Transcript .ppt

ISKCON
Membership and Social
Development
• Member: A person who belongs to a
group of people.
• Q: Why do people want to ‘belong’ to a
group?
• A: To get their needs met.
• Q: What are their needs?
• A: Physical, Mental, Social, Spiritual.
• If they get their needs met by being a
member of the group, they remain a
member.
• If they don’t get their needs met, or if their
needs are threatened, they will leave the
group.
• Q: What makes people decide to join a
particular group in the first place?
• In a survey, 85% of people who had
recently joined a religious group said they
had joined because: “A friend was already
a member.”
• Two reasons people will join ISKCON and
stay:
• 1. They feel they are getting their needs
met.
• 2. Friends are already involved, or they
make new friends quite soon
The Membership Pyramid
• Q: Who is in our ISKCON Membership
Pyramid?
• A: As many members as we desire and as
many as we can accommodate
• Q: Who are they?
Who are members of ISKCON?
• People who like us (lots of people at the base of
the pyramid)
• People who sympathise with our beliefs and
aims
• People who make a contribution
• People who practise our sadhana
• People who practise and preach
• People who have taken up full-time
responsibility for leadership and management
Fact: Initiated members of ISKCON are in the
minority
Fact: Many initiated members do not live in
temples and are independent in finances and
accommodation.
Question: What percentage of initiated members
of international ISKCON do not live in temple
communities?
• In a recent survey of 23 ISKCON
gurus, the total percentage of
disciples not living in temples was
•96%
• Fact: Yet we still continue to present
ISKCON as: ‘A confederation of temples..’
• This was true perhaps in 1987 but not
now.
• Our true size is bigger than we may think
• Members of any organisation need to
know where they fit into the structure…
• How they can make a contribution and
accept responsibility…
• Consider the humble
cucumber
• 96% water
• 4% ‘organisation’
• Can we learn
anything?
• ISKCON does not need to have a huge
‘organisation’ to care for all of its
members.
• 4% will do
• But it must be good, intelligent,
organisation
• With adequate systems as well as a
structure
• STRUCTURE: The way in which a thing is
organised
• SYSTEM: A set of connected things, or
parts, that form a whole, or work together
• ORGANISATION: The sum total of the
system and structures
• The structure of an
organism may be
simple
• But the systems - the
exchanges between
its constituent parts may be relatively
complex
• ISKCON requires a system and
structure wherein our members are:
• 1. Connected by firm friendship
• 2. Provided opportunities for increasing
involvement
• 3. Given empowerment (guidance,
education, coaching, responsibility)
• FACT: Many large organisations,
especially those in which personal and
spiritual growth are essential, are
comprised of a large number of small
groups.
• These groups are small enough, and
friendly enough, that members will want to
remain members of the group.
• Question: What size should a group be in
order to optimize the feelings of friendship,
to enhance productivity, and to maintain
good communication?
• Not too small and not too big
• Some examples from history:
Army organised in groups of 8 or 9
Moses divided his followers
into groups of 10
Jesus and his disciples made a
group of 13
• In the Vaishnava tradition there have
always been small groups.
• Often a small group would look after a
group each.
• Each member of this sub-group would
care for yet another group.
• In this way thousands were cared for in a
group system.
Ramanuja created 74 groups
Each of the Six Goswamis cared
for several groups of followers
“Let 5 or 10 of you sit down by your
houses and chant the Holy Names”
• Bhaktivinoda Thakura
worked hard to create
defined groups in
each place where he
preached
• Many group members
were given specific
responsibilities
• Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati created five
layers of
administration to care
for thousands of
disciples:
• Disciples cared for by:
Upadeshaka; Mahaupadeshaka; Sanyasi;
Acarya
• When Srila
Prabhupada was
asked: “How many
families in a Vedic
village?” he replied:
“15”
• He created 108
centres, average
number of devotees:
15.
What happens if you don’t create
groups for friendship and support?
•
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Spiritual life of members is hard to sustain
Members feel ‘not part of the movement’
Communication is ineffective
Organisation is chaotic
Members susceptible to drifting away to
other groups
• Entire movement becomes weak
• Growth is slowed down
• Two examples from English history
• One, a preacher who created a network of
small groups in addition to ‘centres’
• One who simply gave great classes
• John Wesley (17031791) preached
throughout England
for 60 years, creating
congregations which
were then divided into
smaller groups
Hundreds of preachers and 80,000
members at his passing
• George Whitefield (17141770) was the better
preacher but did not form
groups.
• He said: “Because I did
not fashion my followers
into groups, as did
Wesley, when I called
upon them to act, it was
like pulling on a rope
made of sand.”
• Srila Prabhupada to Tribhuvanatha
Dasa:
• “Do not make me another Alexander the
Great” (Preaching everywhere and
‘conquering’ but with the people remaining
unchanged)
One preacher can create 12 groups
by training 12 group leaders
(Mother-daughter)
Who can then create the next
generation of groups (granddaughters)
Questions for ISKCON leaders
• How many members in your region have
received initiation in the last ten years?
• How many are still practising?
• How many are still contributing their time,
words and wealth to the mission?
• “A movement that knows how many books
it has sold; how much money it has; but
does not know how many members it has;
what they are doing; or whether they are
happy; is a movement that may not
actually want more members.”
• “And if a movement does not want
more members it places a limit on what
it can achieve.”
Big Movements come
from Small Groups
Get Planning Today!