Tirtha in Prison The Prison Preacher's Handbook: The Captive Audience

For some, when they hear from devotees how the material world is nothing but a place of misery, they tend to discount such stern proclamations as hollow scare tactics from the purveyors of doom and gloom. Much too negative an assessment for their sensitivities. They'd prefer to think of life as being more akin to a soft balloon ride, a dopey, mixed bag of gentle ups and downs. Ever conditioned to hold the dross of mass media's indoctrination close to their bosom, mere lofty promises aimed toward that special individual who is properly positioned and prepared to meet life's challenges. Better today to put off those looming thoughts of inevitable death, old age, sickness and disease. Such unpleasant things are always easier to deal with when they seem far removed from their own personal lives.

Like most people, they maintain a burgeoning stable of mental formulas for future sense gratification. Naturally, they envision their plans will be fulfilled any day now. All in all, they think life isn't so bad. So why not look on the bright side of things?

In stark contrast to the common hallucination depicted above, ask a prisoner how he or she is doing and you'll likely receive a far different answer. The miseries of life are more in focus for them, as their previous plans for enjoyment were dashed on the rocks of despair the moment they set foot in prison. As Srila Prabhupada often said, misery is the impetus for one to seek shelter of God.

Prisons are encapsulated, unnatural societies, existing in a parallel dimension with normal society. A bit like large aquariums. You can look into an aquarium and see exactly what you have. The same with prisons. Still, while the aquarium may mimic the ocean in a limited way, in truth the two are much different. In the case of prisons, at best they are perverted replicas of the greater society.

In prison, as in society, can be found the four types of pious people who may be prompted to seek shelter of Krsna and His devotees in their time of need. Likewise, prison also holds four kinds of impious people who will never seek Krsna's shelter. It is to the first group of pious souls that we shall direct our preaching efforts.

The overwhelming negativity that pervades prisons coupled with an artificially imposed severe lifestyle has a way of making people feel quite desperate. As pleasure seeking entities, it is only natural for some people to wander unawares into the camp of the Hare Krsna's.

Looking for something, anything to make their lives a bit less severe and depressing. It cannot be denied that the Krsna people certainly seem to have something going for them.

Perhaps someone has received a book and wishes to know something more of the devotees and Krsna consciousness. Or someone has heard something from a friend or acquaintance about the Hare Krsna movement. Another soul is simply trying to get something for nothing. Something, anything, to place on their bare metal prison shelf.

Because compassion is a natural characteristic of a devotee, devotees need little prompting to feel empathy for prisoners. However, it is important that such sentiments do not become misplaced.

While certain adjustments may be realized according to time, place and circumstance, our focus must be to present the Krsna conscious philosophy as it is, without becoming unduly sentimental. With your pure motive for preaching in mind, we offer the following guidelines for a more realistic, comprehensive approach to prison preaching.

1. Be liberal, but not loose.

Naturally, we wish everyone to take up the chanting of Krsna's holy names. You have at your disposal an arsenal of books, japa beads and other transcendental paraphernalia. When a potential candidate writes to you or is recommended by another inmate you are already interacting with, you can initially send him/her a few books. I would recommend two or three small books to start out. Encourage the person to participate in the study course for each book. This serves several purposes. It automatically raises the candidate's comprehension level and likewise serves in most instances as a benchmark to gauge the person's actual sincerity. After a candidate has successfully completed the initial study course for two or three small books, you could send them a set of japa beads and bead bag with detailed instructions on how to properly utilize their beads in chanting japa. This will serve as encouragement to further solidify their initial commitment. You may also wish to include two or three more books, especially a book on chanting, if available, and their companion study courses.

Because you are dealing in large measure with people that you cannot personally observe on a daily basis, my experience of being in prison for twenty years and dealing with convicts face to face has blended a fair dose of caution into my preaching methodology.

Therefore, in my humble opinion, the study guide approach will serve as your best gauging instrument to truly know where any given candidate really stands. Unless a prospective candidate is willing to eagerly participate in the overall program, in most cases their interest is at best, superficial. Of course you may still wish to send them japa beads at some point, on the hope they will become more serious in the future. That will mainly be a discretionary call on your part. View each individual on a case by case basis.

Because most prisons have strict limits on how many personal books a prisoner may possess at any given time, you will be further limited in how many and sometimes in what types of books you may send. One approach that will enable you to transcend such limitations is to arrange for complete sets of books to be sent to prison libraries. That way more individuals will have access and prisoners can empower themselves to study and explore more readily at their own pace. In any case, try to include a Bhagavad-gita and Nectar of Devotion in the basic core package of books for all serious candidates.

On the side of caution I would not recommend sending Kunti-mala neck beads prematurely to prisoners. In my experience, unless and until you can ascertain that they are chanting a minimum number of rounds in a regulated fashion each day, it may not be a good idea. Over the years I have, unfortunately, seen numerous abuses of such sacred paraphernalia (japa beads, neck beads, Nrshimhadeva medallions, etc.) by unscrupulous persons who acquired such items through sentiment driven gestures. It deeply saddened me to observe such people eating hamburgers in the prison dining room while cavalierly wearing their "sacred" necklace. Better in the long run to be strict and conservative when it comes to such things. Our sentimental attitudes can inadvertently promote sahajiyaism. Moreover, prison administrators will appreciate your strictness, as it lessens the flow of unauthorized "contraband" items within their prisons.

2. Strive to be Organized

Good organization in large measure means keeping accurate records on each inmate you interact with, especially with regard to books and other Krsna conscious paraphernalia. Keep a record of every book or other item and the date sent to the inmate. Likewise, keep a record of completed study courses, etc. Each inmate should have a "file" for your reference to their advancement. If possible, you may also save their correspondence. Accurate records will ultimately prove to be a great aide in accessing each person's progress.

3. Correspondence

Letter correspondence will likely serve as your primary means of offering encouragement to Krsna conscious candidates. In some areas where there are Hari-naraa parties to visit prisons, such direct association will naturally serve to bolster prospective devotees.

In your letter writing, always be personal and professional. Stay clear of using form letters. If you must use form letters in a limited way, never send the same style letter to two people within the same institution. This can have a disastrous effect, reducing your efforts to be perceived as a caring devotee to that of an institutionalized boiler-plate mentality. You will defeat all of your hard work and efforts in one fell swoop.

Keep your letters brief but personal; to the point. Lonely inmates scour magazines looking for female companions to write to. Remember, you are preachers, not pen-pals.

Additionally, don't ask inmates what their crimes were or how long they are serving in prison. In most cases prisoners will, in due course, let you know quite a lot about themselves. Also, avoid writing lengthy three-page letters. Collect your thoughts and write just to encourage the prisoner. Let the books serve as their main source for receiving the philosophy. Clarify points when needed, but avoid straying from the mission.

4. Gifts

It is inevitable that some prisoners will ask for something more once they have established a rapport with you. You must exercise extreme caution with regard to this practice. Because you are dealing in the main with highly conditioned souls, the eventuality of manipulation and exploitation is quite high. In the long run it is better to limit your "gifts" to only Krsna conscious materials. The only other exception would be prasadam, for example during the Xmas season. I urge extreme caution here because I have personally witnessed our own prison program become compromised by loose, overly sentimental gestures. Once prisoners begin receiving gifts you will never be able to ascertain who is sincere and who is merely along for the ride on the "gravy train."

5. Stay Consistent and Regulated

One of the worst things to happen to a prospective candidate is to stop hearing from his/her Krsna conscious mentor. If you are leaving for a time, perhaps to visit another temple or go on pilgrimage to India, etc., let each of your constituents know ahead of time.

Normally, when you write to inmates, your letters should reflect timely consistency. If you have many prisoners under your care, one nice letter per month is sufficient. If you maintain this consistency, they will adjust to it.

6. Convey a Sense of Community

It is important for prisoners to feel they belong to a greater community of like minded persons who truly care about them. We can reflect on the principles Srila Prabhupada articulated for the establishment of ISKCON. Any sincere Krsna conscious aspirant, regardless of his/her external situation certainly should find shelter under the broad umbrella of ISKCON's mercy. Therefore, assure and reassure your constituents they indeed belong to the greater family of devotees.

The rectification of prison is strong medicine for whatever our previous transgressions were. Our encouragement to those so situated comes with the caveat that adjusting our consciousness is more important than alleviating our discomfort. Harsh though it is, prison can also be purifying and liberating. We only need take shelter of the facility of the Lord's holy names.

I offer my most humble obeisances at the feet of all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord.

Your worthless servant,
Tirtha dasa