Proposal: Restructuring the GBC

[Guest guest]

Hare Krsna.

 

I had forgotten that this conference still existed and that I am the

moderator! Anyway, the text below was forwarded to me for the conference so

I am forwarding it to all of you. I am including the original sender as a

receiver also.

 

Your servant

Samba das

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

 

Letter PAMHO:11565462 (174 lines)

Internet: "Hector Rosario" <hector.rosario (AT) math (DOT) uprm.edu>

11-May-06 14:53 (11:53 -0300)

hector.rosario (AT) math (DOT) uprm.edu

Bcc: Samba (das) (Mayapur - IN) [22282] (sender: Ramakanta (das) HKS

(PAMHO.NET SysOp) (Zurich - CH))

Bcc-For: GBC Restructure (sender: Ramakanta (das) HKS (PAMHO.NET SysOp)

(Zurich - CH))

Proposal: Restructuring the GBC

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PROPOSAL: RESTRUCTURING ISKCON's GBC

 

Submitted by Dr. Hector Rosario (A non-initiated disciple of H.H.

Hridayananda das Goswami)

On the Auspicious Appearance Day of Sri Nrsimhadeva

May 11th, 2006

 

Dedication: This draft proposal is an offering to Srila Acaryadeva (H.H.

Hridayananda das Goswami) on his 34th sannyasa anniversary. It is also hoped

that Parama Pujya Gour Govinda Goswami, Srila Prabhupada's most exalted

disciple, will be pleased by this offering. May they place it at Srila

Prabhupada's feet for His Divine Grace's rejection or acceptance.

 

Purpose: To restructure the Governing Body Commission (GBC), the supreme

ecclesiastical authority for the International Society for Krishna

Consciousness (ISKCON), and to advance Srila Prabhupada's system of exams to

assist in helping to determine who would be qualified to offer diksa, as per

His Divine Grace's instructions to Hamsaduta Prabhu in a letter dated

December 3, 1968.

 

Need: This initiative echoes H.H. Bhakti Caru Swami's concerns about the

urgent need to reform ISKCON, as expressed by Maharaja in Toronto on July

20th, 2003. ISKCON, in the face of a rapidly deteriorating public image, and

even worse, in the face of a palpable lack of trust by devotees at large on

the GBC and its decisions, the dismantling of the GBC as we know is of the

essence to allow for the renewal of ISKCON, beginning with the installation

of a new GBC.

 

Procedures: By Procedures is meant the process of dismantling the GBC and

installing a new one. If goodwill and our love for Srila Prabhupada prevail,

the Procedures may take less than two months from implementation to

completion. This mechanism shall be implemented only once. It is recommended

to initiate it on Srila Prabhupada's disappearance day this year.

 

1. Restructuring Commission

 

a. A 16-member Restructuring Commission shall be formed to monitor the

Procedures.

b. The Commission shall be independent of the GBC.

c. The Commission shall have absolute authority to oversee the

Proceedings and take disciplinary action against ISKCON members violating

the guidelines for the Proceedings.

d. During the Proceedings, the Commission members will have no contact

with the GBC members.

e.During the Proceedings, GBC members will become interim administrators

for legal purposes.

 

2. Initiations

 

a. Echoing H.H. Bhakti Caru Swami's concerns, a moratorium on initiations

at all levels shall be in effect during the Proceedings.

 

3. Nominations for Commission members

 

a. Every ISKCON Temple will be asked to nominate one candidate.

b. Any ISKCON member who is an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada

will be eligible for nomination.

c. To guarantee the purity of the Proceedings, a Temple may not consult

with other Temples about its choice or campaign for any potential nominee.

d. Each Temple shall have autonomy to decide its mechanism to determine

its nominee. However, to help ensure that the members possess the highest

moral standards and to increase the credibility of the Proceedings, the

Temples are strongly advised to shun ISKCON members with a questionable

history in the Society.

e. Within two weeks of opening the nominations, the GBC shall receive all

nominations and prepare a list with all the names that were nominated. Each

name shall appear only once, regardless of how many times his or her name

was submitted.

f. The list shall be made public within a week of the closings, to allow

time for GBC members to verify whether the nominees accept the nomination.

g. It shall be the responsibility of every nominee to contact the GBC to

accept or decline the nomination. Otherwise, the name shall be automatically

deleted from the list. This shall be called the verification process.

h. The names on the list shall appear in strict alphabetical order.

i. Only the official name given at initiation shall be used to identify a

nominee.

 

4. Selecting Commission members

a. The list shall be distributed to each Temple, perhaps in electronic

form, the day immediately following the closing of the verification process.

b. Each Temple may select as many candidates as it deems worthy of such

trust.

c. Within a week, the GBC shall receive the ballots and make the list

public with every name followed by its approval rate.

d. The approval rate is the number of votes a nominee receives, divided

by the total number of Temples.

e. The sixteen nominees with the highest approval rate shall become the

members of the Commission.

f. In case of a tie for the sixteenth place, the nominees shall be asked

to decide among themselves who should serve in the Commission. If no

agreement is reached in 24 hours, then those nominees will be automatically

disqualified to be part of the Commission. In this case, the Commission

shall be composed of less than 16 members.

g. The primary task of the Commission shall be to rapidly implement the

decision-making mechanism to select the new GBC and to oversee the purity of

the Proceedings.

 

5. Nominations for GBC members

a. Every Temple will be asked to nominate up to three candidates.

b. Any ISKCON member with second initiation will be eligible for

nomination.

c. To guarantee the purity of the Proceedings, a Temple may not consult

with other Temples about its choices or campaign for any potential nominee.

d. Each Temple shall have autonomy to decide its mechanism to determine

its nominees. However, to help ensure that the members possess the highest

moral standards and to increase the credibility of the Proceedings, the

Temples are strongly advised to shun ISKCON members with a questionable

history in ISKCON.

e. Within two weeks of opening the nominations, the Commission shall

receive all nominations and prepare a list with all the names that were

nominated. Each name shall appear only once, regardless of how many times

his or her name was submitted.

f. The list shall be made public within a week of the closings, to allow

time for Commission members to contact the nominees to verify whether they

accept the nomination.

g. It shall be the responsibility of every nominee to contact the

Commission to accept or decline the nomination. Otherwise, the name shall be

automatically deleted from the list. This shall be called the verification

process.

h. The names on the list shall appear in strict alphabetical order.

i. Only the official name given at initiation shall be used to identify a

nominee.

 

6. Selecting GBC members

a. The list shall be distributed to each Temple, perhaps in electronic

form, immediately the day following the closing of the verification process.

b. Each Temple may select as many candidates as it deems worthy of such

trust.

c. Within a week, the Comission shall receive the ballots and make the

list public with every name followed by its approval rate.

d. The approval rate is the number of votes a nominee receives, divided

by the total number of Temples.

e. Every nominee obtaining a 90% approval rate or higher shall be

accepted as a member of the new GBC, regardless of the number of them.

However, probabilistically speaking and given ISKCON's internal battles,

this number might not exceed twenty.

f. It shall be understood that these elected nominees have the confidence

of the brahminical community at large in ISKCON.

g. The primary task of the new GBC shall be to conscientiously but

rapidly implement the decision-making mechanism delineated by Srila

Prabhupada to decide who would be qualified to initiate disciples.

 

7. Installation of new GBC

a. The new GBC shall be installed in Mayapur during the Gaura Purnima

immediately following the Proceedings (hopefully next year).

 

8. Mission of new GBC

a. To take over the responsibilities of the former GBC, with all its

powers bestowed on the new GBC.

b. Decide on the status of currently accepted initiating spiritual

masters.

c. To establish Srila Prabhupada's system of exams to decide who would be

qualified to offer initiation, as His Divine Grace expressed his wishes to

Hamsaduta Prabhu dated December 3, 1968. The text of the letter follows.

 

"Next January there will be an examination on this Bhagavad-gita. Papers

will be sent by me to all centers, and those securing the minimum passing

grade will be given the title as Bhakti-sastri. Similarly, another

examination will be held on Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day in February, 1970

and it will be upon Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. Those passing will

get the title of Bhakti-vaibhava. Another examination will be held sometimes

in 1971 on the four books, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Teachings of

Lord Caitanya, and Nectar of Devotion. One who will pass this examination

will be awarded with the title of Bhaktivedanta. I want that all of my

spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so

that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the

generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to

initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples will be allowed to

initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program. So

we should not simply publish these books for reading by outsiders, but our

students must be well versed in all of our books so that we can be prepared

to defeat all opposing parties in the matter of self-realization.

 

OM TAT SAT

(Text PAMHO:11565462) -----

 

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