namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

From this list we can see that the ISKCON of the 21st century has more than enough information to conduct its preaching activities. Most things we do will never change; how we do them might. Information technology has given us access to digitisation and rapid transit of the message of Krishna, to film, satellite television, and to the Internet. But it also means that atheism uses the same techniques. Ultimately, it will not be our means of transmitting information that will help the mission in the 21st century, but the oldest technique of all: making friends.

The current demographics of ISKCON tell the story that we now have many more people and many more centres in countries where ISKCON’s presence would have been unimaginable before. But out of the quarter million more people that ISKCON has since the day that Srila Prabhupada stood under a tree in a New York park, hardly 5% of them live in the communal way that he envisaged as being most helpful for spiritual life.

The Congregational Development Ministry is pleased to announce the release of a new book: The Nectar of Congregational Preaching.

For the past ten years the Congregational Development Ministry has worked to extend Srila Prabhupada's mercy by creating programs such as Bhakti-vriksha and the Siksha-program. These preaching programs and many others are detailed in the book, along with statements from Srila Prabhupada and the previous acaryas on the necessity of engaging congregational members in the Hare Krishna movement.

The heart of The. Nectar of Congregational Preaching is statements from over 100 GBC leaders, gurus, Srila Prabhupada disciples and senior devotes. ISKCON's most noted leaders speak candidly on their vision for developing the congregation according to the desires of Srila Prabhupada and the guru parampara. This makes the book particularly suited to clear any doubts ISKCON devotees and leaders may have regarding the importance of congregational development, and enthuse those who have dedicated their lives to other aspects of Srila Prabhupada's preaching movement to include the congregation in their planning and vision.

This article has been published previously in our Congregational Development Journal. It is a speech given by HG Ravindra Swarup prabhu at the Third Annual Congregational Preaching Night, Sridham Mayapur, March 14, 2002, and describes the emergence of congregational preaching in ISKCON, and it's relevance not only in remote villages, but in the 'developed' world as well.

Congregational Development in America, a Historical Perspective

I was asked to speak about the history of the development of congregation in ISKCON. It’s amazing to see how this Ministry has grown and developed, because in the beginning we didn’t know what a congregation was; we didn’t know what to do with it when we got one. When I first began to associate with devotees, in Philadelphia in 1970, I was married, with one child and another on the way. I owned my own house — actually very near the temple — I was a graduate student in Religious Studies, and it looked like I had a good career ahead of me. And the devotees were absolutely convinced that to be Krishna conscious I had to give it all up — studies and home — and move into the temple, with wife and children. Otherwise, I would always remain a karmi. I wanted to be Krishna conscious, so eventually we rented out our house and moved into the temple.