Who knows what the future holds? Fifty years from now, perhaps you will be relaxing at a resort on Mars, being served by a robot. ISKCON will be a hundred- years-old then. Or would it still exist? Currently, ISKCON consists of more than 613 centres, with an estimate of 7 million people worship in ISKCON temples each year. There are also 54 educational institutions, 65 farms and ecovillages and 110 vegetarian restaurants. But, in fifty years time, will ISKCON still be relevant in society?
Technological advances seem to be progressively solving our problems. Or are they? Aren’t we still getting sick, growing old, and dying against our will? Are we not troubled by mosquitoes, our spouses, natural disasters, our own minds and bodily ailments? Spiritual life involves us discovering the root cause of suffering, and how to stop it. Therefore, ISKCON will always be relevant in society. The proliferation of Krishna Consciousness everywhere is inevitable: “Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said that this chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra will be heard in every nook and cranny of this globe. He is God, so there is no doubt about it. So if we are intelligent we will take advantage of this opportunity and get the credit. If we do not, someone else will.” (Letter to Satsvarupa, 1970-11-04)
However, along with propagation, Srila Prabhupada also wanted us to personally focus “just like boiling the milk, it becomes thicker and sweeter” on our own spiritual development. Srila Prabhupada stated in a lecture, on 28 April 1969, that if even one percent of the whole population becomes Krishna conscious, the world will become the kingdom of God.
As ISKCON expands over the next 50 years, it will provide muchneeded leadership to society. Unfortunately, the current world leaders do not have proper vision. Leaders must desire the ultimate happiness of their citizens. This requires that they must be aware of, and situated in their actual identities as eternal spiritual beings, and not just temporary material bodies. A leader must also first be a perfect follower of an authorized leader, as delineated in the system of disciplic succession. The example set by such a leader will inspire everyone else.
ISKCON’s achievements over the last 50 years have been largely due to the influence of Srila Prabhupada and his direct disciples. We have been standing on the shoulders of giants. However, in the relatively near future, there will not be anyone present who personally associated with Srila Prabhupada. How will ISKCON continue to grow then? This movement will progress with our cooperative spirit to please Srila Prabhupada: “Now, we have by Krishna’s grace built up something significant in the shape of this ISKCON and we are all one family. Sometimes there may be disagreement and quarrel but we should not go away. These inebriates can be adjusted by the cooperative spirit, tolerance and maturity so I request you to kindly remain in the association of our devotees and work together. The test of our actual dedication and sincerity to serve the Spiritual Master will be in this mutual cooperative spirit to push on this Movement and not make factions and deviate.” (Letter to Babhru, 1973-12-09)
Nov/Dec 2016 Hare Krishna News – Published by ISKCON Durban. Used with permission.
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