Kirtan Standards Paper, Kirtan Standards Committee by ISKCON GBC (The Church of Krishna Chaitanya)

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STATUS: 2022 DECEMBER The Kirtan Standards Committee (KSC) was established by the GBC to formulate clear standards and guidelines for kirtan within IS
[See the full post at: Kirtan Standards Paper, Kirtan Standards Committee by ISKCON GBC (The Church of Krishna Chaitanya)]

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ISKCON Ministry of Communications (The Church of Krishna Chaitanya)

Minister – Anuttama Dasa  (DEC 2022)

The Office of Communications for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) works to create and sustain favorable environments for advancing the goals of the Krishna consciousness movement by establishing and maintaining confidence and faith in the integrity of the movement’s members and its mission. As such we are committed to helping ISKCON be a respected and influential religious organization all over the world.

In essence, ISKCON Communications builds bridges between ISKCON as an organization (and sometimes the Vaishnava faith as a tradition) and key audiences. These audiences include the media, academia, government officials and NGOs, interfaith groups, the broader Hindu community, and – perhaps most importantly – our internal audience of Hare Krishna devotees, practitioners and congregational supporters.

Some of our work with the media includes the sending out of media releases (subjects will range from ISKCON events, such as a Ratha Yatra parade, to ISKCON’s response to issues of concern in the world), consultation with reporters and producers who are interested in better covering ISKCON or related topics, creating resource materials such as the ISKCON media kit, and occasionally responding to misleading, erroneous, or biased portrayals in the media.

We help the academic community by providing them with case studies to explore and write about, and by offering the practitioner’s view to  their study of the faith.  We attend academic conferences and provide guest speakers in University classes.  In addition, we help to connect others (such as the media) with scholars who are experts on the Hare Krishna movement and the Chaitanya Vaishnava tradition in which it is rooted.

ISKCON’s Office of Communications also works with government officials (on local, regional, national and international levels) to help them better serve the needs of a religiously diverse world. We also seek to ensure that ISKCON’s activities are harmonious with government policy, and that government policy is being exercised in a fair, neutral and even-handed manner.

We also work with representatives from other faith traditions, as well as organizations that represent other Hindu sampradayas, in a spirit of mutual cooperation to further shared concerns and learn from one another’s practice.  We sponsor and take part in dialogues, and help to involve ISKCON in faith-based service projects with other faith organizations. ISKCON Communications is also involved in a formal way with several umbrella interfaith and Hindu collectives.

Finally, we help to bridge individual ISKCON members with one another, with the leadership of ISKCON and with the general society.  We maintain the organization’s news site, sponsor gatherings and conferences, and undertake projects and initiatives to empower our members to better represent the ideals of ISKCON and its Founder-Acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

One of the core tenets of the Vaishnava faith is that one should utilize whatever is favorable for devotional service (bhakti) to Krishna. Thus, devotees may use modern technologies, practices, and skills – but because they do so to serve God, these seemingly “material” devices become spiritualized. Communications and marketing activities are neither good nor bad; it depends on the purpose for which one uses them. They can be used to manipulate people’s desires and egos to increase greed and envy, leading to a more materialistic world.  However, they can also be used in the Lord’s service, to help people understand and appreciate the significance and relevance of spiritual life.

The effective use of communications has helped the public to become more aware of and informed about ISKCON’s contributions to the wider society. It has helped to counter the misinformation and stereotype that minority faith traditions sometimes face, and has enabled us to bring ISKCON’s valuable theological and philosophical outlook to diverse dialogues and forums.  Perhaps most importantly, effective communications allows us to serve as a mirror to ISKCON to demonstrate to the organization what the perception of our faith is in the world, what the needs and interests of the world around us are, and how we can take concrete proactive steps to become the type of meaningful, relevant service organization that we have the potential to be.

ISKCON Principles

We believe that in order to fulfill our mission – to help ISKCON be a respected and influential religious organization all over the world – we must adhere to the following principles and values. These principles represent the spiritual foundation upon which we base our communication.

• Consistency with Srila Prabhupada’s teaching and example
• Appropriate consideration of time, place, and circumstance
• Pro-activity
• Building interdependent relationships
• Maintaining exemplary character and behavior

Source: ISKCON (GBC)

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