GBC meetings - 2

[Guest guest]

Day Two of the G.B.C. Meetings

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

 

(Reporting: Tattvavit Dasa)

 

The day's agenda: Straw voting and a BBT presentation about the editing of

Srila Prabhupada's books.

 

The GBC Conference Room is decorated with artwork made by the school

children in Mayapur: papier-mache faces of Lord Nrsimhadeva and colored

drawings of Lord Jagannatha performing various imaginary activities

(e.g., riding on the back of a dolphin, flying a private jet, and driving a

convertible sports car into Puri).

 

Bhaktivaibhava Swami (GBC chairman) began the meeting by advising the GBC

members that they need to direct their comments and discussions more

carefully in order to be more effective as a body. Offering an example, he

said that during a discussion of a proposal, if a member withholds criticism

until the last minute before a vote, this undermines the GBC's ability to

build on constructive criticism or can obstruct progress. Thus he asked a

deputy to provide guidelines for the day's straw-voting process.

 

The guidelines were: Once a proposal is presented, comments are to be made

in this order: (1) questions (2) comments in favor and (3) comments against.

The existing system that the members follow is this: In addition to

discussing proposals, they may record any of their comments on the voting

forms, or comment in person to the deputies who adapt each resolution on the

basis of that input for the final vote later in the meetings.

 

 

The Straw Voting

 

Aniruddha Prabhu, a deputy, projected each proposal on a screen and read it.

Then he read from the screen the answers given by the devotee(s) who

submitted the proposal to two questions asked about all proposals: What

Prompts This? Why Is It Important? Finally, he showed and read the working

committee's comments, made in three categories: Positive, Minus, and

Interesting. He also showed and read the results of the straw vote taken

among the ten or so deputies who worked on the proposals in committees.

 

After discussing a proposal, the GBC members write their votes on individual

forms. During the morning session, eight proposals were discussed and voted

on:

 

1) Correcting a Misspelling in the Gayatri Mantra Sheet

2) Leaders Submitting Financial Reports

3) Financial Reports of Trusts

4) Clarifying Standards for Srila's Prabhupada Worship

5) The German Yatra's Emergency Action

6) A EURO GBC Officer's Extension of Duty

7) Kirtan Standards in ISKCON

8) Discipline of ISKCON Officials

 

These proposals occupied the first session of the morning.

 

There was a break for chanting Gayatri and drinking juice, and then the GBC

members discussed and did straw voting on the proposed zonal changes for the

coming year.

 

 

Editing the BBT books

 

Brahma Muhurta Prabhu made an informative presentation outlining the BBT's

reasons for continuing to edit Srila Prabhupada's books. He explained that

the BBT's goal is to ensure that the BBT books are as accurate as possible;

that any errors made earlier in the editing process are corrected. He

offered numerous examples of transcribers of Srila Prabhupada's tapes

misunderstanding his pronunciation. Because of this, many grammatical or

more substantive errors ended up in BBT publications. He made a case that

the editing of the BBT books should not be frozen, and said that while many

devotees are misinformed about the editing process, when the need for

accuracy in Srila Prabhupada's books is understood, they appreciate the

BBT's efforts.

 

The meeting ended with an announcement that the next morning's session would

start an hour earlier, so that the meeting could recess at noon and the GBC

members could attend the vyasa-puja ceremony of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati Maharaja.