Bureaucracy

Expressions researched:
"bureaucracy"

Festival Lectures

Our system is gopī-bhārtur pāda-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. It is sometimes called bureaucracy. If you apply something, at least in India, to the President, you'll have to submit to the local collector. The collector will submit to somebody else, somebody else, then secretary, you go. Then to the President. So our system is that.

Sri Vyasa-puja -- London, August 22, 1973: Our system is gopī-bhārtur pāda-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. It is sometimes called bureaucracy. If you apply something, at least in India, to the President, you'll have to submit to the local collector. The collector will submit to somebody else, somebody else, then secretary, you go. Then to the President. So our system is that. So it is not that I am training my disciples to worship me, man-worship, I'm getting some honor from them for nothing. No. It is not that. Whatever honor, whatever respect, whatever presentation you are giving to your spiritual master, it will go to Kṛṣṇa by paramparā system. This is Vyāsa-pūjā. Therefore, it is called Vyāsa-pūjā. Vyāsa-pūjā means Vyāsadeva is the original guru. After Brahma, Nārada, then Vyāsa. And Vyāsa is original guru, because from his literature we understand spiritual knowledge. All these literatures whatever we have produced, they are actually originally from Vyāsadeva. The four Vedas, Brahma-sūtra, Upaniṣads, Purāṇas, they are called Vedic literature. And whatever is written with the conclusion of this Vedic literature, that is also Vedic literature. Just like our books. All our books, they are not mental speculation. Whatever I have learned from my Guru Mahārāja, I am presenting. That's all. It is not mental speculation—this philosophy, that philosophy. We kick out all these things. Unless we get the knowledge from the authorized source, we don't accept.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

It is Kṛṣṇa's service. Everyone is offering voluntary service. So not that anybody's paid and if he cannot, dismiss or... Yes. This bureaucracy is not... Train him. Train him. If he does not know, train him. But things must be done very nicely by cooperation. That is wanted.

Room Conversation -- November 24, 1976, Vrndavana:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We should not think that if we are Indians we can have a special access to you.

Prabhupāda: So do, do. What is that? Ta...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, we can do it outside instead of troubling you. We can sit down... Actually, I've already told them since I've been here yesterday that whatever problems they have, we can solve it ourselves.

Prabhupāda: So go and settle up in that lungi.(?)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We can settle it ourselves instead of bringing it to Prabhupāda.

Akṣayānanda: I don't think there's any great difficulty, Prabhupāda.

Devotee (1): Actually, we've been speaking the last few days and these problems can be solved.

Prabhupāda: No, it is Kṛṣṇa's service. Everyone is offering voluntary service. So not that anybody's paid and if he cannot, dismiss or... Yes. This bureaucracy is not... Train him. Train him. If he does not know, train him. But things must be done very nicely by cooperation. That is wanted. Everyone should remember that we are serving Kṛṣṇa, and everyone should remember, "The other person is serving Kṛṣṇa. And because he is serving Kṛṣṇa, he is not my servant; he is my master." That should be always in view. Therefore we address, prabhu: "You are my master." We never address, "You are my servant." We are trained up to say my brother, that "prabhu," "such and such prabhu." Prabhu means master. Nobody think himself that he is master. He should always think that everyone is his master because he's serving the master. This is our philosophy. So in this way... Now you have got good arrangement and they're all intelligent persons, young persons.

You say, "They mistake." Who are "they"? You say you do mistake. Don't say, "they." This is bureaucracy, "they." You are all "they." Anyway, whatever is done, immediately make arrangement. And this is one thing. And the other thing, I came here that there will be festival and prasādam distribution. Why this is not begun?

Room Conversation -- December 7, 1976 Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: There is no arrangement for producing vegetable?

Mahāṁśa: We just finished one harvest, Prabhupāda, and now the second harvest is already in the ground.

Prabhupāda: So what kind of harvest? You finish and then you have to wait six months for the second.

Mahāṁśa: Now we are designing one plot for continuous...

Prabhupāda: Hm, so this... Where is Tejas Mahārāja? So you immediately arrange for producing vegetables.

Mahāṁśa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: No, I'm asking Tejas.

Haṁsadūta: Here is Tejas, here.

Prabhupāda: Oh, here he is. So, why don't you do that?

Tejas: Yes. I'll make up the scheme today. It should be that you have continuous crop. You plant seeds one week... But again they have made the same mistake with these cauliflower and cabbage.

Prabhupāda: Well, they mistake... You say, "They mistake." Who are "they"? You say you do mistake. Don't say, "they." This is bureaucracy, "they." You are all "they." Anyway, whatever is done, immediately make arrangement. And this is one thing. And the other thing, I came here that there will be festival and prasādam distribution. Why this is not begun?

1972 Correspondence

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.

Letter to Karandhara -- Bombay 22 December, 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. And GBC and Sannyasis will travel and see the officers are doing this, and if they observe anything lowering of the standard, they must reform and advise, or if there is some discrepancy I shall remove it. Of course, if new men are coming, they may not be expected immediately to take to our regulative principles cent per cent. Therefore we should not be so anxious to induce them to live in the temple. Anyone who lives in the temple must agree to follow the rules and regulations without fail. So if some new man moves in with us he may become discouraged if he is forced in this way. Therefore let them live outside and become gradually convinced in the class why they should accept some austerity, then they will live with us out of their own accord and follow nicely everything. It is very difficult to give up very quickly so many bad habits as you have got in your country, so educate them gradually, first with chanting, and do not be so much anxious to count up so many numbers of new devotees, if such devotees go away later being too early forced. I want to see a few sincere devotees, not many false devotees or pretenders. So my point is that the regulative principles must be followed by everyone. Otherwise their enthusiasm dwindles and they again think of sex and become restless, and so many problems are there. There is some symptom of missing the point. The point is to be engaged in doing something for Krishna, never mind what is that job, but being so engaged in doing something very much satisfying to the devotee that he remains always enthusiastic. He will automatically follow the regulative principles because they are part of his occupational duty—by applying them practically as his occupational duty, he realizes the happy result of regulative principles. So the future of this Krishna Consciousness movement is very bright, so long the managers remain vigilant that 16 rounds are being chanted by everyone without fail, that they are all rising before four morning, attending mangal arati—our leaders shall be careful not to kill the spirit of enthusiastic service, which is individual and spontaneous and voluntary. They should try always to generate some atmosphere of fresh challenge to the devotees, so that they will agree enthusiastically to rise and meet it. That is the art of management: to draw out spontaneous loving spirit of sacrificing some energy for Krishna. But where are so many expert managers? All of us should become expert managers and preachers. We should not be very much after comforts and become complacent or self-contented. There must be always some tapasya, strictly observing the regulative principles—Krishna Consciousness movement must be always a challenge, a great achievement to be gained by voluntary desire to do it, and that will keep it healthy. So you big managers now try to train up more and more some competent preachers and managers like yourselves. Forget this centralizing and bureaucracy.