The following is an article by Stephen Covey that nicely summarises some of the content of his book, Principle Centered Leadership. I wrote about this book in this post. This article arrived in my email inbox in one of the gazillion ezines I subscribe to. I listened to the book on my mp3 player on the way to and from work for a couple of weeks. It’s really good, and I highly recommend it.

The main point that Covey is making is that we cannot make short cuts. As I told one devotee here in Brisbane - “I sorry, but we are not going to fix things overnight. There is no quick fix, no magic formula. It is going to be hard work and tough going for a while yet. In another year we will see some significant results. In the meantime, we are going to have to keep our belts tight.”

(Article begins below)

If our motive is to manipulate, our communication and our leadership in general will prove to be ineffective over time. In recent years, since the publication of my book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I have worked with many wonderful individuals who are seeking to improve the quality of their communications, relationships, products, services, organizations and lives.

But sadly, I see many people using a variety of ill-advised approaches. In effect, they try to apply short-cut, manipulative practices learned in academic and social systems to natural systems, the “farms” of their lives.

The Problem: Alternate Centers

Let me share with you some examples of the problem. Then I will suggest the principle-centered solution. Some executives justify heavy-handed means in the name of virtuous ends. They say that “business is business” and that “ethics” and “principles” sometimes have to take a back seat to profits. Many see no correlation between the quality of their personal lives at home and the quality of their communications at work. Because of the social and political environment inside their organizations and the fragmented markets outside, they think they can abuse relationships at will and still get results.

The head coach of a professional football team once told me that some players don’t pay the price in the off-season. “They come to camp out of shape,” he said. “Somehow they think they can fool me, make the team, and play great in the games.” When I ask in my seminars, “How many of you would agree that the vast majority of the work force possess far more capability, creativity, talent, initiative, and resourcefulness than their present jobs allow or require them to use?” the affirmative response is about 99 percent. We all admit that our greatest resources are being wasted.

Our heroes are often people who make a lot of money. And when some hero an actor, entertainer, athlete, or other professional suggests that we can get what we want by practicing hardball negotiation, closing win-lose deals, and playing by our own rules, we believe them, especially if social norms reinforce what they say.

Some parents don’t pay the price with their kids, thinking they can fake it for the public image and then shout and slam the door. They are then shocked to see that their teenage kids experiment with drugs, alcohol, and sex to fill the void in their lives.

When I invited one executive to involve all his people and take six months to write a corporate mission statement, he said, “You don’t understand, Stephen. We will whip this baby out this weekend.” I see people trying to do it all over a weekend trying to rebuild their marriage on a weekend, trying to change a company culture on a weekend, trying to pump out a major new business proposal. Some things just can’t be done over a weekend.

Many executives take criticism personally because they are emotionally dependent on their employees’ acceptance of them. A state of collusion is established where executives and employees need each other’s weaknesses to validate their perceptions of each other and to justify their own lack of production.

In management, everything goes to measurement. July belongs to the operators, but December belongs to the controllers. And the figures are manipulated at the end of the year to make them look good. The numbers are supposed to be precise and objective, but everyone knows they are based on subjective assumptions.

Most people are turned off by “motivational” speakers who have nothing more to share than entertaining stories mingled with “motherhood and apple pie” platitudes; they want substance; they want process; they want more than aspirin and band-aids for acute pain. They want to solve their chronic problems and achieve long-term results.

I once spoke to a group of executives at a training conference and discovered that they were bitter because the CEO had “forced” them to “come and sit for four days to listen to a bunch of abstract thoughts.” They were part of a paternalistic culture that saw training as an expense, not an investment. Their organization managed people as things.

In school, we ask students to tell us what we told them; we test them on our lectures. They figure out the system, and then they party, procrastinate, and cram to get the grades. They think all of life operates on the same short-cut system.

The Solution: Center on Principles

These are problems that common approaches can’t solve. Quick, easy, free, and fun approaches won’t work on the “farms” of our lives because there we’re subject to natural laws and governing principles. Natural laws, based upon principles, operate regardless of our awareness of them or our obedience to them. Often habits of ineffectiveness are rooted in our social conditioning toward quick-fix, short-term thinking. In school, many of us procrastinate and then successfully cram for tests. But does cramming work on a farm? Can you go two weeks without milking the cow, and then get out there and milk like crazy? Can you “forget” to plant in the spring, goof off all summer, and then hit the ground real hard in the fall to bring in the harvest? We might laugh at such ludicrous approaches in agriculture, but then in academic environments, we might cram to get grades and degrees.

The only thing that endures over time is the law of the farm: I must prepare the ground, put in the seed, cultivate, weed, water and nurture growth. So also in a business or a marriage there is no quick fix where you can just move in and magically make everything right with a positive mental attitude and a package of success formulas.

Correct principles are like compasses: they are always pointing the way. And if we know how to read them, we won’t get lost, confused, or fooled by conflicting voices and values. Principles such as fairness, equity, justice, integrity, honesty and trust are not invented by us: they are the laws of the universe that pertain to human relationships and organizations. They are part of the human condition, consciousness, and conscience.

People instinctively trust those whose personalities are founded upon correct principles. We have evidence of this in our long-term relationships. We learn that technique is relatively unimportant compared to trust, which is the result of our trustworthiness over time. When trust is high, we communicate easily, effortlessly, instantaneously. We can make mistakes, and others will still capture our meaning. But when trust is low, communication is exhausting, time-consuming, ineffective, and inordinately difficult.

Most people would rather work on their personality than on their character. The former may involve learning a new skill, style, or image, but the latter involves changing habits, developing virtues, disciplining appetites and passions, keeping promises, and being considerate of the feelings and convictions of others. Character development is the best manifestation of our maturity. To value oneself and, at the same time, subordinate oneself to higher purposes and principles is the paradoxical essence of highest humanity and the foundation of effective leadership.

Principle-centered leaders are men and women of character who work with competence “on farms” with “seed and soil” and who work in harmony with natural, “true north” principles and with the law of the harvest. They build those principles into the center of their lives, into the center of their relationships, into the center of their communications and contracts, into their management processes, and into their mission statements.

(As promised, here is the first one)

The Courage to Assume Responsibility

Courageous followers assume responsibility for themselves and the organization. They do not hold a paternalistic image of the leader or organization; they do not expect the leader or organization to provide for their security and growth, or to give them permission to act. Courageous followers discover or create opportunities to fulfill their potential and maximize their value to the organization. They initiate values-based action to improve the organization’s external activities and its internal processes. The “authority” to initiate comes from the courageous follower’s understanding and ownership of the common purpose, and from the needs the organization serves.

Commentary

Leaders who are appointed to an official leadership position in an organization that lacks a strong culture of courageous followership may experience a phenomenon known as “reverse delegation”. That’s where the members of the organization see the leader taking up responsibility, and in response think: “hey, this is great!”, and relinquish their responsibilities in such a way that duties begin to fall increasingly to the leader, who then becomes overwhelmed.

Such an organization will never go anywhere. It has found its level, and no matter how much energy you put into it, it will remain there. The members of the organization are happy with things the way they are, and can’t see the point in doing anything more. There is no commitment to improvement.

Organizational success is about who first, then what. With the right people on your team, you can make pretty much anything fly. With the wrong people, no matter how great the plan, it just ain’t going to happen. I use the concept of the “Empowered Disciple” when applying these understandings to ISKCON:

“The “authority” of the empowered disciple to initiate action comes from his or her deep awareness of and alignment with the mission of the parampara, as received through their spiritual master.”

As I used to tell the residents of our ashram in Wellington: “Don’t expect ISKCON to take care of your economic development!” I got this from Srila Prabhupada’s warning: “Don’t go to Vrndavan to solve your economic problems!”

And as I read in Peter Block’s Stewardship one manager informing her team: “These positions were not created for your career development, they were created to impact the bottom line of the organization.”

A real team player is someone who believes in what the organization stands for, what it seeks to achieve and to serve. They are passionately committed to these same ideals, and so are attracted to this organization as a means of serving these ideals in an organized way. Such an individual automatically contributes to organizational success because they are completely aligned with the organizational objectives. This is what Stephen Covey refers to as the fundamental principle at the organizational level: alignment.

My man Aghahanta, aka Johnny Pujol, is looking for work in the signwriting industry in Auckland, New Zealand.

Here is a sample of his work:

Check him out (with more samples of his work) here: John Pujol

I am going to the Maxwell event in Sydney. My Destiny calls….

Because I know y’all love mp3s, here (7MB, 7:41, 128kbps) is a recording of Vrajadhama and I killing some time before prasadam last night at the ashram.

You can hear Prahlad playing the mrdanga at the beginning, and then complaining because he is trapped underneath it and wants Alison to come and save him.

I’m still under the weather with this virus. I woke up this morning at 1.30 am with a headache. Oh, the joys of the material body. As both Candidasa and Aisvarya said recently, it’s great when it works, abysmal when it doesn’t.

Day off work today due to illness. I have a low grade viral cold. Sucks.

The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders is a book written by Ira Chaleff, and is a very powerful work. We have been discussing the contents over the past week or so around the ashram and Loft.

Followership has traditionally been thought of as passive or docile role. Hopefully if you have read some of my previous posts (such as this one) discussing the role and nature of effective followers you’ll have realized that this is not at all the case. Effective followers are themselves leaders discharging a particular role. This book really brings this point out. It takes courage to be an effective follower. Anyone can be a sycophant or play the disgruntled, alienated role. Not many people can muster up the courage that it takes to be responsibly independent and effectively interdependent in the effective follower role.

I am still at the very beginning of the book, but here are a few power-packed points from the book:

• Teachers and students form a learning circle around a body of knowledge; similarly Leaders and Followers form an action circle around purpose.
• Followers and Leaders both orbit around a purpose, Followers do not orbit around Leaders.
• Followers have to be passionate about their work, not consumed by passion

The word “passionate” in this sense should not be confused with the english translation for rajas, which is something else. What is spoken of here is utsahan, which is usually translated as “enthusiasm”. Passion in the above sentence does refer to rajas.

In other words, you have to be enthusiastic but not enslaved, fired-up but not fanatical.

The book is filled with subtlety. It’s not black and white, 1,2,3 paint by numbers. Different considerations are presented, and the reader is informed that they must be balanced. As an example, here is something that relates to a subject treated in one line of Sri Krishna Bhajanamrita, generally attributed to Narahari Sarkara.

In Sri Krishna Bhajanamrita the subject of what to do when one’s spiritual leader engages in inappropriate behaviour is discussed. The author states that if one observes inappropriate behaviour in the leader, then one should approach that person privately to present them with one’s concerns.

Chaleff elaborates further on this most delicate of duties of a follower:

Three things need to be considered at once:

1. Honour the accomplishments of the leader.
2. Preserve the self-esteem of the adult.
3. Challenge the appropriateness of the behaviour.

This might sound trite in isolation like this, but in his book Chaleff covers things thoroughly. Let me share the section headings of the first chapter to give you an idea:

The Dynamics of the Leader-Follower Relationship

• The Common Purpose and Core Values
• The Paradox of Followership
• Who Does a Follower Serve?
• Loyalty of a Follower
• Power in the Leader-Follower Relationship
• Value of the Follower
• Courage of the Follower
• Balance through Relationship
• Differences in Elevation
• Finding Equal Footing with the Leader
• When the Leader Isn’t an Equal
• Trust
• Followers as Leaders
• Working with Other Followers

In the Preface to the book Chaleff lists five dimensions to courageous followership, and I’ll post them up with a little discussion of each one over the next few days.

Here is why Prahlad prayed for his father to be liberated.

It was not due to bodily attachment, but due to compassion. Everyone should feel compassion for Hiranyakasipu. Anyone who thinks they have been hard done by in life should consider the internal devastation of Hiranyakasipu. Narada Muni states that he envies the level of absorption, the intensity of emotion, that Hiranyakasipu attained in meditating on the Supreme Being, Visnu.

Hiranyakasipu was of course one of the two gatekeepers, Jaya and Vijaya, who were externally cursed to take birth in the material world. In order to help the Lord perform his pastimes they took birth as demons, but retained their status as pure devotees, manifesting a level of meditation on the Lord that is formidable. In the case of Hiranyakasipu the secondary rasa of devastation was manifested in its purest and most complete form.

Hiranyakasipu was rejected by his father from the very moment of conception. His mother, Diti, had seduced his father, Kasyapa Muni, at an inauspicious time for procreation, and caused him to engender children at a moment under the influence of malefic stars.

Disgusted with himself and his wife, Kasyapa cursed her and the children to be born of her womb. This became the fundamental psychological experience of Hiranyakasipu. Early childhood experiences are very profound in shaping the psychology of a person, and from the moment of conception Hiranyakasipu carried with him a deep samskara of rejection.

Because he was in fact conceived at a time of malefic influences, the karma of the body and mind that he was born with was to be materialistically minded. This means that his vision was limited to an external, superficial way of seeing things. He therefore was unable to understand the deeper significance of events around him. This, combined with his psychological scars of rejection, lead him to interpret everything as an attack on him.

His brothers, Indra and the others, who were born of Aditi, Kasyapa’s other wife, became the demigods. They were installed in heavenly palaces and received offerings from the people in general. They were empowered representatives of the Supreme Person and functioned as administrators in the universal order.

Hiranyakasipu, and his younger twin brother Hiranyaksa (born first, therefore Vedically considered to have conceived second), did not understand or recognise the concept of a universal order. All he could perceive is that his brothers were accepting offerings from people, and he and Hiranyaksa were cut out of that. It became, to him, more evidence of prejudice and rejection of his brother and himself. He did not understand the relationship between Visnu, the Supreme Person, and the people of this world, or the need to become progressively detached from the material world by offering things to Visnu, in this case through the demigods who provide the function of “onsite representatives” of the Supreme.

That is precisely why they were excluded from it. They had no idea of what it really was, but thought simply that their brothers as the demigods were getting a kick back, and had shut Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa out of the picture.

Hiranyakasipu felt very protective of his younger brother. They had been rejected by their father, and Hiranyakasipu determined to be the father that his brother never had. Filled with rage, he undertook intensely harsh austerities, which far exceeded anything in the capacity of the demigods. He was in fact a pure devotee descended from the spiritual world, so his power was immense.

The demigods became filled with fear and approached the most powerful being in the universe, Brahma, their grandfather. Brahma himself was perturbed by Hiranyakasipu’s actions, which threatened even him. In order to pacify Hiranyakasipu he gave him the benediction that Hiranyakasipu asked for, that of being impervious to being killed by a range of means, which seemed to preclude all possibilities.

With this benediction under his belt, the two sons of Diti waged war on their brothers the demigods, finally storming the gates of heaven and seizing control of the heavenly kingdom.

At this point Visnu was not involved in the war. Although Hiranyakasipu felt that Visnu had shown favouritism to the sons of Aditi and had colluded with them to exclude himself and his brother, Visnu claimed that he was in fact neutral to all and had no friends or enemies.

Hiranyakasipu was a man of honor and respected this, although he did not agree with the assessment. He was sure that Visnu was allied with his enemies.

After their victory, the two brothers ruled the universe, abusing their position and the privileges that it offered, just as it had always been feared that they would if given the opportunity. They simply did not have the depth of vision to be able to utilise their leadership position to serve the interests of the people, instead viewing it simply as a vehicle to obtain self-gratification.

Hiranyaksa, the younger brother of Hiranyakasipu, directly challenged Visnu when Visnu was involved in the action of universal maintenance, adjusting the orbit of the Earth. “Who do you think you are, touching my planet!” Hiranyaksa demanded, and attacked Visnu. Not understanding the role of the demigods or Visnu in the universal maintenance he threatened the stability of the universe. At that time Visnu fought with him and killed him.

When Hiranyakasipu heard about this he became livid with rage:

“That lying coward Visnu! I respected his word when he said he would not fight, but would remain neutral. He refused to meet me in open combat on the battlefield, and now he has killed my younger brother in an underhanded way!”

Hiranyakasipu saw it as further evidence of the plot against him. His father, his brothers the demigods, Visnu, all were against him, and all continually lied about what they were doing as they mistreated him. Hiranyakasipyu had never told a lie in his life.

Hiranyaksa was not only Hiranyakasipu’s brother, but his twin brother, and the only family he had ever had. The only companion, the only like-minded person. It was the two of them versus the world, and after so many years of intense hardship they had finally done it, finally made it, and now at this victorious moment it was all snatched away. Hiranyaksa was dead. Hiranyakasipu had been motivated by a desire to protect his brother and be a father figure to him, the father they never had.

Now he lived only for his son Prahlad. Everything he had he wanted to give to his son. He had determined that his son would have a father who would give him his birthright, the birthright that had been denied to Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa, but that he seized through his intense endeavour.

Then came the fateful meeting. Hiranyakasipu met his young son Prahlad and affectionately took him on his lap and tousled his hair with great love. He then inquired from his beloved son what he was learning in school, where Hiranyakasipu had sent him to learn to administer the kingdom they had won.

Prahlad replied by telling him that Visnu was the goal of life.

Hiranyakasipu threw Prahlad from his lap as if he were a hissing snake, his mind reeling. How could this be? How had his mortal enemy, Visnu, gotten to his young son, within the very palace?

Hiranyakasipu became filled with contradictory emotions, and this was the beginning of the final act for him. On the one hand, his primal motivating force, the rejection by his father, and his subsequent intense desire to provide for his son, the only thing left to him after the death of his brother. His intense desire to establish a dynasty, to right the wrong of his and his brother’s exclusion from their family heritage.

On the other hand, his deep rooted hatred for Visnu, who had been behind everything that had been wrong with his life - his father, the Vaisnava, who cursed his mother for conceiving children at a time which was inauspicious for procreation of Vaisnavas, the alliance between Visnu and his other brothers that saw Hiranyaksa and himself marginalized and excluded, Visnu’s refusal to take to the battlefield and put up an honest fight, and subsequently his underhanded killing of Hiranyaksa when Hiranyakasipu was not present.

These two powerful motivating forces began to war within Hiranyakasipu and destroy his internal emotional landscape. He had lived a life with intense purpose, fierce resolve, but now the very same force that had driven him to conquer the universe, excelling all other living beings in austerity and determination, began to manifest as an unresolvable contradiction.

He had to kill his son to retain his identity, his integrity with the principles that had brought him to this point, and his son was the only thing he was living for, the focus of his principles.

He couldn’t bring himself to do it, so he delegated the task to his servants. Each time they returned to him he experienced a dissociation from his core that drove him closer and closer to the brink of total insanity: “Is it done?”

Fearing to hear either answer his hands would grip the throne tightly until his subordinates reported: “He lives still, sire.” He would slump in his seat, losing touch more and more with reality, edging closer to madness.

Finally Prahlad came before him. Hiranyakasipu’s hope was that his son had seen reason, that the teachers had managed to demonstrate to him who Visnu really was, and that now they could together rule the universe. He was sure that things would work out, and that in spite of all the odds he had faced, his birth, his childhood, the long years of struggle, the death of Hiranyaksa, somehow there would be a happy ending. His son would appreciate him.

However, it was not to be.

At that moment everything, absolutely everything, turned to ashes in his mouth. His whole identity came crashing down around him, filling his ears with a roaring sound. His devastation was complete. Raising his sword and screaming incoherently he rushed toward his son, the only thing he lived for, and the representative of the most hated person in the universe….

And at that moment, Visnu appeared.

This morning Elliot gave class, and I offered some comments at the end. Here’s the verse, along with my comments:

“Prahlada Maharaja said: O Supreme Lord, because You are so merciful to the fallen souls, I ask You for only one benediction. I know that my father, at the time of his death, had already been purified by Your glance upon him, but because of his ignorance of Your beautiful power and supremacy, he was unnecessarily angry at You, falsely thinking that You were the killer of his brother. Thus he directly blasphemed Your Lordship, the spiritual master of all living beings, and committed heavily sinful activities directed against me, Your devotee. I wish that he be excused for these sinful activities.” SB 7.10.15-17

Elliot spoke about Prahlad being the perfect example of a Vaisnava. In spite of his father having tried to kill him in so many ways, he still loved him.

In Gaura-lila, Prahlad appears in the person of Haridas Thakura. Haridas was born in a Muslim family, but apparently became a Hindu. The Muslims had invaded India from the East and were engaged in converting the people to Muslims and suppressing the local religion. For one of their kind to convert to the religion of the subjugated people in contravention of this was unthinkable.

Haridas was seized by a local Muslim ruler and ordered to stop chanting the Holy Names of Hari, which are found in the religious practice of the people of the Hindu region. He replied that he could not. This is real chanting - it is not forced, it forces. The Holy Name fills the heart and then overflows and comes out the mouth. Haridas apologized, but explained that he was not in control of the chanting.

The Muslim ruler took this as impudence and ordered Haridas to be beaten to death in the town market as a warning to the people. The ruler was externally disgusted that a Muslim had seemingly adopted the practices of the Hindus, but actually he was also envious of Haridas Thakura’s reputation as a saintly person.

Haridas was taken to the market and severely beaten, but he did not die, nor did he stop chanting. His captors took advantage of his survival to take him to another market, in order to present the object lesson to a wider audience.

Again Haridas was beaten, but he still did not die. This continued again, and again, and again. Each time Haridas would be severely, severely beaten by the ruler’s men, but he simply would not die, nor would he stop chanting. This happened 22 times.

Haridas’ fame spread far and wide, and the intended object lesson was exactly the opposite that the envious ruler had intended. Of course, the Koran enjoins that the name of Allah should be praised. In fact, it states that when the name of Allah is no longer chanted on Earth, at that time the world will end. The ruler, however, could not recognise the unlimited names of Allah because he was actually a materialistic man, dedicated to nothing more than worldly appearance of religion in service of his selfish plans.

Haridas Thakura had not changed his religion from Islam to Hinduism. He was worshipping the one Supreme Being who is the source, owner, and controller of everything. Because he was in an advanced stage of love of God he developed all saintly qualities, and he was also incomprehensible to materialistic minded persons.

After 22 beatings, Haridas could understand that the men who were beating him were very perturbed. They were unable to complete the instruction of the ruler, and their failure was causing Haridas’ fame as a saint to increase. They could understand that now their own lives were on the line.

Haridas then began to pray that he could die, because his continued survival was causing distress to these men. When they heard him praying in this way they became amazed and afraid, for they knew that they had offended a great devotee of Allah. Haridas lost his external consciousness and appeared to all to be dead.

They took him and threw him into the Ganges. Haridas floated down the Ganges to Fulia ghat, where he came ashore and continued chanting Hari nama. When the Muslims saw this, they fell to the ground and begged for his forgiveness. Haridas was such a saintly person that he was unable to forgive them because he felt they had done no wrong. Simply by offering their obeisances to him in this way they were delivered from their offenses.

I arrived at the temple last night to find that dinner was… pizza, and a fine pizza it was too, cooked by Janardana and Anantara. Krishna das is leaving next week to live in India, so it was his going away party. May he return soon, and then leave again, so we can have more pizza like that!

I passed the word to Anantara that Red Hat are hiring a Russian translator here in the Brisbane office, so wish him luck!

Extract: “Be aware that children may have more behavior problems in school when they consume caffeinated beverages.”

Surprise surprise…

APA: First Graders’ Behavior Problems Linked to Caffeinated Cola - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today

Here are a couple of devotees (Amala Saci dd on the left) on the South American Bustour, a dynamic preaching program organized by Ekanath Gaura Prabhu. The website of the bus tour, with photos and videos, is here.

That Teachings of Prahlad Maharaja in the picture was the first publication that we produced in the BBTI Andino division after arriving in Peru, and that was how our son Prahlad got his name. Whatever you meditate on, you get.

Here is Ekanath Gaura das in the restaurant in La Paz, Bolivia. Now that’s a Pizza.

The first time I met Ekanath it was in the temple in Av. Garcilaso de la Vega, Lima, Peru. Unbeknownst to him I was following a vegan diet, which obviously precluded such things as pizza (I did it for a month, as I have on occasions, following a doctor’s recommendation).

Ekanath sat down next to me in the temple and started to preach the glories of pizza. He then recounted to me how one gentleman would visit the temple in Buenos Aires (in Argentina, where Ekanath hails from orginally), who was a vegan. Whenever the devotees would have pizza, this gentleman would have some - with no cheese!

“That’s blasphemous!” pronounced Ekanath, his lips curling in disgust. I didn’t know what to say. I just hoped that he wasn’t going to wind up by inviting me to the temple restaurant for a pizza…

I think that Ekanath’s got a good point. A healthy zest and love for life is essential for a balanced person. Being a devotee is not about all the things you can’t do - it’s about all the things you can do for Krishna.

The South America Bustour program that Ekanath has been leading for the past two years is a great manifestation of this, drawing out the many talents of the devotees in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.

Here’s an article from the latest edition of “The Pastor’s Coach”.

Statistics indicate that the church is losing ground in today’s culture. Despite clear warnings about the decline of church participation, most churches continue to do business as usual. Too many ministries continue to function with their current customer base, even though they are not making significant inroads into the communities around them.

Every spiritual movement in history started because someone was willing to take a chance. They were men and women who dared to ‘rethink’ what they believed and what they were actually responsible for doing in the name of the church.

Two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul rejected the notion that Christians had to preserve the traditions of the Jewish faith in order to establish the church. As a result, congregations sprang up across the Roman Empire and the Gentile world.

A little over 1500 years later, Martin Luther came face-to-face with the concept of being ‘justified by faith.’ He nailed a list of complaints to a church door and exposed an entire generation to the idea of a personal relationship with God based on faith, not works.

Even recently, men like Bill Hybels have challenged traditional churches in their approach to make disciples and reach their communities. In the past decade, thousands of churches have been re-engineered or launched around a new agenda. They are consumed with the priority of reaching the majority of the population - people who have become disengaged or disinterested in the church.

An honest evaluation of any leader God uses to impact a generation reveals their common characteristics:

• They are usually controversial.
• They are not afraid to question what seems to be sacred.
• They are uncompromising about their priorities.

And as a result, they tend to embrace a purer and clearer principle, which becomes the foundation of how they do what they do.

In every situation, the church is radically changed.

I guess the real question you need to answer in the light of our culture is simply: Do you think the church needs to change? In other words, is there something in you that believes that the church, especially your church, should not continue to do ministry for the next generation the way you have for the current generation? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes,’ then it is only logical that you become intentional in rethinking everything.

This year, we have decided to host a different kind of gathering. These gatherings will challenge leaders to rethink what they believe, and why they do what they do. That’s why we’re calling them “Rethink Labs.” We don’t think our leaders have all the answers. But we do have a host of questions that we think the church needs to ask. They are questions that may seem irreverent when it comes to the sacred systems that exist in many churches. Some of them will definitely be controversial. But they are questions that must be asked and considered if we hope to impact the next generation. Too much is at stake for the church to just continue on the course that it has charted.

We really don’t think we have all the right answers, but we know it is important to keep asking the right questions. It’s the only way to unpack the critical principles that will enable us to reinvent our ministries. Our communities don’t need any more churches that are patterned after churches that people are not attending. People are looking for relevance, and they are hungry for answers. Most are walking away from the church convinced that it’s the last place they will discover what’s important for their lives. Our culture is demanding the church to engage in lengthy debates and take risks. It needs us to be willing to embrace changes that may upset the system and frustrate those who are comfortable.

There are certain principles that need to be reexamined.
What you really believe will change the way you do church.

• What you believe about how people change
• What you believe about how students learn
• What you believe about how individuals actually grow in their personal faith
• # What you believe about the influence of family
• What you believe about why people participate and engage in ministry

Belief always drives behavior. What you believe as a leader impacts how you do church. So what if you are not believing or thinking correctly? There is a lot at stake. Courageous leaders are willing to rethink all of these issues and how they affect what they do.

Don’t worry about compromising a principle. Compromise only happens when you refuse to embrace a principle that is unchanging. A principle can never really be compromised, because a principle stays the same. You can compromise your integrity. You can compromise your effectiveness, but you really can’t compromise a principle.

A principle is like a diamond - it will hold up under any scrutiny or challenge. A principle does not change with time or pressure. You don’t hold on to a principle in order to keep it from changing. You hold on to a principle because nothing can change it. And when you really get a handle on the right principle, it may force you to change. It may demand that you redirect or redesign your church.

What if you had an entire day to gather around a table and just rethink everything? Are you interested in shifting the way you think and starting over with a blank page? Would you be willing to take the risk? We need to initiate a holy riot and challenge the irrelevance of our churches. We can’t afford to lose the war against an unseen enemy who is attacking the minds and hearts of the next generation. We are praying for leaders that will sit, dialogue, debate, question, and reinvent how they do church for the sake of eternity. We hope you will join us for a “Rethink Lab” or figure out how to host your own. Just make sure you don’t keep thinking the way you’ve always thought.

Just a few things you should do if you are serious about ‘rethinking’ how you do church:

1. Schedule time to make ‘rethinking’ a priority.
2. Surround yourself with younger men and women who will challenge the process.
3. Hold everything with an open hand, so you are in a position to let go of something.
4. Strive to create a culture where nothing stays the same for very long.
5. Give your teams permission to experiment, even if there is risk involved.

NOTE: During our “Rethink Labs” we debate and examine relevant principles relating to 6 areas:

• Strategy
• Environments
• Curriculum
• Discipleship
• Community
• Family

And how they impact the way we do church.

“This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland’s free monthly e-newsletter ‘The Pastor’s Coach’ available at www.INJOY.com.”

Heh heh heh. This appeals to the raksasha in my nature… I love Dilbert - always cutting and insightful.

Last night I went to the temple with Prahlad and Vrajadhama for a festival. Param came later and Prahlad hung out with her. There were 7 disciples of Srila Prabhupada there.

I lead the Gaura-arati and the kirtan. Afterwards Vraj and I helped serve out the feast, and then chatted over prasadam and on the way to the train. We discussed our material natures and how they fit in to the organization. Vrajadhama recently had both our astrology done, and the material nature that this ascribed to each of us matched the one that I had detected by introspection and observation.

The past couple of weeks I have not been going to the temple much. We are focusing our energy on the ashram and the Loft, holding a morning program at the ashram where we read the Bhagavatam and reinforce our values and objectives. Especially at this formative stage of our group it is important to create and sustain a clear focus on our objectives, and our values.

I can’t go to the Bhagavatam class in the temple on days that I work, so having this class at the ashram allows me to be there each day. It also allows everyone to give class. We rotate in alphabetical order. Each week we learn a different verse from the Bhagavad-gita, taking turns to lead the chanting of it each morning.

At the moment my struggle is getting up in the morning. The change in the weather has lowered the temperature, and I am lazy. My commitment is to get up before 5 am each day. This gives me enough time to chant my rounds before our morning program.

Here is my weekly schedule at the moment:

Tuesday:
6.30 am - 7.30 am Morning Program
9 am - 9.30 am Teach Religious Education at Indooroopilly Primary
10 am - 11.30 am Family Time
12 pm - 9 pm Work

Wednesday:
6.30 am - 7.30 am Morning Program
8 am - 5 pm Work
7 pm - 8.30 pm Bhakti Sastri at the temple

Thursday:
6.30 am - 7.30 am Morning Program
8 am - 5 pm Work
6.30 pm - 9 pm Yoga at the Loft

Friday:
6.30 am - 7.30 am Morning Program
8 am - 4 pm Work (I get off one hour early for Harinam)
4.30 pm - 6.00 pm Harinam
6.30 pm - 9 pm Bhagavad-gita class at the Loft

Saturday:
6.30 am - 7.30 am Morning Program
8 am - 6 pm Work (I stay an hour later to make up for yesterday)
7 pm - 9 pm Read Radha-Damodara Vilasa and take prasadam with devotees at the ashram (the others hold a study group in the afternoon before I get back)

Sunday:
7 am - 9 am Morning Program at temple (I give class every second week, alternating with Param)
9.30 am - 10.30 am Help cut up for Sunday Feast
12 pm - 3 pm Picnic (we usually go out for a picnic lunch, inviting some of the Loft regulars)
4 pm Kirtan practice
5 pm - 9 pm Sunday Feast

Monday:
6.30 am - 7.30 am Morning Program
7.30 am - 2.30 pm Family Time
3.30 pm - 5 pm Kirtan Practice with Abhilasa Prabhu
6.00 pm - 9 pm Yoga at the Loft

The rest of the time is traveling on my bicycle listening to mp3s (that’s where I do a lot of my hearing and chanting), doing a few minutes of reading before taking rest, chanting my rounds, or sleeping. Working 40 hours a week does not leave much waking time for other things. Basically I have two jobs, with the Loft and ashram development going on.

I have to be very careful about balancing my time. Because I am working with such a tight schedule if anything happens it really throws me, and I don’t have huge margins to play with to recuperate. Since the other day when we went to the Star Wars movie I am gradually clawing my way back.

One thing I have learned is to make seconds count. If you look after the minutes, the hours will take care of themselves. 15 minutes a day = two weeks a year. A few minutes a day dedicated to something produces results, if done regularly. I generally hone in on one thing and absorb my consciousness in that. At the moment mrdanga playing and harmonium playing is in standby, and my energy is going into upskilling myself as a leader, raising my leadership potential to enable the group that we are building here.

Everyone’s good wishes and prayers are always welcome.

Here is the full text from two articles in each issue of Leader to Leader magazine.

Being the cheapskate that I am, I won’t be ordering the magazine, but I will be reading the articles. I’ll be giving heads-ups and pointers into the articles, along with analysis.

Leader to Leader Institute Leader to Leader: Complete Text Articles

Characteristic of Great Leaders: The Stockdale Paradox - Confront the Brutal Facts, head on. Feel the fear, and do it anyway.

From Jim Collins site: “On the one hand, they stoically accepted the brutal facts of reality. On the other hand, they maintained an unwavering faith in the end game, and a commitment to prevail as a great company despite the brutal facts. We came to call this duality the Stockdale Paradox.”

And here is a great example of this leadership characteristic in action: Same Mission, Same Mercy

In Empire Strikes Back, Imperial Navy Admiral Ozzel’s career meets with an abrupt end. Early in the piece a subordinate presents an intelligence report about a possible detection of the Rebel base. Admiral Ozzel dismisses it out of hand. Darth Vader, who is standing nearby snaps around and overrides him. “They are there,” he states over Ozzel’s objections.

Later, Admiral Ozzel brings the Imperial fleet out of hyperspace too close to the target planet, and the Rebels are able to erect their shields, forcing the Imperials to engage in a costly ground assault.

Vader responds to this blunder with (one of) his famous line: “You have failed me for the last time Admiral,” before force-choking Ozzel to death. Captain Piett, Ozzel’s chief-of-staff, is given a field promotion: “Find that spaceship *Admiral* Piett”

The lesson: never be apologetic when you fire someone.

But seriously now (that was a joke ), a leader needs to recognise the value of failure in a learning organization dedicated to innovation as a means to gain competitive advantage. Paradoxically, if you are scared of failing, then you are guaranteed to fail. As a counterpoint to this example, John C. Maxwell relates the story of an employee who made a mistake that cost the organization millions of dollars (this was at Bell or AT&T or somewhere like that). He was called into the CEO’s office where he said: “I suppose you are going to ask me for my resignation.”

“Are you kidding?” replied the CEO, “we just spent millions of dollars educating you!”

When failure is not valued by a leader, team members will not take risks or innovate. Initiative will be stifled. Team members will take shelter of rules and regulations, standard operating procedures, and will avoid accountability. The organization will become unresponsive and rigid. Subordinates will cover up potential problems, and they will distort communications with their line commanders, painting a rosy picture of reality that will be a misleading input to strategic analysis.

In the case of Admiral Ozzel, Lord Vader said: “You have failed me for the last time Admiral.” This indicates that Ozzel had a recurring pattern of failure. Failure can be a valid part of the learning experience. However, if there is no learning process, then it’s just failure. If a team member persistently makes the same mistake, then this does not contribute to organizational progress and organizational success. Generally there are two reasons why a team member persists in failure:

1. Competency
2. Character

Competency refers to a persons technical ability to perform the tasks that are demanded of them. Competency can be taught. You can hire someone and train them to a given level. If a person has been given a task that they do not have the competency for, then this is the leader’s fault. The leader must ensure that the person has the training and the access to resources that they need to discharge their duties. If Ozzel was simply incompetent then it is the fault of whoever put him in that position.

Character refers to attitude. This should be screened as much as possible during the hiring process. Technical skills can be taught - character formation is a different kettle of fish. A prospective team member should have basic values which are consonant with the values of the organization or group they are joining. Here is where an explicit mission statement can help. A mission statement is a declaration of the goals and boundaries of the group. The Vision and Mission clearly delineate where the group is headed, and what it is all about. The Values lay out what constitute acceptable (and hence unacceptable) ways of getting there.

Putting all the cards on the table like this makes it clear from the outset what is going on, and what will be expected from the candidate. It’s like the destination sign on the front of the bus - it tells you where the bus is going, and you can decide whether it’s the right bus, in which case you should get on, of if it’s the wrong bus, in which case you shouldn’t.

Getting rid of, or repositioning, someone later on is always harder than simply turning them down, or redirecting them, at the beginning. As time goes by you make more and more of an investment in team members, through training, time, and remuneration. Admiral Ozzel would have cost the Imperial Navy many millions of dollars and many person-decades to replace.

So do the necessary groundwork in the beginning to avoid expensive and difficult decisions later on. But if someone turns out to be the wrong person later on, then don’t hesitate to fire them, and don’t be apologetic when you do. You are not doing anyone a favor by retaining a person in an unappropriate situation. They hinder the progress of the organization and their continued presence destroys morale. Their team members know they shouldn’t be there, and wonder why the management continues to avoid addressing the issue. The person in question could be getting on with their life in something better suited for them, making progress in it, and you are just holding them back. In Admiral Ozzel’s particular case that meant a new birth in another body. For a member of your organization it could be a different role in the same group, in another group within the organization, or in another organization entirely.

Today is the disappearance anniversary of Jayananda Thakura, an American Vaisnava of the 20th century.

His life is a study in the contradictory qualities of extreme personal humility combined with a fierce professional resolve. It is the subject of Radha-Damodara Vilasa, along with the career of another famous devotee, Visnujana Swami. This morning I read a couple of my favorite pastimes of Jayananda Thakura from Radha-Damodara Vilasa during the class at the local Hare Krishna temple.

Another book about Jayananda Thakura is available online here.

Below is a brief biographical sketch of Sriman Jayananda Thakura.

Jayananda Dasa - A Modern Saint
Written by Bhayahari Dasa
From Back to Godhead Magazine. May/June 2001.

ON JANUARY 16,1967, Srila Prabhupada flew from New York to inaugurate the first Hare Krsna temple in San Francisco. His arrival was covered by the Channel Four news and by both daily newspapers. While most of San Francisco may have ignored the story, a young man named Jim Kohr noticed it. Despite having a degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University, he had been driving a taxi on the streets of San Francisco. Never quite able to fit into the corporate rat-race or the upperclass crowd, he was often unhappy and didn’t really know why. Though Jim was not a religious person, the article ignited a ray of hope in him. He resolved to check out the Indian Swami.

Unknowingly, Jim was taking his first step toward fulfilling his destiny. Though he would live for only another ten years, in that short time he would witness the culmination of lifetimes of spiritual effort. He would depart the world leaving behind many valuable lessons to inspire and instruct present and future generations of Vaisnavas, devotees of the Lord.

The following evening, Jim arrived at the temple to find it filled mostly with hippies. With his short hair, cleancut looks, and well-pressed clothes, he stood out. And at 28, he was older than most of the others there. But Jim’s misgivings disappeared when he saw the Swami enter. Jim sat through the lecture and bought a three-volume set of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which Srila Prabhupada autographed with the inscription “To Sriman Jim Kolr.” For the first time in many years Jim felt peaceful. He had just received the audience of his eternal spiritual master.

Jim started coming to the temple regularly. He especially liked the morning program, when most of the hippies were still sleeping. Sometimes he would be the only person in the class. Years later he revealed that he trusted the Swami and felt confident the Swami wouldn’t cheat him. As a four-year old, Jim had once stood up in church and looked around anxiously. When his grandmother had asked him what was the matter, he had asked, “Where is God” Now he felt that Srila Prabhupada was answering this ancient question buried deep in his consciousness. In February 1967, Prabhupada accepted Jim as his disciple and initiated him with the name Jayananda Dasa.

In Vaisnava scriptures, such as Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura’s Madhurya-kadambini, we learn that a conditioned soul progresses through stages of sadhana-bhakti (devotional practice) before attaining spontaneous love for God. The new bhaktas (devotees) at the San Francisco temple would often struggle with their material desires and their daily spiritual practices, falling in and out of Krsna consciousness. Surprisingly, no one remembers Jayananda in the role of a “new bhakta”. He took to Krsna consciousness naturally and effortlessly. He relished all aspects of Krsna consciousness-chanting on his beads, singing in kirtana, eating prasadam, performing Deity worship, and so on. He would often remark, ‘Krsna consciousness is so sweet”.

In fact, Jayananda found Krsna consciousness so sweet that he soon lost the taste for anything else. He gave his life savings to Srila Prabhupada, and in the Preface to The Nectar of Devotion, Prabhupada publicly thanked him: “I beg to acknowledge, with thanks, the contribution made by my beloved disciple Sriman Jayananda Brahmacari.”

PAYING THE BILLS

Jayananda became absorbed in practical devotional service. He was constantly serving the Lord, whether buying supplies, cooking prasadam, cleaning the kitchen, taking out the trash, or teaching new devotees. He did all this after a full day of cab driving, by which he’d pay the temple’s bills. He became an expert in anything needed to spread Krsna consciousness. He went out to sell Prabhupada’s Teachings of Lord Caitanya, becoming a pioneer in a service dear to Prabhupada’s heart - the public distribution of hardbound books on Krsna consciousness.

On the appearance day of Lord Caitanya, Srila Prabhupada was very pleased to see Jayananda spontaneously performing kirtana on the street outside the temple. Encouraged, Jayananda then started singing regularly on busier streets with other devotees, laying the foundation for chanting parties that would soon travel all over the country.

Both devotees and others were instinctively attracted by Jayananda’s purity. Once, when he offered a garland to Srila Prabhupada, he apologized for his greasy clothes. Srila Prabhupada remarked, “There is absolutely no offence. You [my disciples] may be dirty, but your hearts are pure.”

Jayananda touched the hearts of many people, and they usually responded by doing some service for Kr5na. He would get almost everything for the temple free or at a steep discount. He was friends with shopkeepers, city officials, drunks, and derelicts. Everybody loved Jayananda, and he happily engaged everyone in the service of the Lord. He worked the hardest, but he praised the service of everyone else. He was humble, tolerant, compassionate, and renounced. His actions, his words, his life, and his death all exemplified the process of bhakti, devotional service to the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada’s instructions especially those encouraging practical service –became Jayananda’s very life. Once, when a devotee asked him how to make advancement in Krsna consciousness, Jayananda shrugged and said, “I really don’t know. I’m too busy working.”

So immersed was Jayananda in executing Prabhupada’s instructions that he would rarely get time to meet Srila Prabhupada. Serving in separation, he understood that association through instructions is more important than physical association. It is said that one must act in such a way that Krsna will want to see you; Jayananda exemplified this dictum by his service attitude.

Invariably Srila Prabhupada would ask for Jayananda, and someone would have to go fetch him. For Jayananda, Sri Krsna and Srila Prabhupada were the only two ultimate truths. Everything else, including his body, was to be engaged in their service.

LAUNCHING RATHAYATRA

One day some devotees got a small deity of Lord Jagannatha (Krsna as “the Lord of the universe”) from an import store. Srila Prabhupada sent them back to get the other deities of the set-Lord Balarama and Subhadra Devi–and he started their worship in the temple. Meditating on the deities, Srila Prabhupada expressed his intense desire to spread their mercy by organizing a Rathayatra, the chariot festival held in their honour each year in the holy city of Puri in India. Jayananda dedicated himself to fulfilling this desire of Prabhupada’s. Starting with a flatbed truck, he put together a “chariot” with whatever help he could get from devotees and anyone else. On July 9, 1967, the first Rathayatra in San Francisco-the first ever outside India-took place because of Jayananda’s blood, sweat, and toil.

Jayananda improved the festival year after year, raising money, getting permits, doing the publicity, building huge chariots from scratch, and even baking pies for groups he’d interact with, such as the city police and the U.S. Park Service. He would live with the chariots while they were being built, often working with little or no sleep as the festival date approached. Eventually held in Golden Gate Park, the festival drew bigger and bigger crowds year after year. Thanks to Jayananda’s efforts, thousands of people received Lord Jagannatha’s mercy. The festivals are now held in cities around the world.

Srila Prabhupada often expressed his deep gratitude to Jayananda for the festivals. When Jayananda passed away, Srila Prabhupada said that his picture should be carried on one of the chariots at every Rathayatra.

DISEASED BODY

While preparing for the New York Rathayatra in 1976, Jayananda found painful lumps growing on his body. A God brother worried that they might be cancerous, but Jayananda made him promise not to tell Srila Prabhupada until after the festival. Jayananda’s main concern was that the Rathayatra should be a success; everything else was secondary.

The New York Rathayatra was indeed a great success. Rolling down Fifth Avenue, the three chariots delighted thousands of people, many becoming inspired to inquire into and even take up the practices of Krsna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada was ecstatic. He called it a grand success and thanked Jayananda for his service.

The lumps on Jayananda’s body turned out to be cancerous. He was diagnosed with leukaemia, which gradually reduced his body to a shell. Accepting that he would die soon, Jayananda continued to express his deep gratitude towards Srila Prabhupada. His friends were, shocked and saddened to see his disease-ravaged body, but Jayananda was still too busy, performing devotional service to give it much concern. Ane, when he did agree to medical treatment. he used his time in the hospital to tell doctors, nurses, and patients about Krsna consciousness.

Jayananda constantly thought about how to expand Rathayatra to other cities. In his final months, he helped organize the Los Angeles Rathayatra, making phone calls, raising money, and guiding devotees. One day, while walking on Venice Beach, here the festival would be held, he looked down and-as if visualizing the upcoming festival-said, “What a wonderful Rathayatra!”

On May 1, 1977, just a few months before the festival, Jayananda passed from this world. In a letter written to Jayananda after his passing, Srila Prabhupada congratulated him on a glorious life and an even more glorious death, since both in life and at death he had been absorbed in the service of Krsna. Prabhupada ordained that the disappearance day of Jayananda be celebrated like those of other Vaisnava saints. As Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura so eloquently said:

He reasons ill who says that Vaisnavas die
When thou art living still in sound!
The Vaisnavas die to live, and living try
To spread the holy name around.

As I think about Jayananda, I imagine this scene: Somewhere an ISKCON Rathayatra is about to start. Conch shell blasts and cries of “Jaya Jagannatha!” pierce the sky. Looking on from the spiritual world, Jayananda turns to Srila Prabhupada, who nods and says, “Thank you very much”.