Do not centralize anything. Each temple must remain independent and self-sufficient.

 ISKCON MUMBAI HAS NO CLAIM OVER ISKCON BANGALORE PROPERTY 

ON HOW MANY ISSUES WILL THE GBC DISOBEY PRABHUPADA????

Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Karandhara, Bombay, December 22, 1972: [...] Regarding your points about taxation, corporate status, etc., I have heard from Jayatirtha you want to make big plan for centralization of management, taxes, monies, corporate status, bookkeeping, credit, like that. I do not at all approve of such plan. Do not centralize anything. Each temple must remain independent and self-sufficient.
That was my plan from the very beginning, why you are thinking otherwise? Once before you wanted to do something centralizing with your GBC meeting, and if I did not interfere the whole thing would have been killed. Do not think in this way of big corporation, big credits, centralization–these are all nonsense proposals.
Only thing I wanted was that books printing and distribution should be centralized, therefore I appointed you and Bali Mardan to do it. Otherwise, management, everything, should be done locally by local men. Accounts must be kept, things must be in order and lawfully done, but that should be each temple’s concern, not yours.

Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy.
Once there is bureaucracy the whole thing will be spoiled. There must be always individual striving and work and responsibility, competitive spirit, not that one shall dominate and distribute benefits to the others and they do nothing but beg from you and you provide. No.
Never mind there may be botheration to register each centre, take tax certificate each, become separate corporations in each state. That will train men how to do these things, and they shall develop reliability and responsibility, that is the point. I am little observing now, especially in your country, that our men are losing their enthusiasm for spreading on our programmes of Krishna Consciousness movement.
Otherwise, why so many letters of problems are coming, dissatisfied? That is not a very good sign. The whole problem is they are not following the regulative principles, that I can detect. Without this, enthusiasm will be lacking. Even mechanically following, and if he gets gradually understanding from the class, he will come to the point of spontaneous enthusiasm.
This spontaneous loving devotional service is not so easy matter, but if one simply sticks strictly to the rules and regulations, like rising early, chanting 16 rounds, chanting gayatri, keeping always clean–then his enthusiasm will grow more and more, and if there is also patience and determination, one day he will come to the platform of spontaneous devotion, then his life will be perfect. All of this I have told you in Nectar of Devotion.
So I do not think the leaders are themselves following, nor they are seeing the others are following strictly. That must be rectified at once. Each centre remain independent, that’s all right, but the president and other officers must themselves follow and see the others are following the regulative principles carefully, and giving them good instruction so they may understand nicely why this tapasya is necessary.
[...]
Hoping this meets you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS:sda

Prabhupadanugas Jaipur doing harinam

The Power of Prabhupada's Books

Srila Prabhupada is present

Dear Sivarama Swami,

Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I hope you do not mind my writing to you. I have never written to a spiritual master before. You do not know me. My name is Bhaktin Dora and I live in pecs (Hungary). I am 14 years old, and I live at home with my mother and older sister.

In 1992 I went to the Hare Krishna festival with a friend. I was not very interested, but I enjoyed the chanting and dancing at the end. After it was over I bought a book, The Science of Self-Realization. I do not know why, generally I never read. I think it was because of the chanting. I took the book home and cannot remember what happened to it. One day my mother found it and was very angry with it. She thought that I was reading this kind of thing. You see our family members are all very strict Catholics. They thought that Krishna consciousness was some kind of "brainwashing". Actually I wasn't reading the book. I had forgotten all about it. Somehow it just "appeared". Anyway my mother was going to throw it away.

My Grandmother who was 68 was in the kitchen at that time. She lives in the apartment upstairs. She came in and took the book. She looked at it and scolded me in a heavy way. I thought that would be the end of it. I did not mind it so much as I was in a lot of maya at that time.

About a week later I overheard a conversation between my mother and grandmother. Granny was saying that this was not some ordinary book. She said that what Prabhupada was saying about Jesus Christ and that Krishna was God. I was very surprised. She said that we should listen to what Prabhupada said and chant Hare Krishna because that was the religion for this age. There was a lot of talk about how Christianity was no more and no one was following the bible, but what Prabhupada said was pure and perfect.

Things really took a turn from there. One day my grandmother visited the Namahatta center here and began to chant on beads. She also began to buy Prabhupada's books one by one. She was spending all her pension on buying what she called the "beautiful, holy Bhagvatam". Sometimes she could only afford to eat potatoes, but she kept buying the books. The devotees came up to her flat and helped her set up an altar. When I went upstairs they had taken all the pictures down, and there were Krishna's pictures everywhere.

That was really the beginning. One night granny had a dream about Prabhupada. Something really happened to her then. I don't know what it was, but she began to get very enthusiastic. Next she began to get the whole family involved. I mean, not just me and my mother and sister, but her two sons their wives and six children as well as her brother, sister and relatives. Before she used to carry a bible with her and quote Jesus Christ. Now she has a Bhagavad Gita and quotes the "good lord Prabhupada". She became a veritable transcendental terror. Every one in the family has to chant at least one round a day. In addition granny made everyone became vegetarian including my dog sikra, and we offer our food to the picture of Prabhupada and lord Caitanya.

Now I am also getting out of Maya and chanting and reading a little also. Where I go to school there my friends inquire about Krishna, as they know that I am a devotee. The whole family goes for Namahatta, all sixteen of us. During the Christmas marathon we all tried to distribute Prabhupada's books. Even granny would take the books to the market and sell them to the vendors. Everyone is afraid of her because she is fearless. They all think that she has gone crazy, but she doesn't care.

Now she is saving to go to Budapest to see the newly installed deities. She has heard that Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda "came" to Hungary and are being worshipped there by some devotees. She says she wants to see God just once in this life.

At this year's Hare Krishna festival, you were speaking to the guests after the kirtana. You must remember my grandmother because she came and sat right besides you and asked so many questions. At the end when you stood to leave, she even kissed your hands, remember? I also wanted to ask a question, but I was shy. Could I please ask you now? I hope you do not mind Maharaja.

I want to know what kind of man Srila Prabhupada was. He must have been so dear to Krishna to spread this message all over the world. What are these books that changed my family so much? How is it possible that he can speak so powerfully through them? You must feel very fortunate to be his disciple. How great a man he is? Sometimes my granny chants in front of a picture of Krishna she cries. How does Prabhupada do that? I want to cry like that too. Granny dreams of Prabhupada and sometimes she talks to his picture. Although it says on the cover of the book that he passed away, is Prabhupada really dead or he is still alive? Do you think I can meet him some day?

I am sorry that I have gone on so. I would like to be a good devotee one-day and help you and Prabhupada spread Krsna consciousness. Please could you answer my questions?

Your servant,
Bhaktin Dora.

Follow Srila Prabhupada instructions success is sure

 “…Spiritual master’s order, you have to accept. There is no argument. In this way you can make progress. Sadhu shastra guru vakya tinete kariya aikya. If we argue… Na tams tarkena yojayet. Achintyah khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet. Things which are inconceivable by you, you cannot argue. Then it will be a failure. You have to accept that axiomatic truth. It is not dogmatic. It is not dogmatic in this sense, because our predecessor acharyas, they accepted. What you are that you are arguing? So that is the proof. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. Tarko ‘pratishthah shrutayo vibhinna. If you argue, there is no conclusion. The argument will go on. You put some argument; I put some argument. That is not the process. Shrutayo vibhinna. Scriptures, in different countries, different circumstances, different scriptures, they’re also different. Then tarko ‘pratishthah shrutayo vibhinna nasau munir yasya matam na bhinnam. And so far philosophical speculation is concerned, one philosopher is putting some theory, another philosopher putting some theory — there is contradiction. And unless you defy another philosopher, you cannot be a famous philosopher. That is the way of philosophical…“Then where, how to get real information? That is stated, that dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam. The secret of religious process is lying in the cave or within the heart. So how to realize it? Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. You have to follow great personalities. Therefore we are trying to follow Lord Krishna or Lord Chaitanya That is perfection. You have to take evidences from the Vedas. You have to follow the instruction. The success is sure. That’s all.”
- Lecture on Sri Ishopanishad, Mantra 5, Los Angeles, May 7, 1970

Just do as Srila Prabhupada says ,No mental concoction.

“Service means you must take order from the master. That is service. Otherwise it is mental concoction. Actually, the servant requests, ‘How can I serve you?’ So when the master orders, “You serve me like this,” then you do that, that is service. And if you manufacture your service, that is not service. That is your sense gratification. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. You have to see how he is pleased. Now if he wants a glass of water and if you bring a nice glass of milk, you can say, ‘Milk is better than water, you take it.’ That is not service. He wants water, you give him water. Don’t manufacture better thing. Just like Krishna wanted Arjuna to fight, and he became a nonviolent saint, ‘No, Krishna, I’ll not fight.’ That is disobedience. Krishna says fight, you must fight. Don’t bring philosophy of nonviolence. That is nonsense. What He says, do it. That is service That he did later on.
Sometimes they misunderstand Bhagavad-Gita-gita, that Arjuna is not willing to fight and Krishna is inducing him to fight. They misunderstand that Arjuna is better than Krishna. But that’s not the fact. What Krishna says, we have to execute that. We should not manufacture our own ideas. That is not service.”
- Bhagavad-Gita Lecture, 15.15, August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French Farm)

Srila Prabhupada is not subject to material conditions

As Hari is not subject to the criticism of mundane rules and regulations, the spiritual master empowered by Him is also not subjected.
- Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya, 10.136, text and purport
"Therefore the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and Ishvara Puri is not subjected to any Vedic rules and regulations"
- Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya, 10.137

A Discussion regarding Srila Prabhupada's Instructions on Constitution of ISKCON