This document discusses the importance of building community over divisions. It suggests viewing the temple congregation as a single community rather than separate "us and them" groups. The success of local religious communities depends on the same principles as the overall religious group. The document also advises emulating the essence and principles of exemplar communities, rather than directly copying models, in order to maintain uniqueness.

1. Lesson Two
“Temple & Congregation”
or “Community”?

2. Temple & Congregation
• Us & them
• A sense of division
• A sense of dichotomy
• A sense of separation – almost two worlds
• “Full-time devotees” – “part-time
devotees”
• Less responsibility
• Higher & lower
• Clergy & spectators

3. Community
• A single unity
• A common destiny
• A common direction
• A Common growth
• We succeed or fail together
• One entity, different functions (Unity in Diversity)
• Leaders are responsible for the whole
• Temple- or home-based devotees can both be leaders
• A network of relations
• It’s an organism, a society from cradle to grave

4. Community

5. A community of what?
• ISKCON devotees
• People who practice bhakti-yoga
• People who chant Hare Krishna
• People who cultivate brahminical culture
• People who spread Krishna consciousness
• Brahmacaris, grihasthas, vanaprasthas & sannyasis
• A community of Prabhupadanugas

6. Macro- & micro-cosmos
• The overall religious group exists through local
communities.
• What makes religious groups succeed or fail,
also make local communities succeed or fail.

7. Cultural continuity

8. “So far attending pujas at the houses of the
Hindus there we can go and hold our kirtana but
we should not take prasadam there.”
(Letter to Surasrestha, 14 June 1972)

9. Medium level of tension; strictness

10. “We want to remold, remodel everything . . . we
are all-round reformer.”
(Morning Walk, Los Angeles, 6 June 1976)

11. Legitimate leadership

12. “Leader means authority. His instruction is
followed, and actually it happens. That is leader.”
(Morning Walk, Los Angeles, 16 December 1973)

17. “So far as being leader is concerned, leader means
spiritually not materially. This you should
understand very clearly. If spiritual potency and
strength is there, then material intelligence will
automatically follow. We must have a solid
foundation of chanting and following the
regulative principles. Then one is fit to lead others.
I hope you will understand this point.”
(Letter to Jagajivana, 6 September 1974)

22. “Leaders means they should behave in such a way
so that by following them, others will be
benefitted. That is leader.”
(Morning Walk, Los Angeles, 9 July 1974)

23. Highly motivated
volunteers & preachers

24. Strong internal attachments
within an open social network

25. Socializing the young

26. What Kind of Community?

27. Ben Wong – founding pastor of
Shepherd Community Grace
Church in Hong Kong and
founder of the Cell Church
Missions Network.

28. ESSENCE
rather than
SYSTEM

29. Imitating Models
 For the last 10 to 20 years, we have tried to imitate models
 It seems easier to imitate a model
 No one has successfully reproduced a model
 It has created much frustration
 It has created an unhealthy emphasis on super-churches

30. • We presume that models are supra-cultural
• By imitating models we lose our uniqueness
• It is really very hard to imitate a model
Problems With Imitating Models

31. Principles rather than Models

32. The Principle Approach
• Principles rather than Models
• Life rather than Methods
• Goals rather than Materials
• Essence rather than Systems

33. Lesson’s Summary:
1. Think of the “community” as a unit – it
might help in including everyone in the plans and
prevent artificial division between temple-based
and home-based devotees .
2. Micro- and Macro-dynamics – The principles
for success for the whole religious group are the
same for the success of the local community.
3. Get the essence of the communities you
wish to emulate – then implement that essence,
those principles, in your place, according to your
local situation.