Moving in the Temple, Moving to the Dhāma

Prabhu: If a devotee is in the West, his situation is not good, should we encourage such a person to move to the Dhāma, even if we can see that he cannot stick to it for a long time, he is not on that level? Should we encourage such a person if his situation is not good where he is right now?

HH Bhaktividyā Pūrṇa Svāmī Mahārāja: It is there, if they come for a visit. Don’t recommend that they should sell their house and everything. Otherwise, they do that and then they have to go back, and there is more trouble and they get more absorbed. If they can come and spend some nice time, come at Kārtika, at some nice time when devotees are there, they will find the experiences were enlivening and uplifting. But to move in a day-by-day… Generally the Dhāma is taken as very special, which is good. Very special, but then from the angle of religion, because religion gives you economic development, facility, respect and nice social interaction, then the Dhāma must be the nicest. Therefore, I can come to the Dhāma and don’t have to watch my kids because everything is perfect. They can run around without any supervision. No one will ever make any politics and nothing will ever go wrong. When something goes wrong, then it is the Dhāma’s fault and all the devotees’ fault.

If you are encouraging someone, let them come for a short time when there is a lot going on. That is very devotional, inspiring and uplifting, so that they can appreciate actually the spiritual potency of the Dhāma. Then being here they can see whether they can adjust with the social environment, because everybody is not coming from a great position. Because everything outside the Dhāma is not a good position, it is just a matter of how good or bad. So everyone is coming with their baggage,

and so many amazing and interesting things happen which one doesn’t expect. But it is not because of the Dhāma. It is just that when we come we bring our conditioned nature with us. But if we can stick to it and can take advantage of the association, and we do not offend devotees then the benefits are incredibly great.

Prabhu: Is it similar to encourage people to join the temple, even though we know they won’t stay in the temple, they move? Is it the next step in their development?

HH BVPS Mahārāja: It is the next step. It is, it would be good if in moving into the temple it is understood that whether you are going to continue... In other words, if they understand in moving into the temple because it will be slightly different, means similar, means in principle it’s the same but slight detail is different, because you can be a brahmacārī, a full-time devotee in the Dhāma or you can be a part-time devotee in the Dhāma, like that so that might not be afforded in the temple.

But if they understand that moving into the temple is for one’s training and development. And you can continue like that and make a lifetime out of that commitment. Or, you can take advantage and do it for some time until you feel that you have that spiritual practice and determination, that then one can continue in the community as a valuable member of the community.

But if that is not presented, which many temples don’t because they are trying to keep people in the temple. So they say that community is bad, but then very few can stay in the temple, so when they move out of the temple then they are bad. Because they know they are bad, so someone

who is bad doesn’t think 'I can become good.' So you have hundreds of devotees who think they are bad and have nothing to do with the temple, all the 5 devotees in the temple. They don’t have anything to do with them. They do their own thing outside, that is the weakness.

The temple is a place of education. Just like the naiṣṭika brahmacārīs. Gurukula is for education, but there are those persons who remain within the system. They just eternally stay that way, that would be your brahmacārīs. Or they graduate and they themselves open their own school. In any case, education is their lifestyle. In the same way, the temple is an educational institution, technically, therefore some can stay in that environment always and some can just… Everybody should go for some time and spend some time to get educated. However they can, by spending some time at weekends, moving in and spending time. But everybody should take advantage of what can be gained by the temple. But the temple should be geared that this is actually what it is. Otherwise, if it is just people live in the temple and collect to maintain the temple, so that people can live in the temple, that kind of arrangement you wouldn’t consider the most ideal. Education should be its main thing. In other words, people who are learning about Kṛṣṇa and practicing that. So people who want to know about that can see someone who practices Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how do they live, what do they do, they can see that and be inspired and work that into their life.

(From Śrī Īśopaniṣad Lecture #27, Bhaktivedānta Academy, Śrīdhāma Māyāpura)

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