Editorial: 82 Items of Comparison Between Conditions in ISKCON when Śrila Prabhupāda was Personally Present with Today’s Conditions
By Pratyatoṣa Dāsa (ACBSP), December 10, 1997
“Very interesting. Maybe I will send it to the GBC conference. Or for starters...to [the] Temple President’s conference. There are many good points there.” Kavicandra Maharaj (GBC Japan)
“Well, I spend most of my time these days in India, and there what you say about ISKCON today isn’t always true, or is usually not true. For example, chapatis for lunch--in India you always get them.” Jayadvaita Maharaj (Editor in Chief, Back to Godhead Magazine)
“I can agree with you on all of the [points] that you have explained...” Śrutakīrti Dāsa (Śrila Prabhupāda’s favorite personal servant)
“I remember, happily, many of your points re: sleeping on the floor, not using toilet paper, etc. The healthy & peaceful diet, not wasting Laksmi and always honoring Laksmi, always wearing brahmin underwear, picking grains of rice off the floor and eating them with great relish, etc. I remember being always ready to sacrifice to avoid spending Kṛṣṇa’s Laksmi: begging our petrol, begging our foodstuffs, begging flowers, begging lodging, and if none were given, sleeping on the open ground.” Bhakta Dāsa (President of Spiritual Sky Incense, Thailand)
SIMPLE LIVING, THE ENVIRONMENT AND GENERAL KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS
1. Śrila Prabhupāda would sometimes tell a guest that his disciples live simply and sleep on the floor; now devotees often sleep in beds.
2. Devotees would never be given (with the possible exception of sannyāsīs) a private room. Everyone was expected to share their room with at least one other devotee; now sometimes a private room is provided based on “importance of service rendered” or “not making waves”.
3. All of the devotees used to follow Prabhupāda’s example of never using toilet paper, tissues, napkins or paper towels. They’d wash with water after passing stool, blow their noses in the sink, wash their hands and mouth after eating and, after washing their hands, let the air dry them; now all four of these “banned” products are used to a greater or lesser degree.
4. Extremely quick showers using cold or at least cool water, from start to finish, were taken in the morning, as Prabhupāda instructed; now rare.
5. Devotees were very conscious of saving Kṛṣṇa’s energy by turning out lights when leaving a room, not leaving water running and not leaving heaters or other appliances on unnecessarily; now unconsciousness seems to be the rule.
6. Devotees were very conscious of always protecting Laksmi Devi. If a coin was found on the floor, or on the ground, it was immediately picked up and touched to the forehead, and put in a safe place. Money was never left where anyone could see it, and when no one was around, every penny was kept locked up; now coins, especially pennies are left laying around in plain view. In the treasury office, money is left in unlocked drawers, or even in open view with no one in the room!
7. Śrila Prabhupāda’s standard of all brahmacārīs and all householders who were totally dependent upon the temple giving 100% of all of the money that came their way was strictly followed; now this is very often not followed.
[Opposing opinion: “Prabhupāda wanted devotees to set money aside for emergencies. He didn’t approve the 100% for grhasthas living in the temple thing. That was a concoction.” If anyone else has some input on this, please email me at , pratyatosa@gmail.com]
8. Prabhupāda’s standard of all of the grihasthas who were living completely independently of the temple giving 50% of their income was followed very frequently; now it is very rarely followed.
9. If a devotee was told that “Prabhupāda says...” or “Prabhupāda does...”, then he or she would take this instruction or example very seriously, and would usually start following Śrila Prabhupāda’s instruction or example immediately; now such words usually fall on “deaf ears”.
10. A male devotee either had a shaved head and a sikha or the short “hair of a perfect gentleman”. Prabhupāda said, “If you don’t shave your head every fortnight, you cannot have a sikha, and you must have hair like a perfect gentleman, like Ambarisa [Grandson of Henry Ford]."; now devotees often have both hair and sikha.
11. Devotees used to go everywhere dressed as devotees; now this is rarely the case.
[A case in point: One devotee was seen on a japa walk dressed in karmī clothes, even though he attended both mangal arati (before the japa walk) and greeting the Deities (after the japa walk) dressed in dohti and kurta.]
12. No devotee would wear clothing with pictures of Kṛṣṇa on his sweaty body, or into the stool room; now common.
13. Devotees would never engage in frivolous sports. Prabhupāda said that swimming and wrestling were the only vaisnava sports, and in addition the gurukula children could “kick the ball"; now frivolous sports such as basketball are sometimes engaged in.
14. Devotees used to follow Śrila Prabhupāda’s example and be very straightforward, and simple, in their way of dealing with others. Like Śrila Prabhupāda they would always get straight to the point, not being distracted by bodily considerations; now they often seem to try to psychoanalyze the person that they are talking to. They seem to have more faith in following karmī psychologists than they have in following Śrila Prabhupāda’s example, saying things like “I don’t like the words that you are using.”, “I don’t like your tone of voice.”, “I don’t like your attitude” or “If you say that, it means that you need counseling.”
15. All of the devotees used to know that they were supposed to sleep either on their backs or on their sides (never on their stomachs) with their heads pointing either East (preferable) or South; now many devotees don’t seem to know this.
16. There used to be a great deal of camaraderie among the ISKCON sannyāsīs; now that they are competing for disciples, much of this is gone. [I have personally heard the following words come out of the mouths of ISKCON sannyāsī/"gurus”, in reference to other ISKCON sannyāsī/"gurus":
a. “{Sannyāsī/’guru’ A} shouldn’t be on the GBC. He doesn’t even chant 16 rounds a day.”
b. “{Sannyāsī/’guru’ B} shouldn’t be on the GBC. He doesn’t even attend the morning program regularly.”
c. “{Sannyāsī/’guru’ C} initiates criminals.”
d. “A Sannyāsī doesn’t go to college.”
e. “Gurus shouldn’t be on the GBC. Then they don’t have time to do either service properly.”
f. “Gurus who believe that they know the inside story behind the ’UFOs’ are in maya."]
17. Devotees used to all chant japa pretty much in the same way, trying to follow in the footsteps of Śrila Prabhupāda; now some scream the Holy Name so loudly that they can be heard for blocks away, while others chant so quietly that all that can be heard is some faint whistling sound.
CHASTITY AND CELIBACY
18. All devotee men wore brahmin underwear, all of the time, as Prabhupāda always did; now a rarity.
19. No devotee man would ever bathe naked, but would always wear brahmin underwear or a gamcha, as Śrila Prabhupāda instructed; now it is quite common for a man to bathe naked, especially if he is alone.
20. Devotee men used to make a conscious effort to not talk to women, other than their wife, unnecessarily; now unnecessary association is common.
21. Married devotee women would be very careful not to touch or be flirtatious with even their husbands in public, especially if a devotee who was trying to be celibate was present; now they are sometimes not so strict.
22. Married devotee women used to always make sure that their heads were covered in the presence of a devotee man other than their husband; now this is not followed very strictly in many temples.
23. Devotee women used to part their hair in the middle of their heads, now sometimes there is no part at all.
[Devotee woman’s comment: “I don’t know if a woman has to have a part--it just shouldn’t be parted on the side. I think that hair pulled back is okay.” Is this true?]
PERSONAL CLEANLINESS & HYGIENE
24. The devotees would follow Śrila Prabhupāda’s example and never wear clothing in the temple room or while cooking that had been worn in the stool room; now rarely followed.
25. No devotee would put on tilok in the stool room or even get water from the stool room for the tilok; now common.
26. After bathing, tilok was always applied to twelve places on the body, while distinctly uttering the prescribed twelve mantras; now often not done.
27. The devotees used to also know that it is important to pass stool by placing their feet on the toilet seat and squatting, like they do in India, not sitting on the seat, like they do in the West. This is not only better for one’s health, but it saves time and is more natural; now many devotees don’t seem to know this.
[Comment: The old common sense seems to be lacking in some cases:
a. One devotee told me that it didn’t matter whether she brushed her teeth before or after she showered!
b. Another devotee told me that it didn’t matter whether he shaved before or after he showered, especially since he was using an electric razor!
c. Some devotees seem to think that all they have to do to be a brahmin, as far as cleanliness goes, is to take three showers a day, but they don’t even come up to the Western karmī, meat eater’s standards of cleanliness in other ways. What about having clean pajamas to sleep in at least twice a week? What about having clean sheets on the bed at least once a week? What about having a clean towel at least twice a week? (My standard is to dry off using a damp gamcha which has been thoroughly rinsed and wrung out by hand.) In 1971, the temple president of ISKCON Minneapolis, Goverdhan Dāsa, told me that he had just received a letter from Śrila Prabhupāda that said, “clean sleeping cloth every night”!]
DEITY WORSHIP AND DEVOTIONAL PRACTICES
28. Formerly only 2nd initiates were allowed to cook in the Deities’ kitchen; now, in some cases, they have bhaktas doing this.
29. Street shoes would never be worn in the Deities’ kitchen; now, in some temples, this is being done.
[I heard a report that this is even going on in a temple that has Radha-Kṛṣṇa Deity worship!]
30. It used to be that all leaders and devotees would attend the whole morning program; now devotees seem to think that the morning program is a buffet--some just choose mangal arati, some just japa, some just guru puja and class, some attend just a portion of mangal arati, etc.
31. Most of the devotees would try very hard to arrive on time for mangal arati so as not to offend the Deities; now devotees with this standard are rare.
32. Devotees would never wear karmī pants or yogī pants in the temple room during the morning or evening programs; now common.
33. Devotees used to know that the proper way to offer obeisances was with the left side towards the spiritual master or the Deities, as the case may be; now many don’t seem to know this.
34. The devotee men would never commit the offense of wearing red or blue in front of the Deities; now common.
35. Devotees would greet the Deities by being in a standing position with folded hands, until all of the Deities were revealed, like Prabhupāda always did; now often not done.
36. Śrila Prabhupāda would greet the Deities by meditating on Their Divine Forms with full, undivided attention, and his disciples would follow his example; now devotees sometimes talk, or have their hand in their beadbag, chanting japa, during greeting the Deities.
37. Devotees would follow Prabhupāda’s example, and let their bead bag do it’s job of keeping their sacred japa beads from touching the floor, while offering obeisances; now devotees seem to think that their bead bags are not supposed to touch the floor, and therefore commit the offense of not touching the floor with both hands, palms downward, while offering obeisances.
38. Devotees used to follow Prabhupāda’s example of putting down the musical instrument that they were playing, and touch the ghee lamp to their forehead with both hands; now seldom done.
39. Kirtans in the temple room used to consist mainly of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra as Prabhupāda instructed; now very often mostly other mantras are chanted.
40. Kartals used to be played the same way that Prabhupāda played them; now almost a lost art.
41. Almost everyone used to dance in step doing the “swami step” with vigor; now many devotees don’t even lift their feet off the floor during the kirtan.
42. Devotees used to know how to dance in time to the beat of the kirtan; now many devotees seem to have “two left feet”.
43. It was very rare to find a devotee who couldn’t sing “on key"; now common.
44. Sitting during arati was practically unheard of; now becoming more common.
45. Devotees used to very grateful to accept the ghee lamp or flower, which was offered to the Deities, as prasādam, and they knew that it was an offense to not honor prasādam immediately; now devotees sometimes refuse to accept these items when first offered to them, requesting that someone else who they apparently consider to be superior to them in some way be offered the item first, and thus possibly committing one or more of the following offenses: the offense of not accepting the Deities’ prasādam when first offered, the offense of talking in front of the Deities, the offense of chastising someone in front of the Deities, the offense of trying to be the “big controller” in front of the Deities, and the offense of trying to “impress the ladies” in front of the Deities.
46. Devotees would never wear clothing that they had slept in, or “taken a nap” in, in front of the Deities; now often done.
47. While attending morning or evening class, devotees would try to listen with undivided attention; now devotees sometimes do unrelated things during class, thus disrespecting the speaker, the holy śāstras, and the vaisnavas who are trying to hear class attentively.
48. Chanting japa on clickers instead of japa beads was unheard of; now common.
49. There use to be a votive candle on every arati tray; now the pujari’s are often seen having to put down the bell and light the ghee lamp with a lighter, thus contaminating everything, and then continuing with the offering without repurifying anything.
50. It used to be unheard of to chant japa in between mantras while on Hari Nama; now common.
PRASĀDAM
51. A breakfast consisting of simple farina cereal (optionally containing nuts and/or raisins), raw chick peas that had been soaked overnight, steaming hot milk (or devotee-made yogurt in the summer), raw ginger root and fruit such as oranges and/or apples was served in all of the temples, everyday, as Śrila Prabhupāda instructed; now non-existent.
52. There were chapatis for all of the devotees, for lunch prasādam, everyday, as Prabhupāda instructed; now rare.
53. Steaming hot milk was served every evening (except Sunday) at 9 p.m. as Prabhupāda instructed; now non-existent.
54. The devotees would be very conscious of eating all of the prasādam on their plates, and even the prasādam that may have fallen to the floor, down to the last grain of rice; now devotees sometimes throw prasādam in the trash.
55. The devotees would be very conscious of never touching prasad with their left hand; still practiced, but not as strictly.
56. Devotees would never even consider serving themselves, while taking prasad without washing their hands first; now devotees sometimes eat with their right hand, and at the same time, serve themselves with their left.
57. Devotees would be very strict about never offering and/or eating food, especially grains, cooked by non-devotees; now many are not so strict.
58. The cooks would cook for the pleasure of the Deities, therefore the prasādam was always sweetened or salted just right. It was never necessary to add any sugar or salt; now the cooking seems to be done to please the devotee who likes the least amount of salt or sugar, and it’s expected that the rest can add salt or sugar themselves, just like the karmīs do.
59. Cooks would never even think of going into the kitchen to cook wearing non-devotee clothing; now this is sometimes done.
60. The Sunday feasts used to be far more opulent than the regular devotee prasādam (20 preps was not uncommon); now it’s often the other way around.
GURUKULA
61. A devotee would never even consider sending his or her child to a non-devotee school; now a common practice.
62. There were no “day schools"; now common.
63. Male gurukula students were always “shaved up"; now sometimes they are not.
64. After puberty, gurukula students were not allowed to attend “coed” classes; now it’s being done more and more.
BHAKTA PROGRAM
65. Śrila Prabhupāda had a very effective bhakta program in place and it worked very well; now bhaktas sometimes have “nap time” in their schedule, and sometimes only certain designated devotees are allowed to instruct the bhaktas. These are not Śrila Prabhupāda’s instructions.
66. Bhaktas were expected to follow all of the rules, including chanting 16 rounds, from day one, and this technique was extremely effective; now almost forgotten.
TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION
67. Temple presidents used to consider it a privilege to have that position; now most of them seem to feel that it is simply a burden.
68. All temples would have an “istagosthi” once a week, as Prabhupāda instructed; now rare.
69. No temples were run by a board of directors, but by a temple president, temple treasurer, temple secretary and a temple commander, as Prabhupāda instructed; now rare.
70. All checks were signed by the temple president and the temple treasurer, as Śrila Prabhupāda emphatically instructed; now rare.
71. All devotee needs were provided for; now the devotees are given money and made to do their own shopping, an extremely inefficient arrangement, and against Śrila Prabhupāda’s instructions.
72. One brahmacārī used to do the laundry for all of the brahmacārīs and similarly for the brahmacāriṇīs, a very efficient system; now it’s “every man for himself”.
73. All temples were very clean and well maintained; now the exception, rather than the rule.
74. All temples used to follow Śrila Prabhupāda’s direct order that there be no carpeted floors; now carpets are common.
75. No temples used to have furnature such as plushly upolstered chairs, sofas or love seats, except, perhaps, for guests; now common, even in the brahmacārī quarters.
76. Everyone, including temple presidents and GBCs, used to go on Hari Nama Sankirtan at least once a week, if not everyday; now rare.
77. Funds were raised for the most part by distributing Śrila Prabhupāda’s books and “Back to Godhead” magazines; now the exception rather than the rule.
78. People used to be thrown out of temples for being lazy or crazy; now the lazies and crazies are allowed to live in the temples, and devotees are more often thrown out for political reasons.
79. Formerly a brahmacārī who insisted on having a private room, was made to get married; now he’s sometimes made the temple president, without getting married.
80. If a temple was short of money, the temple president would ask for volunteers among the grihastha men to go and get jobs; now temple authorities do a lot of complaining, put the temple into debt, and the temple president is eventually replaced by another one who also laments, and puts the temple even further into debt.
81. No ISKCON leader would even dream of renting a portion of an ISKCON owned temple building for the purpose of gambling; now a major portion of one ISKCON temple building is being rented out for a bingo hall.
82. No devotee running a “Govinda’s” restaurant would dare to serve beer and wine; for a brief time, in the mid ’90’s, in North Carolina, USA, this was done.
[Comment: Some temple administrations no longer have the old common sense either, it seems:
a. One temple makes the devotees wash their stainless steel plates in the stool room!
b. Another temple makes the devotees wash the metal plates that they’ve eaten off of, then passes these same plates out at random the next time that prasādam is taken, so that one has no idea who washed his plate. It might have been some bum off the street!
c. Just to add insult to injury, another temple has a coin operated washing machine which charges top rates, and which has no hot water going to it!
d. Another temple has a coin operated drier that has been made to work for free, but it never turns off automatically. It just keeps going and going, wasting tremendous amounts of Kṛṣṇa’s energy! The TP of this temple is constantly complaining that there’s not enough money!
e. Another temple does not allow the devotees to use any bleach when doing their laundry!
f. Another temple makes everyone who moves in, even devotees who have been members of ISKCON for 25 years or more, fill out a two page form containing such questions as, “Have you ever been convicted of sexually molesting a child?”! How many “yes” answers do they think that they are going to get? How many devotees are they offending with this questionnaire?
g. Another temple allows children to help serve prasādam at the Sunday feast who, as can be expected, do not have enough sense to avoid touching contaminated plates with the serving spoon.
h. Another temple, located in a rainy climate where it sometimes gets very cold, forced the devotees and guests to leave their shoes outside in the rain. This went on for 12 years before a vestibule was finally built.
i. Many temples, even ones that have a building with many stories, or more than one building, do not have a telephone system that allows all of the devotees to be easily reached by phone.
j. One temple has a buffet style restaurant, where the very low class customers were seen serving themselves with their right hand while tasting things with their left, using their finger to get the last little bit of prasādam off the serving spoon, and then sticking their finger in their mouth to “clean it off”, serving themselves seconds onto a plate that they had eaten off of by touching the serving spoon to their plate, etc.]
QUESTIONS
1. What are these unfortunate facts a symptom of?
2. How can we return to these high standards that Śrila Prabhupāda set for us?
My thanks to Bhakta Dāsa (ACBSP), Kurma Rupa Dāsa (ACBSP) and to my wife Urmila Devī Dāsī (ACBSP) for contributing to this list.
Your servant,
Pratyatoṣa Dāsa (ACBSP)
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