By Gopika-Kanta Dasi (Gopika Sharma)
Professional Teacher
I am a second generation devotee who went to public school. I excelled as a devotee child by reciting verses, knowing philosophy, singing bhajans, and leading temple activities. I also succeeded in school. I received straight A’s and participated in a variety of extracurricular activities.At school, I would never answer questions about my own religious beliefs. I also never shared with my school friends that I was heavily involved with the local ISKCON temple. I feared that my school friends would think that the temple was weird. I didn’t know whether our philosophy and rituals meant anything to mainstream society. I operated seamlessly in my two separate universes. During my first semester of university, however, I began to attend the local Bhakti Club meetings. At one meeting, the kirtan leader asked me to play kartalas (hand cymbals). Immediately, a surge of anxiety welled in my chest and I quickly passed the karatalas to someone else.
Does this puzzle you? It certainly puzzled me at the time. I spent my entire life immersed in the culture of Krishna Consciousness. I could recite dozens of verses. I spent the summer studying Bhakti Sastri. I led kirtan many times, yet was unable to play kartalas for a simple university program. How was that possible? The power of the double life blind sighted me. Nothing was ever a problem externally. I was happy and successful on all fronts until the moment at the club. That moment forced me to confront the chasm between my lives, the true internal problem of a double life. My two worlds collided, and I had no idea how to handle the crash. I may have been born into the movement, but as yet, I had not confidently bought into it.
While this was my experience, the majority of second generation youth utilize a double life strategy that ultimately becomes unsustainable. The story of identity crisis and experiences of cognitive dissonance are rampant among second generation youth. Therefore, as a current Sunday School educator in ISKCON of New Jersey who specifically works with adolescents, I’ve embarked on a journey to answer this question: How can ISKCON communities bridge the gap for second generation teenagers operating in two vastly different realities? How can we get them to buy in? I personally feel that Krishna Conscious education needs to prioritize an experience of meaning over memorizing, especially during the delicate phase of adolescence. It is during adolescence that questions of identity and core beliefs surface. When youth understand the relevance of philosophy and have the space to explore doubts, the gap between their two worlds begins to close. They begin the journey of solidifying their beliefs instead of merely playing the part of a perfect devotee.
How can we emphasize meaning over memorizing? One way is through the incorporation of current events into discussion. For example, should a secondary school student protest a controversial election or attend a Bhakti Vriksha program? One could argue that devotees should not interfere in government affairs and simply focus on the yuga-dharma of Harinam Sankirtan. On the other hand, if an elected official threatens human rights, then one may argue that it is our duty as citizens to oppose such leadership. Posing such dilemmas helps to explore philosophy in a real and complex way.
Another way to prioritize meaning is through experiential learning. For example, in our class, we asked students to throw darts at pictures of their loved ones in order to support their understanding of Arjuna’s dilemma. As the students held their darts, they truly empathized with Arjuna, and the Gita took on a new personal and relatable meaning. When we discussed Gajendra’s story, we surprised students with a loud gunshot recording. We asked them to reflect on their last thoughts upon hearing such a frightful sound. Even though the students were completely safe, this simulation and experience of true fear allowed them to observe the difficulty of remembering Krishna at the time of death. Once they experienced this, we discussed the practice of prayer in an authentic and real way as opposed to merely in the theoretical context of Gajendra’s story. When reviewing Bhagavad Gita 6.19, we challenged students to create a Lego fort that would create a windless environment for an actual candle. Students built a variety of structures to protect the lit flames, which represented their minds. After this hands-on experience, students excitedly shared their thoughts on how this activity could teach us about practically protecting our minds from the winds of life.
A final way of prioritizing meaning over memorizing is by creating a space for students to explore their own beliefs. We often explain philosophy to our students but don’t challenge them to think for themselves. Once we asked all our students who they truly were. All of them simultaneously recited the line “We are not this body, but we are the soul.” When we challenged our group of teenagers to prove it, their faces fell silent and they could not articulate why they believed what they did. We then shared with them that they would have to defend their beliefs to a group of scientists and local businessmen. They quickly began to analyze the core philosophical principle of the soul in the context of their lives. We had local congregation members dress up as scientists and businessmen to come and mock debate our students. It was through discussion and simulated debate that our students gained confidence. They began the journey of embracing the philosophy for themselves, rather than merely parroting it back.
Often, Krishna Conscious education for youth stresses memorization. Educators prioritize breadth over depth due to a desire to teach our children everything written in Srila Prabhupada’s books. We praise our children for answering philosophical questions and give high applause for perfectly reciting verses from the Bhagavad Gita or Bhagavatam. While these accomplishments are
certainly commendable, they come at an expense. Overemphasis on learning philosophy over personally experiencing Krishna Consciousness in a heart transforming way fuels the double life conundrum.
When preaching our philosophy, we put in a great deal of thought in how to make our philosophy persuasive, valuable and relevant for our audience. Our children born into the movement require and deserve the same level of thought. In the end, it is not what they know about Krishna Consciousness, but how they feel about it that will influence their heart’s commitment.
A classic marketing principle states that it takes six times the amount of effort to earn a new customer than retain an old one. All those growing up in ISKCON are old customers of Krishna Consciousness. By the time they reach adolescence, they have learned the philosophy, lived the culture and understood the mission of Srila Prabhupada. It would take a new devotee adult years to catch up to the level of understanding of a second generation teenager. If we are able connect our youth to the profound relevance of Krishna Consciousness, just imagine the army of inspired leaders who would exponentially and innovatively take ISKCON to new heights.After all they are masters of both worlds.All that’s left for us to do, as educators, is to bridge the gap.
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