Guest guest Posted March 5, 1999 Report Share Posted March 5, 1999 ICC Meeting, Vrindavana October 27, 28, 29, 1998 A- Discussions on Guru The ICC dedicated the first two days of their meeting to a dialogue on the topic of gurus in ISKCON. The main presentors were Prthu Prabhu, Yasomatinandana Prabhu, Bhakti Svarupa Damodar Swami, Madhu Pandit Prabhu, Jayapataka Swami and Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami. On the second day proposals for a reform were put forward and voted upon in a straw vote. These included proposals freshly drafted by some of the ICC members as well as lists compiled by devotees in Radhadesh, Mayapur and Brazil.There was a straw vote on the proposals put forward. The ICC resolved: The the proposals that gained clear acceptance, i.e. that obtained more than 45 votes in favor, are adopted as official suggestions from the ICC body to the GBC body. Giriraja Maharaja agreed to reword them. These are as follows (Not reworded): Proposals by Radhanath Maharaja: 1. That specific programs be instituted to educate all ISKCON devotees to understand that Srila Prabhupadais the Founder - Acarya - prominent siksa- Guru - of ISKCON, and that all ISKCON devotees have a direct and sacred relationship with Srila Prabhupada as their Founder - acarya and prominent siksa - guru. VOTE: Unanimous 2. That all devotees performing the service of giving diksa accept a very simple profile as "regular guru" and give ultimate importance to Srila Pabhupada and the previous acaryas for the unity of the society and protection of the disciples. VOTE: 2 abstentions, all others in favor 3. That a system of accountability be introduced to monitor the conduct of all leaders. VOTE: Unanimous 4. That an educational program be instituted to systematically train all leaders in philosophy, vainava ettiquette, ISKCON law, caring for devotees, etc., That all prospective initiating gurus take the courses and receive Bhaktisastri, Bhaktivaibhava and Bhaktivedanta degrees, and that, further, the personal qualities of the prospective gurus be carefully examined before they are granted "no objection" to initiate. VOTE: 3 abstentions, all others in favor Proposals from Mayapur: 17. At the time of initiation, the Guru should make the prospective disciple understand Srila Prabhupada's position as the foundational siksha-guru for every ISKCON Member. VOTE: 4 abstentions, all others in favor 18. In the main/large temples, worship of Srila Prabhupada should be made grander. VOTE: 3 abstentions, all others in favor The ICC resolved: That a committee of GBCs and senior managers is formed to continue the dialogue on the guru issue, using the two-day Vrindavana discussions as a starting point. The committee members committed themselves to dedicate several days of their time to meet together, tentatively during the first week of December, and come up with a presentation for the next ICC meeting. The presention would then be further developed as a recommendation to the GBC Body from the ICC. Members Gopal Krsna Goswami Madhu Pandit Dasa Yasomatinandana Dasa Vedavyasa Priya Swami Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami Jnanagamya Dasa Mahaman Dasa Bhima Dasa Jayapataka Swami Radhanath Swami Giriraja Swami Pancaratna Dasa, Chairman Vrindavana Candra Dasa The ICC resolved: That the notes taken during the discussions and the results of the straw votes will be circulated to the ICC and the GBC. B- National India Communications Pancaratna Prabhu reported Hari-dhama Prabhu’s final decision to retire from communications services to focus on hospices and care for the dying, and his willingness to continue helping India communications as a consultant. While communications on national level have not been re-activated after Hari-dhama Prabhu’s departure, local communications are successfully developing in many centers. A good progress was reported from Bombay, where Parijata Mataji has been serving steadily under an overseeing committee of senior temple devotees, congregation members and media members. The covering of the opening of the Delhi temple was one of the best in ISKCON’s history, with India’s Prime Minister inaugurating the project and 200 journalists attending. A round of applause was given to Gopal Krsna Maharaja and the Delhi devotees. The ICC renews it encouragement to all temple managers to identify a suitable person in each center to become a communications specialist. Param Dham Prabhu, a congregational devotee from Delhi, expressed his eagerness to give 2 to 3 hours of his time daily for national communications services, to help local/regional communications specialists to get trained and assist them in major events. (See 15-point plan by Hari-dham Prabhu.) The ICC resolved: That Param Dham Prabhu is appointed as National Communications Director, specifically to deal with the media. Maha-mantra Prabhu is the Communications Director for Governmemt Relations. Both will coordinate their activities together as required. The ICC resolved: That the overseeing Nationa Communications Committee is revived and expanded to include devotees actively involved in communications all over India such as, Devaki-nandana Prabhu, Madhu Pandit Prabhu, Parijata Mataji, Sarvabhauma Prabhu, Param Jyoti Prabhu, etc. The ICC welcomed the participation of Param Dham Prabhu and all the added members. C- 80G status ISKCON’s all-India Chief Accountant, Mr. Kapadia, made the following presentation re. 80G tax exemption priviledge: ISKCON’s present 80G status was obtained this year with great difficulty. It is valid till March 1999 and it won’t be possible to renew it further in the name of “ISKCON” as the law now forbids any organization that has one or more religious closes in their memorendum to avail the 80G status. In order to continue offering the facility to its donors to make tax-exempt donations ISKCON will have to discriminate between its charitable and religious activities. For this purpose a new trust called “ISKCON Foundation” will be registered. This new trust will be strictly for charitable purposes (such as FFL, gosalas, hospitals, etc.) and will not be allowed to have any expenditures of religious nature. Each center will thus run two accounts, one for receiving donations of charitable nature (ISKCON Foundation account), including life-membership donations, and another for donations of religious nature (ISKCON), including life-membership donations from members who are not interested in tax-exemption). Since all properties are in ISKCON’s name, the new trust will rent facilities from ISKCON, thus providing a source of income. Mr. Kapadia will train the local accountants and temple presidents how to establish the trust and educate them re. the activities it can be involved and the details of the rules and regulations. D- Congregational Preaching Madhu Pandit Prabhu made a presentation re. some difficulties that arouse in Bangalore where a portion of the congregation separated itself from the temple. He saw the split as a consequence of the highly organized and practically hierarchically system promoted by the cell program, which allows the congregation to grow in a very organized fashion with leaders at different levels. In response, Pancaratna Prabhu, reminded one and all that the growth of the congregation must be based on leadership quality more than membership quantity, i.e. spiritual development rather than fast development. If it is developed so, the system functions harmoniously, as displayed at ISKCON Chowpatty, where the large congregation fully supports the temple in a variety of ways, while having its own support system for congregation members themselves. Yasomatinanda Prabhu stressed that congregation members must be encouraged to become assistants to the full-time devotees, but not necessarily part of the management. And they should always consider the temple president as the temple authority. Jayapataka Maharaja added that involvement in management is not ruled out for serious congregational devotees who have become dedicated devotees. We should not see all congregational devotees as neophytes. Radhanath Maharaja explained that there must be communication, cooperation and respect between temple devotees and congregational devotees. They must be taught to work together and respect each other. Madhu Pandit Prabhu invited Radhanath Maharaja to visit Bangalore. E- Discipline issue The ICC resolved: That a standing committee of Navayogendra Swami, Gopal Krsna Goswami, Pancaratna Dasa, Maha-mantra Dasa and Sarvabhauma Dasa is formed to deal with discipline issues in North India. The committee will report during next ICC meeting on the following matters: - Lucknow issue - Existence of a center in Merat - Temples/devotees enrolling life-members for amounts lesser than the official fee. Gopal Krsna Goswami will talk to Vineet Narayana re. not entertaining negative media coverage. F- Election of officers Chairman: Pancaratna Dasa VOTE: Unanimour Vice-chairman: Damodara Svarupa Dasa VOTE: majority with 15 in favor Secretary: Vedavyasa Priya Swami VOTE: Unanimous G- Next meeting of the ICC The ICC will meet again before the Gaura Purnima GBC meetings, on January 28-29 (Thursday-Friday) in Ahmedabad. (NB: There will be a Ratha Yatra in Dvaraka on January 26) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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