Using Krishna for Making Money 05 08 26

 

Using Krishna for Making Money

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi : It is heartbreaking to see what is happening at ISKCON Adelaide. Temple festivals and sacred yajnas are not meant to become business transactions. Bhakti is not for sale. Mantras are not for sale. The blessings of Lord Nrsimhadeva are not for sale.

Last year, devotees were told they could “secure blessings” for their family by paying a mandatory participation fee to sit at the yajna and receive a Nrsmha Mantra. This year, again, a mandatory $61 fee is being required for participation in the Nrsimha Yajna for up to 4 family members.

Since when did attending yajna become ticketed entry? Srila Prabhupada warned against karma-kanda mentality and turning devotional life into a paid ritual service. Sponsorship is one thing, but charging devotees mandatory fees just to participate in worship is another.

Even free prasadam plates is being replaced by food stalls selling food, some not even offered to the Deities, instead of freely distributing Krishna prasadam. A temple should be focused on making devotees, not making money. Krishna consciousness should never be commercialised.

Radha Kanta Dasi Tkg: Happening now in most temples ... no surprise here.

Rādhā Śyāmasundara Dāsa: Hare Krsna dear Mataji, thats true in a sense, although I guess a minimum is required else people tend to only give a couple of coins. If money is going for temple maintenance and care then it's ok I think, its gratitude to the Lord and devotees for the blessings and service.

It costs a lot to maintain temple and have free prasadam distribution so sometimes paid events like stalls help that. Give and take type thing as long as it doesn't become the focus.

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi: Rādhā Śyāmasundara Dāsa I hear you, and know how much the bills are, coz hey everyone has bills that live in the material world. But the interesting thing about the new management here is that the only focus is money and not bhakti.

Rādhā Śyāmasundara Dāsa: Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi Jaya Gauranga! Yeah that would be too much when that becomes the focus. Visitors would pick that up and feel less inclined to come or participate.

Eliza Ba Than: I was facilitating a namahutta centre in Townsville every Saturday for 13 years. During that time, I have not asked a cent of donations from the congregation. Instead, I set up a charity that raises funds at the same time, giving clarity to the homeless. My own funds support my weekly Prasadam and that was provided for free to attendees numbers varying from 10 to 30. 

I also hosted Janamashtami and Rath Yatra and cooked for 100 or more people. On going members bring a plate on Saturdays and festivals were funded by me. On the other hand, in another nearby town a program started running on festivals and Prasadam was to be purchased by the host. This clearly shows the lack of foresight by the temple in raising funds for Prasadam and exploitative activities such as yajna fees, against our temple principles set by Srila Prabhupada. 

In the name of a temple, money is made. There should be other ways to raise funds like running the restaurant properly, and temple shop, books etc instead of exploiting the secred mantras . What a shame! But not a surprise.

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi: Eliza Ba Than Srila Prabhupada established protocols for the preaching and temples and primarly the approach has been around the vaisnava principle of krpalu (mercy), and not that of the opposite trait of krpana or miserliness. 

What you have described in your preaching and approach is the Iskcon approach that those of us who joined decades ago are used to. Having congregation offer up donations or suggesting donations has always been around, but never mandatory for attending the temple. In this centre, the Deities are monetised. They have Jaganatha Baladeva and Subhadra Deities, who are kept in a cupboard upstairs for the whole year, in the dark, then brought out and placed before the community in the temple room to be given worship for a day, a Panihati festival on the first day of the year. 

Then they are put back in the cupboard for the remainder of the year. This year, the new management asked everyone to give money for them, and they left a donation box in front of them. Then they just left these Deities sitting there for a few days, with the donation box, to encourage people to give more money. The Deities, were not worshiped, not given water, bhoga or re-dressed during this time, they were only there to attract donations into the hundi. 

Then they went back into the cupboard where they are right now, locked up, gathering dust or covered with no air. This Nrsmha Caturdasi they will bring out of the cupboard an Ugra Nrsmha for the same purpose. There is no love, no Bhakti, no understanding and no consciousness as to who Krishna is, who is the Guru and what does the Guru want us to do. Spiritual life is a razors edge. Walk with the required balance and you dont get cut. Walk with the balance and it all goes wrong.

Eliza Ba Than: Jaya Sacinatha Dasa Absolutely ... but we must do karma yoga. Not enterprising as a business in temple to maintain it.

Jaya Sacinatha Dasa: I know.

Amogh Ananta Virya Mogre: Preposterous. Is the temple going broke??

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi: Amogh Ananta Virya Mogre apparently no. Just monetising Krishna and using him as a cash cow.

Syamapriya Dasi: Viewing or observing a yagna has the same potency of actually participating in a yagya. Also mentally being present in a yagya has the same benefit if one cannot be present. I know this based on personal experience when I have not been able to be present at iskcon sydney yagyas, abhishekhs and other events. 

I was instructed to mentally make my offerings and I really received the reciprocation from the residing deities. So Adelaide devotees should use their intelligence when it comes to money/donations/ reasons, their own capacity. This is my two cents worth of comment. 

Lord Krishna really burnt the fingers of a Brahmin. The Brahmin was just imagining offering hot kheer. When the worried Brahmin imagined dipping his own fingers in the kheer to check the temperature in case he burnt the Lord... He really did burn his fingers. Such is true bhakti. Just don't pay if you cannot for reasons wrong or right.

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi: Syamapriya Dasi 100 percent agree. Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, not the International Society for Money Consciousness. Bhakti is heartfelt and not about the bank balance. Ordinary donations for Temples is one thing, but restricting entrance based on a payment is completely bogus.

Syamapriya Dasi: Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi yes, ISKCON was established for bhakti. Temple was built to facilitate Bhakti. It is for harinaam Sankirtan yagya. It is for Krishna Consciousness which is the way back to Godhead and ISKCON temples are meant for this reason. In service of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission, for Srila Prabhupada. 

So, all temples management need to be like minded, otherwise the efforts of Srila Prabhupada are not met. Not paying this donation will still be fine if bhakti is there, that was my point actually. Bhakti will not diminish. Although management should make the effort to be right by Srila Prabhupada. There has never been entrance fees charged to enter ISKCON temple or to enter a yagya for observation.

Krsnangi Mulder: The sad part of these types of initiatives that are more and more creeping in, is that also they start to create disparity, inequality between groups of people of different economical status, rather than equal access for all to spiritual bhakti nourishment. There are examples of this already with access to participate and spend time at the Iskcon farm communities or retreats. 

It is great that there are now guest facilities and the funds raised for overnight or weekly stays support the running costs of the farms which can be extensive to maintain. The amounts charged though do restrict access for those of lower incomes to visit, to be spiritually uplifted, to engage in service, for association.

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi: Krsnangi Mulder yes I agree with your points. Temples do cost to run, and it is expected that donations are required to keep everything afloat, yet the approach in this temple is completely out of balance. I see the development of the 'economy of bhakti', has arisen through these schemes that place a price on bhakti and access to the standard Temple environment and programs on offer. It does create a divide, the haves and the have nots'. 

A class or caste system of sorts. Interestingly enough here, if you dont drive a Mercedes, are not of wealth, or closely aligned with a person who has these, then you dont get access. This is not the mood that Srila Prabhupada wanted from the spiritual embassy temples of ISKCON, especially in the West. Economic bhakti looks more like karma kanda than Bhakti, and every morning we recite that it is an offence "To consider the chanting of Hare Krishna as one of the auspicious ritualistic activities which are offered in the Vedas as frutive activities (Karma kanda)". 

Surely an overt dollar value assigned to worship, sadhana or temple access and kirtan, has to fall into the same offence range. It is important for properly trained leaders to be placed running temples to ensure that the temple practices like these dont become materially based or that bit by bit it starts to look like an ordinary business venture.

Serguei Levykin: Krsnangi Mulder -- we haven't visited New Govardhana in years because it ends up as a very costly holiday for a family of four. Many other families have just quit going to ISKCON. This will decrease the attendance.

Syamapriya Dasi: Krsnangi Mulder I was being forced to "sponsor" my own birthday so they can celebrate in ISKCON Sydney. Even when I told them "it is not my birthday ". I was still being pushed to book it on my birthday! This is the same temple which has tried to remove me from ISKCON permanently. Not sure how exactly they would feel joyous on my birthday? They were so happy to see me go. O Krishna. 

BB: Yes they remove people all the time, especially the "non-paying".

Krsnangi Mulder: am sorry to hear that you have had this experience.

Luke Hedley: Lead a Coup! You were a Wonderful TP in my memory of my time there ... despite my crashing and burning you were always available for me dear Visnupriya ... Keep up the resistance Lovely One. Hare Krsna!

Narada Muni: It is concerning to see this trend becoming normal in many temples. Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada repeatedly warned us not to turn devotional life into karma-kanda or paid ritualistic activity. Bhakti is not something that can be purchased, and the mercy of the Lord is never dependent on money.

At the same time, he encouraged voluntary donations and service to support the temple - not mandatory fees for participation in worship.

Yajna, mantra, and prasadam are meant to be freely accessible as Krishna’s mercy. When the mood shifts from offering to transaction, we should carefully reflect on whether we are preserving the true spirit of Krishna consciousness.

Bharat Devnani: Do they accept crypto currency? I don't use cash, only bitcoin ...

BB: ISKCON will become a crypto currency religion soon enough ...

Ratna Prabha: I wanted to go to a fire yajns recently but couldn’t afford the fee for one.

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi: Ratna Prabha this is just atrocious. How can there be justification for stopping Iskcon devotees from practising their Guru given right to attend temple services. I am so sorry you had to experience that. This is what I mean by the ‘economy of Bhakti’.

Ratna Prabha: I agree, it is sad.

BB: Kali Yuga resides in gold (money).

Tedi Davis: So who is responsible? Or is it "the anonymous committee"?

Syamapriya Dasi: At no stage has Lord Krishna asked for money!

May be an image of text that says 'The Stages of Bhakti (devotion) leading to pure love of Lord Krishna 9. Prema Pure Love for Krishna 8. Bhava Spiritual Emotions 7. Asakti Deep Attachment 6. Ruci Taste for Devotion 5. Nistha Steadiness K 4. Anartha- Anartha-nivrrtti nivrrtti Clearing Bad Habits 3. Bhajan-kriya ๑83 Practise of Devotion 2. Sädhu-sanga Sadhu- Association with Saints 1. 1.Shraddha Faith'

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi: Pavan Nitai Chandra Das Ugh.... so Lord Nrsmhadeva only giving blessings to financial participants in the Dham! Kali Yuga creeping in.

Rama Dasa: Long, long gone are the days when we would skrimp and save during the week so that a plentiful, scrumptious Sunday feast would be provided for the guests. The idea was to make people aware of Krishna consciousness, not solely to increase the bank balance.

Visnupriya Karunamayi Devi Dasi: Rama Dasa exactly. Preaching is the essence, Utility the Principle, Books are the Basis and Purity is the Force. Nothing there about the bank balance being the principle.

Sankirtana Devi Dasi: San Diego did the same for the 6 years I lived in the area (2017-2022). Only “Donors” could take part. Not just certain festivals, every festival. We were allowed to bathe Srila Prabhupada during Vyasa Puja festival, however.

Jaya Sacinatha Dasa: I know. I was very surprised at the system, as I’d lived in multiple temples over the previous 4 decades.