GBC meetings - 10

[Guest guest]

Day Ten of the G.B.C. Meetings

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

 

(Reporting: Tattvavit Dasa)

 

Today's agenda: Children's visit, Executive Committee election, voting.

 

The GBC members received a copy of the new small Indian paperback edition of

Peter Burwash's "The Key to Great Leadership" from the director of

Torchlight Publishing.

 

 

Children's visit

 

Thirty-five well-behaved, uniformed students (aged 5 to 10) from the student

body of 250 students at Bhaktivedanta National School on Bhaktisiddhanta

Road came to the GBC Conference Room.

 

As they entered, these little visitors were immediately invited by the GBC

members to sit on their own chairs around the meeting table. Sita got the

chairman's seat and was declared the new chairperson. Praghosa Prabhu

proposed that all GBCs retire after the age of eighteen and that kids become

the new GBCs. The children passed this resolution unanimously.

 

The students had made cards for each GBC member, and they each received an

Ekadasi cookie and a box of colored pencils from the GBC. One boy recited

slokas for everyone's pleasure at the end. Then the children congregated

around the juice bar outside the conference room and enjoyed refreshing

drinks before returning to school.

 

 

Executive Committee election

 

Choosing next year's Executive Committee will take place tomorrow, but it

was discussed today. It is expected that new officers will be chosen who can

push forward the GBC's strategic planning initiatives.

 

Additional ideas are to put deputies and temple presidents on the EC, and

for the senior EC officers to oversee them. This important idea will begin

to solidify at the June GBC meeting.

 

 

Voting

 

The GBC voted that a World Holy Name Day be annually celebrated at temples

worldwide, to coincide with and commemorate Srila Prabhupada's arrival in

the USA. Lokanath Swami, Janananda Prabhu, and Ekalavya Prabhu will be the

coordinators.

 

The GBC discussed (and took a straw vote on) a proposal to lower the

percentage of votes by an area council needed to endorse a guru candidate

from three-fourths to two-thirds.

 

The GBC discussed its budgets for 2006 and 2007.

 

The GBC voted to reaffirm the devotees in charge of the ISKCON Ministries.

 

The GBC body spent the rest of the morning discussing and voting on a

resolution concerning the situation of Dhanudhara Swami. This discussion

began yesterday in a closed plenary session, but today the GBC deputies were

invited to take part. Ravindra Swarupa Prabhu chaired this session, because

he was on the subcommittee working on this resolution, as were Hridayananda

Maharaja, Sivarama Swami, Radhanatha Swami, Badrinarayana Prabhu, Anuttama

Prabhu, and Tamohara Prabhu. The discussion continued a long time, and the

GBC dealt decisively with this issue.

 

The GBC endeavored to balance the aspects of the case and took into account

the concerns of all involved parties. The GBC wants to build a consensus.

The GBC exercised restraint by not taking sides and by stressing the

essential principles to uphold. The resolution clarified ISKCON's standards

of leadership as they affect both society and individuals, took some

additional initiative to promote reconciliation, and apologized for its

shortcomings. The resolution will be published in due course.