No women in management positions

[Guest guest]

Krishna Kirtan Mataji commented as follows:

 

> I do agree with you, that it is a

> managerial issue and should be left to the new, fresh and qualified

> restructured GBC.

 

Well, I sincerely hope we have a new, fresh, and qualified restructured GBC

sometime soon. It is going to require a lot of additional patience. Calls

for reform from the rank and file have been there before, but seldom have

the reformers exhibited sufficient patience to see the process through to a

meaningful conclusion. Too many reformers have lost heart due to resistance

from the powers-at-be (they have learned to be expert at trying the patience

of reformers and wearing down their resolve -- which is natural, I guess). A

big problem also is that due to lack of organization and mutual trust among

the reformers there manifest vast differences concerning the necessary

strategy required to achieve the reform goals, and internal disputes arise,

further weakening the resolve. Many, many have become discouraged also at

this and have gone away.

 

It seems we should be careful to avoid setting specific time frames for

anything to come from the other side. If we actually want to reform ISKCON

we need to be in it for the longterm and with a desire simply to do our duty

for our own purification. We should see our reform efforts as simply service

to Srila Prabhupada and the vaisnavas, not as an opportunity for us to

develop some niche for ourselves which we don't have in the current regime

-- keeping in the back of our mind that if such a niche is not forthcoming

then we will strike out on our independent program in the not too distant

future. (Or even worse still, seeing reform as an opportunity to settle a

few scores with those leaders who have hurt us in the past.)

 

Taking up the banner of reform is a very heavy responsibility. It is a

struggle in itself, with so many setbacks to be encountered -- and then if

it is successful it is even more of a struggle to actually implement the

promises of reform.

 

But I am very encouraged by the mutual respect and cooperative mood, in

general, of the participants in these conferences. It has given some hope.

Let's keep moving forward.

 

I suggest we vote on Sri Ram's proposal and accept it as a first step (not

cast in stone).

 

Your servant, Bhaktarupa Das