“The soldiers in this Krishna consciousness movement must always possess physical strength, enthusiasm and sensual power. To keep themselves fit, they must therefore place themselves in a normal condition of life. What constitutes a normal condition will not be the same for everyone, and therefore there are divisions of Varnashrama – brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra, brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprashtha and sannyasa.”

— SB 8.2.30 pur

“…but actual devotees and saintly persons are always anxious to see how the people can be made happy both materially and spiritually.”

— SB 4.14.07 pur

Further reading: Section H, quote 20

“…overdependence on another’s mercy… sap[s] the very vitality of human energy.”

— SB 1.1.10 pur

“For absolute protection from all sorts of fear, as well as for all our needs of life, we must take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord…”

— SB 2.6.7 pur

“Asking for help reveals strength, not weakness.”

— Margie Warrell, Forbes columnist

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

— Bible, Matthew 7.7

Further reading: Section H, quote 21

Sarve sukhino bhavantu. This is Vedic civilization. “Let everyone be happy.” That is Vedic civilization. And the demonic civilization, they’re [thinking]: “Let everyone suffer; I [will] become happy.”

— Shrila Prabhupada, Morning Walk, Vrindavana, 15/03/1974

“[Caitanya Mahaprabhu] would also make sure that the devotees had proper accommodation, clean rooms with water, servants and prasadam.”

— Devotee Care Journal #1 p.6

Further reading: “Care Personified”, DC Journal #1 p.6

“You are always the protector of the deserving living beings, such as brahmanas, children, cows, women and the diseased. Could you not give them protection when they approached you for shelter?”

— SB 1.14.41

Further reading: “Care Personified”, DC Journal #1 p.6 · Section H, quote 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 13

“People leave the movement for lack of care”

— Kavichandra Swami, Devotee Care Journal No.2, p.3

“ISKCON needs to be a caring organization that provides a family atmosphere based on love and trust, just as Srila Prabhupada instructed.”

— Jayapataka Swami (abstract for lecture “Introduction to Devotee Care as a GBC Initiative”, downloaded on 24/12/2015 from http://ils.iskcon.org/committees/devotee-care/)

Further reading: Section H, quote 1, 2, 5, 13

“Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasada and offering prasada are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.”

— Srila Rupa Goswami, Nectar of Instruction, Verse 4

Further reading: “Care Personified”, DC Journal #1 p.6

Srila Prabhupada listened with interest and appeared to be pleased when I finished speaking. He then told me that he once worked for Dr Bose and one of his duties was to handle whatever correspondence came in to the company. He said, “even if the smallest enquiry arrived, I would answer personally, and continue to correspond until they became a customer”.

— Svarupa Das in ‘Care Personified’, Chapter 13, “The Perfect Gentleman”, p.79

Having first ascertained the opinion of each minister separately and then the views of all together, let him (the leader) do what is most beneficial for him in his affairs.

— Manu Smriti 7.57

Further reading: Section H, quote 10

“People in general always require a leader who can teach the public by practical behaviour. A leader cannot teach the public to stop smoking if he himself smokes.”

— BG 3.21 pur

“Only those who are above suspicion can judge others. One must himself act in such a way that he is always above suspicion. Then he can judge, then he can preach.”

— Srila Prabhupada Letter, dated 17/12/1972

“These qualities of a devotee, twenty-six in number, are listed as follows: (1) kind to everyone… (25) expert, (26) silent.”

— SB 4.20.16 pur

“When confronted with a problem outside their scope, [counsellors] refer the devotees to a better equipped counsellor”

— Sridam das and Kisori dd, DC Journal #3, p. 23

“Any successful man should feel grateful to the Lord for all he has achieved.”

— SB 1.14.9

“Prabhupada said, ‘You can come at any time.’ I thought that it was wonderful. Srila Prabhupada’s translating work was so important and there was no immediate benefit from this old gentleman coming, but Srila Prabhupada was generous with his time.”

— Ambika dasi, quoted in ‘Care Personified’, p.81

“Generally it is seen that one who has risen from a poverty-stricken life and becomes wealthy creates some charitable institution at the end of his life so that other poverty-stricken men might be benefited. In short, a compassionate poor man may consider others’ pains and pleasures with empathy.”

— Krishna Book, Chapter 10

Further reading: Section H, quote 17

“Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same attachment, when applied to the self-realized devotees, opens the door of liberation.”

— SB 3.25.20

“Love for Krishna…[is] easiest if we approach Krishna through his devotees. Devotees are most dear to Him, and if we love them, this greatly pleases Krishna. Love is expressed through care, concern and practical service.”

— Vijayavenu Gopal and Prema Padmini dd: DC Journal #3, p.20

“Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto him [Suka], the spiritual master of all sages, the son of Vyasadeva, who, out of his great compassion for those gross materialists who struggle to cross over the darkest regions of material existence, spoke this most confidential supplement to the cream of Vedic knowledge, after having personally assimilated it by experience.”

— SB 1.2.3

“Another important word is vijnana-virajita. Everything should be done very scientifically and consciously. One should be a realized soul.”

— SB 5.5.10 pur

Further reading: Section H, quote 4

“Rules regarding the self are of two types – those for body and those for mind…If a person doesn’t follow the mental rules, his power of realization, concentration, imagination, contemplation and judgement will be weak and will not properly function… Moreover, one will not be able to take the mind from material thoughts and direct it to thoughts of God. As a result, the mind will be dominated by sinful thoughts and atheistic attitude, finally, and will become no better than beast. Therefore these bodily and mental rules are very necessary for success in human life.”

— Sri Caitanya Siksastakam, Chapter 2, Part 1

Further reading: Emotional care: DC Journal #3, pp.26-27 and pp.20-21 · Section H, quote 14

“In astrology, a man is considered fortunate who has great wealth, very good sons or a very good wife. Of these three, one who has a very good wife is considered the most fortunate.”

— SB 3.21.15

“In the Chanakya-shloka, the moral instructions of Chanakya Pandit, it is said that if a husband and wife are always satisfied with one another, then the goddess of fortune automatically comes. In other words, where there is no disagreement between husband and wife, all material opulence is present, and good children are born.”

— SB 4.1.6 pur

“As stated in Bhagavad-gita, sex life which is not against religious principles is Krishna Himself.”

— SB 4.22.53 pur

“Taking care of the children is just as important as doing Deity worship. One service is not more important than another.”

— SP Letter to Arundhati dd

“Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive heads of all states and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to the citizens by education, culture and devotion.”

— BG 4.1 pur

“…the king has to see that everyone is employed. Not that hundreds of people are unemployed, and government has to give welfare, subsidy. Not like that. The king’s duty is that everyone is independently earning his livelihood.”

— SP Lecture, Los Angeles, 27/05/1972, SB 7.5.22-34

“There are two things that nullify all good qualities. One is poverty. Daridra-doso guna-rasi-nasi. If one is poverty-stricken, all his good qualities become null and void.”

— SB 4.21.20

“Vasudeva Datta spent money very liberally; therefore Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Sivananda Sena to become his sarakhela, or secretary, in order to control his extravagant expenses.”

— CC Adi 10.41

“It is said that there was a king, he was giving shelter to all the brahmanas. He had a guest house…so any brahmana can stay there”.

“Pay attention to the state of the kingdom. Old and ramshackle surroundings are a sign of disregard. Renovate to win good opinion.”

— Bhishmadeva

“Sivananda Sena arranged for the journey. He maintained everyone and provided residential quarters.”

— CC Antya 1.16

“The whole city was full of residential homes, assembly houses and temples, all of different architectural beauty. All of this made Dvaraka a glowing city. The big avenues, crossings, lanes and streets, and also the thresholds of every residential house, were very clean.”

— SB 10.69.1-6 pur

“Every year one month before caturmasya (four month period of the rainy season) Sivananda Sena would lead a party of two hundred devotees from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri to attend the annual Ratha-Yatra festival. He would pay for everyone’s food, tolls, ferries, and lodging.”

— The Gaudiya Vaishnava Samadhis in Vrindavana, by Mahanidhi Swami

“He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.”

— BG 6.17

He sent his servant to buy a pair of sandals. When the new sandals were presented to Shrila Prabhupada he accepted them graciously, but later told me, “I cannot wear these. They are made of leather.”

— Shrutakirti Das, in ‘Srila Prabhupada Uvaca’, #126

“In Bombay, Prabhupada had cultivated more lawyers and businessmen as life members and earned more friends of his Society than in any other city in India. So whenever he was in Bombay, he often sought legal advice, not just about the Bombay centre but also about his other affairs in India.”

— SP Lilamrita, Volume 5, p. 44

“People should not expect that even in the Krishna Consciousness Society there will be Utopia. Because devotees are persons, therefore there will always be some lacking—but the difference is that …they have given up everything to serve Krishna.”

— SP Letter to Atreya Rishi, Bombay, 04/02/1972

“Whatever you do, you do it by joint consultation…Of course, as individuals, we have sometimes disagreements, but that should be adjusted keeping our central attention to Krishna.”

— SP Letter to Dayala Nitai, Hawaii, 23/03/1969

Further reading: Section H, quote 18

The mercantile class is also required to give protection to the cows in order to get sufficient milk and milk products, which alone can give the proper health and intelligence to maintain a civilization perfectly meant for knowledge of the ultimate truth.

— SB 2.5.37 pur

“The primary responsibility of such a king or leader is to protect the brahminical culture and the cows in his state.”

— SB 4.21.49

“The symptoms of a kshatriya are given in Bhagavad-gita. One of the qualifications is the willingness to give charity (dana). A kshatriya does not refuse to give charity when requested by a brahmana, nor can he refuse to fight another kshatriya. A king who does refuse is called low-minded. In the dynasty of Bali Maharaja there were no such low-minded kings.”

— SB 8.9.4 pur

Further reading: Section H, quote 16

“So you are all Vaishnavas. If your children do not become Vaishnavas in the future, then it is a great, I meant to say, fault on your part.”

— SP Lecture, SB 2.3.15, Los Angeles 01/06/1972

“Yes. You cannot teach your own people, and you are going to teach others. ‘Physician heal thyself.’ … You have failed to teach your own children, they are disappointed, and you are going to teach others. This is another cheating.”

— Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Mayapur, 07/04/1975

Further reading: Section H, quote 12

“Old men. Yes. These five items, according to … Hindu law, they [make] no offense…They cannot be criminally prosecuted. Excused. If a brahmana has committed some fault or a woman has committed some fault or a child has committed some fault or a cow has transgressed the law, oh, there is no punishment for them. Daya. They should be always shown mercy. They require protection, especially.”

— SP Lecture, SB 12.2.1, San Francisco, 18/03/1968

“In this age…the student (brahmachari) communities are no longer being maintained.”

— SB 1.1.10 pur

“The relationship between the student or disciple and the wife of the spiritual master or teacher is like that between son and mother. A mother sometimes cares for her son by combing his hair, massaging his body with oil, or bathing him. Similarly, the wife of the teacher is also a mother (guru-patni), and therefore she may also care for the disciple in a motherly way. If the wife of the teacher is a young woman, however, a young brahmachari should not allow such a mother to touch him.”

— SB 7.12.8 pur

“Most devotees are married (grihasthas), and further, the grihasthas ashram is the basis of all other ashrams – and of the lives of our children.”

— Giriraja Swami, The Purpose of the Grihasthas Ashram, in ‘Carry on the Care Legacy’, pp. 52-55

“A senior, trained, Krishna conscious grihasthas can help to solve these problems. That was the first idea of the counsellor system: many people coming to me, but actually grihasthas should help grihasthas; more realisation than the Sannyasis, they have practical experience. Not only that, when they help others. They make so much spiritual advancement themselves. Why should we keep all the spiritual advancement for us? Let other devotees take the problems and make spiritual advancement…”

— Radhanatha Swami Lecture, “Caring for Devotees: the Spiritual Counsellor System” (downloaded on 01/02/2016 from http://www.dandavats.com/?p=1378)

“There are some areas that deserve extra attention like… those who are entering into a new ashram – these groups, especially need to be helped.”

— Devotee Care Literature, exact reference unknown

“The leaders of ISKCON have a sacred duty to provide shelter for devotees who have given their lives in service to the Society. After serving honourably and with dedication for many years, devotees who have become elderly should be able to finish out the last years of their lives in dignity and easy remembrance of Krishna.”

— Badrinarayana Swami, ‘Elderly Enclave’ in ‘Carry on the Care Legacy’, p.71

“…the sannyasis are the spiritual masters for all the varnas and ashramas”.

— SB 1.17.41

“Another immensely important element of care for leaders is the need for confidential relationships with equals and seniors. Leaders often find themselves in the situation where there only surrounded by juniors who look up to them. As a result, their somewhat alone at the top of the pyramid, which is always a dangerous and unprotected situation.”

— Devaki dd, “Carry on the Caring Legacy”, p.25

“Finally, in times of challenge or difficulty, if the sannyasi does not have a person or a system he can approach for support, the problems increase. As Vishvamitra said, “…so I didn’t identify myself with this anymore and at that time there was nobody I could actually talk to…”

— Yadunandana Swami, MA Dissertation ‘Vaishnava sannyasis in modernity: their lives and challenges’, p.67

“Whether the devotee is weak, is having difficulty, or is in a spiritual crisis, the Vaishnava family should be there to lift and restore their strength and enthusiasm.”

— Radhanatha Swami, ‘Carry on the Care Legacy’, p.8

“Leaders are carrying a vast responsibility and burden on their shoulders … So leaders deserve all the caring nourishment they can get in order to serve their dependents nicely… If the leaders of our movement don’t receive such ongoing nourishment, then their spiritual advancement will be choked and becomes stagnant.”

— Devaki dd, “Carry on the Care Legacy”, p.25

“We should take care of our devotees, especially those who have given their lives to ISKCON.”

— Jayapataka Swami, “Carry on the Care Legacy”, p.7

“The shastras instruct us to aim for shreyas and not be captivated by preyas.”

— TLK, verse 43, pur

“Not only are devotees a precious resource, but they are also the only resource that can generate other resources. Thus devotee care is not a drain [on] our resources, but a sensible – indeed, the most sensible – investment of resources that will bring huge future returns”

— Gauranga Prabhu, “Carry on the Care Legacy”, p. 81

“What people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things, not using people and loving things”

— H.H. Radhanatha Swami

Further reading: Section H, quote 11

“[This] Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all…departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy…There must be always individual striving and work and responsibility…not that one shall dominate and distribute benefits to the others and they do nothing but beg from you and you provide.”

— SP Letter to Karandhara, Bombay, 22/12/1972

Everyone should be expert. The leaders must be expert and the worker must be expert so that they may follow the instruction of the leader.

— Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Vrindavana, 14/03/1974

“Of all the skills of leadership, listening is the most valuable and one of the least understood. Most captains of industry listen only sometimes, and they remain ordinary leaders. But a few, the great ones, never stop listening. That’s how they get word before anyone else of unseen problems and opportunities.”

— Peter Nulty, National Business Hall of Fame, Fortune Magazine

Further reading: Section H, quote 10, 12

“In other words, without state support, no doctrine of philosophy or religious principles can progressively advance. There should be complete cooperation between the brahmanas and the kshatriyas for this common good…Lord Buddha was sufficiently supported by King Asoka, and thus his particular cult of knowledge was spread all over the world.”

— SB 1.17.45 pur

Further reading: ‘Eight Principles of Prosperity’, “Carry on the Care Legacy”, p.66

As Swamiji begins work on the last six chapters of Bhagavad-gita, he tells me that I can now start editing it. “Edit for force and clarity,” he says. “We want this Bhagavad-gita acceptable for publication, and grammatical precision is important. It must be acceptable to the academic community also, and since you have experience in that field, you know best how to put it nicely. Whenever there is some question about meaning, you can consult me.”

— Hayagriva Das, ‘The Hare Krishna Explosion’

“Maharaja Prithu’s speech was also very glorious in all respects. His words, which were nicely composed in highly metaphorical ornamental language, were pleasing to hear and were not only mellow but also very clearly understandable and without doubt or ambiguity.”

— SB 4.21.20

“… As an organisation, we could be doing a little better. We may well have those selfless, caring devotees in different places around the world, but what about the structure and policies of ISKCON? Do they reflect the values of an organisation that cares for its members?”

— Kripamoya Das, DC Journal #2, p.4

Further reading: Section H, quote 19

“It is not easy to secure people’s happiness. You must use diverse methods, skills, cleverness, and truth. All these are important.”

— Bhishmadeva, Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva

Further reading: Section H, quote 12

“It is the duty of a responsible king to protect the social and spiritual orders in human society.”

— SB 3.21.52-54 pur

Further reading: Section H, quote 3, 12

If married men think: “I must not give any of my money, which I consider reserved for Krishna, to the poor and deprived”, then they are really showing symptoms of wretchedness, cruelty, and lack of compassion for others. They should not consider that giving charity to the poor is a fruitive activity. This kind of mentality will make their hearts hard and they will suffer from greed.

— Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, conversation at Armadale, Darjeeling, 14 June 1935

‘Just like in our ISKCON there are so many false things: “Prabhupada said this, Prabhupada said that”.’

— SP Letter to Krishna das, Vrindavana, 07/11/1972

“But the Westerners are very expert in misinterpreting even their own Bible. We say that if you interpret any shastra, whether the Bible or Bhagavad-gita, then it is no longer shastra, but simply your plaything.”

— Srila Prabhupada, Morning Walk Conversation, 02/04/1973

“Arjuna was also crying out of compassion…not due to weakness but to his softheartedness, a characteristic of a pure devotee of the Lord”

— BG 2.28 pur

“His famous bow Gandiva was slipping from his hands, and, because his heart was burning within him, he was feeling a burning sensation of the skin. All these are due to a material conception of life.”

— BG 2.29 pur

“Birth in a family of yogis or transcendentalists—those with great wisdom—is praised herein because the child born in such a family receives a spiritual impetus from the very beginning of his life. It is especially the case in the acharya or goswami families. Such families are very learned and devoted by tradition and training, and thus they become spiritual masters. In India there are many such acharya families, but they have now degenerated due to insufficient education and training.”

— BG 6.42 pur

Shrila Prabhupada: So long as you are in the material world, you cannot neglect physical laws. Suppose you go to a jungle and there is a tiger. It is known that it will attack you, so why should you voluntarily go and be attacked? It is not that a devotee should take physical risk so long as he has a physical body. It is not a challenge to the physical laws: “I have become a devotee. I challenge everything.” That is foolishness.

— PQPA, Ch. 6

“To work hard for Krishna for two days – and then to recuperate for three days – that is not a very good proposal.”

— Srila Prabhupada quoted by Giriraja Swami, ‘Devotee Care: Carry on the Legacy’, p.3

“While ISKCON is a society founded on spiritual truth, we are not exempt from material influences that plague other institutions.”

— Radha dd, Fundamental Human Rights in ISKCON, ISKCON Communications Journal, 6.2, 1998, pp. 7-14

Then Radhanatha Maharaja told me about a person in Dallas who had been coming to the temple for 20 years. When the devotee asked him what kept him from making a firm commitment he said, ‘I have seen how you treat guests…I’ve also seen how you treat your members. I’d rather remain a permanent guest.’

— Sacinandana Swami, DC Journal, ‘Caring Leadership’, p.14

“So now the factual administration will depend on the Governing Body Commission… So kindly execute the missionary activities very carefully with … patience…and above all keeping oneself in the society of pure devotees.”

— Srila Prabhupada Letter to Bali Mardan, Tokyo, 16/08/1970

“The introduction of any new cultural movement must be expected to at times be difficult.”

— Pusta Krishna Das, letter to Back to Godhead Magazine #26-02, 1992

“The following eighteen characteristics have been defined as maha-dosha, great faults: … and [finally] complete dependence on others.”

— Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Jaiva Dharma, Chapter 26

“A devotee must be very responsible. He must act in such a way that nobody can blame him. Otherwise everyone say, ‘What kind of devotee he is?’ So this is the duty. They should be very cautious.”

“In any case, a temple should not be a place to eat and sleep. A temple manager should be very careful about these things.”

— CC Madhya 24.266

“If the leaders of our movement don’t receive such ongoing nourishment, then their spiritual advancement will be choked and becomes stagnant. As a result, there will be attachment to power, position, money and control. There will be conflicts and disturbances on various levels of leadership, and there will be a lack of spiritual care for those serving under the guidance.”

— Devaki dd, Watering the Root of the Tree of Care, in ‘Carry on the Care Legacy’, pp. 24-27

“Persons who observe everything with differentiation, who are…attached to fruitive activities, who are mean minded, who are always pained to see the flourishing condition of others and who thus give distress to them by uttering harsh and piercing words, have already been killed by providence.”

— SB 4.6.47 pur