Yes there is internal and external KC activities.

[Paramananda das]

I was reading Manidharas article, actually there is internal and external progress,

but ISKCON focus on external progress is being internal progress also this is a misunderstanding of Srila Prabhupadas teachings ,but in the stage of Vaidhi bhakti the external and internal may seem the same, but in ragamarg there is a huge difference,and still one should follow vaidhi  bhakti,

this has all been explained in detail in Srila Visvanath  Chakravati Thakuras Raga Vartma Chandrika, this is his article that has not mentioned even to read Srila Prabhupadas books that is essential for internal advancement....

How Can We Progress Internally in Krsna Consciousness?

BY: MANIDHARA DAS (ACBSP)

Oct 03, 2012 — COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (SUN) —

Questions and  Answers with Manidhara das

Q: How can  we progress internally in Krsna consciousness?

A: There  is no "internal progress" and "external progress" once one is engaged in Srila  Prabhupada's mission. Whatever is done for enhancement of His mission is of  transcendental nature. Srila Prabhupada, despite writing and publishing so many  books, introducing His disciples to a regulated life based on four regulative  principles and chanting of the Holy Name according to fixed numbers of  rounds....even He was also criticized, that "He is doing too much".

It was exactly  this intense organizational preaching work which made Srila Prabhupada so  distinct from many of learned and pure Vaisnavas who made their goal to  cultivate "their" god-consciousness while embarking on the "path of inner search  after God and His pastimes".

Knowing the depth  of conditioning of His disciples, Srila Prabhupada gave us a very busy life, so  our acquired passion doesn't divert us to destructive activities. He was  strongly opposing the "bajanandi" lifestyle, which was even in His presence  promoted by some of His "prematurely pure" disciples. Now, without His personal  guidance, it became rampant.

Personally I  learned not long time ago from one of the leading ISKCON authorities a  sarcastical remark, "You and your mission you preach all the time!" A sobering  experience indeed.

But there is no  spiritual progress available for anybody who claims to be a member of Srila  Prabhupada's ISKCON without serving His mission. Just by:

1 - Publishing  His books 2 - Distributing His books 3 - Chanting the Holy Name privately  and publicly 4 - Preparing and distributing prasadam

one will find out  that there is enough to do for everybody to engage himself for the rest of his  life. Even one of these activities is entirely liberating. In order to do so,  temples should serve as sources of inspiration for devotees, as most of them  will live outside of these temples. Temples should not be, as Srila Prabhupada  already envisioned, "lunatic asylums" or places filled with ambitious kanistha  type politicians.

Any program based  on these four programs can only increase preaching. Any program diminishing  these four programs will fail, as history has shown us.

Of course, we  know that preaching can be polluted by passion and so stress has to be also  given to study Srila Prabhupada's books, follow the regulative principles and  chant the Holy Name with most sincere attention. But to "dissect" the Holy name  or dive into academic comparative studies will never liberate us from the very  same mental platform these ideas are generated from.

Srila Prabhupada  gave us a simple schedule of two lectures a day, one guru puja and two  arotikas..... and hard work in between. This is far more than any educational  institution can offer. Those who live outside of the temples, struggling for  their maintenance, can often only dream about such a standard, but seem still to  find time enough to travel to some exotic locations, outside of the temples  where Deities are worshiped, in order to join "inner-progress retreats" of  various kinds.

As harmful as it  is to turn new devotees in name of Srila Prabhupada's mission into  money-collecting machines, it is harmful as well to invite them to mentally  inspired introverted voyages in the name of retreat from any physical  activity...... with the result to simply enhance their pride.

The book  distribution, Holy Name distribution and prasadam distribution in Srila  Prabhupada's mission is so wonderful and self-satisfactory that anybody  absorbing himself in these activities will experience inner satisfaction never  felt before.

Because far above  our demand for academic study, or "inner search after the enlightenment", an  endless storage of inspiration can be found... Srila Prabhupada's mercy, which  contains automatically the mercy of the whole guru parampara.

Reaching these  realms, suddenly a blind man can see reality, a lame man can jump high in the  kirtan and a dull man can preach effectively. To lead sincere seekers into the  dark pits of introverted mental "research" is a great crime. Such misleaders in  need of their own profiliation impress the public with their sloka collections,  not understanding the connection between the divine knowledge they blindly  repeat, the sand they mix into the sweet rice..... and themselves. Such  knowledge is irrelevant both to the speaker and to the listener, as they are  both still suffering from the animalistic impulses imposed upon them by the  modes of material nature.

We may remember  where we came from, we may study where to go ,but when we don't know where WE  are, then we are still lost. Serving Srila Prabhupada's mission clears the path  instantly and finding one's place in it according to one's guna and karma is the  success of life. Preaching can be conducted from any position, as it is the  sincerity and the honesty of the preacher with which he follows the rules Srila  Prabhupada gave us, which is convincing to the public and not academic erudition  or some fancy vocabulary covering our hypocrisy and confusion.

The "vimukta  maninah" - progress, progress confined to mental concepts only, is the  progress of materialists who after using many fancy words return to their  barbarian search after more intense sense gratification. And so many "internal  seekers" were rewarded for their increased academic pride with the taste of the  lower modes of nature, dying spiritually to the echoes of their own eloquent  speeches.

Meanwhile those  who surrender their intellectual and sensual needs to the mission of Srila  Prabhupada strive in the rain of His mercy, gradually being lifted up to the  level of unconditional devotional service. Their path is decorated with true  humility and true introspection, something the "extroverted introverts" are  entirely bereft of.

And so I still  vividly remember us, the young passionate distributors of Srila Prabhupada's  books, standing forty years ago in amazement in front of Sri Sri Radha Madana  Mohan, collecting the glimpses of Their smiles and blessings while getting ready  for another week of traveling sankirtan book distribution marathon.

This may be seen  as the bliss of a few privileged ones, but ANYBODY sincere at heart can receive  this mercy, regardless his or her varna and asrama position. Once engaged in  Srila Prabhupada's mission, His mercy prevails and whatever may be aspired by  "the mentally liberated ones" becomes automatically the property of those who  are reaching the platform of spiritual reality.

(Edited  slightly for readability)