The Evolving Constitution of ISKCON

Something I submitted recently to ISKCON Constitution.com:

"In like a needle - out like a plough"

This was a favorite description by Srila Prabhupada of his preaching strategy, and it's a good description of ISKCON's appearance in the Western world. Just as Varahadeva was first spotted by the sages as a tiny fly-like emanation from the nose of Lord Brahma, but then grew to such huge proportions, similarly ISKCON has appeared in the form of a seed, and that seed is now growing.

The constitution (in the dictionary sense of the way in which a thing is composed or made up; makeup; composition) of ISKCON has been evolving ever since it was first instituted by Srila Prabhupada in the late sixties. It is a moving target.

This has profound implications for formal organizational models and leadership style, as these must co-evolve to keep pace with the evolution of the organizational structure itself.

In the beginning

In the beginning, there was a temple. It wasn't just the center of Krishna Consciousness, it was the totality of Krishna Consciousness. Outside the temple there was no Krishna Consciousness in the West. Things were very clear cut and black-and-white at this point.

Temple = Krishna Consciousness = ISKCON

Either you were in a temple or you were in maya. Joining ISKCON meant "shaving up and moving in". Leadership was directive in nature. Official ISKCON leaders controlled access to the facilities and membership.

Over time, as temple residents got married and moved out, and people outside the temple started to significantly take up the process of Krishna Consciousness, devotees began to notice the appearance of Krishna Consciousness, albeit in a less concentrated form, outside the temple.

Mommy, What's that thing out there? It's a "congregation"

Just as the sages asked each other: "What is that?" when Varahadeva first appeared from Brahma's nose and began to grow, there was a period of mental uncertainty about what was happening, how to understand it, and how to interact with it. In order to construct a mental model to deal with this Krishna Consciousness outside the temple, ISKCON adopted a paradigm predominant in Christianity, the major religion of ISKCON's Western host countries - the idea of the "congregation".

Congregation relates to a temple, as the people are congregating around a temple. Thus were born further concepts such as "congregational preaching".

The model of a congregation is problematic in several ways. First of all, Christianity has no further developmental strategy, whereas what we see here is merely a transitory phase as ISKCON evolves further into a full-blown society. As Srila Prabhupada said: "50% of my work is left undone - I have not established varnasrama-dharma".

Dilemmas now arising from the limitations of the congregational model

There are several dilemmas which arise from using the idea of a congregation to model this situation, and as ISKCON continues to evolve the limitations and shortcomings of the model are becoming more apparent.

Fundamentally, in the idea of "congregational preaching" it is unclear whether it refers to preaching to a congregation, or preaching by "congregational members".

Initially a congregation is developed by preaching to the outside population, and by people migrating from the temple to live outside.

After some time the level of Krishna consciousness in the congregation, both collectively and in terms of the individuals who make it up, rises to such a level that preaching is no longer the sole domain of the temple and its residents. It is around this point that a dilemma arises. Because preaching is initially directed from the temple to the outside population, "congregational preaching" in the early phase means preaching to a congregation, or preaching to create a congregation. In later phases it refers to preaching by the members of the congregation.

This use of the one phrase to refer to what are essentially two different things leads to confusion. In different places development may be at different phases, so using the same terminology leads to miscommunication and confusion. An example of having to deal with this confusion are the repeated advisories in the Inundation CD of 1998 that "congregational devotees preach too".

Well, they do in the second phase of "congregational development". What we are seeing in the second phase is the transition into a further stage of evolution of the constitution of ISKCON, and one which requires a new mental model and new language.

From Congregation to Community

Over time, the dissemination of Krishna Consciousness has been so successful that the "balance of power" has in many cases shifted out of the temple into the congregation surrounding it. This congregation has even in some cases become self-aware and self-organizing, no longer dependent on the temple for their identity and continuity. These congregations have become communities in their own right.

In this community there may be more devotees than there are in the temple. There may be more cumulative experience and length of devotional service. There may even be higher standards of sadhana and Deity worship outside the temple than in it, especially in situations where the temple is debilitated. Even in situations where the temple is functioning well, it no longer has a monopoly on Krishna Consciousness. Brahmanas in the community can and do preach independently. Outside sangas form, and people meet in each others houses.

In this situation the temple exists in the context of the community, rather than the other way around, where the congregation exists in the context of the temple. This is a radical shift, and is difficult for a lot of leaders to come to terms with. There is a shortage of discussion on this topic, and the lack of a vocabulary to describe it.

The Role of the Temple in a Community

Losing the monopoly on Krishna Consciousness, and consequently the loss of the factors that allow directive leadership to function, is one of the hardest things to come to term with. The temple must now lead on the basis of its qualification and its contribution to the community. The situation is no longer one of a congregation beholden to a temple, but rather one where the temple must be relevant to the community in order to have influence.

In this situation the temple and the temple leadership retain a leadership role in the community not by trying to tell people what they can and cannot do, but rather by focusing inward and understanding what the identity and role of the temple is in the community, and fulfilling this to a high degree. This generates a synergistic relationship between the temple and the community and allows natural leadership based on appreciation and respect to emerge.

The temple must fulfill a brahminical role of a high standard of sadhana and vision casting, bringing clarity to the community.

The community no longer belongs to the temple, and the temple must rediscover itself in order that the people might feel that the temple belongs in the community, and in a leadership role.

Beyond this we are seeing at a macro-level that as communities develop ISKCON has become a community of communities.

ISKCON Today - A Community of Communities

There are communities within communities, as ISKCON continues to expand and develop a more complex, social structure. Across the world and even in the same place we find people who congregate around the principles of Krishna Consciousness and additionally according to their individual nature. There are communities of like-minded devotees, communities of devotees of similar experiences, devotees of similar ages, devotees of similar sexual identities, devotees of similarities of all descriptions. In these communities there are persons who are influential and act as natural leaders.

ISKCON is becoming increasingly diverse, and the ability to dictate and rule through law and decree is diminishing as the ISKCON population base expands beyond the facilities that formal leaders have control over. The only way to lead in this environment is through influence - by adding value to the community and securing their voluntary cooperation through their recognition of that contributed value.

What is needed now is a transition from the model of "Congregational Preaching" to one of "Community Development".

It is an exciting time to be on this planet, and to be part of the evolution of ISKCON.