ISKCON Curriculum — Implementation Guide for Leaders
The 12-month implementation guide for temple presidents and asrama leaders — covering sequencing, facilitator principles, the VedaBase sourcing standard, and assessment requirements.
Implementation Guide
For Temple Presidents & Asrama Leaders
12-Month Implementation Sequence
- Months 1–2 · Foundation: Module 01 (Asrama Life) + Module 08 (Child Protection — FIRST)
- Months 3–4 · Worship & Practice: Module 02 (Deity Worship) + Module 03 (Kirtana)
- Months 5–6 · Festival & Culture: Module 04 (Festival Observance) + Module 07 (Vaisnava Culture)
- Months 7–8 · Institution: Module 05 (Governance) + Module 06 (Guru-Disciple)
- Months 9–12 · Integration: All modules — final assessments, project reviews, covenant renewal
Facilitator Notes
On the Compare/Contrast Method
The compare/contrast analysis in each module is designed to generate discussion — not to produce predetermined conclusions. Facilitated sessions should allow genuine inquiry into the tensions identified. Residents who engage honestly with these tensions will develop stronger institutional loyalty and spiritual clarity than those who receive only institutional affirmation without critical engagement.
The facilitator's role is not to defend the GBC position or validate skepticism of it. It is to ensure that the actual text of both sources — the GBC resolution and the VedaBase reference — is before the group, and that discussion proceeds from those texts rather than from memory or opinion.
On VedaBase as the Standard
All Prabhupada references throughout this curriculum are verified via vedabase.io. Facilitators should reinforce the habit of returning to vedabase.io for all Prabhupada references, rather than relying on secondary or paraphrased sources. If a quote cannot be found on VedaBase, it should not be cited as authoritative.
On Child Protection
Module 08 is the one area where the curriculum will not soften the requirement. The protocol knowledge test, the CPT contact documentation, and the safeguarding session attendance are not optional. If a resident cannot demonstrate all three, they have not completed their duty of community membership.
Assessment Summary
A Note on Authority
Our movement is based on books, not on some sentimental approach.— Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Jayatirtha, 1973
This curriculum does not ask residents to accept GBC resolutions uncritically. It asks them to read the actual resolutions, read the actual Prabhupada instructions from VedaBase, examine the relationship between them honestly, and arrive at their own informed positions. That is what it means to be a devotee who understands the institution they serve — not blind compliance, and not reflexive skepticism, but informed, scripture-grounded, consciously chosen participation.
Published on Deed & Creed · deedandcreed.com · This curriculum is an independent educational resource and is not an official GBC publication. All GBC resolution citations are from GBCRES2025. All Prabhupada quotes verified via vedabase.io.