The spirit

The spirit in which the brahmacaris and the grhastas are to be trained according to the following verse from Siksastakam

trnad api sunicena
taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih

"One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly." Siksastaka 3

What is most important is the spirit, that we teach our devotees to be proper Vaisnavas according to their varna and asrama; that we give them personal guidance and we oversee their spiritual lives with great care and attention; that we think of every possible way a devotee may need help; that we create services in which we can help each other. All devotees who have ever come with a sincere heart to participate in the Krishna consciousness movement should never feel neglected, but should feel that the other devotees love them and care for them and want to help them. They should feel that the temple is such a wonderful place to take shelter of. We should try with all our energy to make sure that each devotee is really experiencing happiness in the association of the Krishna consciousness movement. Srila Prabhupada personally put so much effort to try to make devotees happy within his society, and it is our duty to do the same. People cannot be happy in our society unless they are Krishna conscious, unless they are learning how to serve, learning how to chant, learning how to hear, learning how to interact with each other, and learning how to engage their propensities in Krishna's service. If we have this spirit we will definitely be able to make a tremendous improvement to all of our services to the Vaisnavas.

Deity Worship

Deity worship is basically run by the brahmacaris, but the grihasthas perform so much puja also. On a regular basis special seminars could be held for all brahmacaris and grihasthas where intensive training in Deity worship and Vaisnava etiquette are provided. High standards of Deity worship should be applied; before devotees are allowed to touch the Deities or do any seva on the altar they have to go through extensive training and they have to pass both written and practical exams. The idea is that devotees should take Deity worship very, very seriously.

The Reception

During festivals or on a normal day, when a new person enters the temple, there should always be someone guiding them and introducing them to Their Lordships. Guests should be greeted with folded palms and welcomed to take caranamrta and have darshan of the Lord. They should then be given prasadam and also updated on the upcoming festivals or home programs. This is the responsibility of both the grhastas and the brahmacaris. Devotees must be trained in the art of hospitalitity. In this way, newcomers become very attracted to the movement.

Harmony Among the Ashrams

Srila Prabhupada explains, on the basis of Vedic knowledge, that the varnasrama system represents the body of society. The body has different parts and each has to serve the whole. Conflict between one part and another creates a diseased body. The head serves the body by giving direction; the arms provide protection; the stomach does the service of nourishing every limb of the body; the legs serve the essential purpose of carrying the rest of the body. Thus all the parts of the body work in perfect harmony.

Similarly, Krishna is the complete whole and all segments of society are meant to harmonize with one another, performing their particular functions to serve Krishna. For many years the war between brahmacaris and grhastas existed. One criticising the other based on false prestige. The Brahmacaris think “We are strict and advanced; grihasthas are in maya, they are fallen. Grihasthas have wives and children and houses, and all I have is my loincloth” whilst the Grhastas think “Look at those useless fools. They are lazy; they are useless; they don't do anything. If they want to do something practical in this world, they should get married and get a job; they are just eating and sleeping.”

Our duty in life is to please the Lord and what pleases the Lord most is that we work together in a spirit of humility. Therefore Srila Prabhupada said, "You can show your love for me by how you cooperate." Krishna is most pleased by that spirit, and daivi-varnasrama is the system by which we can learn to cooperate as Vaisnavas and to respect one another, even within the variegatedness that may be among us.

Purpose of the Counselor System

1. To educate and train devotees to live according to the Krsna Concious principles.
2. To provide systematic training to the devotees in matters of philosophy, sadhana and Vaisnaava behaviour, etiquette, lifestyle and attitude.
3. To provide formal framework within which personal care and attention can be extended to all devotees as to make them feel loved and and wanted and part of a wonderful spiritual family.
4. To foster warm personal relationships and a spirit of love and trust among devotees, based on Krsna Conscious principles.
5. As a forum through which allocation of service, organi zation of major events, communication of important decisions,etc. can be facilitated.

Spiritual Counselor System 

Part 1

by Vrndavan Nandini

Service to the Vaisnavas

Vaisnavism has been manifested in its purest and most wonderful form through the love and teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates. The most beautiful aspect of Lord Caitanya pastimes is the loving interaction between Him and His devotees, and among the devotees themselves. Although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Caitanya played the role of the devotee just to teach us how to conduct our lives as devotees. Lord Caitanya personally served His devotees, and this increased the devotees' desire to serve Him and serve each other. If the Lord sees that His devotees are so exalted that He desired to serve them, how should we then see the devotees and desire to serve them? (Please click 'read more')