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of the Final Report
Prabhupada Centennial Survey:

A Summary of the Final Report
E. Burke Rochford, Jr. Print this page
Introduction
During the 1992 Mayapur meetings ISKCON’s GBC (Governing Body

SECTION GUIDE Commission) established the ISKCON Global Ministry for the Centennial
· Issues On-line Celebration to plan and coordinate activities for Prabhupada's centennial in
· Journal Information 1996. The following year the GBC passed a resolution to conduct a
· Subscribe to ICJ worldwide survey of ISKCON's membership. As stated in the resolution,
· ICJ Home the survey was intended to provide one basis for building a stronger and
· Home more unified movement.
That the Centennial Ministry organise a global survey or audit

of devotees living both within ISKCON communities and
outside as well as those who have left the full-time practice of
Krsna consciousness, in order to help understand the steps that
can be taken to develop a strong and united ISKCON.
(From Project Unity: Uniting Prabhupada's Family and

Strengthening ISKCON)
In the end, 1,996 devotees from 53 countries took part in the survey. As one
might expect, the survey was more enthusiastically supported in some parts
of the ISKCON world than others. Overall, however, the Prabhupada
Centennial Survey proved a remarkable success. The survey was a massive
undertaking requiring the cooperation of many many devotees around the
world.
This paper provides a summary of the major findings and recommendations

from the Prabhupada Centennial Survey Report submitted to the GBC in
November, 1998. For readers interested in reading the report in its entirety it
can be located on both the "Vaisnava News Network" (VNN.org) and
"Chakra" (Chakra.org) websites.
There were of course many topics that might have been considered in the
report. In the end I chose four. I have done so because these issues were
identified by survey respondents as significant concerns or "problem" areas
across regions of the ISKCON world. Moreover, my own research has
likewise revealed their importance to ISKCON's development over the past
10-15 years. The four topics considered were: (1) Family, women, and
children; (2) Economic development and employment; (3) Leadership and
governance; and, (4) Factors influencing devotees’ commitments to
ISKCON. It should be clear that each of these in various ways, directly and
indirectly, fit within the overarching framework of social development and
the ongoing project of building an alternative social order capable of
supporting a Krsna conscious lifestyle.
Before discussing the four substantive issues identified above, I will first
provide the reader with some background information concerning the
Prabhupada Centennial Survey.
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Purposes and Goals
The Prabhupada Centennial Survey was meant to provide leaders — GBC

and Temple Presidents — and devotees in general, with a comprehensive
understanding of the movement's worldwide membership. This information
promises to have a number of practical uses.
1. Accurate information on the movement's membership can help guide

the GBC and other leaders as they seek to formulate local, regional,
and worldwide strategies and policies to shape the movement's future
(e.g., economic development, preaching, education, involvement of
congregational members).
2. Given the diversity among devotees both between and within
countries, the survey allows for identifying the concerns and issues
that affect various constituencies of the movement's membership.
3. By identifying those issues and concerns that most influence the
spiritual and everyday lives of devotees, the survey's findings will
help leaders to focus their collective attention on concerns most vital
to the movement's present and future development. Too often, those
holding strong views have been able to create or diffuse issues
because leaders and others lack a comprehensive understanding of the
movement's rank and file membership. The Prabhupada Centennial
Survey affords an opportunity to gain an accounting of the views,
attitudes, and life circumstances of devotees in and outside of
institutional ISKCON.
4. The survey serves an important symbolic purpose. The very act of
conducting the survey communicates to all devotees that ISKCON's
leadership is willing to engage the serious issues that confront the
movement. The survey conveys that leaders are genuinely concerned
with the health of Prabhupada's movement.
The findings presented in the report demand discussion and debate. Without
it there can be little basis for constructive change and progress toward
realising the potential of Prabhupada's movement for his many followers
worldwide. I am pleased to say that these discussions are already well
underway as suggested by recent Social Development Conferences,
Women's Conferences, and the creation of GBC Ministries addressing social
development, grhastha life, women, and youth. All of these efforts have
sought in various ways to address aspects of ISKCON's social and cultural
development. Of equal importance of course have been the many ongoing
discussions among devotees about the state of the movement and how to
bring about a greater sense of balance and harmony between their spiritual
beliefs and practices, and other aspects of daily life. The issues that have
emerged raise serious questions about the state of Prabhupada's movement,
as indicated by a report released in 1998 from the ISKCON Commission for
Social Development. The report begins with the following observations:
As the GBC concluded at its 1996 special meeting in

Abentheur, "ISKCON’s house is on fire." The movement faces
serious social problems. Devotees are dissatisfied, confused
about their responsibilities and hampered in achieving their full
potentials. Everyone is suffering, leaders as well as rank-and-
file. Women, children and cows are unprotected and abused.
Many who for years dedicated themselves to preaching and
devotional service are now outsiders. Others are "hanging on"
with diminishing hope of finding a secure, decent life in
ISKCON. Others who should be free to be models of

renunciation and spiritual leadership are perceived to be
entangled with money and power.
(Social Development Report, ISKCON Commission For Social

Development February 1998)
Issues and Questions
The initial step undertaken was to gain a preliminary sampling of the views
and insights of devotees from various parts of the world. This included
identifying issues of concern for all devotees; grand disciples, uninitiated
devotees, as well as disciples of Srila Prabhupada. Advice was sought from
committed ISKCON followers as well as from more marginal devotees and
even those estranged from ISKCON. Formal and informal discussions also
took place with various members of the GBC and other ISKCON leaders.
Issues addressed on the survey were identified primarily through working

groups of devotees from various parts of the world. Groups in North
America, Western Europe, and India contributed detailed suggestions and
even specific questions to include on the final questionnaire. Individual
devotees also wrote to me directly offering their ideas. In addition, a group
comprised of myself and eight devotees reworked a preliminary draft of the
questionnaire at the Mayapur meetings in 1994. The questionnaire was
subsequently revised still further, given the suggestions made by members
of the GBC subcommittee for the Prabhupada Centennial Survey.
The following issues were identified by devotees as potential areas of

inquiry for the Prabhupada Centennial Survey.
ISKCON's priorities for preaching

The role of ISKCON's gurus
New devotee relationships with Srila Prabhupada
Family life
The role of women in the movement
How to be responsive to the spiritual needs of congregational
members
The need for varnasrama in ISKCON
The authority system and managerial role of the GBC
The rights of devotees and the system of justice
How to build and maintain a system of education
Relations with non-ISKCON Vaisnavas including the Gaudiya Math,
Sridar Swami's followers, New Vrindaban's followers
These and other areas of inquiry were addressed in the Prabhupada

Centennial Survey. The full range of topics and issues can best be discerned
by reviewing the questionnaire itself (see Appendix 1 in the final report). I
think it important to note that approximately 80% of the questions
appearing on the final Centennial questionnaire were based on questions
submitted by devotees in and outside of ISKCON.
The final questionnaire was translated into eight languages (Spanish,

Portuguese, French, Russian, Polish, Italian, German, Czech). Translations
of the questionnaire were completed either by native-speaking ISKCON
devotees, or by language teachers at Middlebury College. The latter
translations were checked by ISKCON members who spoke the language to
be certain that translations were accurate and reflected devotee ways of

speaking.
Sample and Sampling Procedures
Perhaps the most important yet most difficult part of the Prabhupada
Centennial Survey was distributing the questionnaires throughout
ISKCON's worldwide community. This proved a massive and at times
difficult undertaking, requiring the good will and practical assistance of
many devotees.
Distribution and sampling guidelines were provided to Temple Presidents

and/or designated survey representatives along with a copy (or copies) of
the questionnaire itself. Copies of each document were mailed to all of
ISKCON's communities and preaching centres worldwide. The actual
sampling and distribution guidelines are included in Appendix 2 of the
complete report.
Despite efforts to ensure a degree of rigor in the sampling process, the

results were uneven at best. Some communities did follow the guidelines
carefully; others simply asked everyone in the community to complete the
questionnaire; some only distributed the questionnaire to temple devotees;
and, some communities failed to distribute the questionnaire at all. Given
this pattern of distribution and the resulting sample, a few words about
representativeness seem appropriate.
The data collected from the Prabhupada Centennial Survey can not be
considered representative of the total ISKCON membership. Neither can the
findings from a particular region or country be considered representative.
Despite efforts to ensure a more or less representative sample, the final
sample is not a probability sample. A basic principle of probability
sampling is that "a sample will be representative of the population [in this
case ISKCON's worldwide membership] if all members of the population
have an equal chance of being selected in the sample" (Babbie 1998:200).
Obviously this did not happen here for a number of reasons. Many ISKCON
communities don't have accurate lists of their members. Moreover, the scale
of the Prabhupada Centennial Survey hardly allowed for careful and precise
sampling techniques. But even carefully selected samples are often less than
perfectly representative. It is also fair to say that most surveys done in the
social sciences are based upon less than representative samples. I don’t raise
these issues here in order to dismiss the data and findings from the
Prabhupada Centennial Survey, for the fact is that the information gathered
is the most comprehensive ever collected on ISKCON or, for that matter,
any worldwide religious organisation that I am aware of. However, it is
important that the reader view the findings presented here as reasonable
estimates, rather than precise figures.
Data and Data Processing
After collecting the nearly 2,000 completed questionnaires the data had to
be entered onto the computer before analysis could begin. This task took
many hundreds of hours of work and proved costly. The questionnaire was
over 20 pages in length with over 300 variables having numerical
information. There were also several open-ended questions where devotees
wrote out answers to questions. Students from Middlebury College were
paid to enter the data on the computer. This took one year to complete.(1)
Units of Analysis
The units of analysis for the report were: (1) Types of devotees, or ISKCON
members (i.e., full-time ISKCON members, congregational members,
former ISKCON devotees). As one might reasonably expect, the views,
commitment, involvement, etc. of the three devotee groups varied on some,
if not many issues. Where appropriate, I have given emphasis to these
differences in the analyses presented in the report; and, (2) Region of the
world (i.e., North America, Northern and Western Europe, Eastern Europe
and the CIS, Latin America, Australasia, Africa, and Asia). Countries were
placed into regions using the classification in "Centres Around the World"
as found in Back To Godhead Magazine. I had expected to treat India as a
separate region but the limited number of respondents did not warrant doing
so. Table 1 reports on the number of respondents by country for each of the
seven regions.
TABLE 1
Number of returned centennial questionnaires
by country and region
North America
Canada 190
USA 404
Total 594
Northern & Western Europe
N. Ireland 18
Ireland 18
England 131
Germany 27
Italy 66
Sweden 8
Switzerland 50
Austria 18
Holland 6
Belgium 9
Spain 28
Portugal 15
Denmark 25
Finland 12
Norway 4
France 45
Total 480
Eastern Europe and CIS
Russia 61
Latvia 14
Czech Republic 45
Lithuania 24
Croatia 1
Poland 150
Slovenia 6
Bulgaria 4
Ukraine 56
Yugoslavia 3
Total 364
Latin America
Argentina 77
Peru 46
Mexico 2
Brazil 37
Uruguay 18
Paraguay 1
El Salvador 7
Colombia 13
Nicaragua 10
Guatemala 2
Ecuador 10
Bolivia 1
Trinidad, W, Indies 21
Total 245
Australasia
Australia 54
New Zealand 26
Fiji 1
Total 81
Africa
South Africa 75
Nigeria 4
Mauritius 2
Kenya 1
Total 82
Asia
Thailand 3
Hong Kong 14
Nepal 2
India 114
Total 133
Other
Iran 1
Missing Data 16
Total Number Collected Worldwide 1,996
Summary of Major Findings
The following represents a summary of the major findings presented in the

Prabhupada Centennial Report. Interested readers should consult the final
report for a detailed presentation of the findings — including both
qualitative and statistical data.
There is a striking lack of trust between ISKCON members and the

movement's leadership, as well as between devotees themselves.
Survey respondents across regions expressed the view that there is a
lack of honest and open communication between devotees; that
impersonalism has been allowed to dominate devotee relations in
place of friendship, respect, and caring. The findings presented also
demonstrate that a lack of authority (and a related lack of trust)
attributed to the gurus and/or the GBC institution has had major
consequences for devotees' commitments to ISKCON (full-time,
congregational, and former ISKCON members alike).
Many devotee respondents expressed the view that ISKCON suffers

from poor management and that leaders are not always responsive to
those they serve. There is reason to suspect that this only breeds
mistrust and a sense that local as well as regional leaders are out of
touch with the needs and lives of the average member.
A set of concerns expressed by devotees worldwide falls under the

general heading of social development. As the data demonstrate
conclusively, the nuclear family has effectively displaced
communalism as the movement's foundational structure of social
organisation in most parts of the world. Even in the newly formed
ISKCON communities in Eastern Europe and the CIS, a sizeable
percentage of householders are living and working outside the
movement's communities. By favouring a renunciate-sectarian model
organisationally in the face of an expanding grhastha asrama,
ISKCON has generally failed to integrate families and family life into
its communities. Until recent discussions of "social development,"
ISKCON has done little toward building an internal domestic culture
capable of supporting householders and their children. Two elements
of social development were given special attention by survey
respondents:
(a) The lack of employment opportunities within

ISKCON. As the findings demonstrate, a large portion of
ISKCON's worldwide membership is working in
conventional jobs. As sankirtana has become (and
becomes) less of a source of revenue for ISKCON's
communities, devotees have been forced to seek
employment in the outside labour market. This has
primarily affected householders. The result is that
devotees working in non-devotee work environments are
less involved in and committed to their religious beliefs
and practices, and to ISKCON as a religious
organisation. Of telling significance is that 80% of the
respondents working outside of ISKCON say they would
work within the movement, if employment was available
allowing them to support themselves and/or their
families.
The survey findings give further support to ongoing
discussions concerning the urgency of developing
varnasrama within ISKCON. Although varnasrama

appears to mean different things to different devotees it
nonetheless remains clear that there is a pervasive belief
that something must be done to ensure that ISKCON
members have the opportunity to work together, rather
than in non-devotee jobs.
(b) Inadequate educational alternatives within ISKCON.

Findings from the survey suggest that children, like their
parents, are spending a good portion of their daily lives
associating with non-devotees while attending schools
outside of ISKCON's communities. As the evidence
presented suggests, parents report that their children
often grow up having few commitments to ISKCON and,
more often than not, remain more or less uninvolved in
the practice of sadhana-bhakti. While such a finding is
hardly unusual, as many young people become estranged
from their religious faith in adolescence, it still raises
questions about ISKCON's future given the paucity of
new adult recruits to the movement in at least some parts
of the world. In the case of young devotee children who
attend public/state-supported schools there is another
force at work which differs from the average non-devotee
young person who withdraws from his or her faith during
adolescence. As I have shown elsewhere (Rochford
1999), attending public/state-supported schools for
devotee youths tends to erode their collective identity as
ISKCON members; although many hold to their identity
as devotees of Krsna. In seeking social acceptance from
their new non-devotee peers, devotee young people have
essentially felt the need to subvert their ISKCON identity
to avoid the stigma attached to being a Hare Krsna.
Without adequate schools to train ISKCON's children spiritually and

academically one can only expect that more and more parents will choose to
educate their children outside the movement. While most survey
respondents suggest a preference for asrama-based gurukulas one wonders
if such a view continues to hold given recent revelations about child abuse
within the asramas during the 1970s and 1980s (See Bharata Shrestha Dasa
1998; Rochford 1998a). It may be that the asrama-based schools are seen as
a viable alternative because some parents express general dissatisfaction
with the spiritual and academic training provided by their local ISKCON
community day-school. Also, of course, Prabhupada established these
schools with the spiritual interests of the children in mind.
Both women and men recognise that (mis)treatment of women within

the movement over the years has negatively affected women's sense
of self-esteem and limited their ability to make spiritual progress.
Most also agreed that the climate toward women within ISKCON has
improved in recent years. Men and women supported the idea that
women's roles should be expanded within ISKCON and that women,
being the spiritual equals of men, should have the same opportunities
for devotional service where performance, not gender, is the
determining criteria. As was true during the early days of the
movement (see Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi 1997) respondents tended to
agree (with some gender variations) that men and women should
worship on different sides of the temple (rather than women at the

back), chant japa collectively in the temple (slightly less than a
majority of men support this idea), that women should be able to lead
public kirtanas in the temple, give classes, and serve as Temple
Presidents when qualified. Fewer men and women supported the idea
of women serving as gurus.
Of critical importance to the stability of ISKCON has been the

erosion of traditional religious authority in the face of scandal and
controversy involving ISKCON's gurus and sannyasis (see Rochford
1985,1998b; Tamal Krsna Goswami 1997). These very scandals have
served to promote ritvik ideas, both within ISKCON's communities
and among dissidents outside ISKCON's ranks. But even among
devotees who reject the ritvik philosophy there still has been an effort
to further elevate Prabhupada as the primary source of religious
authority within ISKCON. In sum, the authority of the present gurus
has been openly questioned and Srila Prabhupada has become the
source of legitimate religious authority within ISKCON and the
broader movement.
Because of continuing scandal involving gurus, survey respondents

expressed a desire to place strong bureaucratic controls on
qualifications for becoming an ISKCON guru, and on the behavior
and lifestyle of the gurus. Many respondents offered the view that the
reform movement of the mid-1980s did not go far enough in placing
adequate controls on the independent authority and power of
ISKCON's gurus.
Related to the demise of religious authority has been the apparent

decline of GBC authority among some portions of ISKCON's
membership. Many congregational members for example expressed
the belief that they have been left with little input in how ISKCON is
governed. As a result many felt that the GBC had little real relevance
to their lives as devotees. This is perhaps most pronounced in the area
of the GBC's failure to address the needs of householders and their
children. A sizeable percentage of ISKCON's congregational
members believed that a representational form of government would
help broaden the variety of viewpoints found on the GBC. Full-time
members, congregational members and former ISKCON devotees
alike expressed the view that the GBC had not gone far enough in its
efforts to control the gurus and the guru institution.
As the statistical analyses presented in the report demonstrate, member

commitment to ISKCON is most influenced by views about the GBC and
ISKCON's gurus (among a number of other variables, see Tables 12-14 in
the report). For full-time members the authority placed in the GBC had a
strong influence on ISKCON commitment. Those full-time respondents
who viewed the GBC favorably (having a high level of authority) were also
most likely to be highly committed to ISKCON. Conversely, those who saw
the GBC as having little authority were more likely to have less
commitment to ISKCON. Interestingly, guru authority was not a significant
predictor of ISKCON commitment for initiated full-time ISKCON
members. For congregational members the authority of the GBC had a
significant influence on commitment to ISKCON; yet the strongest
influence for initiated congregational members was the authority of the
gurus. The pattern among former ISKCON members parallels the findings
for full-time members. The authority of the GBC had by far the greatest
influence on ISKCON commitment with the authority of the gurus having
no significant effect.
Recommendations
The findings presented in the report document the ongoing change of

ISKCON as a religious organisation. It points to the existing and building
tensions between a monastic, high commitment, and communal form of
social organisation and one characterised by independent householders
whose religious and organisational commitments are often less intense and
whose involvements are more irregular and segmental. These findings are
compatible with other studies of ISKCON in North America (Rochford
1995b, 1997) and in Western and Eastern Europe (Rochford 1995a,
forthcoming). With the decline of communalism many devotees —
especially householders and their children — spend much of their everyday
lives within mainstream cultures, either working outside jobs and/or
attending state-supported or other non-ISKCON schools. As devotees have
moved outside the movement's communal structure to establish independent
households, ISKCON has lost its previous control over the lives and
behavior of its membership (Rochford 1995b). Communal control has been
vastly reduced and individual devotees freely make choices about how they
wish to live their lives and raise their children. ISKCON, as this implies,
can be characterised as an increasingly pluralistic movement comprised of
members with strikingly different commitments and levels of involvement.
Given this pattern of change the question of paramount importance is how
will ISKCON go about the task of integrating this increasingly diverse
congregation into its communities? Perhaps more to the point, is it the
position of the leadership that families should be, in fact, more fully
integrated into ISKCON and its communities? But this question raises a
broader one that I think must be answered by leaders and anyone else who
claims either membership in ISKCON, or to be a follower of Prabhupada.
What is your image of what ISKCON should be. What should it aspire to in
the future? Is the ideal ISKCON you hold in your mind's eye tied largely to
the movement's past; communities of devotees living communally, members
dedicated first and foremost to missionary activity, a membership with high
levels of commitment to and involvement in ISKCON and Krsna
consciousness, sannyasis with considerable political as well as spiritual
authority and power? Or, is your image of ISKCON one that more reflects
ISKCON as we see it today in the West, and increasingly in other parts of
the world; a congregation of people holding varying levels of commitment
to ISKCON and their Krsna conscious beliefs and practices, where
members are as much or more involved in the conventional world as with
ISKCON?
I raise these questions only because the meaning that readers give to the
findings presented in the report relate directly to their visions of ISKCON
and what Prabhupada's movement "should be." Just as obviously, any
person's recommendations about what must be done to make ISKCON a
better instrument for Prabhupada's movement will also be derived from
these at least somewhat idiosyncratic images. To someone committed to a
life of renunciation, preaching, and communalism, ongoing changes in the
direction of pluralism and congregationalism can only been seen as trends
that lead ISKCON away from its true purposes. For others, these very same
changes reflect the building strength of the movement because it is
increasingly reaching into conventional societies in more diverse and

perhaps influential ways.
As a sociologist, my own images of ISKCON are seen through lenses

shaped by theory and research in the sociology of religion. I assume that
change is an inevitable part of the development of any religious organisation
or community; though, it is true, that some groups have remained far more
resistant to change than others. Yet there is a clear tendency in the social
science of religion to attend to the social forces that push religious groups
and movements in the direction of secularisation (accommodation to the
conventional secular culture and its values and way of life). I believe, for
example, that the inability to integrate family life within ISKCON's
communities has been a (if not the) major force giving rise to growing
congregationalism (Rochford 1995a, 1995b, 1997). The widespread concern
throughout the movement today with issues of social development suggests
that many devotees share such a point of view. For, in fact, social
development as presently being discussed in ISKCON is largely about
families and family life.
I offer the following recommendations for no reason other than to help

guide the leadership as it considers the question of ISKCON's social
development and the broader future of the movement. I am not trying to tell
the leaders what to do, although at times it may seem like it. Rather my
intention is to suggest what could be done and what areas represent the most
immediate problems requiring attention.
In the most general terms, it is time for ISKCON's leaders to move beyond
the crisis mode. Most well informed members or observers of ISKCON
realise that ISKCON's leaders have spent the last 20 years "putting out
fires" of one sort or another. While this has been a necessary stance it has
made it impossible for the leadership to address the fundamental needs of
ISKCON's membership. In fighting battles of one sort or another, be they
internal (e.g., guru issues) or external (e.g., lawsuits), the fact is many
devotees, most particularly householders, have come to believe that the
leadership has failed to vigorously address their needs. ISKCON has
evolved as a religious movement, but that evolution, more often than not,
has been unplanned and spontaneous. As the findings presented here
suggest, members often feel estranged and powerless because they believe
that the leadership is generally unresponsive to their needs for devotee-
based employment, education for their children, fair-minded and efficient
management, and the like. Please understand I am talking perception. But
this perception has ultimately eroded the fundamental trust between those
who lead and ISKCON's membership. I believe that one result of this is that
many devotees are aligning themselves with the ritvik movement and other
challenging groups not out of any conviction about what Prabhupada
intended for the guru system, but because they are frustrated and even angry
that ISKCON's leadership has not responded constructively as they struggle
to raise their families in Krsna consciousness. I think it time for the
leadership to dedicate itself (even in the midst of present and future "fires")
to making progress on a few specific issues that will benefit ISKCON's
membership. In saying this I realise that progress has been made on a
number of fronts such as child protection and education. But more could be
done and this should be made an institutional priority and not one that
grows out of an immediate problem that must be fixed. Think and plan pro-
actively. There is both real and symbolic value in such an approach.
Devotees' needs will be better served and, in time, the membership will
come to trust that the leaders have their interests squarely in mind.
Given this perhaps overly bold preamble, allow me to raise a few specific
issues that are candidates for immediate attention. Some will take long-term
planning and involve considerable resources. Others could be done rather
quickly given the will of the GBC. I begin with economics, because I think
a number of other things rest on building an adequate economic
infrastructure to support devotees and ISKCON's communities.
(1) Building an Economic Infrastructure. As this report has amply

demonstrated, devotees — especially householders — have been forced to
seek employment outside of ISKCON's communities. The results of this
trend have not always been beneficial to ISKCON or to the spiritual lives of
devotees themselves. ISKCON members working outside are less likely to
remain as involved in their religious practices, are less involved in and
committed to ISKCON, are more involved in the outside conventional
culture, and less committed to a Krsna conscious worldview.
But the unavailability of movement/devotee-based employment has other

implications for ISKCON and its membership. Over the last few years
greater attention has been focused on education within ISKCON. This has
involved educating new adult members to the movement as well as children
growing up in ISKCON. While most people would applaud these efforts it
remains the case that, even should ISKCON build a laudable system of
education, a serious problem remains. Even if ISKCON were able to build a
gurukula system that was "ideal" (however defined), it still remains the case
that young men and women who complete their secondary education have
little or no future within ISKCON's communities. This is because there are
few paying jobs that would allow devotees to be self-supporting, especially
if they have families. However educated ISKCON's young adults become,
they ultimately have few viable options open to them except to seek
employment in the conventional labour market. This very fact suggests that
ISKCON's social needs must be considered holistically. It is not enough to
"fix" one part of ISKCON's social system without addressing the system as
a whole. Prabhupada, and many of his followers, have suggested that
varnasrama provides such a holistic solution.(2)
Leaders have to think of sankirtana primarily in terms of preaching, rather

than in terms of the financial resources it brings. Without question
sankirtana has brought large sums of money into ISKCON and has
bankrolled ISKCON's worldwide expansion (Rochford 1985). Yet in every
case that I am aware of, sankirtana revenues begin to diminish in time, most
often at the very moment when householder life expands and the need for
resources increases. Sankirtana should be considered a short-term economic
strategy; one that can help finance other types of entrepreneurial activity
supportive of ISKCON's membership and ISKCON itself. Without a stable
financial base ISKCON's communities have fragmented and devotees have
in various ways lost the social supports that encouraged their spiritual
pursuits and goals for self-realisation.
I recommend that the GBC immediately establish regional economic

committees comprised of devotees who have proven themselves productive
businessmen and businesswomen and/or economic strategists. I say regional
because I expect that while a movement-wide economic strategy might be
possible, it is more likely that economic plans will vary by region, country,
and perhaps even by community. These planning committees should be
given authority to develop economic proposals, raise funds to launch

businesses, and maintain a degree of autonomy that allows for working
without being compromised by political considerations. I think the goal of
these committees should centre foremost on employment for devotees, not
raising money per se. Entrepreneurial activity that is labour intensive and
capable of employing large numbers of people should be favoured.
Computer businesses may be profitable for example but they are usually
incapable of employing significant numbers of people. Work, not profit,
should be the fundamental goal.
(2) Restoring Trust in the Leadership. This report has shown conclusively
that the authority (or lack thereof) of ISKCON's gurus and the GBC
represent the most significant predictors of member commitment to
ISKCON. Quite simply, it is clear that many ISKCON members (temple
devotees, congregational members) and former members alike place
minimal trust in ISKCON's leadership. Child abuse, the mistreatment and
abuse of women, the neglect of householders, guru scandals, etc., all have
eroded the trust that binds devotees to Prabhupada's movement. In
organisational terms as well as spiritual ones, ISKCON at its core is in the
midst of a crisis of trust. As Seligman argues, the "existence of trust is an
essential component of all enduring social relationships" (1997:13) and is
indeed necessary for the continuation of any social order. Leaders can only
be effective when followers have faith in those entrusted with positions of
leadership. This is not uniformly the case in many portions of the ISKCON
world. Now, with the demise of Harikesa Dasa, there is reason to believe
that this crisis has grown deeper.
I recommend that the GBC immediately form a committee whose purpose is

to consider how the movement's leadership can restore the trust of
ISKCON's membership as well as among those who have chosen to leave
the movement. The committee's work should not be about how to
strategically defend ISKCON against its critics. Rather it should focus on
how to honestly address the concerns of devotees who have been mistreated
and abused directly, or by the policies of ISKCON's leadership. As an act of
good faith, the committee should consider the possibility of including a
limited number of devotees who have been critical of the leadership.
Obviously such persons, like all other members of the committee, would be
required to affirm his or her commitment to the committee's goals and
purposes.
(3) Re-enfranchising ISKCON Women. It is clear that both women and men
see the need to expand women's spiritual and material roles within the
movement. As the findings demonstrate, there is considerable support for
women playing a more active and equal role in ISKCON's spiritual and
community life. Men and women overwhelmingly agree that Prabhupada
viewed his male and female disciples as spiritual equals. And there is
evidence that Prabhupada implemented policies and procedures that were
meant to be inclusive of women. It seems clear that the majority of the
devotees surveyed want women to have rights and responsibilities as given
to them by Srila Prabhupada before a backlash against women occurred in
the early and mid-1970s (see Ravindra Svarupa Dasa 1994; Jyotirmayi Devi
Dasi 1997; Radha Devi Dasi 1998).
While ISKCON has an obligation to protect women (Executive Committee

Letter 1998), leaders also have a responsibility to keep ISKCON a
functioning organisation able to preach and meet the spiritual needs of its
membership. Given the manpower shortages that exist in many temples,
ISKCON can ill-afford to disenfranchise a large portion of its membership.

While wrong theologically (Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi, 1997), and with respect
to fundamental human rights (Radha Devi Dasi 1998), it is also simply
foolish as an organisational strategy. While many regions of the ISKCON
world are in desperate need of human capital to deal with the day-to-day
functioning of temple communities, it remains the case that women and
women's contributions too often remain under-valued and under-utilised.
Organisationally ISKCON can't afford such a position and in fact there are
growing numbers of women serving as Temple Presidents and holding other
significant management and administrative positions (Rochford 1998c).
I recommend that ISKCON leaders immediately move to restore the rights

and responsibilities afforded women by Srila Prabhupada. Men should be
educated accordingly. (A good start for everyone would be to read the
articles by Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi 1997, and Radha Devi Dasi 1998.)(3) Guru
and non-guru leaders should teach respect for women; women should again
be viewed as capable devotees in the service of Prabhupada's movement
rather than as temptresses or other such derogatory characterisations. To do
so would immediately increase the self-esteem of women and make them
more productive members of ISKCON. By acknowledging women's value
and worth as human and spiritual beings it will also make the movement
more attractive to potential members who view ISKCON's position on
women as antiquated and morally objectionable.
(4) Education and Children. ISKCON is slowly losing its most significant
resource for the future: its children. A startling percentage of the
movement's children are leaving ISKCON or are choosing to remain
marginal to it (see Kraybill 1989, on the retention of Amish children into
adulthood). Friendships and ties with parents often have more holding
power on ISKCON's second generation than ties to ISKCON, or even to the
practice of Krsna consciousness. Certainly, child abuse has directly and
indirectly affected a significant portion of ISKCON's now young-adults, but
this is only one part of the story. For the fact is that ISKCON has yet to find
an adequate replacement to the asrama system of schooling. Many parents
in the survey express the view that the ISKCON day-school in their
community is not adequately meeting the spiritual and academic needs of
children. Teachers too often feel that ISKCON has not done nearly enough
to support them in their efforts to create better schools.
Over the past two years ISKCON's leadership has committed itself to
improving education within the movement both for adult members and
children. From what I can tell, a substantial start has been made on this
front. Yet this initiative has recently been hampered by the defection of
Harikesa Dasa and the loss of resources he had committed to educational
projects. Yet ISKCON must begin to build for the future, and like any
society that prospers, education must become part of the equation that
produces that prosperity. Here I mean education in the broadest sense of the
word. Parents, with the assistance of ISKCON, must educate their children,
but this education must be centred on goals and purposes that are distinct to
ISKCON as a religious organisation. Because of this, ISKCON has a central
role to play in the socialisation and education of the movement's youngest
members. In doing the job well, ISKCON promises to reap the benefits of a
core of young, enthusiastic devotees wanting to push forward Prabhupada's
movement. To fail means that ISKCON has essentially squandered its most
vital resource and the basis of its future. One only has to stand to the back
of any temple in North America to see that there is a clear "graying of the
Hare Krsnas." (This too will likely be an issue of significance in the

immediate future.)
I believe that the movement has to continue in its efforts to acknowledge the
mistreatment of second generation devotees in the 1970s and 1980s. It also
has to do whatever possible to respond to the real needs of these young men
and women. Certainly "Children of Krsna" is precisely such an initiative.
But ISKCON's leaders must continue to work with and provide resources to
teachers and schools if the movement is to nurture the development of its
children.
I recommend that recent efforts to improve education within ISKCON

continue at full-pace. The education committee now in place must continue
to receive the financial and other means of support it needs to promote
education in ISKCON. Of equal importance, the leadership must not waver
in its commitment to education and thereby to ISKCON's future hope.
Educators and children must be seen as the keepers of ISKCON's future, not
simply as parties who make demands on scarce resources. The sociologist
of religion, Rodney Stark, writes that any new religion which hopes to
succeed must "find important things for young people to do on behalf of
their faith" (1987:25). It is time that ISKCON provides the training and
support its children need in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead for
ISKCON in the twenty-first century.
Notes
(1) I would like to express my appreciation to Middlebury College for

providing substantial funding so that this project could be completed.
(2) I have consciously avoided any discussion of varnasrama in the report. I

did so largely because this is an ongoing discussion and there are varied
ideas about what varnasrama is and how ISKCON should implement it. I
will make only one comment: It is important to understand that "simple
living and plain thinking" in the context of a land-based agricultural society
does not fit the character and background of many Western devotees and
others. Moreover, devotees are now working in a great variety of positions
in and outside of ISKCON. Whatever version of varnasrama that comes to
the fore must consider who might be pushed out under such a system as
well as how the system should work. Remember, "time, place, and
circumstance;" the wisdom of this, sociologically, can not be overstated.
(3) I am aware that some leaders and other devotees believe that the essays
by Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi and Radha Devi Dasi do not accurately, or fully,
represent Prabhupada's position on women in ISKCON. Should the GBC
remain split on this question, a research group should be commissioned to
investigate the issue further. Of course even this is a tricky proposition since
Prabhupada's views are inevitably "frozen in time" and, therefore, we lose a
sense of "time, place, and circumstance." Much has happened in the past 21
years and it is impossible to know what Prabhupada's views on the
"women's question" might be in the present. Of course the theological
significance of the problem I am pointing to goes well beyond debates about
women's roles within ISKCON.
References
Babbie, Earl. 1998. The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth.
Bharata Shrestha Dasa. 1998. "ISKCON's Response to Child Abuse: 1990-

1998." ISKCON Communications Journal. 6(1):71-79.
Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi. 1998. "Historical Report on Women in ISKCON in

Prabhupada's Time." Priti-laksanam (also presented at the first annual
ISKCON's Women's Conference, Los Angeles, 1997).
Kraybill, Donald. 1989. The Riddle of Amish Culture. Johns Hopkins

University Press.
Radha Devi Dasi. 1998. "Participation, Protection and Patriarchy: An

International Model for the Role of Women in ISKCON." ISKCON
Communications Journal 6(1):31-41.
Ravindra Svarupa Dasa. 1994. "Cleaning House and Cleaning Hearts:

Reform and Renewal in ISKCON." ISKCON Communications Journal. two
part essay, in No. 3 (1994), pp. 43-52, No. 4 (1994), pp. 25-33.
Rochford, E. B., Jr. 1985. Hare Krishna in America. New Brunswick, NJ:
Rutgers University Press.
Rochford, E. B., Jr. 1995a. "Crescita, Espansione e mutamento nel

movimento degli Hare Krishna." Religioni e Sette nel monde 1(1):153-80.
Rochford, E. B., Jr. 1995b. "Family Structure, Commitment, and

Involvement in the Hare Krishna Movement." Sociology of Religion
56(2):153-75.
Rochford, E. B., Jr. 1997. "Family Formation, Culture, and Change in the
Hare Krishna Movement." ISKCON Communications Journal, 5(2):61-82.
Rochford, E. B., Jr., 1998a, "Child Abuse in the Hare Krishna Movement:
1971- 1986." ISKCON Communications Journal. 6(1):43-69.
Rochford, E. B., Jr., 1998b. "Reactions of Hare Krishna Devotees to

Scandals of Leaders' Misconduct." Pp. 101-117 in A. Shupe (Ed.), Wolves
Within the Fold. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Rochford, E. B., Jr. 1998c. "Women's Collective Voices and the

Mobilization of Women in ISKCON." Presented at the second annual
ISKCON Women's Conference, Alachua, Florida, October.
Rochford, E.B., Jr. 1999. "Education and Collective Identity: Public

Schooling of Hare Krishna Youth." Pp. 29-50 in S. Palmer and C. Hardman
(Eds.), Children in New Religions. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University
Press.
Rochford, E. B., Jr. forthcoming (2000). "Demons, Karmies and Non-

devotees: Culture, Group Boundaries, and the Development of the Hare
Krishna in North America and Europe." Special Issue on Indian Religions in
the West, Social Compass.
Seligman, A. 1997. The Problem of Trust. Princeton, NJ: Princeton

University Press.
Social Development Report. 1998. ISKCON Commission for Social

Development, February. (no author specified)
Stark, Rodney. How New Religions Succeed: A Theoretical Model." Pp. 11-
29 in David Bromley and Phillip Hammond (Eds.), The Future of New
Religious Movements. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.
Tamal Krsna Goswami. 1997. "The Perils of Succession: Heresies of

Authority and Continuity in the Hare Krsna Movement." ISKCON
Communications Journal 5(1):13-44.
Letter from the Executive Committee of the GBC, approximate date, June
1998, (signed by Harikesa Prabhu).
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Prabhupada Centennial Survey:

During the 1992 Mayapur meetings ISKCON’s GBC (Governing Body

That the Centennial Ministry organise a global survey or audit

(From Project Unity: Uniting Prabhupada's Family and

This paper provides a summary of the major findings and recommendations

The Prabhupada Centennial Survey was meant to provide leaders — GBC

1. Accurate information on the movement's membership can help guide

As the GBC concluded at its 1996 special meeting in

ISKCON. Others who should be free to be models of

(Social Development Report, ISKCON Commission For Social

Issues and Questions

Issues addressed on the survey were identified primarily through working

The following issues were identified by devotees as potential areas of

ISKCON's priorities for preaching

These and other areas of inquiry were addressed in the Prabhupada

The final questionnaire was translated into eight languages (Spanish,

be certain that translations were accurate and reflected devotee ways of

Sample and Sampling Procedures

Distribution and sampling guidelines were provided to Temple Presidents

Despite efforts to ensure a degree of rigor in the sampling process, the

Data and Data Processing

Northern & Western Europe

Eastern Europe and CIS

Total Number Collected Worldwide 1,996

Summary of Major Findings

The following represents a summary of the major findings presented in the

There is a striking lack of trust between ISKCON members and the

Many devotee respondents expressed the view that ISKCON suffers

A set of concerns expressed by devotees worldwide falls under the

(a) The lack of employment opportunities within

varnasrama within ISKCON. Although varnasrama

(b) Inadequate educational alternatives within ISKCON.

Without adequate schools to train ISKCON's children spiritually and

Both women and men recognise that (mis)treatment of women within

worship on different sides of the temple (rather than women at the

Of critical importance to the stability of ISKCON has been the

Because of continuing scandal involving gurus, survey respondents

Related to the demise of religious authority has been the apparent

As the statistical analyses presented in the report demonstrate, member

The findings presented in the report document the ongoing change of

increasingly reaching into conventional societies in more diverse and

As a sociologist, my own images of ISKCON are seen through lenses

I offer the following recommendations for no reason other than to help

(1) Building an Economic Infrastructure. As this report has amply

But the unavailability of movement/devotee-based employment has other

Leaders have to think of sankirtana primarily in terms of preaching, rather

I recommend that the GBC immediately establish regional economic

given authority to develop economic proposals, raise funds to launch

I recommend that the GBC immediately form a committee whose purpose is

While ISKCON has an obligation to protect women (Executive Committee

ISKCON can ill-afford to disenfranchise a large portion of its membership.

I recommend that ISKCON leaders immediately move to restore the rights

Hare Krsnas." (This too will likely be an issue of significance in the

I recommend that recent efforts to improve education within ISKCON

(1) I would like to express my appreciation to Middlebury College for

(2) I have consciously avoided any discussion of varnasrama in the report. I

Babbie, Earl. 1998. The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA:

Bharata Shrestha Dasa. 1998. "ISKCON's Response to Child Abuse: 1990-

Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi. 1998. "Historical Report on Women in ISKCON in

Kraybill, Donald. 1989. The Riddle of Amish Culture. Johns Hopkins

Radha Devi Dasi. 1998. "Participation, Protection and Patriarchy: An