Missionary Strategies and Public Appearance of Devotees in the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Movement
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a missionary organization dedicated to the active reclamation of fallen souls. Unlike passive spiritual traditions that retreat from society, Śrīla Prabhupāda trained his disciples to engage the public directly. This engagement relies on specific strategies: a distinct visual identity, the public performance of saṅkīrtana, and an aggressive, soldier-like spirit in distributing transcendental literature. These tactics are designed to maximize the movement's visibility and impact on human society.
Spiritual Uniform
A devotee's appearance is a preaching tool. Śrīla Prabhupāda compared the devotee's dress—saffron or white robes, tilaka, and neck beads—to a policeman's uniform. Just as a uniform allows a citizen to identify a police officer when they need help, the distinct appearance of a Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee allows the public to identify them as representatives of God. However, this external dress must be matched by internal knowledge; otherwise, one is merely a cheater.
- Just like the policeman, he is differently dressed. One can understand that he is policeman. Similarly, we are also differently dressed so that people may understand we are Hare Krsna people.
- If you have a tilaka and a kanthi, that does not mean that you belong to the Krsna consciousness movement. Any cheater can do that. You must know the philosophy.
Public Chanting and Cultural Impact
The central strategy of the movement is the public chanting of the holy names. Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed devotees to gather in public places so that everyone—both the chanters and the accidental listeners—could benefit. This strategy proved particularly effective in India, where the sight of Western devotees ("foreigners") chanting and dancing with ecstatic emotion astonished the local population and revived their own dormant faith in the Vedic culture.
- As far as possible, the devotees in the Krsna consciousness movement gather to chant the holy name of Krsna in public so that both the chanters and the listeners may benefit.
- Sometimes when our students of the Krsna consciousness movement chant and dance, even in India people are astonished to see how these foreigners have learned to chant and dance in this ecstatic fashion.
Soldiers of the Mission
Devotees are described as soldiers in the army of Lord Caitanya. Their business is not to beg for themselves but to deliver the fallen souls. This requires a proactive approach, such as going from door to door and distributing books. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasized that to perform this rigorous work, devotees must maintain "physical strength, enthusiasm, and sensual power," keeping themselves fit to fight against the forces of māyā.
- The soldiers in this Krsna 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.
- Those who engage in the missionary activities of the Krsna consciousness movement are under the guidance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They are not actually beggars; their real business is to deliver fallen souls. Therefore they may go from door to door.
- That is the actual process of Krishna Consciousness. To train others continue this programme so that in the future every devotee in our movement will know the art of distributing books. This is approved by me.
Conclusion
The strategies employed by the devotees of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement—from their dress to their door-to-door preaching—are all calculated to bring the conditioned souls in contact with Kṛṣṇa. By visibly and audibly representing the Lord in the public sphere, they fulfill the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. As Śrīla Prabhupāda noted, even though preachers meet many offenders, their duty is to use every tactical advantage to convince them and induce them to chant.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Devotees in the Krsna Consciousness Movement. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.