Guru Tattva Discussions

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GBC Hansard Report 7 -- Guru Tattva Discussions

 

Troubled Waters Foreseen

 

CALCUTTA, INDIA, Feb. 4, 1999 -- Madhusevita dasa prabhu, H.H. Niranjana Swami and H.H. Sivarama Swami were among the GBC members aboard Jet Airways Flight number 901 from Delhi to Calcutta this morning. Abhirama dasa prabhu was also aboard, as well as another half-dozen devotees.

 

The flight left on time despite problems with the Raytheon radar system recently installed at IGI airport in New Delhi, which has resulted in major delays in flights both in and out of the airport. In recent days, many flights stood on the tarmac for hours waiting for takeoff clearance. Airline officials claim the delays are because of the new radar system.

 

Some devotees, including GBC members, claimed to be held up six or more hours before their flight was allowed to leave for India because of this problem. A KLM flight on Monday was held up in Amsterdam for 12 hours. This was the direct result of both the new Raytheon radar system and foggy weather on the runway in India.

 

But this morning all went well aboard Jet Airways, and the flight took off from New Delhi on time and landed in Calcutta ten minutes early. Jet Airways is a private domestic airline company that operates independently of the government owned Indian Airlines.

 

During the flight, Sivarama Swami was working on his computer. He is finishing editing a book about Lord Krsna's Vrndavana pastimes.

 

Madhusevita prabhu sat quietly chanting japa. Niranjana Swami, exhausted from his flight from Russia to Boston, and from Boston to India, carried a large amount of chudi noodles and sandwiches, which he offered to devotees on the flight. None of the devotees accepted any meals or beverages offered by the flight crew.

 

Some GBC members see troubled waters ahead for ISKCON. Niranjana Swami said he thinks the future may bring a "scaling down" of ISKCON.

 

Some temples may become ritvik or Gaudia Matha in the future, but he also feels nothing will be resolved this year and the GBC body will not turn ISKCON into a ritvik or Gaudia Matha movement now or in the future. If a scaling down were to take place, it would because of temples and devotees breaking away, not because the GBC decided to change Srila Prabhupada's instructions by adopting ritvik concoctions.

 

He gave his unofficial opinion during the three-hour drive from the Calcutta airport to Mayapur today.

 

Abhirama dasa prabhu thinks the Mayapur festival will be sparsely attended this year. The Russian devotees are no longer receiving funding to go to India as in previous years. They have made up nearly half of all foreign devotees attending the Mayapur festival in recent years.

 

The GBC Deputies begin their meetings tomorrow (February 5th).

 

GBC meetings are scheduled to begin on the 7th. CHAKRA will continue to give you on-the-scene reporting from inside the meetings.

 

GBC members and the EC are already planning to discuss large issues this year, including issues pertaining to ritvik. They will discuss what to do about temples and devotees, particularly in India, who have adopted that theory. Those discussions are slated to begin on February 10.

 

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Subcommittees Discussing Guru Reform

 

By Vipramukhya Swami

 

MAYAPURA, INDIA, Feb. 7, 1999 -- Today the four GBC subcommittees met. They were all dealing with the subject of Guru-reform.

 

Their mission was to first analyze the problems which exist in the guru system as it's been applied in ISKCON, second to come up with solutions to the problems, and thirdly to develop practical programs for implementing the solutions.

 

The four subcommittees then all came up with their analyses. A special subcommittee met in the afternoon to distill the special points from the work of the four committees. They will present their summary tomorrow to the plenary session of the GBC. CHAKRA will be there to report the results.

 

In the meantime the four subcommittees have been discussing the GBC system in ISKCON. The role of the body, the role of the members, qualifications of membership has all been discussed in depth.