• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

BASIC MANAGEMENT BOOK FOR ISKCON TEMPLES Presented for the GBC By Harikesa Swami Proposed Draft © 1991 THE BHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST BASIC MANAGEMENT BOOK FOR ISKCON TEMPLES PROPOSED DRAFT INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE WHAT IS A TEMPLE? THE TEMPLE A PREACHING CENTER A NAM HATTA CENTER AN ISKCON CENTER CHAPTER TWO BASIC ISKCON MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE THE TEMPLE PRESIDENT CHAPTER THREE GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR A GOOD MANAGER SRILA PRABHUPADA'S UNIQUE POSITION IN ISKCON THE BEST MANAGER IS THE BEST PREACHER SATISFACTION OF THE SPIRITUAL MASTER SADHANA ADVANCE NOTIFICATION HONESTY CARING DEALING WITH THE GBC GROUP EFFORTS CONSIDERATIONS OF THE ASRAM OF A MANAGER CHAPTER FOUR PITFALLS IN DAILY MANAGEMENT EXPANSION BEYOND ONE'S MEANS THE PARAPHERNALIA TRAP LUST, ANGER AND GREED BOREDOM CHAPTER FIVE Chapter Five A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RELEVANCE OF VARNASRAMA IN ISKCON ENGAGING DEVOTEES ACCORDING TO THEIR PROPENSITIES THE ROLE OF BRAHMANAS IN THE TEMPLE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SIX THE TEMPLE SPIRITUAL PROGRAM AND SPIRITUAL STANDARDS TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR DEVOTEES ENGAGEMENT OF OTHERS IN DEVOTIONAL SERVICE DEITY WORSHIP STANDARDS FOR WORSHIP OF GAUR-NITAI TEMPLE PREACHING PROGRAMS CHAPTER SEVEN TEMPLE MAINTENANCE CHAPTER EIGHT PREACHING HARINAM CHANTING PARTIES AND PRASADAM DISTRIBUTION FESTIVALS INSTITUTIONAL PREACHING PROGRAMS ARRANGED BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS CONGREGATIONAL PREACHING BHAKTA PROGRAM GUEST RECEPTION CHAPTER NINE VEHICLES CHAPTER TEN DEVOTEES HEALTH AND WELFARE CHAPTER ELEVEN CLEANLINESS CHAPTER TWELVE THE SUNDAY FEAST CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE KITCHEN STANDARDS OF CLEANLINESS PURCHASING FOODS, STORAGE, AND GARBAGE DISPOSAL RECIPES MANAGEMENT OF COOKING CHAPTER FOURTEEN PRASADAM SERVING CHAPTER FIFTEEN INDIA FESTIVALS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD CHAPTER SIXTEEN MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION CHAPTER SEVENTEEN BOOKKEEPING AND ACCOUNTING CHAPTER EIGHTEEN LEGAL AFFAIRS CHAPTER NINETEEN PUBLIC RELATIONS CHAPTER TWENTY ASHRAM LIFE CELIBATE LIFE GRHASTHA LIFE CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE PROBLEM SOLVING CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO ISKCON FARM COMMUNITIES Introduction Management is an art. To properly manage a temple requires skills. These skills have to be learned before a temple may be properly managed. Sometimes these skills are learned in the school of hard knocks, where hit or miss management gradually trains the temple president to understand what can be done and what should be avoided. But such schooling takes time, energy, and unfortunately costs a lot of money as wastage is high. A superior form of training is to learn from those who have already gone through enough schooling to understand what is the actual standard of temple management. This book is meant to be a manual for training new temple authorities in their duties. It will not be the comprehensive and final edition on the subject, but rather a beginner's guide to ISKCON management. Those who systematically go through this book will get enough information to learn how to manage a temple even if they are complete managerial neophytes. Of course, a prospective candidate for the position of temple president must have certain prerequisite qualifications to manage. This book cannot grant one those qualifications if one does not have them, but it can help one who is basically qualified to learn. As the preaching expands the number of centers in the world increase and the need for training temple presidents and other temple officers also increases. Originally this manual was written for the Soviet Union as there were many temples rapidly developing without proper leadership. Later on it was adapted for usage by ISKCON around the world. This book cannot be complete, for situations can arise which we cannot now foresee. The purpose of this book is to create a course of management. It is meant to educate neophytes into the basic principles of temple management, as they were understood from Srila Prabhupada and developed over the years in ISKCON. This book might also serve to help even an experienced manager see something which he missed over the years. In any case it is meant to help one successfully manage an ISKCON temple in most of its aspects. Our simple advice is: read this book from cover to cover, then go back over the sections which you require to immediately improve and study them in great detail. Make the required changes in the temple you manage, and then move on to the next section and repeat the process until the temple is fairly well organized. If you have a hard time understanding some portion of the book, then address the questions to your local GBC who will most likely satisfy you. I wish you the blessings of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna in your attempt to increase your management skills, and pray that this work will both satisfy the Lord and accomplish its goals. Harikesa Swami Mayapur March 25, 1991 Chapter One Chapter One What is a Temple? Since this book is about temple management, the first thing that we should understand is, what is a temple? There are various forms of preaching units in ISKCON. There are large temples, small temples, preaching centers, nam hatta centers, and even householder flats. Although each of these units is somewhat different in its structure, we will not make much distinction between these centers while writing this book. We will simply speak about temple management understanding that basically the same principles will apply in all cases. It is up to the temple authority to adjust the principles for his own particular instance. Later, we shall discuss these different preaching units in greater detail to distinguish one from the other where the differences require specific explanation. The Temple A temple is an ISKCON center of preaching activities wherein devotees gather together to worship the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna under the direction of the Founder acarya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The devotees all follow the four regulative principles, chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krsna mantra on beads each day, and follow all the regulated temple programs. A temple will usually have Deities of the Lord in a temple room wherein kirtan and classes are held. A temple will have temple officers, at least a president, and treasurer, and sometimes also a secretary, temple commander, and department heads such as a sankirtan leader, head pujari, head cook and so on. Sunday feasts, school programs, devotee making and training, and a regulated temple program of kirtans, classes and prasadam are some basic elements of temple life. Asramas for sannyasis, brahmacaries and brahmacarinis as well as certain qualified householders, are available for the devotees. Books are directly purchased from the BBT and sold on sankirtan and through the temple bookstores. In short, a temple is a place where Krsna is worshiped and devotees live and are trained, with the goal of preaching Krsna consciousness throughout the area. A Preaching Center A preaching center is like a temple, but it is of a smaller size and stature. A preaching center may be manned by one or two initiated devotees who are trying to preach Krsna consciousness in the area. The center will perform basically the same functions as the temple, but without elaborate Deity worship and other larger programs. It is a small unit meant for preaching whose goal is to gradually grow into a full scale temple with all forms of worship and training of new devotees. A Nam Hatta Center A Nam Hatta center is different from a preaching center or a temple in that there are initially no initiated devotees, regulated temple programs or expanded preaching. This kind of a center is a place where interested people, most of whom do not chant 16 rounds a day or even follow all the regulated principles, may gather together and occasionally chant kirtan or hold programs when travelling preachers come by. Later on, some members of the Nam Hatta may come to the standard of being full time devotees and get initiated wherein the status of the center may change to that of a preaching center. An ISKCON Center All temples, preaching centers, Nam Hatta centers, restaurants, shops and so on, must be recognized by ISKCON before they may use the trade marked names of ISKCON such as 'ISKCON', 'The Hare Krsna Movement', 'Govindas', and so on. A unit may be a part of ISKCON if it: Recognizes that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the Founder acarya of ISKCON and that the instructions found in his books and other works form the basis of all direction in ISKCON and that they follow these instructions. Recognizes that the Governing Body Commission is the ultimate managing authority for ISKCON, and that the constitution of ISKCON is the guiding authority for the structure of the movement. Works under the authority of the designated GBC representatives in the region. There are a few other important items which every ISKCON center must follow. Every temple that owns property must have three property trustees recognized by the GBC Executors Committee to insure that the property cannot be sold or mortgaged without the approval of these trustees. Further, each temple president must sign an Oath of Allegiance to ISKCON and this must be on file with the local GBC secretary. In addition, each temple must pay yearly fees to the GBC Communications Office for services provided by the GBC and must also pay a fee for the ISKCON Board of Education. Later, each temple will be licensed to use the name ISKCON and be a recognized part of the society. In this way, by following all the above items, one gets official recognition as a part of ISKCON. Chapter Two Chapter Two Basic ISKCON Management Structure ISKCON has a basic structure which must be understood and maintained in all respects. If a temple or other unit disregards this basic structure, they cannot expect to remain a part of ISKCON for long.

Load more

  81

Copy Link