BBT Court Case Settled in Court

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VNN has learned that the BBT-International, Inc., and ISKCON of California, Inc. vs. Hans Kary (Hansadutta das) case has settled today in a California court. After around the clock negotiations for over two weeks both parties have settled their dispute, which has divided followers of Srila Prabhupada and is said to have costed over one Million dollars in legal fees.

 

At the heart of the dispute was the validity of the original BBT Trust, established by Srila Prabhupada himself, and its lifelong appointed trustees, which was challenged by the BBTI (BBT-International) established by Harikesa das.

 

The settlement documents were signed before the California Superior Court today in Los Angeles, putting an end to this critical conflict which has pained the Vaishnava community so much.

 

The terms of the settlement are confidential at the moment, but a joined statement by both parties is to be released in 10 days.

 

VNN has learned however that one of the benefits of the settlement will be that pre-1978 editions of Srila Prabhupada's books will be made available to the public. The "edited" editions of Prabhupada's books had caused much controversy since many Prabhupada disciples felt that nothing should be changed in their guru's books, while others in ISKCON believed that errors and faulty translation of Prabhupada's transcripts should be corrected, leading sometimes to unnecessary changes to Prabhupada's teachings, as some have alleged. (See VNN Coverage)

 

The original BBT, established by Srila Prabhupada, was also validated by both parties in writing today.

 

Many Vaishnavas felt a sigh of relief due to this significant breakthrough in this most critical issue involving the copyrights to Srila Prabhupada's books. Many Vaishnavas feel today that this settlement is an historic milestone in the history of ISKCON and Vaishnavism in the world, since it gives new hope for a new era of cooperation in the worldwide Vaishnava community.