Being Focused, Novi Sad, Serbia-June 27, 2008—–

One other item I forgot to mention that contributes to the “mission creep”
that I mentioned previously is equating big projects, big buildings, big
festivals, and sophisticated management with the mission of Krishna
consciousness. These can certainly be accepted as tools in advancing the
mission, but if these are taken as goals in and of themselves we will lose
sight of our mission.

Ok. First and foremost in being focused we have to spell out our mission in
very very simple terms-that is no more than one or two sentences at the
utmost. Later on in this discussion it will be apparent why this is
necessary.

Strategies should not be confused with the mission. In the business world
you have the Mission Statement and the Strategic Mission Statement. The Strategic Mission Statement deals with strategies.

The mission statement should be able to written on your shirt with room to spare. In this way it will be easy to remember.

Everyone who wants to be focused in life should think deeply about what their mission is on a personal basis and on a societal basis. I was asked
about my mission a few days ago in Split Croatia and I replied as follows.

First of all I explained that I had two missions a person mission and an interpersonal (Societal mission) mission.

My personal mission is to realize my eternal relationship with Krishna and
thereby develop love for Him and all His parts and parcels.-That’s it!—Pretty simple isn’t it and pretty easy to focus on.

My interpersonal mission is to serve Srila Prabhupada’s mission eternally by helping the devotees and society at large develop a compassionate loving Krishna conscious society.-that is also pretty simple and easy to digest—

By remembering both of these, I am able to focus my attention and remain enthusiastic. I request the readers to do an exercise and come up with their own mission statements.

Here is a practical example of how this helps me: This morning I started playing with my mobile phone thinking it would be nice if I had a cooler looking interface (like the Iphone for example). Gadgets and playing with
gadgets can really divert my attention from the mission. But, when I remembered the mission, I was easily able to refocus my mind within a few
seconds. The trick is to always remember your goals!!!

Another devotee asked my about how to remain focused after doing something for a long time and the initial passionate enthusiasm has waned. This is an appropriate question and should be answered in greater detail.

First of course is the mission statement as previously mentioned.

Then one should make sure that all of their basic needs are being met. By needs I mean foundational needs that everyone has like physical needs (food, air, space, etc), social needs, recreational needs (yes this is a necessity even for spiritualists), needs for autonomy, etc. If any of these are
neglected the mind may be too disturbed to be focused.

I should especially mention the need for autonomy. When you have a domination culture (people do things because they have to do them), there is an obvious loss of determination since people are not working from their
hearts. At best they perform at 50% of their potential.

Then one should make sure that the strategies that one is employing to fulfill the Mission Statement are in line with one’s psychophysical nature.
In simple terms it means that one should be doing something that one likes
to do and is one’s propensity.

For example Arjuna was by nature a ksatriya. We understand that he was a pure devotee. Still he could only be happily engaged working according to
his nature. Krishna is very clear about this in the Gita. There are
different natures and one should work with them. Prabhupada clearly states that one of the main duties of the spiritual master is to understand the
nature of a disciple and engage him/her accordingly.

In other words one size does not fit all.

Recently there has been some discussion on the internet about the necessity of farm communities or simple living communities in which devotees produce their own necessities. This discussion was precipitated by the present state of the world’s economy and the rapidly rising prices for basic needs.

During this discussion some devotees suggested that we as leaders should
“take” our disciples/followers/dependents/subservients and direct them to form farm communities. When I heard this suggestion (which I knew some would carry out and some have already done so) I felt extreme tension due my feelings of compassion towards devotees who would be forced (by guilt, sense of duty, etc) to do something that was not in accordance with their nature. I also felt in anxiety due to my desire for devotees to realize their full potential by being independently thoughtful (need for autonomy) as Srila Prabhupada mentioned.

I have seen too often in the past where leaders started farm communities,
and the farm community was booming for some time, but then gradually the devotees lost interest because the leader was no longer there (passed away or went somewhere else), and because they realized that their nature was not in accord with what they were doing. Then there were disasters with cows, and other aspects of the once booming community.

When I visit communities I make a point of examining the faces of the people there. Prabhupada did say, and it is a common saying that the face is the index of the mind. I am trying to ascertain if the devotees are truly
connected with their lives. Sadly enough it is not always the case.

————————————-to be continued—————————————-