Building a strong organization, be it a temple or an association

A strong organization is a blessing from God. It can be a very effective and powerful weapon in our hands. It can be used to achieve our objectives. One of the reason our beloved motherland India was invaded by foreigners and subjugated for long periods is that Indians did not pay much attention to building strong organizations, and towards building unity amongst the people. We did not have strong military, political, economic or social organizations.

But how do we build strong organization? This applies to a Hindu temple or an association of Indians. In the modern times, we must build and run an organization by following democratic principles. An organization becomes strong only when its members are fully mobilized, when it enjoys the active support of its members. An organization does not become strong by having large numbers of members, but by its ability to quickly mobilize large percentage of its members for action.

First of all every organization must have a good record of members. If a temple or association does not keep good records of its paid members, this means such a temple or association is not run democratically. Such a temple or association is an ineffective organization.

An organization must have a constitution or bylaws. This constitution does not have to be drafted by lawyers or scholars. It can be a simple document. But it must contain provisions for running the affairs of the temple or association in a democratic way. The people who run the organization must have utmost regard for the constitution. They must foster respect for the Constitution amongst the members.

Why is United States strong? This is because this country is run by its constitution. People are vigilant and will not tolerate disrespect for the constitution. But some Indians, even after living in this country for decades, have not realized the importance of a constitution. They think that only a country needs a constitution, a temple or an association does not need one. Even when their association or temple has a constitution, they do not follow it. They run the organization as a clique and follow the policies of cronyism and favoritism.

If you find that in a temple or association, the managers never mention the Constitution, this means that they have no respect for the Constitution and they are running the organization as a clique.

If an association or a temple does not have a general body meeting of its members at least once in six months, this means members rights are not being respected. When members feel that they do not have a say in how the association or temple is run, they stop supporting the organization. They may still attend Sunday Congregation at the Temple, but they may be just using the temple as a place to socialize or have fee lunch. For the same reason they may attend the program of an association, without really feeling energized by the organization, and without having good feelings towards the organization.

The trustees or executive committee members must be elected and not selected. If a new executive committee is to be built, or if a slot becomes vacant in the Executive Committee or Board of Trustees, and if it is filled, you must ask how it was filled. The proper way to fill a slot is for the Executive Committee to send e-mail to all the members and ask if any one wants to joint he Committee. Then the managers interview all the applicants and then select one for the vacant slot or select a group of people to join the Committee.

If all paid members were not given a chance to stand for vacant post, because no e-mail or snail mail was sent to all members, and a member or members were selected this means this was done in a non-democratic manner.

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