​​​​How does Bhaktisiddhanta S statement about institution being evil apply to ISKCON?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Shri Gupta Siddhant is a talker, says that every institution is an evil so it has advantages and disadvantages so how do we supply it to Iskcon yes, the principle that Rupa Goswami tells us is Yukta Vairagya Yukta Vairagya is renunciation which is engaged when we are detached, we are also engaged so now the principle is there is a tendency in the modern world to demonize any kind of institution oh it’s very bad it’s very bad, it’s very bad it’s the source of corruption, the source of degradation however institution is inevitable in existence what do we mean by institution an education is called an institution medical a doctor a doctor is a part of an institution in which field which is substantially important which is making a tangible contribution which field does not have an organization does not have some organizational structure so spontaneity and standardization which is what institution means, those both are meant to dance in a synergy and that requires the individual expertise that means to give another example to illustrate about institution what is an institution when we come to spiritual circles all of us have a spiritual urge and you can consider that urge to be like a small drop of water or a small trickle of water on a mountain top and that trickle of water desires to reach the ocean now that trickle of water all alone for it to reach down from the mountain to the ocean is very difficult the ocean is Krishna and we are the trickle of water so now if many drops of water which become trickles, they come together they form a tributary a tributary forms a river and then that river moves along to the ocean the river can move along with much greater ease than an individual drop or a small trickle so basically when like minded people come together and they decide to pursue their interest together in this case a spiritual interest together then that is what essentially an institution is so when the like minded people come together and decide to pursue spirituality and for that they create some facilities some infrastructure, some resources that is what essentially an institution is now when a river keeps flowing through a particular area the river creates a bed and there is lot of water over there there may be people with ulterior motives who come for the purpose of damming the water they dam the water and divert it to other purposes now if the dam is built then the water will not be able to move on but similarly similarly when there is spiritual institution where there is power there is wealth, there is position then the people who are not spiritually minded can also come to the institutions and they hijack or they misappropriate the resources that are there in the spiritual institution and that’s why the leaders as well as the members of the spiritual institution have to be vigilant more important than blaming the principle of the institution because the institution is necessary but always whenever we adopt anything we have to adopt it in the light of its purpose the institution is meant to help us practice Apti, it is meant to help us to look closer to Krishna and Krishna tells this emphatic purpose sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam charanam vraja sarva dharman parityajya dharma in expansive sense the way Krishna is using it over here it means whatever religious forms that are there, whatever ritual structures are there, whatever ordained duty hierarchy is there, whatever institution is there you give it all up so that you can surrender to it now interestingly when Krishna says sarva dharman parityajya at that time Arjuna doesn’t literally give up all dharma and become adharmic rather Arjuna takes up that dharma which enables him to do mam ekam charanam vraja so when Krishna is saying sarva dharman parityajya, he is not saying give up all external structures rather give up those external structures which are obstructing in the internal purpose and take up that external structure so Arjuna continues his Kshatriya dharma as a warrior but through that surrenders to Krishna so when we are in an institution it is for us to always remember why have I come here in an institution there will be people who will be gossiping there will be people who will be backbiting and there may also be people who fall through spiritual standards who have controversies because it’s a large institution there will be these kind of people now if we focus on them Krishna and Bhagavata says as all people surrender to me I report accordingly that means that if we come to Krishna’s institution for power we will get power if we come for position we will get position if we come for prestige we will get prestige if we come for controversy we will get controversy and if we come here for Krishna we will get Krishna also so it’s up to us we keep reminding ourselves that I am coming here for Krishna yes these things are there they will be there in the material world and Krishna’s institution is also in the material world now there has to be of course the leadership of the movement is vigilant to keep sidelining such elements to keep cleaning such elements but the point is if we always keep looking for such things we will keep finding such things if we are looking for Krishna we will find Krishna also so institution can be an evil if it becomes a goal in itself if rising in the institutional structure becoming more powerful gaining more prestige that the institution itself becomes the goal then it becomes an obstacle but if we use the institution as a tool towards the goal the institution is providing the facilities so that I can move towards Krishna and if we focus on the purpose of moving closer towards Krishna then we will find that the institution is valuable and in many ways indispensable because without the institution the institution basically for us is a forum for associating with devotees and for getting the inspiration the facilities to practice bhakti if we focus on that we will get a lot of support but if we start focusing on peripheral things then we will get caught so Krishna’s institution is also like Krishna and the structures are important so that there is a facility for us to practice bhakti but if we need to focus on the purpose and pursue that purpose then it will be we will be using the institution according to the principle of Yukta Vairag accepting that it is a doable work does it answer your question?