If you feel like that write to the current GBC chair: Bhanu.Swami (at) pamho.net

I referred you to him since he's the person to get feedback about GBC members. This forum is not exactly about GBC in/efficiency and stuff. I wouldn't say you are offensive in the sastric sense, just allowing yourself to become frustrated and spreading this to others regardless if they want to listen to it or not. Since you got hardly any response so far, it seems devotees are not very happy about it but they are politely tolerating it.

How I feel won't change anything. He's promoting his health business. Most devotees have some businesses to support themselves and I don't know if there is any related ban for GBCs. I've never met him and don't know his asram - is he a grihastha or a vanaprastha? Vanaprastha should run no business anymore.

sitapati:

I'm more interested to know what Tulsiananda das does - where is his website? :-)

???

Tulsiananda prabhu, it's rude of me to talk as if you weren't here. I apologise. Do you have a website?

I don't think there is anything wrong with such a site. He may be a GBC member but I guess he has some other existence. He is public about it. If there were more qualified people maybe they could take over his responsibilities. As long as such activities are public it is good. Devotees in ISKCON know what the GBC are doing and if there are more qualified people they can take over. I think it is better than deifying the gbc.

..it's nice to see so many sincere replies to my question.

The purpose of the site His is contained in the opening paragraph: " What has prompted me to publish this collection of Armenian proverbs is to create a web gathering of Armenians and other interested persons. As the Armenians are spread all over the world, there is a need to gather in a forum to live, share, and evolve our culture "

Would Prabhupada approve of one of His GBC men promoting maya on the www ? Harivilasa as spent hundreds of hours over the past 2 years writing his purports
for over 300 armenian proverbs.this isn't a cut and paste affair.Harivilas should choose bettween spreading Krishna Consciouness and Armenian Consciouness.

Alamaragura says " Devotees in ISKCON know what the GBC are doing " , not so my freind,several recent NA GBC meetings minutes are being kept secret
by the NA GBC,so what is it that they are hiding from the rest of the devotees?

There is a link to His business on the side-bar,but the purpose is to enlighten the public with Armenian proverbs,is that what the world is lacking today,Armenian proverbs?

Veda Prabhu has said : " I referred you to him ( Bhanu Swami ) since he's the person to get feedback about GBC members " where does it say that ? My SP Gopal Krishna Maharaja and Praghosa dasa ( Dandavats ) suggest I take any complaints to " NA Leadership " so I posted my request to find out whom they might be on
PAMHO.NET, their adminstrators removed my simple request from the site 2 hours later.

Harivilas has recently banned the Iskcon Vancouver temple, New Gokula, from having a temple board,the temple has not had a Temple President for almost 6 years,He also had the devotees there sign a mysterious transfer of powers document,Prabhupada would never allow such nonsense.How can a temple function or attain it's maximum potential without a Board or Temple President,answer me that one ?

..one question at a time prabhu, one question at a time .

Who cares about Armenian culture then? What is this world coming to?

we generally shouldn't mix facts with sentiments but shouldn't dismiss facts on the grounds of being tinged with sentiments either.

regarding that vancouver-temple issue (which would have to be a different question, of course): does anybody here have direct experience or friends involved in the vancouver temple? before even thinking about this i'd like to see others' opinions ...

And yes, I still have trust in GBC. :P

>Veda Prabhu has said : " I referred you to him ( Bhanu Swami ) since he's the person to get feedback about GBC members " where does it say that ? My SP Gopal Krishna Maharaja and Praghosa dasa ( Dandavats ) suggest I take any complaints to " NA Leadership " so I posted my request to find out whom they might be on
PAMHO.NET, their adminstrators removed my simple request from the site 2 hours later.

It's a common sense to approach a boss (here GBC chair) in case of an employee (GBC member).
On pamho there is a conf. called NAGBC (North American GBC). Organizer (email): Bir.Krishna.das.Goswami at pamho.net

I think that regardless of the "passion" showed in the message, the Prabhu needs and deserves some explanation and real resolve. Be it even "that is not your business" or "there is no proof of your statements" or something. Administrative silence "merry go round" is never good and never works at least for the thoughtful devotees. Then we wonder why nice devotees leave us.

Suggestion: Tell all this directly to Bhanu S. and as many GBCs as possible.

Who cares about Armenian culture then?

[p] ... i guess many armenians do ... [/p]

Since Phani Prabhu has struck up a nice relationship with Harivilas Prabhu,perhaps He can ask Harivilasa what He has been doing to find Iskcon Vancouver a Temple President,and what about dismatleing the Temple Board,

[p]i'll do no such thing just because you say so. until i hear some people i consider trustworthy and cool-headed tell me there's something wrong in vancouver, i'll not even think about this issue.[/p]
[p]and since you're so eager to show that harivilas prabhu's preaching efforts are useless, i'd like to hear something about your own efforts and successes in this regard. if, as i suspect, all you do is criticize others, i'm not surprised that none of the GBCs and other ISKCON officers wants to listen to you. and, frankly, i'm getting tired of listening to you, too.[/p]

.... maybe i should do an online e-course on how to criticize properly ? ....

ekendra:

.... maybe i should do an online e-course on how to criticize properly ? ....

[p]i'm not sure if you are serious; but if you are, i'll sign up for the course.[/p]

...and now a word from Srila Prabhupada :

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.5.10

na yad vacaś citra-padaḿ harer yaśo
jagat-pavitraḿ pragṛṇīta karhicit
tad vāyasaḿ tīrtham uśanti mānasā
na yatra haḿsā niramanty uśik-kṣayāḥ

TRANSLATION

Those words which do not describe the glories of the Lord, who alone can sanctify the atmosphere of the whole universe, are considered by saintly persons to be like unto a place of pilgrimage for crows. Since the all-perfect persons are inhabitants of the transcendental abode, they do not derive any pleasure there.

PURPORT

Similarly, there are different kinds of literature for different types of men of different mentality. Mostly the market literatures which attract men of the crow's categories are literatures containing refused remnants of sensuous topics. They are generally known as mundane talks in relation with the gross body and subtle mind. They are full of subject matter described in decorative language full of mundane similes and metaphorical arrangements. Yet with all that, they do not glorify the Lord. Such poetry and prose, on any subject matter, is considered decoration of a dead body. Spiritually advanced men who are compared to the swans do not take pleasure in such dead literatures, which are sources of pleasure for men who are spiritually dead. These literatures in the modes of passion and ignorance are distributed under different labels, but they can hardly help the spiritual urge of the human being, and thus the swanlike spiritually advanced men have nothing to do with them. Such spiritually advanced men are called also mānasa because they always keep up the standard of transcendental voluntary service to the Lord on the spiritual plane. This completely forbids fruitive activities for gross bodily sense satisfaction or subtle speculation of the material egoistic mind.


I rest my case.