On the 11th of September, the brand new Bhaktivedanta Manor Vision Statement for the next ten years was unveiled at a gathering in the community\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s temple near London.<\/p>\n
The specific date was chosen because it was the day when, 44 years ago, ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada first set foot in the UK.<\/p>\n
One hundred key persons involved in the development of the Vision Statement attended. Temple President Sruti Dharma Das, as well as Gauri Das and Akhandadhi Das, spoke at the event, while Vision Facilitator Sitarama Das along with Krish Raval explained how the project was born.<\/p>\n
Bhaktivedanta Manor, of course, is the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flagship temple and is internationally renowned as a very successful center with financial stability and plentiful growth.<\/p>\n
However back in January 2010, the Manor was facing an array of internal challenges, as many temples do at one point or another.<\/p>\n
This led the Temple Council to ask some fundamental questions about how it was functioning, such as How do we deal with tensions and challenges? What is the basis of our decision making; what rationale is being applied? Why have we chosen a particular path? Who decides? Is the Manor effective in what actions it undertakes? And what is the best way to move forward?<\/p>\n
To analyze whether or not it was functioning effectively, the Temple Council decided to conduct a formal organizational review.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We decided to conduct two consultations,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Sitarama Das, who has been part of the Bhaktivedanta Manor community since 1985, and was involved in senior management for over fifteen years. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The first was in February 2010 with the internal management of the temple. And then in November 2010, there was a broader consultation with all the different groups connected with the Manor.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Next, in April 2011, a ten person vision team was established, consisting of Prabhupada disciples, previous managers of the Manor, elder devotees in the community, preachers and sanga group leaders, stakeholders and council members, brahmacharis and brahmacharinis, and Kuli and Pandava Sena youth.<\/p>\n
They were assisted by a wider consulting group of twenty-six people.<\/p>\n
All these devotees spent the next two years discussing and debating, defining and articulating the mission and purpose of Bhaktivedanta Manor.<\/p>\n
The result is a fifty-four page document, based on Srila Prabhupada\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vision and teachings, particularly his seven purposes for ISKCON.<\/p>\n
There are no specific goals or action items in the Vision Statement, but rather the document acts as a sort of constitution for Bhaktivedanta Manor.<\/p>\n
Its purpose is to encapsulate the essential, so that whatever happens in the future, the ship of the Manor will be kept aligned to the direction that Srila Prabhupada wanted of it.<\/p>\n
The Vision Statement consists of eight key areas: Following Srila Prabhupada, The Role of Bhaktivedanta Manor, Management and Leadership, Unity in Diversity, Education, Care, Varnashrama and Sustainability, and Outreach.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Each of these sections contains guiding principles to keep Krishna consciousness at the forefront of all areas of temple activity, so it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t veer off to something else,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Sitarama says.<\/p>\n
For example, in the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Following Srila Prabhupada\u00e2\u20ac\u009d section, Prabhupada is established as the primary authority, the process by which to consult guru, sadhu and sastra is explained, and the Manor pledges to provide \u00e2\u20ac\u0153spiritual health checks\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for devotees.<\/p>\n