This document provides an overview of a Devotee Care course with the following key points: 1. It defines devotee care and sets its scope, noting it is distinct from outreach and focuses on the spiritual, emotional, physical, and social well-being of ISKCON members. 2. The mission is to ensure the virtue of care pervades all aspects of ISKCON society and to support specific care services. 3. It discusses interpreting care as both a virtue and conduct, and the challenge of balancing care services with other initiatives while upholding care as a virtue in all devotional activities.

1. DEVOTEE CARE COURSE

2. Lesson 1
“WELCOMES, INTRODUCTIONS
AND DEFINING DEVOTEE CARE”

3. 1. To answer the question:
“What is ‘Devotee Care’?”
2. To familiarise students with the
Devotee Care Mandate’ document
3. To begin to acknowledge and address core
ambiguities and questions inherent within
Devotee Care and associated terminology.
Lesson 1 Aims

6. 1. Responsibility
2. Affection
3. Attention
(a) Diligence
(b) Prudence
4. Worry
‘Care’: Four Main Meanings

7. Four Main Meanings

8. 1. Responsibility
One of the main meanings of ‘care’; relates to conduct
(action)
2. Affection
Another main meaning but as a value or virtue (linked
empathy, kindness, compassion, etc.)
3. Attention
Being ‘careful’ only significant as it relates to above
4. Worry
Significant only as it relates to relieving devotees of
‘cares’
Evaluation of Four Meanings

9. 1. Care relates to conduct (action)
2. Care is also a virtue
The challenge is this:
(1) care as a virtue should pervade all devotional activities.
(2) The caring activities of the DC initiative must be
bounded (and complement so many other
services, such as outreach).
The Specific Challenge for DC

10. Mission
We strive to:
(1) Ensure that the Vaishnava virtue of care pervades all
aspects of the ISKCON Society.
(2) Support and provide specific care-giving services that
enhance the spiritual, emotional, physical and social well-
being of all ISKCON members.
Mission of the DC Initiative

11. Vision
“Every devotee is spiritually happy and materially well-
situated, positively identifying with ISKCON as a caring
society.
Each devotee:
(a) Responsibly looks after his or her diverse needs
(b) Can easily and successfully seek qualified help
within the Society
(c) Wholeheartedly extends that care to others.”
Mission of the DC Initiative

12. Mission
We strive to:
(1) Ensure that the Vaishnava virtue of care pervades all
aspects of the ISKCON Society.
(2) Support and provide specific care services that enhance
the spiritual, emotional, physical and social well-being of all
ISKCON members.
Mission of the DC Initiative

13. The Definition and Scope of Devotee Care
1. ‘Devotee Care’ does not directly include ‘outreach’.
2. Devotee Care does not refer to any one specific project or
(e.g. ‘bhakti vriksa’ or ‘the counselling system’).
3. Devotee Care does not lay claim to ISKCON’s entire mission
“…but works collaboratively with all other ISKCON centres, projects
and departments in order to (a) maintain focus on its own
distinctive offerings (b) encourage and support others to embrace
its broad principles (see Section 2.2.)”
Scope of the DC Initiative

14. The Definition and Scope of Devotee Care
4. There exist certain grey areas (as may change with time).
5. Devotee Care is offered on many levels (familial and
institutional.
(There is a case for saying that care should primarily be offered at
family level.)
Scope of the DC Initiative

17. 1. The DC Mandate provides a framework to help us
understand, articulate, plan, deliver and evaluate.
2. Tutors will refer to the four posters throughout course
3. Students can use them during their final presentations.
4. This discussion may appear pedantic. However,
lack of clarity about Devotee Care has already
hampered progress. We need ‘DC-Literacy’.
Main Points

18. • We have defined the scope of DC (as useful for a common
understanding).
• There are clearly other tensions/questions.
• We aim to note them, and will try to answer some
• Overall, we attempt to lay down a robust conceptual
framework, to enhance understanding and dialogue.
• Let us now look at one key question . . .
Key Questions

19. “The primary responsibly of such a king or leader is to protect
the brahminical culture and the cows in this state.”
(SB 4.21.49
pur)
“In the glorious days, or before the advent of the age of Kali,
the brahmanas, the cows, the women, the children and the old
men were properly given protection. To insult a chaste woman
means to bring about disaster in the duration of life.”
(SB 1.8.5 pur)
Final Quotes