will discuss Europe at the end of this article, but first let's see exactly what can be achieved and explore the specific areas in which we're working.
Most of our work with schools has centred around the Manor, though be encouraged that some of our small centres are also doing well. Since we began at the end of 1990, we've managed to double the number of programmes each year.
Consequently, figures for 1992 from Bhaktivedanta Manor are as follows: no. of programmes: 126; no. of pupils and teachers reached: 10 600; no. of full lunches served: 1 210.
There are approximately one hundred and eighty school days throughout the year. Our target for 1993 is therefore precisely that - one for each day of the school year. Most of these engagements consisted of several presentations and included sessions with trainee teachers. (We could explore here the types of programmes we offer, techniques of presentation, etc., but we'll save that for a future article.)
An essential element of any communications exercise is developing sincere relationships. Here in the UK, each region has its Religious Education Advisor and by working closely we've helped demonstrate the effectiveness of teaching RE through contact with faith communities. Last summer several of our friends brought groups of teachers to three evening events, designed to demonstrate the services we offer. Over one hundred and fifty teachers and trainees attended, some travelling more than two hundred miles. And the feedback? Well, here's one example:
Bhaktivedanta Manor - isn't that the place in Hertfordshire George Harrison once bought for the Hare Krsna people?' Yes, it is - and it has now also become an organisation which provides very useful and worthwhile resources and facilities for teaching about Hinduism. This term the group association with the Manor have organised a series of open evenings for teachers to publicise their activities and also to show how they can contribute to teachers' understanding of Hinduism. Two of us from Cambridgeshire went on one of these evenings, slightly apprehensive that we might be the targets of a hard-hitting missionary outreach. Far from it.
The occasion started off with a tour of the grounds. The community is committed to producing enough flowers to be able to put fresh ones on their shrines and in honorific garlands for their deities every day, so the whole garden and grounds are filled with flowering plants. No boring institutional gardens here! We also saw the greenhouse full of the sacred 'tulsi' plant, and the pastures which are home to a number of cows, the care of which is a special responsibility to these devotees of Krsna. This was followed by a ride round part of the grounds in a bullock cart!
We then went into the Manor itself and were taken through an arati ceremony (ceremony of lights) and both the actions and the underlying meanings were explained. This was followed by a performance of Indian music and dance, then by two plays illustrating aspects of Hindu beliefs particularly important to Hare Krsna followers. We then visited the shrine room and saw the images of the deities and the devotees preparing for evening worship there.
Throughout the evening there were plenty of opportunities to ask questions about all aspects of what we had seen and experienced, and about the life and activities of the community. The evening ended with a very enjoyable vegetarian meal, and an opportunity to buy artefacts and literature. We both found the occasion extremely interesting and enjoyable, and our hosts very prepared and willing to answer questions. We were both surprised at how much in line with mainstream Hindu practice the Hare Krsna group seemed to be, and felt a visit either with colleagues who wanted to learn more about Hinduism to help with their teaching, or with pupils (primary or secondary) who were studying aspects of the religion, would be very worthwhile and also very easy to arrange.
An advantage of this centre is that many of the devotees living and working there are British, and the language fluency barrier, which can occasionally be a problem when taking groups to a mandir or gurdwara or mosque, therefore does not exist. They are very well used to welcoming groups of school students and are well prepared for their needs, interests and reactions and also for the kind of RE schools offer these days, and the kind of contribution they can make to it. They are very helpful, and I would strongly recommend a visit.
In conjunction with one of our Resource Evenings last year, ISKCON Educational Services organised a day-long training seminar on teaching the Vedic Tradition. Presentations included such subjects as 'ISKCON - Old or New?', 'The Practice of Deity Worship' and 'Hinduism and the Environment'. Again, all the feedback was positive.
One point I'll make here. It's essential to know how to present Krsna consciousness in terms of the educational ethos; that is, to know the needs, concerns and attitudes of educationalists - what is acceptable and what is taboo. For example, whilst a coercive or proselytising approach will lose you good friends, there is much emphasis on experiential learning and listening to practitioners of a faith. It's imperative to respect the integrity of both teachers and pupils so that, if they wish, they are free to explore their own spirituality within the safe environment you create. Here's an example of a letter we received after our seminar: 'Thank you for a wonderful day of inspiration, peace and goodness . not only did the day expand my knowledge, but also my spirituality.'
Since summer we've been invited to four other training sessions, usually organised by the local education authorities and for which we receive a fee. This, we hope, is a significant move towards our goal-making our Society the foremost authority on what is generally called 'Hinduism'.
Although our children's books have been used by schools over the years, the range is extremely limited, taking into account that they're not specifically designed for the educational market. The language is very often inappropriate - either not consistent with the age of the target group, or full of terms little known outside of ISKCON. Our adult literature is also generally not suitable as it's confessional rather than educational.
To rectify these anomalies, we've produced a range of Fact Sheets which we distribute free of charge. These embrace a whole range of subjects from ISKCON in particular to Hinduism in general, and from food through to philosophy. These are especially useful with our free correspondence service which receives four to five queries each week.
We are also working on a teaching pack on Dashavatar (to be published this Spring), a book on Hinduism for high schools, and a whole range of story books. There are several devotees in England establishing publishing concerns - writers and illustrators are very much in demand!
Worth noting also is our Sastra-dan scheme, whereby congregational members donate funds for the free distribution of books. Last year was the first for the educational field and we donated over one hundred and fifty books to schools, including fifty copies of the Bhagavad-gita (which is primarily useful as a teacher's text).
Organisations dealing with RE within the UK appreciate input from faith community members. Contact with them is advantageous in establishing our Society's authority on the greater tradition. Srila Prabhupada writes: 'It (the word Hindu) is neither a Sanskrit word nor is it found in the Vedic literatures. But the culture of the Indians or the Hindus is Vedic and begins with the four varnas and ashrams . Our Krsna Consciousness Movement is preaching these four varnas and ashrams, so naturally it has got some relationship with the Hindus.' (Letter from Srila Prabhupada to Janmanjaya and Taradevi, 9 July 1970).
There are certain misconceptions that we'd do well to redress, especially the portrayal of the Vedic tradition as exclusively monistic. This is particularly evident in textbooks. There are other issues also, such as the wholesale reliance on empirical evidence (e.g., the archeological discoveries at Harappa and Mahenjo-daro) to date the tradition. This is also particularly relevant to our production of resources (see section four).
Devotees in England sit on a number of organisations, some with significant political influence. Most recently we were contacted by the National Curriculum Council (NCC). The NCC, established by the Tory Party, determines the school curriculum for all subjects except RE, which is established locally. In response to new legislation, local authorities will be obliged to formulate new agreed syllabuses. Consequently the NCC is compiling national guidelines, and invited ISKCON to host (and participate in) the working party on Hinduism. Needless to say we spent more than an animated hour trying to explain the personalistic philosophy, especially to our Hindu companions! Despite the great disservice done to religion in general, and 'Hinduism' in particular by the empiricists, modern scholars in RE tend to favour input from faith members. This is to our advantage and will contribute towards our becoming authorities on 'real Hinduism'. Srila Prabhupada said it was, 'certainly a fact that we are the authorities when it comes to teaching what is "real Hinduism". It is just and proper that the educational circles of Sweden should accept us as such.' (Letter from H.H. Tamal Krsna to H.G. Vegavan Dasa, 22 August 1977).
We are encouraged that our success here in the UK is attracting attention from devotees on the Continent. Although some devotees are already doing much than we are - for example, Mukunda Dasa in Sweden - still there is scope for improvement, as we've learned here. I hope more devotees will become inspired to take up this service.
It's important to keep in mind that the situation for teaching RE varies considerably from one country to the next. In France there is no RE (though we hear there are changes afoot). In Germany only Christianity is taught. In the UK the curriculum includes all the major world faiths - though there is pressure from right-wing so-called Christians to curtail the mood of liberality. For them, it is a losing battle. We live in a world faced with globalisation where we are forced to confront the beliefs and values of our neighbours. In every country throughout Europe there are educationalists who actively promote the benefits of multi-religious and multi-cultural education. They are usually only too pleased to encourage us in our work with schools.
So, if you are interested, do some research. Write them a letter or give them a ring. You may be surprised; their goals and ours, are not so different. There are also several European organisations dealing with RE. Recently I had the opportunity to attend a seminar in York organised by the European Forum of Teachers of Religious Education (EFTRE) at which delegates from eight countries discussed the role of faith communities in preserving the environment.
There are other organisations: the Inter-European Commission on Church and School (ICCS) and the European Association for World Religions in Education (EAWRE). They will be able to help you if you want any information on the state of religious education in your particular country.
I have contacts within these organisations. If you're interested, I can provide the details. In fact, if you have any queries or if there's any way I can be of assistance, I'd be only to pleased to hear from you.