Proposed 10 point actions plan to strengthen GBC authority
1 Introduce daily GBC puja. Of course not individual member should be worshiped but only a group picture that is updated every year. Emeritus members should be represented by the name only
2 New devotees before being qualified and chanting prabhupada pranam mantra should receive GBC pranam mantra that will reflect their relationship with the body. Only after six month of GBC pranam should a person have a right to choose a diksa guru
3 Premadhavani prayers should have mandatory second verse GBC-guru-vrinda ki jaya
4 T-shirts with a group picture of this year GBC should be issued to all temple devotees after Mayapur festival
5 GBC astakam should be composed by BBT Sanskrit scholars and should be performed on a yearly basis in all preaching centers and on daily basis in temples worldwide
6 GBC should personally hand over all pay preferably in cash to all members who are on a ISKCON payroll
7 Separate asana foot pillow should be used for all speakers who are GBC
8 Temple presidents should have siksa relationships with their GBC and have their picture prominently displayed on the altar. Picture should be updated yearly
9 In case of co-GBC a senior GBC should have a role of picture representation
10 Initiating gurus that are not GBC should select at least one GBC who is responsible for their spiritual life and can be contracted in case conflict of interest arises
To Mishra: Does this mean that after all these years of austerity,which had as results,billions of dollars of assets and goodwill[in spite of scandals] will have to be enjoyed by a few.Didn't Prabhupada say:never leave Iskcon,no matter what happens?Briefly,isn't it a defeatist mood?
I am not "leaving" ISKCON, in fact I am returning to ISKCON by doing the above, cause ISKCON is not the GBC. GBC depends on ISKCON, not the reverse. Proof is that Srila Prabhupada himself excluded the authority of the GBC a couple times and the movement went on. And no, I am not interested in the millions of dollars, assets and perks that come by being a blind loyalist. If you marry I will say to you: stay married. If your wife goes crazy and attacks you with a knife 10 times in a row, would I say the same thing? Just a question of context and common sense.
One thing to bear in mind that statements that say "The GBC this" or "The GBC that" are usually limited in their value. If you know members of the GBC, there are very few statements that you can make that apply to them all, or even a majority of them.
Statements about "the GBC" usually mask intellectual laziness and popular rhetoric, rather than rigorous analysis.
It's a little like saying: "The White Man is the cause of the problem, and now it's time for the Black Man to take the power back!"
It stirs the blood and rouses the rabble, but it just lumps a whole lot of people of diverse personalities, motives, and realizations together, conveniently.
that's exactly how GBC presents itself as an unaccountable "mass", so if someone is angry at the "mass", not their fault. Not ALWAYS their fault at least.
Thank you all for support of the proposal. We should bring it up to the GBC meeting to have a stronger spiritual stand and make it more personal too. Boro
I have the opinion that if the GBC is to blame for ISKCON's failures then logically we have to give them credit for ISKCON success also. We cannot cut off the chicken's head as the saying goes. How can we put all ISKCON success on the unguided masses and the failures on the leaders?
perhaps the fact that " there are very few statements that you can make that apply to them all, or even a majority of them." is exactly what makes them the object of scrutiny. Srila Prabhupada used the expression "caesar's wife must be above suspicion" and certainly that applies here. wouldn't it be wonderful if we could say "everyone of them follows the 4 regulative principles as surely as they eat or sleep", or "maharaj X is always the first one in the temple room for mangal arti, no matter what temple he arrives at", but more often pointing out the facts of transgressions (which later often prove to be grounds for dismissal from those positions) seems to somehow be the fault of the whistleblower and not the miscreants. the charges of "faultfinding", the cloak by which nefarious activities can be swept under the rug, even at the highest levels of the administration of this movement, may prevent individuals from speaking out, but that does not sanction the rascal behavior, it simply allows the deviants anonimity for their acts.
I am completely sure that at least 5 of the above should be part of GBC Constitution! Not everything that looks like a joke is a joke. Who is your guru? - GBC!
