An internal record of all the financial movements of
the temple should be kept. Srila Prabhupada was very
clear in this connection. All donations shall be deposited
in the bank and only taken out by check with the appropriate
explanation and receipts.
In addition the Temple President has to look that the
several departments of the temple such as a restaurant
or gift store keep their accounting in the required
way of the local government. In Colombia, for example,
a devotee accountant has kindly compiled a comprehensive
guideline for the establishment of devotee owned enterprises
and the respective duties the devotees have to fulfill.
We shall not go into more detail here since from country
to country the rules change. But every Temple President
should make sure that he does not create a situation
which will later be considered objectionable by the
public. That would jeopardize the purpose of our preaching.
It is a pleasure to keep the books of a little temple
of Vaisnava programs. We are pure in purpose and have
nothing to hide. We shall learn how to do this even
if itgives us a little headache to become experts in
accounting. It is not really difficult. Just do not
limit yourself and do not be lazy about this subject.
Even our Gurus had to keep books, so why should you
not want to do this little service for Srimati Radharani?
The Temple President and debts
It is best if a temple functions without debts. First
work and then Samadhi, Srila Prabhupada used to say.
Different types of debts may be unavoidable. Under all
circumstances a temple should not fall behind their
debt payment schedules, otherwise depression will appear.
Nobody likes to work for anothers' past negligence.
Debts with the publication department are a big disturbance.
Every temple has to manage in such a way that the different
daily sums covering the cost of distributed materials
be kept separate from the general profits so that
respective payments can be made.
Not doing so will cause a great danger. If the money
is out of reach it will not by eaten up by other demands.
If any temple raises insufficient money and there is
need for monies from the escrow account to be used
to cover their bills, the Temple's emergency bells
should wake up every member of the community to a "temple
saving marathon". If we silently spend what is
not ours and let everything slide into deeper and deeper
debt, we may bring about a crisis which may even threaten
the existence of an ashram. Therefore it is better
not to work with borrowed capital since that is very
risky. Those devotees who are involved but do not carry
the load of responsibility in their name are more likely
to be lax and irresponsible. Keep the moneys separate
from the beginning and save yourself from future financial
headaches.
If the temple buildings and vehicles are mortgaged we
should make sure we have insurance in these properties
in case of some calamity. (Our temple in Miami was
saved twice by a few miles from a major Hurricane.
Iskcon lost several properties through fire and hurricane,
traffic accidents, etc).
Do not foolishly say that you do not insure Krishna's
properties because he can protect them. Devotees should
never live under severe financial pressure. If voluntarily
some devotee accepts the charge to make certain payments,
that is wonderful. But if due to bad management the
temple is putting pressure on the members to raise
funds it is very undesirable. Slowly but surely wins
the race.
Do not try to impress others with borrowed laurels.
Once a property of Krishna has been fully paid, do not
put a lean against it again. Mortgaging Krishna's property
is wrong. The deity has to be protected from financial
speculation of temple managers. Raise new funds if
you want to further expand.
Whatever money the temple owes should be posted in the
temple office on the bulletin Board to be taken care
of at once. Manage your temples nicely, that will bring
happiness to you and to all the temple members.
The Temple President and the inventory of the Temple
Every temple must keep a book listing all the deities properties. These items are sacred and should be marked, if practical, as property of the deity. If an item is taken into the temple for temporary use, it should also be specified in this book that this item is only lent for the purpose of the deity by a particular person and that he may decide to take with him again. This will serve to protect the temple from the horrible situation when some Temple President has purchased items for the temple either from his own money or in joint effort with other devotees as a donation, but then at the time of his withdrawal from the Temple President service he starts claiming that certain items actually belong to him, etc. This is a great disturbance to the preaching and to the donation mood of the congregation. Therefore there is no harm in keeping record that a Grihasta president is the owner of something which is also being used for Krishna for the time being. But if this is not specified in the Inventory book or recognized by the Vaisnava Board, it will cause problems if later he wants to claim the proprietorship for such an item. Therefore, in general, whatever is not recorded as such in the Inventory book shall be accepted as deity property without further discussion. It takes good organization to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
The Temple President and the temple profits
The profits of the temple are the life of expanding
the preaching work in the city and elsewhere. These
hard earned Laksmis are actually the mercy of the Lord
and his devotees. Every penny shall be reported nicely
and the Vaisnava Board will decide which preaching
projects deserve priority in the development. Donations
given for a special purpose should be used exclusively
for that purpose and the donation book shall report
the origin, donor and purpose of the Laksmi.
Temple profits are the offerings of the Vaisnavas for
the service of their lord as well as the donations
of those who were inspired by the Vaisnavas. We shall
never fall in the illusion that we, the managers, are
owners of these Laksmis or that it is to our credit
that such Laksmis exist. We are just favored by the
Spiritual master and the Vaisnava community to be trusted
to faithfully manage the funds of our Lord. There must
always be a checking system, established strictly by
the very Temple President, that assures that every
penny is spent as was planned. If this is not done
properly very soon criticism will appear, questioning
the honesty of the local managers. That is the worse
that can happen to a temple. It pains my heart and
it disturbs our Gurus mission because the people will
loose faith in the Vaisnavas. Therefore consider this
one of your most important services as a Temple President
to inspire love and trust and to manage excellently.
The Temple President and his management of Bank accounts
If the temple is owned by the registered non profit
society and has a bank account in the name of that
society it is very important to keep the account with
all the in and outgoing transactions in perfect condition,
because the yearly balances of the society before the
government will be based on the movement of such accounts.
Other bank accounts have to be authorized by the Vaisnava
Board to facilitate other departments such as the Temple
restaurant, bakery etc.
Krishna's Laksmi shall always be kept with at least
two trusted signers. In the Vaisnava Board meetings
the accounts of Krishna and their balances should be
reported. A meeting without knowledge of the financial
situation is quite meaningless.
All accounts must be studied carefully in coordination
with the Vaisnava Board, that they do not conflict
with any law and assurance must be given that no private
interests interfere with Krishna's Laksmi.
Always get the advice of a trusted devotee accountant
to make sure you are doing everything within the law
and nothing in the wrong way.
The Temple President and book distribution
Book distribution is the life and soul of a preaching
temple. Preaching is life. Without preaching a temple
is practically useless. Without serious book distribution
a temple has really no mercy distribution. And if the
mercy is not distributed, how do you expect the mercy
to come down .
Srila Prabhupada promised us he would come and stay
in the temple where the largest quantity of books were
distributed. That created a revolution in book distribution.
Every Temple wanted Srila Prabhupada to stay there.
And Srila Prabhupada published so many books. Without
an intensive distribution system it would not have
been possible to pay for the publishing of so many
titles.
There are many ways that books can be distributed. Here
is a short list of the main distribution places and
systems used by the devotees.
Street distribution by walking from one person to the
other and trying to attract them to buy one or more
books.
Distribution in public transport facility by giving
a speech to a group of passengers.
Door to door visits with books.
Hari Nam parties and their preaching as well as their
book tables.
Parking lots to approach people as they park or want
to drive away.
Stores and offices with personal conversations.
Airports and public transportation terminals.
Life membership programs to register new members and
thus give books to them.
Yoga course sales to sign up members to read the books
systematically.
Astrology charts to give to people joined with Vedic
literature.
Full tables on public grounds or in fairs where the
full amount of publications are exhibited.
Prasadam distribution jointly with book tables to attract
attention to the literature.
Wholesale distribution of books to bookstores or other
favorable stores.
Distribution to libraries and universities Vedic literature
to introduce as class reading material.
Actually all these systems work if somebody with personal
enthusiasm represents the spiritual master. The Temple
President can carefully enthuse the devotees to compete
in book distribution but he has to alert them not to
become proud and number conscious, instead of being
real, loving, compassionate preachers.
The temple can post the book distribution achievements
on the temple bulletin Board and ecstatic book distributors,
as well as other outstanding servants, shall be given
an honored mention in the Istagosthis. In Srila Prabhupadas
times we had a Samkirtan newsletter which kept the
competition also on a world wide level. This system
got carried away sometimes, even though it gave the
leading book distributors the chance to know about
each others existence and also published nectarine
preaching experiences. At least on a national level
there is nothing wrong in reporting the distribution,
but again, and again, we should not forget the danger
of becoming proud, which would be the worst to happen
to any one of us. Already we have this horrible proud
nature. Unless we become humble and kindhearted we
will surely fail on this path of pure devotion.
The Samkirtan leader shall hold regular Sankirtan meetings
and at least once a week every devotee in the temple
shall go on Samkirtan. The Samkirtan meetings shall
be at leaast once per week and shall give the best
distributors the chance to share their enthusiasm and
experience with the others. On traveling Samkirtan
we can repeat such meetings every day before going
out. In the temples the Samkirtan office shall vibrate
enthusiasm and good attention to the Samkirtan devotees
every day. The Temple President shall see that all
the material is ready for the distributors. Whenever
there is a change in prices or articles for Samkirtan
the devotee is faced with an obstacle of adopting to
a new situation. That requires a special injection
from the Temple President into the group. Best thing
is being able to see the Temple President going out
himself and creating an atmosphere of success in the
new situation.
We have to utilize the saying," Utility is the
principle" in order to define which Samkirtan
system is the best for each and every individual devotees.
It is good to use different systems, but it is also
true that if the devotees concentrate on one system
in a group, the enthusiasm grows. But the preaching
has to be developed on all levels, and not all devotees
are suited for the same condition.
Every person's preaching is his lifeline. There is no
greater happiness than seeing new devotees who have
came due to our little preaching service.
Every devotee should desire to help the Samkirtan. The
cooks are helping the preachers as are the pujaris.
But they should also feel that way. We are helping
the preaching in our specific duty. And if they get
any chance to also sell a book, they should not let
such an opportunity escape.
Devotees shall go to preach well dressed. Either they
dress as Vaisnava gentleman or they dress like a suit
and tie person. Hippie presentation is not what Srila
Prabhupada aspired for. Well dressed, you are already
accepted by the general people as a respectable person.
If we create repulsion by the way we present ourselves,
the purpose of preaching is not served.
Make sure that in the very entrance of your temples
all the publications of your mission are beautifully
exhibited with a person available who can sell any
book or tape desired by the visitor ON THE SPOT. The
entrance to a temple or preaching center shall give
full information about the purpose, literature and
projects of this respective Vaisnava center. Out of
sight- out of mind. If you do not exhibit, even the
devotees forget what preaching nectar is available.
Every devotee shall always carry with him at least some
book and lecture tape of his spiritual master. There
is no reason not to. You can glorify Krishna and your
Guru in an excellent way by leaving some of his writings
or his spoken word in the hands of those whom you would
like to benefit. There is another problem. Devotees
are often careless. They put books in their bags with
shoes or food and ruin the appearance. It takes the
responsibility and awareness of an excellent salesperson
to go out well prepared, fulfilling what is required.
How can a no nonsense salesman give a first class presentation
while the Vaisnavas cannot organize themselves in order
to present their nectar to the world? It takes many
many discussions in the meetings and istagosthis in
order to improve the situation. But we shall not stop
at any time. This is the Samkirtan Yajna, and we have
nothing else to do, than to preach nicely. That is
all.
Whoever can find out a newer or better way of distributing
transcendental literature and especially Yoga Courses,
will do a great service to the preaching and we want
to learn from him. Samkirtan Yajna ki jaya. Our Gurudevas
were all Book distributors and book publishers. This
is a tradition of preachers, I beg you to keep this
spirit alive in our temple
The Temple President and Preaching opportunities in the media
It is very valuable to know the press and to cultivate
friendly connections. Every newspaper has a cultural
page and will publish a little caption, just because
you went by and gave the editor a pack of incense and
told him about the drama you are presenting or the
visit of your spiritual master, etc. There is no limit
to this preaching field. Every Radio, Magazine and
TV station, especially Cable TV, has special forums
to present cultural subjects. We have to be experts
at conquering so that all doors open by themselves
after we cultivate our friendships. No doubt this is
a field of hard work, but you can be successful as
reporters are just as unhappy as everyone else, and
will appreciate your friendship since the rest of
their lives and businesses pivot around the selling
of advertisement for material objects, which does not
make anyone happy.
To favor our preaching we should find out all the important
dates in the year to see where functions are held in
which the devotees can participate and preach their
Hari Nam, etc. For example there are many peace marches,
theater and song festivals. Devotees shall be there,
presenting something very nice. Krishna consciousness
is the culture of this iron age and the press has all
the connections. We shall always try to be present
in the different exchanges of opinions with our wonderful
philosophy. If any news agency attacks devotees, as
happens very often by negative writings on new cults
along with our Vaisnavas photographs, we shall take
the opportunity to write disclaimers and to preach
our teachings. Srila Prabhupada used to say, "All
propaganda is good propaganda in the long run".
We want to defend the dignity of our spiritual school,
but even if any devotee is responsible for some mistake,
we shall always defend the purity of the Vaisnava line.
But be cautious with the press. Never create enemies.
They often play friendly, try to get someone to say
something and then distort it to make a slanderous
good selling headline. But what can be done. We are
trying to sincerely glorify Krishna. If any adverse
propaganda appears, it is not happy. Let the expert
devotees deal with the press and other public relationship
matters. Even the receptionist of the temple shoud
be prepared to guide news man to the leader. And if
you have some kind of a press report on our activities
it will be helpful, because they sometimes come with
little time and want to get concise information.
If you have friends in the press that can also help
if any type of emergency appears.
The Temple President shall try to conduct meetings with
devotees in the community to study how to help each
other and how to cooperate in different fields.
Our devotees need a secure future. Even though it is
a fact that karma misra bhaktas get confused when they
see how devotees earn their Laksmi and sometimes imitate
their activities for their fruitive purposes, it is
important to create a system which allows devotees
with their families to earn a solid income. A financially
stable Grihasta community will give stability to the
preaching. No doubt the degree of envy and greed in
this age make it very difficult to work together. Devotees
are experts in food production. It is a good way to
establish franchise systems. Devotees can produce food
items, for example, allowing other devotees with a
little capital to establish outlets. This can be combined
with little lecture halls or at least a bookstall on
transcendental literature. The devotees can also import
or produce items which give a chance for others to
open a little boutique.
Often devotees try to work together in manual jobs or
in relationships where one devotee is like the owner
of the company and the others are his paid employees.
My own experience with this is very bad, even though
some very expert devotee managers may be able to pull
off such a relationship for a while. Usually the saying
" familiarity breeds contempt", proves to
be truth and such relationships very easy break in
disgust. Very unhappy situations arise. Therefore it
is better that in commercial relationships, at least
to a degree, everyone is his own boss, keeping his
own accounting and responsibility before the government
and learning to handle his own capital responsibly.
Those who are unable to do so are better of working
for a non devotee and keeping their friendship with
the devotees. International business opportunities
shall be shared amongst the devotees through the Internet
in the framework of the World Vaisnava Association.
Actually the Vaisnava community is very young and small
and has not yet discovered the incredible potential
it has by working together, also in practical fields.
New ideas will appear and very important fields of
Vaisnava service will develop.
Education, Health Care, Retreats, and many other social
services will naturally become part of the Vaisnava
ways of executing Brahminical services and establishing
their own situation.
Publications in the Vaisnava communities are also very
important in order to exchange ideas and to establish
contacts.
The Temple President and his manpower
The help of others is essential for actually creating
a Vaisnava family. All volunteers are the in the life
of a preacher because they help him to serve his spiritual
master in a better way. Therefore we should enthuse
and also correct those under our care. Above all we
shall always try to reach peoples' heart and not make
them feel bad, even if some mistake has to be corrected.
What is the use of a good instruction if the person
gets discouraged from it.
Sometimes we have to wait for appropriate moments to
make someone else understand a particular situation.
This is the real task for loving leadership. No person
is obliged to help us. And we shall learn from others,
as they may very well be more advanced then we are
ourselves in their service attitude. To discourage
one single external Mataji in her service is an offense
which will disturb our advancement. Maya always tries
to separate the devotees from each other but real advanced
devotees always try to counteract that influence, bringing
all devotees closer to each other regardless of their
false ego disturbances.
Listen to what people have to say. Be an expert in inspiring
others to reveal their heart to you. Only then will
it be natural for them to accept some service under
you guidance and to try to execute that service expertly.
Always be there for your devotee brothers, sisters and
friends. Without a loving Vaisnava how can we tolerate
this life? Older devotees, especially those living
outside, should feel that you want them to be part
of the family as a paternal friend of all. If you feel
that they are giving more trouble than help to your
program, then take them with you on a walk and reveal
to them your feelings and plans, and how you feel,
that they are not sensitive to the temple realities.
If there is no heart to heart contact you may loose
them from the congregation. This is a challenge, but
that is what makes a very good Temple President. Actually
the Temple President is the most important devotee
in as much as he keeps the programs going, resting
all the responsibilities on his shoulders. What mercy
will come to him if he gets the blessings of almost
all the congregation. Granted that it is not an easy
task. Our new members have the tendency to accept our
words without much criticism, but older members naturally
have a different and sometimes even better idea, and
that possibility must be accommodated if we wish to
stay together.
The Temple President and his purchases
Whomever has the power or utilizes the funds collected
or donated for Krishna by the devotees carries a great
responsibility. Shopping with Krishna's Laksmi is a
holy duty and one should follow many carefully studied
guidelines.
Srila Prabhupada told us that money should not sit idly
in Bank accounts. This will attract the influence of
Kali Yuga. But to spend Laksmi carefully is actually
hard work. When someone has earned money with severely
hard labor he will value every penny with the sweat
he spent to get it. Unfortunately, sometimes, devotees
of careless nature do not value sufficiently the chance
they have to serve Laksmidevi by fulfilling Krishna's
desires. The following points should be avoided by
all devotees.
a) Don't buy anything without knowing the real market
value.
b) Don't buy before comparing prices with other outlets.
c) Don't take quality or quantity for granted. Always
check on it.
d)Always try to get the wholesale price, cash discounts,
etc.
e) Don't deprive the salesman of his fortune to give
a special discount for Krishna. Just beg humbly and
enthusiastically for your Guru. You will be surprised
how many wonderful preaching opportunities will come
from that, and how many people love to give extra facilities
to the devotees and their service.
f) Don't buy to much of anything that can spoil.
g) Don't buy to small of a quantity so that it becomes
a waste of time buying the same thing all the time.
h) Make sure all your good buying contacts, good advisers,
special discounts are noted in the temple purchase
guide. Tomorrow somebody else is going to do the shopping.
If you did not write it down nicely, with all necessary
details, you will be responsible for wasting the time
of other devotees.
i) Always try to give out literature while you are shopping
and see if their are any barter opportunities to save
Laksmi.
In the construction of the temple of Sri Sri Gouranga
Radha Vrajesvara at least 30% of all the building materials
and tools were traded with paintings.
j) While shopping please do so humbly. You are giving
them them the opportunity to contribute some of their
energy to the work of Krishna. Even when buying a building
you may save a lot if you humbly and aggressively
make the selller aware of this point.
k) Make sure your purchase decisions always meet the
approval of the other devotees, above all the Vaisnava
Council of the temple. Better check with them, before
committing a mistake that cannot be rectified.
l) The treasury and the accounting system have to be
well understood by all those who spend Krishna's Laksmi.
It is a grave offense if the purchaser even falls under
the suspicion of mishandling his service in any way.
Anyone who touches Krishna's Laksmi should not be in
the slightest way reluctant to be checked upon, or
to give clear reports, etc.,
m) Big expenditures should preferably be made by check
.
n) Even so called big devotees have fallen prey to the
allurement of money, all the way up to practically
robbing the Guru and the deities. Very good devotees
should do the shopping and even they should feel 108%
accountable to Sri Krishna's Household in charge, who
is none less then Srimati Radharani and her servants.
o) Devotees should not buy unnecessary luxury items
and much less fall prey to the nonsense of brand names
and false values. Exclusively for preaching, we may
prefer the best quality of an item, but we should carefully
keep our distance from those items which will make
us look like a person who enjoys them under the pretense
of a monks life. Cotton or jute is the best dress material
we can recommend. Silk is very costly and unnecessary.
VRINDA
VRINDAVAN INSTITUTE FOR VAISNAVA CULTURE AND STUDIES