(by a temple president) How can a temple president or the leader of the local preaching center benefit most from a visiting preacher?

It is almost unavoidable to answer such a question in a somewhat "controversial" fashion. Traveling for more as ten years trough Europe, I came across the same dilemma shared with me by various local preaching leaders. Ignoring the sometimes rather essential philosophical differences they had with the visiting preachers, they also often felt lack of substantial help. Preachers come, preachers go… and the local manager is often left behind without even being addressed by the visiting "dignitary" or taken existentially spoken into consideration. After a grand welcome, the preacher retires to his private quarters, only to look for the next internet connection to communicate with "another place out there". After giving few standard lectures which hopefully don’t violate Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, he accepts gracefully a specially prepared meal and is transported to the airport again. Some dignitaries like an additional sightseeing tour of the local town, some don’t. After the departure of the honored guest "life goes on as usually".

As one of my brilliant sannyasi godbrothers summarized such an exchange of low value humorously: “And here we go again with the same "jaya maharaja!", (the entrance door goes open), and… "By by maharaja!" (the exit door is closing).” In this way the visiting preacher is so to say passing quickly through a virtual corridor before he exits again. Meanwhile the ongoing problems in a particular area go on undefined and unattended.

Besides the fact that the life of a manager is a rather lonely one, it is highly impolite and a violation of vaisnava etiquette that a visitor is not taking into consideration the hosts existence.

Srila Prabhupada gave great responsibility to the temple presidents. As matter of fact He had sometimes to "protect" them from micro-managing "higher authorities", always pointing out that it is the duty of a sannyasi and GBC to supervise mainly the spiritual standards and not get involved with detailed local management. After all, it is the local temple president who has to take all the financial and legal responsibility for the project entrusted to him, including dealing with all those who contribute to it or even with those who wish him to vanish:-)

Yes, if a temple president cannot:

1. Work hard the whole day like a sudra.
2. Generate sufficient funds like a vaisya.
3. Protect everybody everywhere like a ksatriya.
4. And be strict in his sadhana while being situated in transcendental position like a brahmana.

… then he should be removed immediately from his post and executed in the local marketplace! :-)

/… the same is valid for husbands of divorcing wifes :-) /

I was fortunate to be for the fifteen years of my temple president existence protected and corrected by a strong GBC authority. My need to get advice, encouragement and also to get firmly rectified in times of need was certainly fulfilled. It used to be the policy in that part of the world, that preferably temple presidents were all previous sankirtan devotees who despite the managerial load entrusted to them never forgot the original preaching spirit they were raised in. 

Once, as my GBC visited our temple, he was asked after the Sunday Feast lecture by a rather dissatisfied guest: “Why it is so inspiring when you visit and give lecture and why it is so discouraging when the temple president does so?” (That was me:-) Our GBC looked smilingly at the guest and said: “Because I have to tolerate you only for few hours, but he has to tolerate you all the time”.

I was amazed how far "my" GBC could go. He was by no means a man of flowery words; his praise was more as rare. But he was always ready to correct me heavily when the time for my "purification" arrived. He told me many things which I find until today relevant. The gradual destruction of his spiritual integrity would be a theme for another long and complex text. But it involves the problem here described as well. He became involved with issues which were absolutely detrimental to his ashrama and so he had to pay finally his price.

A real managerially inclined devotee needs training. He has to have a basic genetic qualification to start with and not as it is today fashionable, by means of academic "education" a simple minded devotee is "trained" to this post. The training cannot be just of academic nature, but such a manager needs a "practical look from outside" as managing day by day in a particular location can be very conditioning. To train a ksatriya is not easy as he seeks instantly a way to apply the given wisdom and see consequently dry academic "knowledge" as "impractical".

This is exactly where a visiting truly brahminical preacher can be of great use, inspiring the local manager by his detached and independent comment he derives from Srila Prabhupada’s books only. He can, if qualified, show such a manager how to deal with certain issue in a more brahminical way and so learn to tolerate and wait for more opportune moment to activate certain plan. Tolerance and patience are the "weak spots of the managers".

Srila Prabhupada dealt in this way with His "big guns". He gave them protection and correction simultaneously. To find such an assistant is for a manager life saving. There are preachers who know little about managerial problems. But they present Krsna and Srila Prabhupada purely and that in itself is a wonderful contribution. They don’t hesitate to admit that they don’t feel qualified to be confronted with any managerial issues as their management is involving their suitcase and their ticket to the next destination only. Then there are those who can be of great assistance even in other fields, such as economy and who have great deal of insight into the minds and hearts of devotees and guests involved. A manager is well advised to use such a rare opportunity to "see things from different perspective".

All this automatically requires sincere interest from the side of the visitor to respect and help the local manager. Manager means a troubled man. Any manager who presents himself as to be without any problems and challenges is a liar. Most probably he may along with "his perfect kingdom" enter a state of bankruptcy.

Once I asked my GBC: “How can a manager avoid problems?” He laughed heartily and said: “Manager avoiding problems? Manager EATS problems for the breakfast!”

Such managerially inclined devotees are rare. Often devotees with sudra mentality or vaisya mentality get installed into managerial posts. When unchecked, they certainly will bestow new disasters upon Srila Prabhupada’s movement. The claim that "we are all transcendental anyway" can be easily defeated by brief look into the ISKCON history. Such claim demonstrates the lack of understanding of the definition transcendentalism on the side of such a "universal lover and rasa-lila participant".

After all, Arjuna also tried "to transcend" his duties as administrator and warrior. Krsna, the original creator of the varnasrama dharma system, instantly disagreed. If a manager is not ready to face his "battle" every day, he is in wrong place.

I had the privileged to be present personally in a lecture of Srila Prabhupada where he stressed the absolute need of cooperation between the brahminical class and the ksatriya class. He said plainly that nothing can be done without the cooperation of both. (Further on Srila Prabhupada stressed this point in lectures like 10. 4. 1973, New York and 2. 9. 1973, London). That is proven in history of mankind where even religions with hardly any philosophical substance became prominent by the cooperation of the leading administrator and the leading preacher.

When the preacher becomes involved with management in too detailed way, his preaching potency will be diminished, likely to the degree that he loses even his ashrama and fells down. When the manager becomes too absorbed in managerial affairs only, it’s likely that he loses his spiritual s strength and falls down as well.

It is for this reason that the active managerial field is reserved for grhastas and vanaprasthas only. Even Srila Prabhupada out of necessity entrusted sannyasis or brahmacaries with managerial responsibilities, those amongst them who were expert quickly relied on the help of a grhasta whom they trained to become responsible for certain project.

Management involves money and women. With a modest portion of name and fame arriving, constantly stressed by necessities and urgencies, one is a most ideal target for maya. Even well married grhasta is in great danger as there might be always some "very qualified female secretary" close by. It is also for this reason the wives of managers must by extremely qualified, protecting their husbands in times of attacks of other females and in times when crisis arrives at the door of an exhausted manager who may grow desperate and tired of his duties. In this way they can be most valuable managers as well. There are such examples of glorious women in ISKCON, saving their husbands from despair and fall downs. And there are also examples of hunting secretaries and broken managers as well.

To some it may sound surprising: brahmanas and ksatriyas are practically the same. Both are ready to lay down their lives for the sake of the truth, one as a teacher and the other in action. They are ready to stand uncompromisingly for the principles laid down by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Founder Acharya, Srila Prabhupada. They will do so even in times when vaisyas count the losses and the profit and the sudras howl in emotional distress while heading for another session of their freudistically inspired counselors.

Such devotees who know the need to sacrifice ones emotions for the sake of the mission of the spiritual master are one in purpose and herewith no different.

To find somebody who ignores the favors offered him by public in exchange of the principles he stands for is rare. Too tempting is the exiting feeling to collect followers and too tempting is to be praised for it.

Brahmanas without managerial support become just introverted sloka collectors, often living in remote locations, avoiding the compromised hedonistic majority. Ksatriyas without brahminical protection also retreat in frustration and for the same reason, not being able to accomplish what has to be done. Or even worse, their nature manifests in a perverted way. They become ruthless dictators, believing that this is the only way "to administer justice". And so the symbiosis only between these two varnas quickly brings about prosperity, both spiritualy and materially. As maharaja Rahugana finally became aware of Jada Bharatas most valuable advise and his unique position, the prosperity and security of the citizens residing under his care was ensured.

Why should this be different in Srila Prabhupada’s movement?