Doesn’t ISKCON’s managerial structure sometimes impede its spiritual outreach?
Things of this world to Krishna. So, question, when we look at the management structure of corporate lengths, often we find that the management is less than satisfactory.
Many of the leaders are good teachers, but they are not necessarily good managers. So, this can hamper the growth of the mission. What can we do about this? What can be done about this? Answer is yes.
Prabhupada, he was a charismatic founder. But at the same time, he also wanted to delegate management. So, even when he was, the moment he was five years old, he started GBC.
And the idea was GBC can take up as much of the management as possible. Still, if you see Prabhupada's disciples were very young, and they did not have any experience in worldly management positions at all. So, even by the time, although Prabhupada trained them for seven, eight years, still, by the time Prabhupada departed, most of them were in their 30s at the most, somewhere in the 20s.
So, from the point of management theory, this kind of succession plan is a recipe for disaster. It is not just spiritually that the founder is so exalted, but even from the worldly maturity, he was experienced, well versed, whereas his successors were materially also not very qualified, and spiritually also, there is nowhere near where he was. So, the fact that he is gone, has not survived, but has flourished after that transition, that itself is a significant thing.
So, generally, when the charismatic founder is there in the founding stage, things are more spontaneous and inspirational. But overall, the organism has to have longevity most of the rational stage, where things are more organized and structured. And gradually, now, movement is moving towards that.
So, in the succession planning, in the past, now, whoever was the most spiritually inspiring person, that person would become a leader, it's fine, but that person may not have necessarily managerial skills. So, that person can be an inspiring leader, but not necessarily an organizer. So, now, in succession planning, there are many forums, where training is being given for leadership skills, communication skills, management skills.
And apart from the spiritual seriousness, these are also taken into consideration and training is provided. So, as the generations move forward, the structure will become more organized. And it may never be as systematically organized as in the corporate world, because this is based on volunteers.
And the volunteers are not just trying to manage the organization, they have their own sadhana there and their own spiritual life practices. But still, a good level of managerial expertise is coming up. So, for example, here, in Chowpatty, Gaurang Prabhu is taking a lot of initiative in management.
So, the kitchen here has got ISO certification. Every item that is cooked is not just cooked over there, the computer entry is made, what is what all is cooked, how much percentage is there and then the quality control. So, it is a well certified thing, the Vada project, which we have already searched.
There are also some good practices, even from the material perspective, they are being done. And slowly, this culture will spread. So, till then, in every organization, there is the organization, people who come to practice spirituality, you can say they are like the water in a trickle in a mountain.
The water trickle wants to go to the ocean, the ocean is special. So, now, each trickle of water needs to go to the ocean is going to be very difficult. But if many trickles come together, we have a tributary, many tributaries come together, we have a river.
And as the river moves onwards, it creates a bed for itself. And the future flow of the river goes much more smoothly. So, like that, individuals who want to they are like the trickles.
And when they come together, an organization is formed. And that organization, whatever infrastructure is there, that is like the bed of the river. But the desire to move towards Krishna, the desire to take others towards Krishna, that constitutes the flow of the river.
So, sometimes in a river's flow, there might be roadblocks, there might be dams, there might be stones, there might be landslides. So, then the river flow has to find out a way to keep moving onwards. So, there are many places where Krishna, where actually there is a problem in terms of the supporting structure may not be there, but still people keep practicing according to their capacity.
And they move onwards. So, I think individual sincerity is important for the individual practice to go on. But for organizational competence and excellence, overall management has to take place.
But that.