A year or so ago, I came across the 1976 Bhakta Program Handbook, basically an early edition of what was to become Fortunate Souls, the bhakta program bible by Danavir Maharaja.

It’s pretty hilarious in some spots (very dated). But one thing that struck me as pretty cool is how much Danavir cared about the bhaktas. You can tell there is a real love there. I totally wasn’t expecting that. For instance, when he is explaining what the new bhaktas should have in the room at all times (provided by the temple), he includes aspirin, moisturizer, and lots of other items that temples would never even think of providing today.

Yeah, there are some super-cultish parts like…

and

when a devotee leaves the temple for any reason, he has to be accompanied by another devotee just in case of fall down.

It starts off with many pages on how to convince someone to give up everything and move into the temple. There are 21 different scenarios that could come up and here’s exactly how to deal with them. From smoking cigarettes to liking music, it’s all here.

For instance:

Fun!

And if you “have to do some things for my family.” You might be told by the Counselor that…

Oh, and if you’ve got “a few more things to finish up before you join” you’re encouraged to let the temple handle it. But if you insist upon doing it yourself, you must make sure there is a devotee with you at all times…

I wonder why they thought we were a cult….

How about if the Candidate wants to practice Krishna consciousness while living outside of the temple?

My favorite exchange is this:

Yep. Really far out.

Did you know…

And if the people, friends or parents of the new bhakta are there and voice opposition, the Counselor should say…

And then the people, friends and parents promptly kick your ass. That’s not in the book, but it probably should be. You know, just to give you a head’s up.

Eat everything that was ever on your plate?

If there is any money that the new bhakta has in the bank…

Why did they call us a cult, again? I don’t remember….

But like I said, there was definitely some love there. AFTER the devotees came into the fold. Take another look at the facilities that were expected to be there for the devotees!

Devotees are also issued clothes everyday: 2 dhoties, 2 kirtas and one sweatshirt to be worn for the evening program and the following day’s activities.

There’s also supposed to be a library containing all of Srila Prabhupada’s books!

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While you can definitely see why we were considered a cult, it’s also clear that Danavir was doing what he thought best. His heart really was in the right place. Maybe he wasn’t the best at devotee/karmi relations, but he was really good at watching out for the bhaktas and making sure they had everything they could ever need (seriously, take another look at what he expected to be in their living quarters).

And you can download the whole thing here.

I originally got it from this site. It has a ton of other stuff as well. Fun, I assure you.
http://steamboats.com/pdf