On the 24th of February, the Guru Services Committee hosted its second online conference for ISKCON diksa (initiating) gurus. The topic was ‘Helping Disciples To Face Challenges.’ The first conference was held on the 5th of June, 2021, and was entitled ‘Challenges of Being a Guru in ISKCON.’

The Guru Services Committee (GSC), a standing committee of the Governing Body Commission (GBC), the global leadership of ISKCON, has the mandate to assist and support ISKCON gurus in their service to Srila Prabhupada.

On account of the present pandemic situation, face-to-face meetings are rare and therefore the GSC arranged for a virtual meeting and many gurus took advantage of the virtual platform to connect and share their insights through the online event.

The conference was held on Saturday morning for the US, which coincided with the afternoon in Europe and Africa, and the evening in India and most of Asia. It lasted for two and a half hours, with three plenary addresses, followed by discussions in smaller breakout groups. About forty participants attended the conference from all over the world. The topic, ‘Helping Disciples To Face Challenges’ was chosen based on feedback from the first Guru Conference.

Prahladananda Swami, Chair of the Guru Services Committee, explained that the overall purpose of the conference was to facilitate the opportunity for ISKCON gurus to exchange information and learn from one another.

“The service of an initiating guru is a challenging one,” Prahladananda Swami said. “New gurus especially benefit from the association of peers. While there’s some specific training for gurus in our society, and more is being developed, it’s not extensive. Thus, it’s all the more important to provide venues for inspiration, association, and encouragement.”

Radhanath Swami, the first key-note speaker, spoke about the need for developing strong communities within ISKCON to guide disciples of all gurus. He emphasized the need for ISKCON members to be encouraged to take shelter of multiple senior devotees- through a network of caring support. He stressed that disciples need to be spiritually strong to face the challenges that we all face in life. He reminded the participants that individual spiritual progress and our connections to our communities are what give us strength to carry on in the practice of bhakti.

The next speaker was Niranjana Swami, who advised, “We should see each devotee in terms of their future, and not their past.” In other words, care for devotees means helping disciples and devotees to awaken their full potential in Krishna consciousness, and not being judgmental or failing to see the potential in each person. Maharaj also stressed that relationships with other community members play a major role in supporting individual devotees and that all leaders should encourage meaningful relationships amongst devotees.

Acyuta-priya Das, an ISKCON Zonal Supervisor, was the next speaker. He explained the counselor system he helped to establish in Ukraine, and offered tips how networks of senior devotee can give shelter to younger, less mature members.

Anuttama Dasa, another member of the GSC, was host of the event. He noted that the discussion illustrated the diversity of responsibilities gurus have in ISKCON, and in caring for disciples. Some have relatively small numbers of disciples under their care, while others have thousands of disciples. Some gurus with many disciples have developed elaborate systems of counselors and caretakers who help to look after their disciples. Other gurus, those with less disciples, are more directly involved in guiding individual disciples through the challenges they face whether personal, social, or philosophical.

During the question and answer period, a range of challenges faced by disciples naturally arose, varying from daily concerns with families and employment, to personal spiritual issues including strictly observing initiation vows, to working harmoniously with local temple leaders, and to facing unrealistic expectations of ISKCON leaders, including one’s personal gurus.

In ISKCON it’s understood that gurus are responsible to guide disciples, but sometimes the expectations of the disciples for their guru becomes unrealistic. As taught in the ISKCON Disciples Course (mandatory now for all new ISKCON disciples), a guru’s expertise is not in family counseling, financial investments, or marriage decisions—but in guiding disciples how to develop their Krishna consciousness and awaken love of God.

Anuttama Dasa summarized, “The conference promoted the kind of dialogue that is needed among ISKCON gurus. These senior devotees have the greatest service to render, and the greatest responsibility and we all need to support them in that service to their disciples and the ISKCON society.”

It was concluded that Srila Prabhupada’s example of devotee care must be remembered and prioritized at all times. Prabhupada’s mood of offering mercy and kindness to all needs to be the basis of an ISKCON guru’s service in helping disciples face whatever challenges may arise in spiritual life. Individual devotee care is an important factor for all followers of Srila Prabhupada, in whatever service they may be rendering.