Community Development Lesson 3

1. Lesson Three
Fundamental Building Blocks

2. Morality & Pious Life

3. “Spiritual realisation and moral life are both
identical things. Spiritual life without morality has
no meaning and in the same way morality without
the knowledge of the Supreme Authority is only a
show.”
(BTG, November 1958)

4. “With the beginning of the
Kali-yuga, these things have
begun: illicit sex, intoxication...
Now it is so spread that every
home, every house, every
country, is full of these four
principles of sinful life.”
(Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.24,
Los Angeles, 29 September 1972)

5. “We should act piously. Piously means we must
first of all give up impious activities: illicit sex life,
meat-eating, drinking and gambling . . .
Krishna consciousness movement means training
people to become pious to understand Krishna
and make his life successful.”
(Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.8, Bombay, 8 November 1974)

6. “Austerity, cleanliness, mercy and
truthfulness, the basic principles of religion,
prepare the ground for the reception of
advancement in spiritual knowledge.”
(SB 1.17.45, purport)

8. “One thing, if we are not very careful to always
stick to the point of regulative principles and
purest standards of high living, then everything
will spoil very quickly and the whole show will
be a farce.”
(Letter to Revatinandana, 2 April, 1972)

11. Small Groups

12. Caitanya-bhagavata,
Madhya-khanda, Chapter 23:
75. The Lord personally taught them, “Please
happily hear from Me the maha-mantra of Lord
Krishna's names. It is:
76. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare”
77. The Lord said, “Regularly chant japa of this
maha-mantra.

13. 79. Gather together, five or ten, in your own
homes, clap hands and sing kirtana of these holy
names . . .
81. Gathering at home with parents, wife, and
children, please sing kirtana in this way.”

14. “Small and large gatherings: each have their special
purposes. Lord Caitanya would meet with small
groups to discuss confidential matters of the
philosophy. He would have large festivals with
thousands of people to inspire the masses of
devotees.”
(Jayapataka Swami, Preface, Bhakti-vriksha Manual)

15. “One should learn how to associate
with the devotees of the Lord by
gathering with them to chant the
glories of the Lord. This process is
most purifying. As devotees thus
develop their loving friendship, they
feel mutual happiness and
satisfaction. And by thus
encouraging one another they are
able to give up material sense
gratification, which is the cause of
all suffering.”
(Sri Prabuddha, SB 11.3.30)

17. Two Examples from 19th Century England
John Wesley (1703-1791)
preached throughout
England for 60 years,
creating congregations
which were then divided
into smaller groups.

18. Hundreds of preachers and
80,000 members at his passing.

19. George Whitefield (1714-
1770) was the better speaker
but did not form groups. He
said: “Because I did not
fashion my followers into
groups, as did Wesley, when
I called upon them to act, it
was like pulling on a rope
made of sand.”

25. Communication lines formula
N x N – N = CL (communication lines)
7 x 7 = 49 – 7 = 42 CL
10 x 10 = 100 – 10 = 90 CL
18 x 18 = 324 – 18 = 306 CL
24 x 24 = 576 – 24 = 552 CL

26. Service Attitude

27. prabhu kahe,—“vaiñëava-sevä, näma-
saìkértana
dui kara, çéghra päbe çré-kåñëa-
caraëa”
“You should engage yourself in the service of the
servants of Krsna and always chant the holy name
of Krsna. If you do these two things, you will very

28. “The foundational priority of our
leadership is to create a community
wherein every possible need of a
devotee was considered and
tended . . .

29. “The aim is to ensure, as far as
possible, that devotees remain happy,
enthusiastic and grateful to serve
Srila Prabhupada’s mission through
every phase of life, until their
physical departure. All of our
policies and decisions should be
built upon this foundation.

30. “Perhaps more than anything else we do, what will
transform peoples hearts is to give them an
experience of a caring community of sincere souls.”
(Radhanath Swami)

31. Outreach

32. “As long as one is not compassionate to people in
general in his devotional service to the Lord, he is
a third-class devotee.”
(SB 3.21.31, purport)

33. “One has to make advance, stage by stage, from
the kanistha-adhikari, from the lower stage, to the
middle stage to the higher stage . . . one should try
to make forward march. The forward march is to
become a preacher . . . do good to others.”
(Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.47, Mayapur, 27 October 1974)

35. “Devotees who take responsibility of preaching
advance more quickly because of the maturity
gained.”
(Gauranga Das)

36. “A person who is a
householder but is initiated by
a sannyasi has the duty to
spread Krsna consciousness
at home; as far as possible, he
should call his friends and
neighbors to his house and
hold classes in Krsna
consciousness.”
(SB 3.21.31, purport)

37. “If you make a condition that ‘First
of all you become qualified; then
you preach,’ that will never come.”
(Morning Walk, Bombay, 30 September 1975)

38. Lord Caitanya in
Cc Adi 9.36:
“I order every man within this universe to accept
this Krsna consciousness movement and distribute
it everywhere.”

40. Charity

42. “As far as charity is concerned,
one should give fifty percent of
his earnings to some good
cause. And what is a good
cause? It is that which is
conducted in terms of Krsna
consciousness.”
(Bg 10.4-5, purport)

43. “As we have suggested before, one's accumulated
wealth may be divided into three parts for
distribution, namely fifty percent for the service of
the Lord, twenty-five percent for the family members
and twenty-five percent for personal necessities.”
(SB 1.17.42, purport)
Charity
Family
members
Emergencies

44. “Srila Rupa Gosvami taught us by
his own example by using fifty
percent of his accumulated wealth
for Krsna, twenty-five percent for
his own self, and twenty-five
percent for the members of his
family. One's main purpose should
be to advance in Krsna
consciousness. This will include
dharma, artha and kama. However,
because one's family members
expect some profit, one should also
satisfy them by giving them a
portion of one's accumulated
wealth. This is a sastric injunction.”
(SB 8.19.38, purport)

45. Article: “Income (United
States legal definitions)”
“In U.S. business and financial accounting,
the income is generally defined . . . as: Revenues -
Expenses; however, many people use it as
shorthand for net income.”

46. “I am very much pleased that you have consented
to give me the 50% of your profits on that night.
But I will have no objection if you consider giving
me 100%.”
(Letter to Ranadhira, 21 May 1972)

47. Lesson’s Summary:
1. Community leaders should endeavor to
promote morality – a sin-free life, positive
engagements and avoidance of frivolities.
2. Small groups are essential – to build friendship
and spiritual intimacy; to stimulate education; to
supervise and engage the devotees.
3. Service to the Vaisnavas (“devotee care”)
should be the foundation of our policies.
4. Everyone should be engaged in outreach – to
help them advance, build their faith and become
an instrument in the Lord’s mission.
5. Giving 50% in charity – proportional giving
according to Srila Prabhupada’s directions should
be the standard for earning devotees.