What are our movement’s core values?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you.
It’s like every organization has core values. People as a movement have some core values. We could talk about, say every organization has two things.
It’s a technique and a language of philosophy from which it is called as Doxy and Praxy. Like you have orthodoxy. Doxy is doctrine, philosophy.
And Praxy is practice. So what is our philosophy? In that, what is the core? And what are our practices? In that, what is the core? So if you consider philosophy, Prabhupada wrote many books. Prabhupada never gave these five points are our philosophy.
When Prabhupada was asked directly, if somebody wants to study your work in some way, Professor Hopkins asked him, Prabhupada said, quoted 1, 2, 9, and 10. That were quotes. Dharma is meant for transcendence.
Human life is meant for spirituality. So we could say in our tradition, Bhaktivinoda Thakura is known as Dashamontaka. Dashamontaka is actually very simple principles.
That Hari is the supreme. That we are all parts of Hari. Some parts are under illusion.
Bhakti is the best way to come out of illusion. Vedas come from Hari. They are core principles.
So as you have seen, there are talks of Dashamontaka. As ever madam said. So many devotees, there is a whole discussion right now going on at the GDC level also.
I am a part of the Shastra Advising Council. Works at the GDC. So we are discussing about this.
So many devotees are recommending the Dashamontaka as our core philosophical values. It’s not yet officially formalized by the GDC. It may take some time.
But that is one possible statement. Now as far as our practices or purposes are concerned, we can look at the seven purposes of this concept. So Prabhupada says that we want to correct the imbalance of values in society.
We want to have a place for the trans… Prabhupada doesn’t say we want to elect a temple. He said we want to elect a place dedicated to the Karmendvastan of Krishna. We want to bring people closer to each other and to Krishna.
We want to publish books for this purpose. Many seven purposes are there. I want to see the classes on that also.
But I would say these could be the core values. Now interestingly the seven purposes of this concept, Prabhupada doesn’t talk so much about we have to refute this philosophy and that. It’s established in the teachings.
And part of the teachings is also countering certain misconceptions. We can counter misconceptions only after we have earned their trust. So many times what we do is, even before we have earned their trust, we start challenging their conceptions.
And if their faith in what they are practicing is more than their faith in us, then they will simply reject us as being canonical. So I think those could be the core values. And again, if you want to take it further back in our tradition, pranam bhi smrityan, karod bhi smrityananam.
Humanity, tolerance and respectfulness. Those are something which could be also considered. It’s difficult.
Krishnasweta Goswami said that this is the verse that we should make like a neckbeard and wear around our neck. Pranam bhi smrityananam. So we could consider that also to be like a core value.
But it’s an important discussion. And to some extent, we all, in our practices also, we evolve towards certain core values. So see, some of us may come from a broad-screen karma background.
Karma means, not in the negative sense, but like we work and we choose. Karma background. Some of them may come from a jnana background.
Now again, generalizations are always problematic. But when Indians come to bhakti, krishna-bhakti, in Krishna conscious movement, most Indians come from a karma background. When western people come to bhakti, if they had a karma background, they would go to Christianity.
If they come to, it’s primarily called jnana background. Jnana background, they have philosophical questions. It’s not that Indians don’t have philosophical questions.
They also have. The point is, they don’t have broad opinions. So, for many Indians, the rituals become very important.
It’s a part of the jnana family. And for many people, westerners, rituals are more important. Philosophy is important.
And that’s why we can have some east-west struggles, or tussles in our movement also. So it’s because we came from a particular background, that’s why we naturally would consider this important. No, that’s important.
But it’s like the most important thing. That’s why if we leave it to individuals, we all are at a functional level, forms of core values. I will be simply like one person.
I am a law master in Germany. I said, what happened? He said, I thought maybe some terrible thing had happened. I said, I couldn’t pass my German college.
No, I couldn’t pass my German student. He said, that is disaster for you. Okay.
So this devotee was fantasizing so many things. You know, after that, I had this problem. My boss became upset with me.
My car broke down. My girlfriend is not working. Is Krishna angry with me because I didn’t pass? So for him, that became the core value.
He said, I ruined it. I couldn’t follow this. It doesn’t have to be like that.
So the core values, the basic principle we can say is, when we are going further is, uncoolness is something for which coolness is a virtue. Whatever takes us closer to Krishna, we accept that. Whatever takes us away from Krishna, we keep a distance from it.
So, smartha bhaja pramrishnu, is smartha bhaja bhaja. Always remember Krishna, never forget Krishna. That is our ultimate core principle.