Should a preacher of Krishna advertise himself to get more followers?
A devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna prabhuji, Dandavat pranam.
Question:
Should we try our best to preach Krishna consciousness and increase the number of people or should we keep consistency and whoever Krishna sends cultivate them.
Details:
Myself being bit introvert nature prefers own company. But In Krishna consciousness I like to share Krishna katha. Monday to Saturday I share Srimad Bhagavatam online in morning. Plus in evening on Monday we discuss Bhagavad Gita, Tuesday Ramayana, Friday Mahabharata, Sunday Srimad Bhagavatam plus ekadashi. All days program is at different places and only 10-15 people attend. For past two years we have grown from 4 to 40 devotees now. Some of devotees mentioned that other places there are 150-200 devotees attending and yours is very low for 2 years.
I accept the fact that I don’t do much advertising. Whoever comes I try to cultivate them. This month we had a new family joined and became serious in a week time and started chanting also few rounds immediately.
The question is should we try to expand the congregation or wait till Krishna sends someone. I was not positive of expansion as my nature doesn’t suit it also right now we don’t have many preacher to handle new people and program
Only if yourself find this problem many may face and needs guidance can guide else no problem. Hare Krishna”
REPLY:
This is a very sincere doubt that definitely needs right guidance from a balanced and experienced preacher like me because I too have experienced the matters mentioned by you.
Most of the devotees should know this because, in ISKCON, every devotee likes to preach in some way or other. ISKCON is a preaching organization. So, this Post will be very useful for most of the devotees!
(Should our karma allow to be a powerful preacher of Krishna? READ HERE!)
Let me come to the point:
See, the Spiritual or Devotional service should not be treated like material service.
Let this be the mindset for all of us before reading this reply and before starting any devotional service.
First decide: What is the purpose of you preaching?
Choose one from the choices given below:
(i) to become financially rich; Or,
(ii) to give many new devotees to Krishna without any personal expectation; Or,
(iii) to become popular;
(iv) for all the above, ie, to give new devotees to Krishna, to become popular and also to become rich.
Let me tell the solution below:
If your motive is the choice (ii), then, you need not worry about how many devotees you are guiding.
If your motive is any of the other three choices (i), (iii) or (iv), then, you require more number of devotees.
Let me explain the above two solutions and let us decide which is the best:
If your choice is (ii), that means, you don’t have any personal expectation of fame or becoming rich thru preaching service, but you like to perform this just to help the devotee community, then, you need not worry about the number of devotees who come to you to get guidance in following Krishna Consciousness.
You are very clear that you have resources for your own life maintenance thru some other jobs or thru inheritance and hence you are not depending on the preaching service to survive.
(How to preach Krishna Consciousness to those who argue? READ HERE!)
Since you will perform this service from your house itself, you will not require much resources. You will be able to manage from your existing earning itself.
If you do not have sufficient earnings from other sources, you can request the devotees to prepare prasadam one devotee every week from among the attendees who are willing to prepare prasadam and bring to the class.
If the number of devotees has increased and you need a dedicated space to run classes, kirtans. Etc., you can rent a house/ building and preach there. For those building expenses, electricity, phone, etc, you can collect a small amount from the volunteer attendees to share the cost of the rental and electricity.
This type of preaching centers are called BHAKTI VRIKSHA centers in ISKCON. These centers are not independent. These centers are generally supported and regulated by the official ISKCON center that is existing in your city/ district. These small centers, in due course of time, become main centers if they become eligible to be made main centers.
However, the devotees should possess some basic eligibility to preach. If a half cooked devotee preaches, it may affect the devotee community as his preaching will not be flawless.
If any devotee who feels not eligible to preach, but likes to preach, he can just distribute the books of Srila Prabhupada to as much devotees. Those books will take care of the upliftment of that devotee.
(ii) If you like to preach as said in the other choices, particularly to give new devotees to Krishna, to become popular and also to become rich, then, you need to promote your service because you have personal motive of earning thru preaching for your goodness and popularity.
(10 IMPORTANT TIPS TO PREACH ABOUT KRISHNA PROPERLY! READ HERE!)
However, performing the preaching service to earn abundantly is not advisable.
However, getting the support of other devotee attendees to manage the preaching service is not wrong. However, your motive should be very clear – to serve the lord and His devotees Getting plenty of support from the devotees and increasing your wealth is wrong.
In my case, I am preaching for decades. Initially, for many years, I was doing this service using my other business earnings that I was doing for survival. When the devotees grew in numbers, I felt the need for our own media to customize our services in whatever way we want and to have the facility to search the desired posts in our site by using a search box. More money was required to run this Online preaching service. So, I chose to perform the horoscope services, advertisements and other services and earn for my living. I also permitted the devotees to donate to this service because it will reduce the karma of the devotees who donate because they help for a devotee/ forum to continue to help as many devotees as possible. By donating, they also pay to compensate the reading of contents of this website free of cost.
Thus, earning thru some other services/ jobs and preaching the Lord using that money is great.
In your questions set, you have written that the attendance in your classes is less compared to other devotee preachers. If you just give very good preaching and prasadam, the devotees will automatically come in large numbers.
In case you give normal preaching, but advertise heaviliy and bring many devotees, if you don’t give good give great contents, most of the devotees will stay with us for a short period and then leave after a few visits.
Advertisements may help to bring the devotees to visit the media or center once or twice. But, if you don’t give good preaching experience, they will stop coming or reduce the visits.
So, do not focus on advertisements and publicities. The existing members themselves will tell about you to many new persons and bring them.
Take our media for example. Have you seen our advertisements anywhere except our own encouraging promotion of our services in our own media and social media?
But, lakhs of devotees have read our site contents and got benefitted. Our readership is also growing.
(What are the effects of preaching of false concepts & manthras? READ HERE!)
How it is possible?
Because If we give good service, the people will come in large numbers.
So, just give very good service and motivate the devotees to bring new devotees. If your current audience is satisfied, they will bring new devotees.
Being the servants of Krishna, we can’t follow cheap practices to popularize ourselves. We should follow decent way of promotions.
So, give good service; Promote your services decently without the commercial approach.
Also perform your own sadhanas because purity is our force.
Gradually, the people will come.
Advertising is not wrong, but it should be done decently without irritating others. Promotting our services aggressively may give negative result too because the people will think why this guy is promoting himself aggressively.
So, you be an example for others to follow; Keep your own personality impressive and respectful. You perform sadhanas sincerely and please your guru sincerely. Then you will start to get more devotees.
Moreover, you have written that you are giving classes for multiple scriptures like Mahabharatha also.
ISKCON devotees are very much interested in Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhakti rasamruta Sindhu, etc. So, taking Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc may not attract ISKCON devotees as they follow what Srila Prabhupada told them to follow.
So, guide the devotees in Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhakti rasamruta Sindhu, etc., as effectively as possible. Avoid other scriptures.
Following pure devotional practices will bring more devotees to learn from you.
So, as mentioned in the choices (i), (iii) and (iv), if one’s intention is to get more followers, fame and money, it is not the indication that they are right preachers. If it is the scale, the so called popular self made godmen and gurus attract many times more followers than ISKCON. But, they are unable to produce pure devotees like ISKCON.
ISKCON has strict rules and regulations. So, only the really interested devotees will take the benefits of ISKCON.
Always keep in mind:
Without the sanction of Krishna, nothing is possible. So, accept anything as the mercy of Krishna. Serve and preach sincerely to the devotees who show real interest in learning about Krishna and devotion.
Hope you are clear.
(Bhakti Vriksha House Programs – How to organize them & Preach? READ HERE!)