Vaishnava Etiquette By His Holiness Bhakti Caru Swami............... Temple Room Etiquette=========== Temple room etiquette is described in detail by Srila Prabhupäda in his Nectar of Devotion. Other Quotes from Srila Prabhupada Letter to Nandarani & Krishna Devi (10/4/67) “Another thing I request is that everything in the Temple should be kept nice and clean. Everyone should wash hands before touching anything of Krishna’s. We should always remember that Krishna is the purest and similarly only the purest can associate with Him. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” [In arcan] There is no matter if there is a little change here and there — the real duty is love and devotion.” (7/26/70) Yamuna SP Letter to Kirtanananda (11/23/74) Regarding the prasadam, I never approved Mr. Malkani cooking in the temple. He is not initiated. Of course, he is Hindu, but he is not initiated to cook in the temple. Any paid cook is not desirable. The independent cooking in the temple is not good.” {Footnote: “The right thing is that only twice initiated brahmin disciples cook in the temple.}” Letter to Mahapurusa (3/28/68) “Yes, a non-initiate can work under the direction of a devotee in the kitchen.” (Cc. Antya 4.128 purpt) It is customary for the priests of temples in India not even to touch outsiders nor enter the Deity room after having been touched. This is a very important item in temple worship. Seeing the Deity in a pleasing mood Letter (5/27/70) to Tamal Krishna “You have described Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishna at London Temple as wonderful. Yes, that is the test of standard service. If we see the Deities in very pleasing mood, that will certify our service unto the Lord. So everywhere we shall see the Deities in such pleasing mood. As soon as we see the Deities in a different mood we must immediately understand our discrepancies.” Srila Prabhupada said that the devotional practices in the Jaipur temple were standard and could be introduced throughout ISKCON. . (SP Lil.V, p.47,48.) Serving Guests and Life Members A Vaishnava’s heart is very pure and a pure hearted person is extremely magnanimous. So one’s Vaishnavism will be judged by the degree of his magnanimity. General 1. Any guests who visit are Srila Prabhupada’s guests. As his servants it is our pleasure (and duty) to serve them. 2. The arrival of a guest is a chance to introduce a conditioned soul to Srila Prabhupada or relish Vaishnava association. Vaishnavas feel joy and gratitude to be blessed with such an opportunity. 3. Krishna consciousness is synonymous with personalism. We need to step beyond the bodily conception and remember that everyone is a part and parcel of Krishna and is very dear to Him. We show this practically by: (a) Welcoming the guest with sweet words, a seat and prasada. (If no prasada is available at least a glass of water should be offered.) (b) Being prepared to give our time and sincere concern (c) Remaining Krishna Conscious in our discussions and dealings (d) Thanking the guest for his visit and inviting him to please come again. 4. Essentially, our mood should be one of loving exchange. Receiving Guests in the Temple “When we actually see people coming to our centre, chant, and dance, take Prasad, becoming jubilant and purchase books, we know that certainly Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is always present in such transcendental activities and He is very pleased and satisfied.”Adi Lila 2.9.50P 5. Spontaneous service is encouraged in the visitor by the sensitive, pure preaching of the devotee. Every guest should at least be engaged by hearing the glories of Srila Prabhupada, relishing prasada and chanting the Holy Name. 6. The natural reciprocation of the soul to such engagement is a desire to share the happiness experienced. The expert preacher will facilitate this by offering Prasad, temple invitations or literature to the guest to distribute to his friends and relatives. Quotes from Srila Prabhupada - SP Nectar 3, 1 Story of Surabhi Swami and Jayapataka Swami One day while Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay, he simultaneously had visitors from Vrindavana and Mayapur. This was during a period when temple construction was going on in both places, so Prabhupada expected his disciples in those places to come ask him for money. And the disciples knew that Prabhupada would be expecting and demanding results from them on these important construction projects. But when these disciples visited from distant places, Prabhupada always first welcomed them according to Vaishnava etiquette. Prabhupada had said that his mission was like a war on Maya, and so he received his own soldiers from the field by first offering them sweet words and relief. He asked them if they had taken any prasadam, and he suggested that they might want to rest. At least for a few minutes, the immediate, pressing problems were put aside, as Prabhupada’s disciples basked in the sweetness of his darsana and his kind welcome. “You should always be able to offer water, hot puris and eggplant bhaji, and sweets,” Prabhupada said. Even when guests appeared shy, Prabhupada would insist they take a full meal. SP Lil.V.p144 During the train ride to Calcutta, Srila Prabhupada reiterated his displeasure with the mismanaged ISKCON pandal at Kumbha-mela. Thousands of guests were coming to the Hare Krishna pandal without receiving prasadam. Determined that the bad example not be repeated, he dictated a letter, “To all ISKCON Temple Presidents.” “Please accept my blessings. Now you must arrange in each temple there must be sufficient stock of prasadam for distribution. You can keep first-class cooks, two or three, and they should always be engaged. Whenever any guests come, he must get prasadam. This arrangement must be made, that the cooks prepare 10-20 servings at a time, of puris and sabji, and then you can add halava and pakoras and the visitors may be supplied immediately. Whenever a gentleman comes, he must be served. As the twenty servings are being distributed, immediately the cooks prepare another 20 servings and store it. At the end of the day if no one comes, our men will take, so there is no loss. You cannot say, “It is finished,” “It is not cooked yet,” “There is no supply for cooking,” etc. This must be enforced rigidly. The temple is managed by Srimatii Radharani, Laksmiji; so why should there be want? Our philosophy is, if anyone comes, let him take Prasad, chant Hare Krishna, and be happy. Everything is being supplied by Krishna. Krishna is not poor, so why should we deny them? This should be done at any cost. There is no difficulty. It simply requires nice management. At the end of the day you may sell or give away. If we believe that Krishna is providing for and maintaining everyone, then why should we be misers? This means losing faith in Krishna and thinking that we are the doers and suppliers. We are confident that Krishna will supply! Let the whole world come. We can feed them. So please do this nicely. Begin at once.”(SP Lilamrta VI, pg 232; letter, Jan. 1977)
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 05:09:03 +0000
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