702.02: Diksa-gurus [Title] – Increasing the Number of Diksa-gurus – 2021
[Meeting] – Online AGM (passed on July 29, 2021) [Category] – StatementWhereas connection via diksa to the parampara is essential for anyone aspiring to advance in Krishna consciousness.
Whereas ISKCON needs a sufficient number of initiated devotees to perform many essential services, which can only be performed by properly initiated devotees
Whereas ISKCON still has a similar number of diksa-gurus as at the end of the 1980s (+/- 80), while the number of aspiring devotees in ISKCON has increased at least fiftyfold or more since then; thus an acute lack of diksa-gurus has become an ever growing problem to facilitate the increased number of persons now engaged in devotional service
Whereas the present generation of diksa-gurus will be drastically reduced within the next decade or so. Thus a new generation of diksa-gurus urgently needs to be established in ISKCON
Whereas ISKCON ?s demography has changed from ashrama living to largely being a movement of congregational devotees centred around communities; there is an increasing need of a more natural and organic diksa-guru culture in line with Srila Prabhupada’s statement in CC. Adi 1.35 purport: “Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs a disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master.”
Whereas we can observe – for different reasons – a clear change in the social culture of the world and therefore cannot take it for granted that smooth travel all over the world will be possible in the future; thus an increasing number of more locally accessible diksa-gurus, each having a moderate number of disciples will be more sustainable and will strengthen our preaching movement as a whole, as well as local preaching projects.
Whereas a considerable number of the local “spiritual masters who constantly instruct their disciples in spiritual science” are often not disciples of diksa-gurus who have left this world.
RESOLVED: The GBC hereby states their commitment to increase the number of diksa-gurus in ISKCON by systematically and promptly increasing the number of diksa-gurus before we lose the present gurus.
The GBC also accepts the principle that the number of diksa-gurus must reflect, as closely as possible, the actual size of ISKCON, and that the future system leans to having many local diksa-gurus with fewer disciples, rather than having a limited number of international gurus with many disciples.
Furthermore, the GBC members will support and promote prominent siksa-gurus initiating while their diksa-gurus are present.
The GBC will support programs that facilitate more diksa-gurus while the present diksa-gurus are with us.