Hare Krishna and Hari Bol
We all have only one Maha Mantra! Where is the scope of improvisation? The question is not clear. Who has to pay for course/seminar, organizers or the participants? Where from and why at all shall the particiants come?

Japa Workshop

Becoming Friends with the Holy Name

* Discover where your chanting needs most improvement;
* Develop positive japa habits that will stay with you for life;
* Gain greater insights into Lord Caitanya's Siksastaka prayers, and see how to apply them in your life;
* Increase your faith in the Holy Name;
* Taste the nectar of the Holy Name in new ways;
* Become inspired to make japa a top priority in your life;
* And much more.

MAHA MANTRA WASHES WHITER!

http://bhagavatlife.com

PS.The participants:from the deep ocean of blooped devotees after departure of gurus with female[or male] disciples!

Hare Krishna and Hari Bol
I fully agree with the OBJECTIVES as stated by Prabhu Govindas108 for the seminar/workshop for Japa Mantra. We have highly skilled and experienced devotees among us, who can be the tutors for the workshop. Let the duration initially be only two hours and the workshop can be on a very modest payment. Can we organize this on Sunday feast days? We can have a good no of participants on this day as mostly members come and attend Sunday pravachans. But before this the concerned Brahmacharies shall have to be trained for the itinerary of the workshop.

govindas108:

Some devotees are making a business out of the Maha Mantra,which imho is not bonafide!

Seems to me they are paying for the facility of the retreat centre. Crazy world.

In regards to having a japa retreat, great idea. Get away from responsibilities and simply focus for a weekend, and try and improve your chanting. Nothing wrong with that.

dave:

[quote]

govindas108:

Some devotees are making a business out of the Maha Mantra,which imho is not bonafide!

Seems to me they are paying for the facility of the retreat centre. Crazy world.

In regards to having a japa retreat, great idea. Get away from responsibilities and simply focus for a weekend, and try and improve your chanting. Nothing wrong with that.[/quote]

Price:$290 for couple...guarantee money back!

brahminical is let people know you accept donations but no fixed fees charging
brahmanas do not charge they accept whatever is given even service or gift
try this way depending totally on Krishna and you will see the magic

best is volontary small monthly membership program to support temple/preaching center. This way you do not have to 'charge' for your service and you can keep your brahminical approach.

Charging fixed fees rather than living on the Lord's mercy shows a materialistic mentality. With such a mentality, one cannot be qualified to teach anything from our philosophy, including the practice of the maha mantra. Hence the only result will be that one's chanting will be comtaminated, not enhanced, by taking instruction from a deviating materially motivated so-called devotee.

Probably it is not as light and normal as some want to be and not as dramatic as others explain.
Just that the mode of goodness platform has some characteristics and the mode of passion other.
And mode of goodness is the absolute minimum wherefrom one can advance in KC.
Passion tinged programs will bear passion effects. Like I was hearing about the japa retreats that people do "well" in the retreat and then return to their life to the same, wanting more retreats... clearly mode of passion motivated and no substantial advancement.

here you go another course, "only" $199 http://www.krishna.com/ecourse
I would understand a small monthly fee like $10 subscription as long as you are enrolled and willing, but this is going out the board of a brahminical approach imho

Deena: I think that refers to books. With that I agree.
There ere are hundreds of examples of the contrary, like the Holy Name should be taught free of charge.
Problem is real brahmanas teaching liberally and depending on the Lord are scarce and being replaced by vaishya devotees trying to squeeze a few dimes from the basic teachings copying (unsuccessfully) new age venues. to make a living.

Here is an interesting looking seminar on prasad distribution.

http://www.dandavats.com/?p=7742

Some interesting specifics in the seminar advertisement: "Only devotees who are actually going to cook and distribute prasad may
apply. No managers please. There is no charge for the course. Knowledge cannot be bought."

The problem of ungrateful people exists, but that should not change the principles the brahmana lives with in sattva and give the needed shakti, depending on whatever arrangement the Lord sends (except any type of salary or fixed fees, thus becoming an employee).

For me, those principles still hold in the real modern world. I am practicing them, but then again you cannot expect becoming rich or well off with that kind of approach. A brahmana doesn´t care about that anyway.

The incredible amount of effort and planning that has gone into ISKCON's guru school cannot be overstated. A list of the ISKCON stalwarts who have combined their spiritual shaktis for this effort is given -- Radhanatha Swami, Jayapataka Swami, Bhakti Charu Swami, Prahladananda Swami, Ananda Vrindavanesvari dasi, Rukmini dasi, Ravindra Svarupa dasa, Braja Bihari dasa, Rasamandala dasa and others -- and by ISKCON standards, these must be the most qualified persons in "the entire world", albeit "the ISKCON world".

The vision for this institution, clearly an afterthought that has taken these concoctors over thirty years to conceive of, reveals to us the organizational approach to dealing with the inconsistencies that were manifest as a result of earlier deviations from their Guru's personal instruction on these matters.

When the bone is thrown on the floor before all the candidates for guruhood, it is known that only the real dogs will flinch. Having flinched (or other types of falldowns) in the past is still not a disqualification for admittance to this wonderful school ,as it has been seen that even past flinchers have reclaimed those lofty perches blamed for their original falldown. Simply the friendship of those currently occupying such posts is sufficient for reinstatement, and, as in all ISKCON cases to date, return of the funds you took on your departure is not even required. Who knew that the demand for "gurus" was that great?

These "facilitators" have decided that twice yearly classes will accommodate both those needing an ongoing supply of "in good standing" gurus, as well as to "accommodate the growing interest and demand" by those in or considering entering the guru business. By failing to distinguish between siksa and diksa gurus, only general instructions pertinent to both classes need be discussed, thereby instantiating their foregone conclusion that each of these assuming the diksa role was qualified to do so at the time their names were brought forward. As an "all knowing bona fide, pure devotee link with The Absolute Truth", surely they were aware of their eternal relationship with their multitudes of disciples (hence their "eternal" relationships) even though they have not yet happened, just as Srila Prabhupada was familiarized with the ashram /temple scheme that KRSNA had set for his future, even as early as His first days on arriving in New York.

Subordination to your teacher, long the test of the validity of the Vaisnava sampradayas, is not clearly explained, neither is there any mention of the "superiority" of any of these "parallel lines of authority", because clearly by accepting these conditions, one admits that their knowledge is not yet complete, as one might have assumed that it would be were they in a bona fide "representative" arrangement with The Absolute Truth. Neither is the subject of guru dakshina discussed, nor the cost of the instruction, nor the acceptable rates to charge disciples in various countries at the current time. Surely a guru regulatory agency is somewhere in the future plans.

Various concerned parties have suggested prior to enrollment, these prospective guru school candidates might want to talk to some "alumni" of other ISKCON schools, as one might with any bona fide institution of higher knowledge, and see how it's former alumni have fared. We are uncertain if this proposal has all the ISKCON support that it might need in order to be widely advocated, but it must certainly not be dismissed as "just a thought", because these matters are highly relevant to the direction the movement is taking these days -- at least the portion of "the movement" that is currently affected by ISKCON's leaders.

Any GBC mandate to change the direction of the movement, as after the Zonal period, must be predicated on the assumptions that although previous errors were made, somehow or other, now everything is correct, and the repeated failure to find this confident situation, more than the allure of materialism, has led many of those former ashram dwellers to modify their life's behavior and in many cases, to leave the day to day association of the other ashram dwellers.

Very nice sentment mishra prabhu....actual qualified brahmana are indeed rare...charging for classes i find this awfully mundane

"Prabhupada had personal bank accounts thus it is fine to have one."

jaya!

“No, they are not brahmanas. Those who give education in exchange for money—they are not brahmanas. For instance, we are lecturing, educating people. We don’t say, “Give us a salary.”..We are not asking money—”First of all pay the fee; then you can come and learn Bhagavad-gita.” We never say that...That is dog’s business.”
(Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, April 28th, 1977)

It costs money to fly Sacinandana Swami , Mahatma prabhu and others around to organize these workshops

.It also costs to rent the retreat center facilities, cover the etra prasadam, etc...

If you try to do this workshop in the temple , Ive seen it done , by Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Maharaja in Montreal, so it seems to be doable on ISKCON property , but others prefer to have it done off the property, so you need to pay more for that.

Donations are great, as long as they end up covering the cost of the expenses.