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How the Counselor System can give proper balance to a Yatra

How the Counselor System can give proper balance to a Yatra. Theme from last year. ISKCON is the sum of temples and congregations that we can call the “community”. Vision:

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How the Counselor System can give proper balance to a Yatra

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  1. How the Counselor System cangive proper balance to a Yatra

  2. Theme from last year • ISKCON is the sum of temples and congregations that we can call the “community”. Vision: • By education and personalrelationships, built oncare and trust, creating a community, based on common rights and obligations. The goal is tocreate a spiritual atmosphere. The activities of the community are centered around building a Krishna conscious society and preaching.

  3. Content of presentation 1. Principles of devotee care 2. HowithappensintheCounselor System? 3. How it is helpingtheHungarianyatraalong since last year? 4. The challenges 5. Plans for the future 6. Summary

  4. 1. PrinciplesWhy do we need a devotee care system? • Devoteesaremost valuable and very rare. • „The first point is that one must seek the association of persons who are Krisna conscious and who engage in devotional service. Without such association one cannot make advancement.” … Association with devotees means association with the Lord.” (SrímadBhágavatam 3.25.25 purport) • Anyone who is trying to be aloof from this Krishna Consciousness Society and yet engage in Krisna consciousness is living in a great hallucination, for this is not possible. (SrimadBhagavatam 4.9.11. purport)

  5. Whytoestablish a devoteecaresystem? • Tohelpcreate an environment of devoteeassociation • To serve the physical body, emotional mind and the spirit soul • To take shelter of Hearing and chanting • To lead by personal example • To love and serve each other with spiritual purity • To offer education, training and care to each devotee • To ensure that every devotee remains in the movement throughout his life

  6. Other effects if devotees are taken care of nicely • CounselorSystemhelpstocreatea supportsystemforpracticing KC thatwill retain people in the community over a lifetime • Cooperation, spiritual consciousness, enthusiasm, involvement of community will rise • Devotees will feel their community their home • Size of community will grow • Devotees will be happy and satisfied, which is the bestform of preaching • Gives real meaning to preaching

  7. 2. HowithappensintheCounselor System? • IntheCounselor System focusis on the individual, on his or her internal development, spiritual needs, relationships, quality of sadhana, etc. • The relationship of counselor and counselees not managerial but personal • Management and the counselors work cooperatively to help each devotee • There is no interest in the relationships, the counselor has nothing to gain then to increase the faith of the counselee • With service authorityexternal results are in focus, relationships are different • To emphasize service is alsonecessary to move things forward

  8. Counselordoesnothaveto be somuchconcernedabouthowproductive a devoteeinservingthetempleorthecommunity… … but he doesfocusonthedevotee’sinternalprogressindevelopingthequalities of faith, humility, generosity, etc.

  9. Properbalance Properamount and quality of service toexpandpreaching and movethemissionforward Devoteecare Sadhana Personal, qualityrelationships Progressinspiritual life

  10. 3. How it is helping theHungarianYatra since last year? • Started to strengthen and deepen relationships • Emotional needs of devotees arebettertaken care of in a Krishna-conscious way • Trust increased towards the temple, less criticism, more involvement • More devotees are connected to the yatra through regular association • Community informationreaches devotees more effectively • Team spirit started to form, by devotees serving together • Distanced devotees start to come back or are getting favorable • By understanding theneeds of thecommunitywe are becoming more and more family friendly

  11. Short term achievements in community building • Sunday feast is organized by the counselor groups • Gundicamarjana 3-4 times a year with 100 devotees • Regular spiritualretreats • Overall mood of help, groupmembershelpingeachotherinvariousways • The community is gettingeducatedthroughregularseminars • Growing MSF day • Online broadcasting started in Budapest, at the Farm radio broadcast is available of lecturestoconnectothers • More cohesionamongsttheleaders of thecommunity • More cohesionamongstthetempledevotees and thecongregationmembers

  12. Sunday Feastcooking

  13. Growing MSF day

  14. Programs

  15. 4. The challenges • The greatest challenge is patience;a community is notbuiltupovernight • These are ideals I am speaking about, these are not realized in Hungary yet, but we see from small signs, that it is getting its shape • These are experiences, from Chowpatty and Ukraine, where the systemsarerunning for a lot longer time (20-15 years) • These are ideals, but if we stick to theprinciples and process,they will come • We have some signs and feedbacks,that we are moving in the right direction

  16. DifferencesbetweenKrisna-valley and Budapest • Different composition of community • In Krishna-valleythere was a lack of organized community life, the Counselor System filledin the gap perfectly • In Budapest devotees already have so many “community-outside” relationships that first need to be swapped for devotee association • In big cities people live a more busy life • Distance factor • In KV there was already a group of devotees living together, forming some kind of community • In Budapest putting down the foundation, strengthening the system, and involving the devotees will need more patience

  17. 5. Plans for the future: • Ourgoal is tohavea Counselor System workingon a nationallevel, centered around Sri SriRadhaSyamasundara • ImplementingtheCounselor System throughout the country,as the basis of integration of devotees and defining commitment • We are merging the Budapest and Krisna-valley system together, bringing them to the same platform • Reaching out to satellite centers in thenearfuture all around Hungary

  18. Summary • There has to be proper balance in a Yatra between service and personal care for devotees • Counselor System fulfills this need by providing help and support, putting emphasis on sadhana, personal relationships, and spiritualadvancement • Devotees are our most valuable assets -we have to show how much we appreciate them • It is our duty to protect the devotees and to provide them with the facility to stay in KC for the rest of their lives

  19. Counselor System workshandinhandwiththe management inservingthetemple • Counselor system is for the devotees, • it is not a management tool, but helps the management by: • giving inspiration and care to the devotees • making them more effective in their services also

  20. Thankyouforyourattention!

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