Vaiava Sev - Jv Doy

Guidelines & Best Practices

Published by

Devotee Care Committee for GBC Strategic Planning Committee

Contents
Page no. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Vision, Mission and Aims .. Definitions . Five Principles Four Kinds of Care.. Spiritual Care . Emotional Care .. Social Care . Physical Care . Illustrative Stories . 2 3 3 4 5 7 9 12 18 28

10. What do I do with it ..

I am ISKCON and I care

Sometimes ISKCON members think about ISKCON as an institution, or we may think that ISKCON is the leaders of the temples, or the GBC, or someone else other than ourselves. Then we expect ISKCON to care for devotees, and we may feel hurt or disappointed when care is not given as we would expect or as we would like. ISKCON is a society made up of members. Each of us is ISKCON. When each one of us feel that we have the responsibility to care for each other, then ISKCON will be a caring organization, with a family atmosphere based on love and trust, as rla Prabhupda wrote. If, however, we wait for such a society to come only from leadership, or from some vague idea of institution, it will be very hard to achieve the real devotee care we desire. So, let us look in the mirror, percieve that I am ISKCON and I care and decide today; how each of us can exemplify devotee care in our own lives.

It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words." (rmad-Bhgavatam 10.22.35)

This is the mission of life. One's own body and the bodies of his friends and relatives, as well as one's own riches and everything else one has, should be engaged for the benefit of others. This is the mission of r Caitanya Mahprabhu. (SB 6.10.10 Purport)

Guidelines & Best Practices

Vision, Mission and Aims of Devotee Care Committee

Vision
Nourish the Plant of Devotion Every devotee in ISKCON is to be provided with the spiritual, mental/emotional and physical care they deserve as parts and parcels of Ka according to rla Prabhupda's instruction and example. This should be done on the personal and institutional level.

Mission
Water, Sun, Soil, Fertilizer We strive to care for the spiritual, emotional, physical, and social well-being of the devotees of ISKCON. We want devotees to be encouraged, inspired and empowered to be happy and make progress in Ka consciousness, and thus be enthused to expand rla Prabhupda's mission

Aims
We aim to give life-long personal care to devotees to make continued progress in spiritual life. We aim to have care which includes personal attention to both devotees spiritual and material lives. We aim for care to be given in a brotherly and sisterly mood of compassion and love, sacrificing some of our time and pride. We aim to assist with the overall management and facilitation of the leaders of ISKCON in taking care of devotees. We aim to have a mood while giving care that Ka is the provider of all we lack and preserver of all we have. We aim to define real success as the creation and maintenance of a happy, loving Vaiava community. We aim for a society that recognizes the real assets as being the devotees, not physical assets.

Guidelines & Best Practices

To institute Devotee Care in a specific local area Principles, Guidelines, Practices, Systems of DCC:
R Principles give the essential foundation R Guidelines help develop locally appropriate practices R Practices are examples of guidelines in action R Systems are examples of comprehensive practices

Whats the difference between principles, guidelines, practices and systems?

Definition

Example
The culture of care should permeate all activities Train caretakers; care for the dying Home visits, krtana for dying devotees Counseling or Mentoring Systems, Bhakti Vka, Hospice Care

Principle Guideline Practice System

Underlying, universal truth that serves as a basis for application General directive for practice Building blocks of systems, ways of doing things, specific actions Set of practices meant to achieve principles

Five Principles

1 2

Whatever we do, we do with carethe culture of care should permeate all activities
The success of a project is judged by the care it provides to devotees All forms of devotee care are acknowledged, appreciated, and awarded.

Principles are global and application of those principles is local

Practices and systems of care are applied differently according to different circumstances

Guidelines & Best Practices

3 4 5

Practical applications of devotee care should uphold rla Prabhupda's teachings and mood
All care should be favorable to the development of the spiritual life of the individual. rla Prabhupda did not compromise with the teachings of the guru parampara, and he applied them in such a way that everyone felt welcome and benefited.

To each according to his or her needsdevotee care is personal

Care of devotees should be given in a mature way according to the needs, interests, and concerns of the individual being helped. Communities may choose to give care in proportion to individuals' level of spiritual commitment

Servant moodwe serve to care and care to serve

Care is given in the mood of a servant All categories of ISKCON members are worthy of being respected and valued. An individual's choice of care should be honored.

Four Kinds of Care and their Relation to the Plant of Devotion (bhakti-lat)
Spiritual Care Water for the Plant of Devotion Emotional Care Sunlight for the Plant of Devotion Social Care Fertilizer for the Plant of Devotion Physical Care Soil for the Plant of Devotion

Essence of Development Joy and Goodness Nourishment The Field

Guidelines & Best Practices

Spiritual Care
(Water for the Plant of Devotion)
rmad-Bhgavatam purport 3.2.6 We have chosen water to represent spiritual care since this same analogy is often used in stra and by cryas.

Guidelines & Best Practices

1. Information on each devotee should be recorded and accessible Maintain a database of all devotees with information such as: Level of commitment, Training Undergone, Services rendered Talents and capabilities etc. 2. Each devotee should receive care and individual guidance Create groups of devotees at similar levels of advancement/commitment, and assign them for care and guidance to a more advanced and committed devotee. Assign each devotee for care and guidance to a more advanced and committed devotee ('buddy system').
Guidelines & Best Practices

As one cultivates a seed by pouring water to fructify it, the seed of devotional service sown in the heart of the devotee may be cultured by pouring water in the form of hearing and chanting of the holy name and pastimes of the Lord.

3. Ensure spiritual growth through education and inspiration based on rla Prabhupda's books Provide systematic education of rla Prabhupda's books, including practical application, through groups, classes, mentor/counselor sessions etc. Acknowledge and recognize the advancement and increased commitment of devotees through programs such as siksa levels etc Facilitate courses such as Bhakti str for the devotees. Organize regular Japa retreats and japa seminars Engage more advanced devotees in mentoring less advanced ones, in preaching, and in conducting classes etc. 4. Nurture behaviors and attitudes to create a healthy Vaiava community with 'unity in diversity'. Train devotees in Vaiava etiquette, good conduct, and practical Vaiava lifeskills such as: ghastha life, relationship with spouses, caring for children Arrange regular iagohs and meetings among senior devotees, between senior devotees and newer devotees, between temple-dependent and other devotees etc. 5. Engage both men and women in devotional service according to their interests and abilities. Women who are housewives and mothers of small children can have preaching programs or other service that they do from their homes
6. One who is Krsna conscious is a perfect yogi; he is aware of everyone's happiness and distress by dint of his own personal experience. The cause of the distress of a living entity is forgetfulness of his relationship with God. And the cause of happiness is knowing Krsna....(BG 6.32) 7. The process is simple. Follow the regulative principles of devotional life undeviatingly, regularly chant 16 rounds of beads daily and without fail, read all our literatures, attend classes and aratis, go for street Sankirtana. If there are any questions, always refer them to your elder God brothers and sisters. So our method is not so difficult. Rather it is joyful. So engage yourself enthusiastically in this way and you will be happy and in the end go back to home, back to Godhead. -- Letter to Sukhada - London, 4 August, 1971 8. The preacher of Krsna consciousness needs to be educated to be internally peaceful by proper spiritual engagement. One can then turn one's attention to the welfare of others. 9. Temples should have a trained Devotee care committee or trained care givers. 10. It is important to reach out and develop partnerships with a wide array of people who can help mature devotees, family members, friends, psychologists, health practitioners, counselors, social workers, therapists, etc. 11. Locate professionals who can offer their expertise and experience in improving the care of the ISKCON members.
Guidelines & Best Practices

Emotional Care
(Sunlight for the Plant of Devotion)
lecture rmad-Bhgavatam 7.9.8 Hawaii, March 21, 1969 The manifestation of the mode of goodness can be experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge. In every gate there is development of the symptoms of happiness, and that is the position of goodness. (purport) Bhagavad-Gita 14.12 We have chosen sunlight to represent emotional care because colors and flavors are often compared in the stra to moods and emotions and happiness in the mode of goodness is compared to illumination

Guidelines & Best Practices

1. Care givers should be available to every devotee At a certain level of community size, create a team of care-givers. Train them in psychological care, emotional intelligence, empathic listening, conflict resolution, identifying nature required for engaging in each vara/rama etc
Guidelines & Best Practices

If there is no sunlight, we'll see all plants will die. That is our experience. And because the sunlight is there, the plant is growing, they are becoming green, they are becoming red, they are becoming flavored.

 Arrange for the care-givers to receive training from devotee specialists. Arrange for all devotees to attend seminars on aspects of emotional care Arrange for specialists to give counseling for difficult cases.

2. Acknowledge good service During the Sunday programs make announcements appreciating the special services of devotees, in particular those that do behind the scenes work, those who give devotee care, and those who exhibit specific Vaiava qualities Announce any preaching news or events of the week 3. All members are worthy of being respected and honored Welcome newcomers in public, wish and pray for those celebrating birthdays or other anniversaries, ask for prayers or assistance for the sick devotees 4. Emotional care is being provided in the existing systems of spiritual development: Counseling system Bhakti Vriksa Nama-hatta Different sat-sanga groups 5. Emotional care (care about mind) can be given through, relationship, sadacar and counseling. 6. Emotional care expands when it comes to congregation. Example: taking care of oppressed / beaten wives 7. Organize regular spiritual tours.

Guidelines & Best Practices

(Fertilizer for the Plant of Devotion)

Social Care

We have chosen fertilizer to represent social care because it is our social interactions which provide the nourishment for the creation of a devotional society.

Guidelines & Best Practices

Family Oriented Social Care
1. Provide pre- and post-marital counseling either done by trained devotees or through recommending specific people or organizations At a certain level of community size, create a team of mature, successful ghastha trained to give premarital and post marital counseling as well as giving help in finding spouses for devotees. Arrange for the counselors to receive training from devotee specialists and/or non-devotee specialists. Have regular seminars available and promoted on the above topics. Arrange for specialists to give counseling for difficult cases. Only perform temple fire sacrifices for couples who have completed pre-marital counseling.
Guidelines & Best Practices

The life of the Ka conscious society is nourished by these six types of loving exchange among the members.
Upademta, verse 4 purport

2. Give vocational guidance Set up a team of devotees experienced in business, who can counsel devotees in finding suitable jobs/ businesses to earn a living with as much job satisfaction as possible. Also they should counsel them on how to solve workplace problems so that their spiritual life is not disturbed. Care-givers discuss individually with devotees how to manage their time so that their family obligations and spiritual life can be balanced.

Renunciation Oriented Social Care

3. Provide a supportive community for maintaining renunciation Have a mentor or counselor program where seasoned renunciates guide beginners Provide for regular sagas of hearing and chanting for renunciates only 4. Create a family atmosphere of love and trust among the renunciates Have celebrations for milestones such as anniversary among the renunciate community Arrange for pilgrimages or preaching programs that renunciates can do together

General Social Care

5. Understand each devotee's individual situation Care-givers can regularly visit the homes or ramas of devotees to build relationships 6. Elderly devotees flourish with appropriate attention Make a system to give priority in darana, prasdam service etc for elderly devotees, as a mark of respect for their age. Make older devotees feel more useful by engaging them in giving classes, counseling etc 7. Children should be valued members At a certain level of community size, create different programs for: small children up to age 7, pre-teen children of age 8 12, adolescent boys, adolescent girls, and youth, suitable for their stage of emotional and physical development. These programs should engage children and youth in practical, meaningful service alongside the adult members 8. Create opportunities for devotees to engage in service with others who are in similar situations Have service projects where devotees can work in groups where they can serve with others of the same gender, age range, rama status, or nature of occupation (service projects where teenaged girls work together, service projects where devotees who are doctors work together, etc.) 9. Create opportunities for devotees to engage in service with others who are in different situations Celebrate festivals such as the appearance and disappearance days of our cryas (i.e. Rpa Gosvm, Narottama dsa hkura) on a small scale, where devotees from various ramas, ages, and interests work together
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10. Nurture behaviors and attitudes to create a healthy Vaiava community with 'unity in diversity'. Train devotees in Vaiava etiquette and good conduct, devotee relationships and other practical Vaiava life-skills Arrange regular iagohs and meetings between senior devotees, between senior devotees and newer devotees, between temple-dependent and other devotees etc. 11. Encourage devotees to care for Mother Earth, who is protected by Lord Ka In accordance with local conditions, sensitize devotees on their obligations to live in a sustainable way, caring for the environment (Mother Nature) e.g. use of cloth bags for shopping, environmentally friendly disposable plates, or re-useable steel plates, recycling garbage, rainwater harvesting, solar and wind power 12. Help devotees to be ladies and gentlemen in behavior and attitudes Sensitize devotees on living as good neighbors and citizens, in order that Ka Consciousness may be better understood and accepted by local society due to the exemplary behavior of devotees, while living in accordance with our spiritual principles 13. Ka consciousness can solve the problems of society Engage with the outside society to help solve local problems like malnutrition, alcoholism, drug abuse, crime, stress etc in a manner compatible with our spiritual vision. Promote cow protection by setting up and supporting gols and exposing people to the special nature of cows and our relationship with them. Engage in promoting vegetarianism and spiritual food, through prasdam restaurants, cookery classes, and sale of prasdam like baked and ready-to-eat items through food outlets 14. Aim towards creating alternate social arrangements Give classes and hands-on workshops on gardening, cow-protection and other agrarian means of living Develop farm projects where devotees can live in close proximity Encourage devotees to buy, sell, and trade with each other rather than the outside society

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Physical Care
(Soil for the Plant of Devotion)

This body, O son of Kunt, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.

Bhagavad-Gita 13.1-2

The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. "Hope this will find you in good health and right Ka Consciousness."
Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

rmad-Bhgavatam 7.6.1

We have chosen soil to represent physical care because Ka compares the body to a field and because proper care of the physical body of the human

Guidelines & Best Practices

Health Care - General
1. Ensure that Devotees learn how to take good care of their health Arrange Seminars on Parameters to measure good health
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Healthy eating/ healthy cooking/ Organic food Exercise/ yoga/ ayurveda/use of cow product medicines from ISKCON farms Precautions to be taken when traveling Create a model of natural living in farm communities

2. Emphasize importance of exercise

Arrange a specific time when devotees can learn and practice yoga and other simple forms of exercise.

Health for Temple-Dependent devotees 3.Ensure good quality Health-care is available to temple dependent devotees
Arrange annual health checks and low cost health care for temple dependent devotees Either set up a temple clinic and engage a visiting doctor, or fix outside clinic with favorable rates. Costs could be reduced further if even non-resident devotees participate in the plan. If there are doctors who are devotees, inspire them to offer their services at no cost or low rates to temple-dependent devotees. Take out health insurance for major contingencies.

Seva-sthna Dept for taking care of sick devotees by Gauranga Das, Chowpatty.
Annual health check up started in Sri Sri Radha Gopinath temple around 4-5 years back when one of the senior devotees in the temple got a sudden heart attack in the night. The reason was high cholesterol. Somehow by Krishna's mercy he was saved. The temple spent lakhs of money on the treatment. After this incident, the temple committee decided to implement the annual health check up policies as a preventive measure for mainly two reasons 1) From health point of view 2) From temple's expense point of view. So every devotee was told to do his health check up in Bhaktivedanta Hospital since all facilities were there and it was very cheaper there as well. The devotee had to go there and he would have to undergo all tests, doctors would see report and would normally give the consultation the same day However the hospital is little far away from the temple. As a result one of the difficulties was, for the first three years, many devotees were reluctant to travel so much distance and get all the tests done due to their busy schedules. So as a result, it was decided that for some devotees we will get the tests done in some nearby laboratories and then sent the report to Bhaktivedanta hospital and the doctors would give consultations. But this created another set of difficulties. This increased the burden on the devotees in sevasthna. Moreover sometime the doctor were busy in Bhaktivedanta hospital so when the reports would reach them, they will take time or sometime when they were free, the reports would not reach them in time. So all this delayed the whole process. Also the expenditures of doing tests increased. Another arrangement which was tried for around one year was that a technician would travel from Bhaktivedanta hospital to the temple and would collect the blood samples of all the temple devotees. However coordination was not so easy. Another challenge was that even though the health check up reports for some devotees would indicate high cholesterols, high sugar levels and doctors would repeatedly
Guidelines & Best Practices

Annual health check ups

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Malaria is a common disease in Mumbai especially in the rainy seasons due to lot of mosquitoes. As a result the devotees in seva-sthna in consultation with doctors started giving anti-malarial tablets. Moreover, they had a tie up with Baldota laboratory for doing tests for devotees. However, some of the doctors in Bhaktivedanta hospital suggested that more elaborate tests like CT scan and MRI scan, standard laboratory is required. So they started getting that done in advanced laboratories like NM laboratory. By the influenced of one of the congregation devotee Dr. Anuj Srivastava, who was a consultant there, they also started getting 30 % discount on all the tests.

Low cost health care

tell them to work on these, however the response from devotees was careless and year after year the report kept indicating negative results. This created a lot of expenditure on the temple and also created a feeling of depression amongst devotees in seva-sthna. For such devotees the matter was reported to senior devotees so that they can take proper action on that. It was also suggested to higher authorities that for such devotees a policy should be made that the temple will be taking care of them. However, if they get hospitalized, they will be admitted in government hospitals and not private hospitals. Health check up gave positive benefits in many cases as well. For instance one devotee was found to have TB; another devotee had high sugar value. Based on the doctor's advice these devotees took proper precautions and got benefited. Later on another policy was made that for all the devotees who were joining the brahmchari asrama, they have to get their health check up done. This also helped because over the last few years few devotees were detected with hepatitis B or C and they were requested to not join the asrama. This was because although they were right now, but over a period of years this disease can spread and they may require lot of care taking which a temple may not be able to provide. Moreover, in some cases the disease is also contagious.

Devotees who were not sick used to come to seva-sthna to take rest and sometimes chitchat and honor prasadam. This would create lot of disturbance to the sick patients. So they made a system of booking certain bed for certain sick devotees, so that no one else can sit. Later on they also started locking the seva-sthna and only the sick devotees and the incharges were given the key so that complete privacy is ensured for the sick devotees. Another problem was that special diets were required for sick devotees; somebody had to wash clothes for the devotees. This would sometime be very hectic for the devotees who
Guidelines & Best Practices

Other challenges in seva-sthna

The insurance for all the temple devotees were made. Initially the problem encountered was that most of the devotees used to think that insurance means all the expenditures would get reimbursed. Actually the insurance policy only covers the expenditures for hospitalization, major surgeries etc. The expenditures for Ayurvedic treatment, medicines, health check ups are not covered in these. Moreover, even while getting the reimbursement for hospitalization, the reason for hospitalization needs to be acute. So many times devotees used to not convey the history of their disease properly to the doctors and no reimbursement would come. So then the devotees in the seva-sthna explained to the sick devotees that they should explain the history of their sickness properly. Whether insurance policy is required for an asrama of 150 devotees is something which the temple is considering. This is because for every devotee temple has to pay an annual premium of 1000/1500 rs depending on the age group and the overall expenditure of temple comes in lakhs of rupees. On the other hand the number of devotees getting sick and reimbursed sometimes incurs less expenditure then the overall premium

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were serving the sick patients in seva-sthna. So a special cook was brought for cooking special diet and a washing machine was purchased. Sometimes if a devotee would get seriously sick with high fever, it was very risky to manage him in temple since anytime he can become serious. So he would be sent to Bhaktivedanta hospital and they would take complete care. Bhaktivednata hospital provided tremendous help especially regarding hospitalization. Moreover, the Bhaktivedanta hospital also had facility for prasadam and is having a complete spiritual atmosphere so it would be very conducive for the devotee patients. Sometimes the devotees would be admitted in nearby hospitals. The challenge was to take prasadam for the devotees on all the three times and keep care takers and keep changing them in every three days. On some occasions the devotees had psychiatric problems. The care takers were required to spend lots of time with them. So there was also the danger of committing Vaisnava aparadha. So in certain cases such sick devotees were shifted to some hospitals. One of the main challenges for the care takers is the spontaneity of the nature of service involved. Initially when a devotee joins the seva-sthna department, the devotee would be very enthusiastic and willing to do anything. However, over a period of time, he starts expecting fix schedule, he would feel tiredness. Another thing was that lot of patience was required to deal with sick devotees. If once they would be dealt harshly then next time they will not have the faith to take help again. So one of the key things which were important for the care taker was to have a very proper sadhana. The in charge devotee of seva-sthna attended seminars arranged by Bhaktivedanta hospital on Dealing with caretakers who are handling terminally sick patients It was mentioned there that how the care takers may undergo mental breakdown while serving. So they decided that whenever they would send the care takers to take care of the sick devotees in the hospitals, they would keep changing them in every 3 days.

Challenges for the devotees serving the sick patients in seva-sthna

For dental care, few congregation devotees started offering services at no cost for the temple devotees.

Dental care

4. Provide a healthy diet and optimum sleep time for temple resident devotees, including a special diet during illness and convalescence
Work out a healthy diet for temple-resident devotees (e.g. more green leafy vegetables, less oil, less white sugar, less white salt, less refined flour, milk from protected (gol) cows, organic vegetables, fruits, and grains). Use filtered water and store prasdam in hygienic keep-warm containers. Ensure devotees take meals at fixed times every day. Preferably served at 8:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 7:30 pm, in accordance with Ayurvedic recommendations. Minimum of six hours sleep per day Importance of dental hygiene (flossing teeth daily etc) Don't allow devotees to overwork In a large enough community, make a list of volunteers to care for devotees during illness/ convalescence (this is easy in centers where the congregation is well developed using systems like Bhakti vka or Counselor System) During illness/ convalescence, provide special diet as per doctor's recommendations
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Living Conditions of temple residents 5. Ensure clean and adequate living quarters
Temple residents should be provided healthy living space with adequate light, ventilation, sleeping and storage facilities. Toilets should also be clean and well equipped. Premises should be kept free of rats, insects, etc

Maintenance of Temple-dependent devotees 6. Provide adequate housing, medical care, and education for children, as well as reasonable subsistence allowance for temple-dependent mahatmas
Depending on family size, pay a standard allowance (or provide housing) to allow for a living room, one bedroom for parents, and one for children. Subsistence allowance should provide for food, travel, utilities, clothing, and sundry expenses.

7. Older devotees to be given special attention Provide old-age residences for temple-dependent devotees (brahmacrs, grihastha, vnaprasthas, sannyss). Arrange for team of volunteers to provide personal care and companionship for them. Arrange for their spiritual engagement. Subscribe to a pension scheme for temple-dependent ghasthas. Provide health insurance if necessary 8. Create a facility for financial guidance To help temple-dependent ghasthas in augmenting their income through bookdistribution and devotee-needs related businesses like travel, paraphernalia etc. Help should be given based on need and ability.

Specialized Needs
9. Give special attention to the needs of the ill, the differently abled, women and children
Provide chairs in the temple room for devotees unable to sit on the ground. Provide access to temple facilities for physically handicapped as per international standards Designate a resting room for elderly visiting devotees to be used between programs on festival days. Arrange for specialized dietary needs of residents/ invited guests Provide hospice facilities for residents with terminal diseases. Temples with large organized congregations like CS/BV can develop their own, while others would use regional shared facilities. Develop an rama for Vaiavs wherever there are ladies who wish to join the temple,. Provide facilities to engage children in activities if they are too young to participate in some of the temple programs. Creche facilities for infants. Toys for the very young. Games, stories, krtana, verse recitations etc for small children. Provide a room where mothers with young children can hear the temple classes and take care of their children without disturbing others

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The Indian RGB has made it mandatory for all temples in India to have health insurance for residential devotees. Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai Hospice in Vrindavana Senior brahmacari and single ladies asramas in Mayapur ISKCON Tirupati is planning to set up a project Hare Krishna Care Home, which will be for the elderly devotees of ISKCON and will include a temple, hospital and an asrama for the elderly. It will be located on fifty acres of land near ISKCON temple.

More examples

Have comfortable facility for guests that aids devotional practices Invited Guests - Receive at point of arrival; provide adequate room & prasdam in accordance with dietary requirements; prepare itinerary with adequate provision for sdhana and rest; Internet/email facilities; local transport with guide; for guests from overseas local mobile SIM card and plug adapters for electrical gadgets; Casual Visitors - Ensure all devotees are trained to meet 'new faces', greet them, help them with the purpose of their visit to the temple, encourage them to join in krtana/ dance/ japa/ discourses, and then give them introduction to mahmantra, deity worship, and rla Prabhupda books, as well as the local congregation development programs. Provide separate space where preaching to individuals or groups of visitors can take place. Provide facility for overnight stay for enthusiastic devotees who stay far away but wish to attend morning program sometimes Sufficient facilities for special programs (seminars, istagosthis etc) room, seating arrangement, projector and screen, flip chart boards, pens, microphone and sound systems

Visitor Care

Some important qualifications for care givers:

Sacrificing Spirit: Should be willing to extend themselves to help others in a spirit of sacrifice. Genuine concern (Sincerity): Should be compassionate and have a genuine concern for the welfare of all. Empathy: Should be good listeners. Maturity: Should be mature and sober. Friendly: Care takers should be a Krishna conscious friend and guide. Personal Care: They should be a spiritual brother or sister who can take personal care of the devotees according to their capacity.
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Illustrative stories
Whatever we do, we do with care The culture of care should permeate all activities
The success of a project is judged by the care it provides to devotees All forms of devotee care are acknowledged, appreciated and awarded

Principle 1:

ISKCON Chowpatty Kitchen cooking department: Rdhntha Mahrja wanted the standards of prasdam to be very good for the health of all the residents devotees as well as all the congregation devotees who visits the temples on weekends or on festival days. In order to do that Rdhntha Mahrja personally instructed a group of senior devotees in implementing the standards he expects in prasdam. Initially a few devotee caterers were tried however the results were not satisfying. So some brahmacrs themselves started to do cooking. Initially it was a great challenge because the paid cooks who were working in kitchen at that time wouldnt like anyone else to order them and make them do as they like. So in order to deal with this, the cooks were ordered to do the menial work of sabji cutting, cleaning rice etc. and these brahmacrs themselves started to cook in the front end. At first it was a great struggle cooking for all the temple devotees because if any mistake would happen then these cooks would pass comments and also the resident devotees would be dissatisfied. Moreover the austerity of standing near fire and cooking for a long time was itself troublesome. However, with determination these devotees continued and gradually they improved the standards of cooking very high, much better then the paid cooks. This made the paid cooks also humble and submissive. Another challenge in kitchen area was that the crowd would vary on festival days and to give a consistent and a very high quality menu all the time was difficult. The quantity of ingredients and amount of spices mixed in each preparation would have to be judged very carefully. Otherwise a little mistake would lead to chaos and results in dissatisfaction of devotees. In order to take care of this, the devotees devised an ingenious way. They created soft copy of all the recipes possible in terms of the quantity of the spices and ingredients required in regards to number of people. So by knowing the exact number of people coming for the festival, one could also make out the amount of ingredients and spices required to make a preparation for the respective crowd. Another responsibility felt by the kitchen team was to give proper care to the paid cooks so that they are materially and spiritually nourished. In order to do that senior devotees started doing weekly programs exclusively for the kitchen team inspiring them in their Ka Consciousness. They were taken to special ytrs to holy places of pilgrimage and given equal respect as that of any other resident temple devotee. Moreover, innovative salary schemes were offered to them, whereby a certain proportion of their salary would get deposited every year in a bank account and after ten years or so that amount would mature to a substantial amount. Along with this they were also given incentives for working extra hours on festival. In this way the overall consciousness level of the temple staff increased. Later on devotees working in the kitchen did some research and they gradually
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started purchasing various items like rice, dhal, sabji etc. in whole sale amount from certain parts of Bombay which would provide very high quality at a very cheap price. Certain items like ghee, specific spices were even transported from outside Bombay. All this was just to satisfy the devotees and keep their health in good condition. Rdhntha Mahrja would keep making rounds now and then to the kitchen and inspires the devotees by sometimes cooking personally or appreciating their efforts in his classes.

Cooking during ytrs is probably the biggest challenge for the cooking department of kitchen. In the early years of ytr the cooking service was outsourced to various local caterers. But it was experienced that it was expensive, quality of prasdam was not very good, the cooks were difficult to be managed and the worst thing was that the cleanliness standards of the cooks were very poor. On few occasions, few cooks came to the medical care team of ytr and they were found to be suffering from sexually transmitted diseases. So the kitchen team decided to take the responsibility of cooking themselves. However it was not easy. This was mainly due to the magnitude of cooking (The number of people registered in the recent South India ytr in 2010 was around 5000) and the frequency of cooking (Cooking everyday three times a day for around 15 days without any break was exhausting!) Also, HH Rdhntha Mahrja desired that devotees should be served the best prasdam in ytr. So in order to fulfill this, the devotees plan well ahead of time. The whole menu for all the 15 days, for all three times a day is decided one month ago. All the recipes are brought in advance. The menu for each day is set to be very unique. The breakfast would generally consists of around 3 items and was expected to be ready by 6:30 am in the morning, the lunch would consists of around 9-10 items and was expected to be prepared by 12 pm, while the dinner would be around 1-2 items and was expected by 7 pm. Any delay in the cooking means delay in the whole ytr schedule. So the devotees first of all divided the responsibilities so that due to excessive load of cooking, the devotees in cooking team should not get exhausted and break down as days pass. The morning cooking team used to consist of around 4-5 devotees from Belgaum in the front end and many others at the back end for various needs during cooking. They would plan well ahead in time. They would keep the water for heating in the night itself so that in the morning the water would be ready for cooking. Moreover a group of 3-4 devotees used to do night shift of cutting vegetables so that all ingredients are ready for for morning cooking. The lunch cooking team would be consisting of Chowpatty kitchen team and they had further divided their tasks. There would be a group of around 8-10 devotees under one or two senior devotees cooking only sweets every day for the lunch. Cooking sweets like halva etc would sometimes required constant stirring for around six to eight hours and therefore strong devotees in shifts would do that job. They would start sometimes early morning 4 am and would just go on stirring the halva up to 12 pm. Sometimes they would plan well ahead in time and would start preparing sweets the day before, after lunch time. Since the magnitude of cooking was in thousands they used to have sweets cooking in 4-5 vessels simultaneously. Some senior devotees would constantly monitor the progress of cooking sweets. The sabjis, dhal and rice would be cooked by a separate group of devotees. They would start cooking from around 5:30 am onwards and would go till around 12:00 pm. There would be 1-2 devotees cooking only rice or pulav or some other types of flavored rice. Some other devotees would be focusing on cooking sabjis and dal, mixing spices in proper proportion and then constantly stirring them over the fire. Any little inattention may cause burning the sabjis or rice leading to whole taste getting spoiled and devotees will
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be displeased. There was also the danger of devotees getting burnt. Also to keep the kitchen paid staff satisfied and inspired through out this ordeal for 15 days was not easy. At the same time, there would also be a group of 15-20 devotees cutting vegetables and supplying them to the cooks. Few devotees were also appointed for supplying the required ingredients to the main cooks. The service of making chapattis was done by 30-40 devotee mtjs from Belgaum congregation. They were provided with 40 50 rolling platforms for rolling chapatis along with 20 30 cooktops for cooking them. They would also start early morning at 5:30 am and would finish chapati making by 12: 30 pm. The evening cooking would again be done by a separate group of devotees. They used to start cooking by around 4 pm in the evening. In this ways the kitchen cooking team served thousands of devotees in the ytr. Sometimes in spite of taking utmost care, problems occurred and to face the reactions due to that and continue to serve was also a challenge. One time the devotees had just finished one particular preparation and then suddenly an electric bulb or something blew away and fell into the preparation. The whole preparation had to be thrown away and again prepared. Another time, due to some mistake they made poha (an Indian preparation) hard in place of soft and as a result the kitchen staff got many negative feedbacks. But tolerating all that the devotees kept cooking for the devotees with all their energy. Another time in Mypur ytr, they had ordered the pav (kind of bread) to come from Kolkata. However due to traffic jam, it got delayed and in place of coming at 7 am it reached at 9 am. Again the kitchen team had to tolerate all kinds of feedbacks. Another time in Mypur ytr, one cylinder caught fire and fortunately at that time a devotee showed bravery and went near the cylinder and switched off the main knob of the cylinder thus saving from a major accident. In this way, so many challenges the kitchen team had to undergo in order to serve devotees wonderful prasdam and lot of determination and creativity is required for fulfilling that need. Rdhntha Mahrja would encourage these devotees by going to the kitchen practically on every day in the ytr, talking to the devotees and inspiring them there and sometimes even cooking personally. He would often glorify their services in his lectures. Later on at the end of the ytr, the ytr management team also gave rewards to all these devotees working in the kitchen as an expression of gratitude.

Spiritual Care Guidelines

Information on each devotee should be recorded and accessible
Devotee database project

Rdhntha Mahrja expressed his desire in the year 2002/03 to one of his senior members that he wanted all his disciples data on his computer. So devotees formed a database team and started working towards that. They found that till that time the data for initiations of various disciples of Rdhntha Mahrja was on paper. And it was lying with different devotees. So in order to get them first of all they started finding who all have those lists. After that all the lists were collected and consolidated. Then the devotees started going from house to house of various devotees carrying with them the database form to be filled. Then they made a simple rudimentary program in Visual Basics (a windows
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application) and fed all the data of devotees there. This was then shown to Mahrja. Mahrja was happy with that and he expressed to them that he would also like to see similar kind of database for the congregation. So it was decided that the database team will start collecting the data periodically from all the councellors about their councilees. So the database forms were given to various councellors so that they can get it filled from their councilees. However, it was found that most of the councellors could not get much done because no body took it very seriously. Devotees did not find the database relevant, so no body responded properly. Even if someone would respond the data would usually incomplete. For example, scanning photos and sending them was a hassle for many. This database updating was the biggest challenge. Unless the devotees use the database, data can not get updated. In the meantime system used to crash and at few times all the data got lost and again the database forms were filled and updated on the computer. That used to make the devotees more disgusted. Later it was found that the Visual Basics software is not recognizable on MAC computers. So they hired someone from outside to create a database in PhP language. However, that was not very satisfactory. It was a challenge how to handle the technical aspect of the database. Later during one Vysa-pj it was declared that any devotee who wants to attend the event needs to have a bona-fide I card which would be issued by the database department. Through that all the devotees were made to fill the data and thats how the database system got updated to a great extent. Moreover one temple devotee who had a background in database programming also joined the database team and starting creating a code in JAVA script. However it was not easy for him since many of the requirements which a devotee community has are not facilitated by the current readymade version of software available. For instance usage of diacritics in names, frequent change in policies etc. So after doing a lot of research and hard work the database team came up with a suitable database which could be used for the devotees appropriately. Currently the Rdh-Gopinth bhakta samaj database is having data of around 11,000 devotees from all over the world. Other then giving the data of devotees, the database also serves purposes like online ytr registrations, online initiation recommendations, database of donors, customized login ids for various temples etc. All these facilities further aid in data updating.

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Emotional Care
Care Story by Sridhama Das and Kisori Devi Dasi, Mumbai: An initiated devotee practicing KC for last 6 yrs had 2 miscarriages in the early pregnancies. She was mentally severely traumatized and she was feeling that she would never be able to become a mother. She was going through major depression and many times she would call and tell that she is getting suicidal thoughts. Kisori started counseling her and giving her lot of emotional support. At one point of time we decided to take psychiatric treatment from a specialist. Today she is much better and has conceived again
When devotees go through some test in their spiritual life in the form of sickness or some loss they also do go through mental and emotional problems. They need timely emotional, mental and spiritual care. So care is not just restricted to spiritual but it also has to address the physical, mental and emotional needs.

Care Story by Vijaya Venugopal prabhu and Premapadmini Devi Dasi:

Provide pre- and post-marital counseling either done by trained devotees or through recommending specific people or organizations

Bhaktin Olga was at a loss as to how to go about her life. She had a serious and complicated problem which challenged her greatly and needed support and guidance from senior devotees. It required complete confidentiality as well. Olga's husband, Krishna das, was a second initiated devotee who gave classes at the ISKCON temple and was looked up by the community of devotees, but he had a secret problem. He had relapsed into taking alcohol. He would get drunk and misbehave with Olga, her small child and with her family with whom they were staying temporarily. He would resort to physical violence as well at such times and when he came back to his senses, showed no signs of what had happened in his drunken state. His sadhana was poor. Though he knew that he had a serious problem, he did not want to approach any senior devotee, not even his Guru and did not want Olga also to approach anyone .He was critical of devotees, especially when he was in the inebriated state and this was a source of concern for Olga. She was contemplating separating from him as they had frequent fights. Olga then approached us on Skype and revealed her problem to us. We counseled her on how she could be patient with him and also help him by encouraging him to start chanting once again and to chant along with him so that he got back some spiritual strength. His drinking became less frequent, and yet did not disappear completely. He was even imprisoned by the police for being caught drunk on the road. That is when we thought he needed some emotional care personally from devotees. So we called him up just to greet him and do some friendly talk. This had a great impact and he felt the love and care of devotees. He longed for more devotees to do the same. So we requested more devotees to just call him up and keep in touch with him as a friend. Just because of feeling of love and care by the devotees, Krishna das got back his taste for devotional services and gave up drinking altogether! He along with his wife is now actively engaged in devotional services
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including preaching. Care Story by Sridhama Das and Kisori Devi Dasi, Mumbai: In the year 2007, in our visit to the Anapa Black Sea festival in Russia, a couple from Balarus came to meet us one afternoon. They were married for 6 months. During our talk we came to know that this was a 2nd marriage for the wife and she had an 8 year old son from her previous marriage. Husband was looking after the child very nicely before the marriage and had agreed to take care of him; but after marriage there was strain in the husband and wife relationship because of the presence of the child. It was a very intense situation for them. The wife was personally explaining on how her heart was getting pulled between being a mother and a wife. After listening to them patiently, we gave the particular solution. We also suggested them to have their own child. They left quiet satisfied. This year during our visit to Ukraine they came to meet us with a 3 yrs old child. They expressed great happiness and satisfaction for their marriage.
We could see the importance of giving the right advice at the right time which can save marriages.

Social Care
12. Help devotees to be ladies and gentlemen in behavior and attitudes Care story by Srivatsa Das, TP, ISKCON-Medchal.

In the year 1990, H.H Jayapataka Swami visited Hyderabad. He was there to find a wayout of mess like situation prevailing, row over farm land which belongs to our society at Hyderabad. A day before, prior to His arrival , the agents of co-trustees of the Hyderabad farm had beaten up the devotees to the extent of causing bleeding injuries. Unfortunately, the police officials were supporting them and were antagonistic towards the devotees. All the devotees at the farm were in a state of panic and were totally upset and even prepared to leave. The situation was very alarming. It was a long running feud pending since many years . While the matter was in the arbitration of court still the devotees were continuously being harassed every now and then by these unscrupulous agents whose intention was to chase the devotees away from the farm. The local police oscillated between sometimes supporting devotees and sometimes supporting them. A week before the incident, the same police officers who were supporting us (devotees) were against us now. H.H Jayapataka Swami felt that either misinformation to police officers or some improper dealing of some devotees with the police may be the cause for a shift in the police attitude. Hence forth to allay fear and instill
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confidence among the devotees, H.H Jayapataka Maharaj decided to negotiate with Police and put an end to the crisis. So he decided to go and meet them in the police station as the police support was very crucial at this stage for devotees. So the devotees got into the car and drove straight to the police station. H.H Jayapataka Swami was very grave. On reaching the police station, one devotee was sent inside first to see if the devotees could get an appointment immediately and others waited in the car. The devotee came back and said that the inspector seemed so upset that he refused to see the devotees. From his facial expression, one could see H.H. Jayapataka Swami become even more grave like a volcano, ready to erupt. He swung open the door of the car and moved towards the inspectors office. The other devotees also jumped out of the car. His strides were so swift that others were unable to keep pace with him. The devotees could only understand that Maharaj had decided what he was going to do, but no one knew what to expect. H.H Jayapataka Swami walked straight into the office and started moving towards the inspector. The inspector was sitting behind the table and was discussing something with his assistant sitting opposite to him. It only reminded of a situation where someone was moving towards the other to physically assault him. The situation was bewildering to the devotees because they had never seen Maharaj in this mood. Then an unexpected thing happened. H.H. Jayapataka Swami dived to the ground under the table to touch the feet of the police officer. The police officer sprang up from the chair, all embarrassed, and said, Swamiji, please dont do it. By then Maharaj was on his feet. His face had turned red. With intense feelings Maharaj said, Sir, it is totally unfair that you do not want to hear us. If any of our devotees have offended you by their misbehavior towards your personnel, I apologize on behalf of them, so please listen to us. We devotees have dedicated our lives to serve mankind without expecting anything in return. We are fighting for this land not for our personal benefit, like the others. It is reliably learnt that you are supporting them even after they have beaten and wounded our devotees. The police officers heart melted. By his humility, Maharaj was able to change his totally antagonistic attitude to a favorable one. He promised the devotees that he would give protection to the devotees if they were harassed. He also revealed the reason for his anger. When the police came to the farm, after the incident, some immature devotee had spoken to them improperly and jeered at them. H.H. Jayapataka Swami thanked him and the devotees drove back to the city temple. One can imagine the humble behavior of Maharaj, from this leela, one can understand how one should be humble, thoughtful to protect the devotees.

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Physical Care
5. Understand each devotee's individual situation Care Story by Vijaya venugopal Das and Prema Padmini Devi Dasi:
Six devotees from Kofchek came to see us. They live in a huge farm in a place called Kofchek about 150 kms from Moscow. Some 200 families who believed in an impersonalistic philosophy had got together and decided to do farming together. In the farming village, their homes are around 1.5 kms from one another and they own huge farms. More than a year ago, 12 families had become interested in doing Bhakti Vriksha together. Now they were almost finished with 64 weeks, but did not have good relationships with one another. They were critical of one another. 50 families of their community were opposed to KC. The remaining devotees were afraid of the majority's opinion. These devotees were not doing Mangala Arati and no other programs were happening. They complained that there were no senior devotee to push them.

General Social Care

We asked them to divide themselves into pairs, and take responsibility for each other to ensure that the other attended Mangala Arathi and finished his sixteen rounds daily even if it meant sleeping the night in each other's homes to do it. They decided to attend Mangala Arati together every day and have study classes every week in different devotees' homes and also promised to go to the neighboring town which is 40 kms away and do Hari nama there along with Gaurangi Radhika dasi and Vaishnava Prana dasa, sector leaders from Moscow and gradually start Bhakti Vrikshas there. They seemed full of hope and enthusiasm and ideas to achieve their spiritual goals! Care Stories by Vijaya venugopal Das and Prema Padmini Devi Dasi: Radha dasi was an active Bhakti Vriksha leader in a Middle East country, along with her husband Krishna das. Radha dasi was expecting her second child. Suddenly in the eighth month, she developed labor pains and was admitted to the hospital. The baby was born pre-mature and had to be kept in an incubator for over a month at the hospital. Radha dasi also stayed at the hospital and also was undergoing some treatment. This is when the whole community rallied behind Radha dasi. Her elder son had to be taken care of; her husband needed some help with prasadam. She also needed care and support. Devotees took turns in visiting her everyday, and read out Srimad Bhagavatam for her. They took complete care of her elder son and also made prasadam for her family. Then even after she came back home, all her Bhakti Vriksha members as well as the other members of the community gave her a lot of support and help so that she could manage all her responsibilities without much trouble. The same happened in the case of all matajis who choose to deliver their child there. As the place is in the Middle East, none of the parents and relatives are there to help one, the devotees are more than family in assisting matajis who chose
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to have their children there in a very spiritual and loving environment. * * * Shiromani devi dasi delivered a baby boy yesterday at Sri Mayapur. The delivery was conducted at home under the expert care of Ramadevi Mataji (ACBSP), Krsnalaulya mataji (ACBSP) and Siddhi mataji. Although there were initial complexities and it became kind of unlikely in the early stages of labor that Shiromani devi dasi could deliver at home, these matajis, Ramadevi Mataji, Krsnalaulya mataji and Siddhi mataji carried out a determined and an absolutely outstanding job. They were present with Shiromani devi dasi non stop for almost 11 hours. They maintained a very dignified, regal, serene and Krsna Conscious atmosphere all the way through. In short, it was a class act. When HH Jayapataka Swami heard that there were initial complexities, he immediately prayed for Shiromani devi dasi and the baby. Soon thereafter he sent one of his servants to her house with a garland from Lord Narasimhadev and another garland from Sri Sri Radha Madhava. The complexities began to subside. She delivered eight hours later. His Holiness was giving class in the temple at that time. He called on the phone immediately after the class to know about the status although he didn't know that the baby was already born. He was the first one to call. He then sent across two garlands, one for the mother and one for the baby. His mercy was absolutely critical in this whole episode. * * * Krishna das is a tailor from Bangladesh working in Mathuradesh. He is a wonderful cook and was always involved in cooking for the Friday program feast. So it was one week end when he was helping to lift a huge cauldron from the fire along with four other devotees and rest it on the floor. Everything happened in a fraction of a second---- one devotee drops the vessel before it reached the floor and there it wasthe entire cauldron of kitchadi flowing towards where Krishna das was and scalding him very intensely all over his body. Recovering from the shock, the devotees tried to take him immediately in the car to one of the best hospitals of the city where a devotee was working in an administrative position, and tried to got the best doctors to attend on him. This devotee was scalded 70% and was going through hell, but the love of the devotees who kept pouring in to give him solace; hope and faith in Krishna kept him in blissful consciousness. He was chanting all his rounds and saying that Krishna was purifying him. He stayed there for three months in the hospital for complete recovery. Meanwhile, the flesh on his legs started to rot and so part of a leg had to be amputated. The hospital bill was very expensive and his company sponsor did not agree to pay the bill as he had met with the accident when he was off duty. So all the devotees pitched in together and paid his bills. Then when he was recovered, they bought his ticket to Bangladesh, paid monthly maintenance for his family and after a few months they made sure he was fitted with an artificial foot and got him back to Mathuradesh. Now he is back in his job as a tailor and also other forms of devotional services, not cooking, especially in preaching. * * *
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When typhoon Gonu struck the coast of Mathuradesh, it was almost like a tsunami that brought big waves in to the city which was entirely built along the coast Houses which were close to the sea had water entering the first floor and completely flooding the house. So Krishna Dasa found that his house on the ground floor was completely flooded. Even before he could think of what to do, devotees arrived at his house and took him and his family to their home. Once the typhoon was over after a week, devotees came along with Krishna Dasa to clean his house. They had to remove everything as everything had been damaged beyond repair. But before that the whole house was filled up with so much mud! It was a very laborious job, but the love from the devotees made these moments to be treasured. During difficult times, we know the truth about our relationships and the loving care of wonderful devotees.

* * *

Care Story by Sridhama Das and Kisori Devi Dasi, Mumbai:

This is a story of a young boy from one of the towns of Maharashtra, Belgaum. He was in his college when there was a lecture of H H Radhanath Swami arranged in his college. His attraction to KC was very natural and spontaneous. He immediately started practicing KC and in matter of few months came to join as a brahmachari in the Radha Gopinath Mandir in Mumbai. He was a very simple, unsophisticated boy. He got initiated and was given the name Stoka Krishna das. He went on to become a very successful book distributor and later became the personal assistant of H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj. After spending close to a decade in the ashram he felt the need to change his ashram and get married. He had no money and his family was too poor to support him in any way. Few leading congregation members of Radha Gopinath Mandir came forward and funded him with the laxmi to buy a house for him. The marriage board at the temple helped him to find a suitable girl for him. He was trained and employed at the devotee run Bhaktivedanta hospital. He became a responsible person in one of the departments of the hospital. The congregation came forward and helped him with the marriage expenses also. After 9 months of marriage when his wife was 3 months pregnant, Stoka Krishna P was diagnosed with advanced stage of lung cancer and had only 6 months to a year of life!! This was the most devastating news for him and his wife. He went thru' all the possible medical treatments for curing his disease which was again funded by the members of the Radha Gopinath congregation. When no treatment was effective he was admitted at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital. All the while when he was in the hospital there would be shifts of devotees coming and spending time and giving him KC by reading for him, discussing Krishna katha with him. His wife got all the required emotional support from the senior congregation ladies who would spend hours with her each day! Stoka Krishna Prabhu even though materially speaking was going thru' the worst patch in his life because of the support of the devotees and his spiritual master was in his peak of spiritual consciousness. The love a care received from the devotees gave him all the strength and encouragement to go thru' this very difficult test of his life. The whole congregation came together to help and serve this wonderful devotee. When it was time close to his final departure the temple brahmacharis took over his care and he was shifted to the temple. The brahmacharis gave him all the spiritual strength at this most critical stage of his life. Stoka Krishna P was in the most evolved consciousness and was in the most grateful disposition for what he was going thru'. At the time of his final departure he had Guidelines & Best Practices 27

his spiritual master, H H Radhanath Swami by his side; the devotees were performing kirtan along with some pure hearted devotees from Sri Vrndavan Dham. There were hundreds and hundreds of devotees at the temple at the time of his departure!!! All the needs of his wife and few days old daughter were taken care by the devotees and now his daughter is wonderful flowering in the Gopal's Garden School (devotee run school in Mumbai). The life of Stoka Krishna Prabhu is a classical case of a person been taken care by the devotee community and devotees projects (hospital and the counseling system) from WOMB to TOMB and all stages in between by offering him whatever appropriate care he required at different stages of his life.

Care Story by Sridhama Das and Kisori Devi Dasi, Mumbai:

This is a story of a wonderful south Indian family. The husband was a banker and wife was working in one of the MNC as an executive assistant to the MD. They had 2 children, one son and a daughter. Both of them were bright in their academics and the son got introduced to KC when he was in his first year of college. He would regularly come to our home for the morning program. Slowly his younger sister got interested in KC and we would regularly visit their family and developed close relations with their parents. The mother took up to KC also, but the father though not opposing did not practice the principle of KC like chanting, associating etc. We continued to be good family friends and did not do much preaching to the father. One day around 2 a.m. we got a call from the boy that his father is having severe chest pain and the pain was radiating down to his left hand. My wife, Kisori being a doctor realized that this was serious. We rushed to their house immediately and it was confirmed that the father is having a severe heart attack. I carried him (since his walking would have proved fatal) and put him in my car and took him to the nearby hospital. The hospital would not admit him without a security deposit of Rs 20,000, which we paid (since the family did not have that amount of money available). After getting the right medical attention at the right time he was saved and recovered back to normal life. During this whole episode of his heart was captured by Krishna and he became and continues to be a serious practitioner of KC. When asked he says that the amount of love and care he got from the devotees was so much that he felt obliged to practice what they practice! The real preaching is the love and care that devotees show and that is the real heart changer!

What do I do with it?

1. Read it or look it over. 2. Find key devotees in your zone who already show a propensity for, or success in, caring for others. Especially consider what devotees in your zone are inclined to organize systems of care. Remember to look beyond the local line of authority, and beyond devotees who work for the local temples full time. Look broadly in the community as there may be devotees who have organized systems of caring mostly with their own initiative. 3. Get extra copies of this manual from the Devotee Care Committee to share with these key devotees (see contact information on this sheet) 4. Meet with key devotees, sharing the manual with them, asking them to give feed back to the Devotee Care Committee (inform them that the current copy is a draft) and to implement appropriate guidelines now in their area. 5. Connect the key devotees who will start caring initiatives to members of the Devtee Care Committee who are experienced in the guidelines or systems the local leaders want to implement.
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