New Vrindaban Hosts Four-Day Devotee Care Training Led by UK devotees  

Fifteen members of the New Vrindaban community recently participated in an intensive four-day Devotee Care Education and Training Course led by Jai Nitai Dasa and his wife, Bhava Bhakti Devi Dasi. Previous to their Devotee Care service, the presenters served in the ISKCON London temple for 25 years. Fourteen of those years, Jai Nita served as Temple President.

The course is a ministry of Devotee Care International, an initiative of the GBC. Its goal is to “embed the culture of care” within devotee communities worldwide. To date, they have trained over 1,100 devotees from over 15 countries. “The most enriching experience of the service is meeting and interacting with devotees from around the world who need someone just to listen to them and show a little bit of simple care,” said Bhava Bhakti. “Hearing many of the stories of a lack of devotee care over the years is sometimes heartbreaking, but we feel we are planting seeds for a brighter future for ISKCON,” remarked Jai Nitai. Both were asked to take up this service by their spiritual master, Radhanath Swami, who felt this was a primary need within our society.

The four main topics explored in the multi-day event included – what devotee care is, how to apply devotee care, who is responsible for devotee care, and the practical implementation of devotee care. Remarking on his key takeaway, New Vrindaban Temple President Jaya Krishna Das said, “Each devotee is responsible for devotee care—devotee care cannot be delegated to a department.”

Participants found the course very interactive. Although structured presentations shape the training, the days offer ample group discussions, break-outs, and even skits. Key learnings gleaned are then formed into strategic plans for implementing the ideas locally.