ISKCON GOVERNING BODY COMMISSION SOCIETY

Registration Number S/74662 under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961

P.O. Shree Mayapur Dham, Dist. Nadia, West Bengal 741313

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

SRI MAYAPUR DHAM, FEBRUARY 6 – 17, 2010


Go to 2010 Zonal Assignments


Section 100: APPOINTMENTS

101. GBC Officers and Members

RESOLVED:

1. His Grace Madhu Sevita Das is elected GBC Chairman.

2. His Grace Hrdaya Caitanya Das is elected First Vice-Chairman.

3. His Holiness Bhakti Caitanya Swami is elected Second Vice-Chairman.

4. His Holiness Bhakti Purusottama Swami is elected GBC Secretary.

5. His Grace Tamohara Das is appointed as Full GBC member.

6. Her Grace Dina Sharana Dasi is appointed as Acting GBC member.

7. His Grace Candrasekhara Acarya Das is appointed as Assistant GBC member.

8. His Grace Kaunteya Das continues as Candidate GBC member.

9. His Grace Chaitanya Chandra Charan Das continues as Candidate GBC member.

10. The resignation of His Holiness Hridayananda Das Goswami as GBC member is accepted.
 

102. Sannyasa Waiting List

RESOLVED:

That the following are the candidates for sannyasa for 2010 along with their respective waiting periods:

 

Abhaya Das

1 year

Acala Das

1 year

Carudesna Das

1 year

Carudesna Das BTS

4 years

Devamrita Das

this year

Gadadhara Priya Das

3 years

Janardana Das

3 years

Lilasuka Das

5 years

Mahadyuti Das

3 years

Makhanlal Das

this year

Markandeya Rsi Das

1 year

Narayana Kavaca Das

3 years

Nitai Caitanya Das

this year

Nitai Prasad Das

2 years

Siddhartha Das

this year

Uttamasloka Das

4 years

Vaisnava Das

3 years

Vivasvan Das

4 years


103. Reaffirmation of Ministries and Standing Committees

RESOLVED:

That the following are the Ministry and Standing Committee assignments for 2010-2011:

Ministry of Communications

Minister – Anuttama Das

Ministry of Health and Welfare

Minister – Prahladananda Swami

Congregational Development Ministry

Co-Ministers – Jayapataka Swami, Kaunteya Das

Vaisnavi Ministry

Interim Committee – Malati Dasi, Prasanta Dasi, Laxmimoni Dasi, Dina Sharana Dasi

ISKCON Youth Ministry

Minister – Manu Das

Ministry of Sannyasa Services

Minister – Prahladananda Swami
Sannyasa Standing Committee: Hrdaya Caitanya Das, Sivarama Swami, Guru Prasad Swami, A.C. Bhaktivaibhava Swami, Bhakti Caitanya Swami, Prahladananda Swami

ISKCON Ministry of Deity Worship

Minister – Nrsimha Kavaca Das

Ministry of Book Distribution

Minister – Vijaya Das

Ministry of Cow Protection and Agriculture

Minister – Balabhadra Das

Ministry of Padayatra

Minister – Lokanath Swami

Ministry of Educational Development

Minister – Sesa Das. Other members: Laxmimoni Dasi, Saunaka Rsi Das,  Yadunandana Swami, Radhika Raman Das

Sastric Advisory Council

Members – Purnacandra Goswami (Chairman), Gopiparanadhana Das, Drutakarma Das, Urmila Dasi, Mukunda Datta Das

Ministry of Justice

Minister – Sesa Das

Ministry of Fund Development

Minister – Devakinandan Das

International Steering Committee

Initial Members – GBC Executive Committee (ex-officio), Ramai Swami, Bhakti Charu Swami, Bhakti Vijnana Goswami, Gopal Krsna Goswami, Revati Raman Das, Ambarisa Das, and Devakinandan Das

ISKCON Property Office

Members – Current GBC Executive Committee, Bhaktarupa Das (Member-Secretary)

ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection

Director – Champakalata Dasi

GBC Vaisnava Calendar Committee

Members – Bhanu Swami, Gopalapriya Das, Sadasivananda Das, Bhaktarupa Das (Convener)

BBT Construction Grant Allocation Committee (BBTCG)

Members – Ramai Swami, Bhanu Swami, Devamrita Swami, Current GBC Chairman, Hrdaya Caitanya Das (Convener)

Guru Services Committee

Members – Prahladananda Swami (Chairman), Anuttama Das, Visakha Dasi, Virabahu Das, Ravindra Svarupa Das, Bhakti Caitanya Swami

GBC Appointment Committee

Members – Praghosa Das, Madhu Sevita Das, Prahladananda Swami, Bhakti Vijnana Goswami, Bhakti Caitanya Swami, Anuttama Das, Laxmimoni Dasi, Sivarama Swami

BI Standing Committee

Members – Devamrita Swami, Bhakti Vijnana Goswami, Sesa Das, Hanuman Das

BBT-GBC Relations Committee

Members – Badrinarayan Das (Chairman), Madhu Sevita Das, Svavasa Das, Gopal Krsna Goswami, Bhima Das, Satyanarayana Das, Hanuman Das, Sivarama Swami, Hrdaya Caitanya Das, Brahma Muhurta Das, Naresvara Das, Jayadvaita Swami, Praghosa Das, current GBC Chairman



Section 200: FINANCE


201. GBC Budget


RESOLVED:


The GBC budget for 2010/2011 is (in Indian Rupees):

GBC Annual and Midterm General Meetings
 2,53,000

Executive Committee Travel

 1,84,000

Emergency Fund

 1,38,000

GBC Meeting Facilities

 79,442

GBC EC Secretariat

 2,76,000

ISKCON Resolve

 3,22,000

ISKCON Database

 1,02,994
ISKCON Database Induction and Training
 50,600

Health & Welfare Magazine

 55,200

Dandavats

 2,30,000

Cow Protection Ministry

 2,30,000

ISKCON Ministry of Deity Worship

3,68,000

Ministry of Educational Development

 2,30,000

GBC Corresponding Secretary

 2,76,000

GBC Strategic Planning Team

 3,35,800
Vaisnava Calendar Web Site
 17,480
Judicial Model
 1,84,000

Mayapur GBC Office

 1,15,000
ISKCON News
 1,38,000

Total:

 INR 35,85,516


 

202. Appointment of Auditor

Sri A. K. Shah, F.C.A., Chartered Accountant, of 125, Netaji Subhash Road, Room No. 45, Kolkata 700001, is appointed as statutory auditor for the year 2010-2011.


Section 300: INTERNAL ISKCON

301. Midterm General Meeting 2010
   
The Midterm General Meeting of the ISKCON GBC Society shall take place from October 31 to November 4, 2010, at ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai, India.


302. Annual General Meeting 2011

The Annual General Meeting of the ISKCON GBC Society shall take place from February 20 to March 3, 2011, at ISKCON Mayapur, WB, India.


303. Resignation of Hridayananda Das Goswami from the GBC Body

The members of the GBC accept the resignation of Hridayananda Das Goswami from the Governing Body Commission. Upon his retirement, we wish to acknowledge his years of dedicated and distinguished service. We will remain indebted to him for his many valuable and lasting contributions, and we wish him well in the services to which he will now commit. The following is his letter of resignation:

“Dear GBC Members,

“Please accept my obeisances. Jaya Srila Prabhupada. I am writing to inform you of my decision to retire from all GBC duties. This letter will serve as my formal resignation from the GBC. I now wish to dedicate my life to serving Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON in other ways.

“I thank you all for your remarkable patience with me. I pray that in the future, I will have the benefit and pleasure of increased association with individual GBC members. I respect and appreciate the devoted sacrifices you make in managing Srila Prabhupada’s mission. I pray that Prabhupada bless you all more and more in your important service.

“With best wishes,

“Your servant,

“Hridayananda Das Goswami”


304. Reinstatement of Murali Krishna Das

Whereas Murali Krishna Das has satisfied the conditions for his reinstatement in ISKCON;

Whereas Murali Krishna Das has signed a Memorandum of Understanding wherein he agrees that certain parameters will govern his future involvement in ISKCON;

Whereas the GBC Body appreciates his personal sacrifice and cooperative spirit and wishes to now reinstate him as an ISKCON member in good standing;

RESOLVED:

That the suspension of Murali Krishna Das under resolution 2007/213 is hereby revoked. Murali Krishna Das will be on a period of probation for two years after which his status will be reviewed.

Murali Krishna Das will work under the Indian Regional Governing Body, who will devise a direct monitoring and supervision arrangement. While Murali Krishna Das will maintain his activities primarily within India, he may also visit places where he receives a personal invitation. Unless Murali Krishna Das receives a personal written invitation from both the local GBC and the Temple President of a given area, he will not go there.

If there are violations of the above, his suspension will be reinstated under the authority of the GBC Executive Committee.


305. Param Gati Das

Param Gati Swami has decided in consultation with the Sannyasa Ministry that it would be in his best interest to step down indefinitely as a sannyasi. This was seen as being favorable for rectifying problems he faced in the sannyasa asrama in the past. The GBC Body has accepted this decision. The Sannyasa Committee will monitor his service and his situation will be reviewed after three years.

He will hereby revert to his brahmacari name, Param Gati Das.


306: Categories of GBC Resolutions

[Rule of Order]

Whereas the following categorizations of GBC resolutions have been found to be inadequate, and to some degree inappropriate, for the present functioning of the GBC:

    1987/33: All resolutions be categorized as a rule of order, law, or provisional order at the time of passing.
   
    1997/607: That all GBC resolutions shall be categorized as one of the following:
a. Action Order (administrative, appointment, action oriented, directive or provisional orders, plus send to or form a committee, etc. that is temporary in nature and expires on                         completion)
b. GBC Rule of Order (permanent in nature)
c. ISKCON Law (permanent in nature)
d. ISKCON Vision and Goal (time bound) (future planning, strategies, standing objectives which push on the preaching of the Society and position papers, statements of appreciation,             etc. that are permanent in nature), and
e. Guideline (behavior or action for ISKCON).

Whereas the intent of the above resolutions – to help minimize confusion and improve the resolutions’ usability – was partly accomplished, it has been found that not all resolutions fit neatly into one of these categories, and some mis-categorizations have increased confusion rather than reducing it;

Whereas a better policy will be to let the resolution speak for itself, with optional categorization included in the resolution wording when such is deemed helpful to convey the intent of the resolution;

Whereas for those resolutions that establish enduring principles, the GBC should provide standard definitions for the category terms;

RESOLVED:

GBC Resolutions 1987/33 and 1997/607 are hereby repealed and replaced with the following Rule of Order:

The following terms, when used as descriptions of the intent of GBC Resolutions and included in the language of the resolution when passed by the Body, shall henceforward have the following meanings:

1. LAW: A statement of principle applicable permanently to the whole of ISKCON.
 
2. GUIDELINE: A statement of principle recommended to be adopted by the whole of ISKCON.

3. RULE OF ORDER: A rule governing the internal functioning of the GBC Body. The Rules of Order as a whole also form a default set of rules for the internal functioning of other ISKCON administrative bodies, to be followed as applicable to their various circumstances, unless the other body has specifically resolved that it shall function differently.

Laws, Guidelines, and Rules of Order, in order to have the effect of Laws, Guidelines, and Rules of Order as described in these definitions, must be declared as such within the language of the resolution when passed by the GBC Body. The GBC Executive Committee shall cause updated compilations of all current Laws, Guidelines, and Rules of Order to be maintained and regularly made available to the society.

Other declarations of categories shall be optional, and the intent of a resolution shall be determined by the wording of the resolution itself and not by the category declared.


307: Minimum Standards for High-level Posts

Whereas GBC members and others holding prominent posts in the society are highly visible representatives of Srila Prabhupada and his society;

Whereas our society’s reputation suffers when its leaders are not held to high standards of personal and professional behavior;

Whereas it is incumbent upon those charged with evaluating candidates for appointment to such posts to do whatever is possible to make sure that the recent conduct of such candidates is of a suitably high standard;

Whereas there need to be clear expectations when evaluating potential GBC members and candidates for other prominent posts;

RESOLVED:

Henceforward, a devotee shall not be approved to serve as a GBC Member, RGB Member, Regional Secretary, Zonal Secretary, Project Director, other Officer of an International ISKCON project, or Temple President of any ISKCON center, if, as determined by the appointing authority, within the ten years preceding the appointment he or she:

    a. Seriously deviated from the standard initiation vows; or

    b. Whether within the ISKCON society or not, was responsible for a financial impropriety that put significant funds or other assets at risk; or, who risked legal consequences through the improper                       handling of funds and assets under his or her control; or, whose unauthorized actions caused a loss of significant funds; or

    c. Engaged in serious criminal activity according to the law of the land; or

    d. Otherwise engaged in an act of moral turpitude, as defined in the ecclesiastical discretion of the GBC, and/or the law of the jurisdiction in which the devotee candidate resides.

While screening candidates for such positions, appointing authorities, whether individual officials or groups, must make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the above principles are upheld. Such efforts must include seeking from the candidates full disclosures of any activities they have been involved in during the previous ten years that could be considered as falling within the clauses above as well as references of good character from friends, employers, supervisors, associates, and others who are personally familiar with the character of the devotee candidate, as the situation may require (e.g. working in close proximity with children, etc.).


308: Minimum Standards for Guru Approval

[ISKCON Law]

Whereas the existing ISKCON law on the minimum qualification to be approved as a diksa-guru in ISKCON states as follows:

Mandatory qualifications:

1.  Must have been an initiated disciple for at least ten years.
2.  Must be strictly following the four regulative principles, regularly attending the morning program, and chanting sixteen rounds daily.
3.  Must not have had a fall-down within five years.
4.  Must evince no tendency towards moral turpitude in his present or past activities.
5.  Must be free from the following undesirable qualities:
         a. Attachment to kamini-kancana, "the devil" in the form of sex objects and wealth
         b. Pratistha, false prestige and personal ambition
         c. Nisiddhacara, behavior contrary to Vaisnava principles
         d. Kuti-nati, diplomatic or duplicitous behavior
         e. Puja, the desire for personal worship
         f. Labha, mundane profiteering.
6.  Must have excelled in preaching activities.
7.  Must exhibit proficiency in knowledge and understanding of sastra.
8.  Must preach without concoction and strictly according to the parampara, with sastric knowledge grounded firmly in siddhanta, or conclusive truth.
9.  Must be effective in practical preaching and counseling.
10. Must have no loyalties that compete with or compromise his loyalty to Srila Prabhupada, to his teachings, and to ISKCON.
11. Must show understanding of and dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s mission with a strong commitment to maintaining and increasing book distribution and other ISKCON projects.
12. Must recognize the GBC as the ultimate managing authority in ISKCON, support the GBC system, and follow the GBC.
13. Should be engaged full-time in devotional service in an ISKCON center or other ISKCON-approved preaching program.

An additional requirement is attendance of the Guru Seminar.

Discretionary Qualifications:


1.  Spiritual degrees – Bhakti Sastri, Bhakti Vaibhava, and Bhaktivedanta (when available) – shall be a strongly recommended qualification for being granted no objection status to serve as          a guru in ISKCON.
2.  Should be nothing in his character, conduct, or circumstances to give rise to doubt about his ability to follow the code of conduct for gurus.
3.  Should not be involved in any abnormal personal situation. An example of such a situation would be a disrupted or anomalous family life which could distract a guru from his guru duties or        otherwise prove a disturbance to him or his followers.
4.  Should always be responsible, conscientious, and honorable in ordinary dealings.

Whereas those who are approved to act as initiating gurus are highly visible representatives of Srila Prabhupada and his society;

Whereas our society's reputation suffers when its leaders are not held to high standards of personal and professional behavior;

Whereas it is incumbent upon those charged with evaluating candidates for approval to act as initiating guru to make sure that the recent conduct of such candidates is of a suitably high standard;

RESOLVED:

That the above-quoted ISKCON law shall be modified to state as follows:

The following are the minimum qualifications necessary to be approved as a diksa-guru in ISKCON:

Mandatory Qualifications:

1.  Must have been an initiated disciple for at least ten years.
2.  Must be have been strictly following the four regulative principles, regularly attending the morning program, and chanting sixteen rounds daily, and have otherwise remained in good standing for the                  previous ten years.
3.  Must not exhibit tendencies toward behavior contrary to Vaisnava moral principles.
4.  Must be free from the following undesirable qualities:
        a. Attachment to kamini-kancana, sex objects and wealth
        b. Pratistha, false prestige and personal ambition
        c. Nisiddhacara, behavior contrary to Vaisnava principles
        d. Kuti-nati, diplomatic or duplicitous behavior
        e. Puja, the desire for personal worship
        f.  Labha, mundane profiteering.
5.  Must have excelled in preaching activities.
6.  Must exhibit proficiency in knowledge and understanding of sastra.
7.  Must preach without concoction and strictly according to the parampara, with sastric knowledge grounded firmly in siddhanta, or conclusive truth.
8.  Must be effective in practical preaching and counseling.
9.  Must have no loyalties that compete with or compromise his loyalty to Srila Prabhupada, to his teachings, and to ISKCON.
10. Must show understanding of and dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s mission with a strong commitment to maintaining and increasing book distribution and other ISKCON projects.
11. Must recognize the GBC as the ultimate managing authority in ISKCON, support the GBC system, and follow the GBC.
12. Should be engaged full-time in devotional service in an ISKCON center or other ISKCON-approved preaching program.
13. Within the previous ten years at a minimum, must not have engaged in serious criminal activities or been responsible for:
        a. A financial impropriety that put significant funds or other assets at risk
        b. Risking legal consequences through the improper handling of funds and assets under his/her control
        c. Causing a loss of significant funds through unauthorized actions
        d. Any other act of moral turpitude, as defined in the ecclesiastical discretion of the GBC, and/or the legal jurisdiction in which the candidate resides

An additional requirement is attendance of the Guru Seminar.

Discretionary Qualifications:

1. Spiritual degrees – Bhakti Sastri, Bhakti Vaibhava, and Bhaktivedanta (when available) – shall be a strongly recommended qualification for being granted no objection status to serve as a guru in ISKCON.
2. Should be nothing in his character, conduct, or circumstances to give rise to doubt about his ability to follow the code of conduct for gurus.
3. Should not be involved in any abnormal personal situation. An example of such a situation would be a disrupted or anomalous family life which could distract a guru from his guru duties or otherwise prove a disturbance to him or his followers.
4. Should always be responsible, conscientious, and honorable in ordinary dealings.



309: Rules of Order for Regional Governing Bodies

(ISKCON Law, provisional)

Whereas it is important to ensure local decision making within ISKCON while maintaining the will of Srila Prabhupada that the GBC is the ultimate managerial authority of ISKCON;

RESOLVED:

That all Regional Governing Bodies (RGBs), Continental Committees, and Divisional and National Councils provisionally accept and function on the principle that whenever the majority of GBC members present in their respective meetings are not in favor of a proposed resolution, the said resolution will go for more discussion until the majority of GBC members present are in agreement.


310: Regional Governing Bodies’ Reporting Resolutions to the GBC Corresponding Secretary

[ISKCON Law]

Whereas Regional Governing Bodies, Continental Committees, and Divisional and National Councils pass resolutions in the course of their duties usually at their annual general or extraordinary meetings;

Whereas some of those resolutions may not be in agreement with, or be in violation of, GBC resolutions or ISKCON Law;

Whereas the GBC Body needs to be informed of those resolutions in order to ensure there is no conflict or contradiction between ISKCON Law and resolutions passed by RGBs, Continental Committees, and Divisional and National Councils;

Whereas in order to ensure the GBC Body is informed of local, national or regional resolutions, the RGBs, Continental Committees, and Divisional and National Councils should send their resolutions to the GBC Corresponding Secretary;

RESOLVED:

That the following addition be included in the ISKCON Law Book:

3.4.1.5     RGB Special Duties

3.4.1.5.1   Reporting Duties

All ISKCON Regional Governing Bodies, as well as Continental Committees and Divisional and National Councils where there are no RGBs, have the duty to send to the Corresponding Secretary of the GBC, at the latest one month after being passed, a copy of any resolutions they pass at their regular or extraordinary meetings. If the resolutions are not in English, an accurate English translation should be sent. The Corresponding Secretary will evaluate those resolutions for the purpose of identifying those items that may conflict with ISKCON law.


311: Inviting Regional Governing Body Members to the GBC Annual General Meeting

[Passed by Correspondence Vote on August 26, 2009]

Whereas the creation of Regional Governing Bodies has helped the GBC in managing the affairs of the society;

Whereas both the GBC Executive Committee (EC) and the GBC Organizational Development Committee sees the value in increased communication and shared experiences between the GBC and the RGB members;

Whereas inviting RGB members to attend the GBC Annual General Meeting (AGM) will help foster better understanding between both parties;

RESOLVED:

That six or seven RGB members from around the world shall be invited to attend the GBC AGM each year. Each RGB shall nominate two attendees and submit their names to the GBC EC Secretary by November 15. The GBC EC or their designated agent will then select those who would become invited guests. Guests will be provided room and board for the duration of the meetings.

In the case of regions which have no functioning RGB, nominations may be put forward by other continental governing entities, such as Continental Committees. Nominees should preferably be of devotees not attending the AGM in other capacities, such as GBC Deputies.

The EC may, at its own discretion, choose to invite to the AGM (or the Midterm General Meeting) other devotees whose attendance is deemed valuable.

This Resolution hereby supersedes Resolution 1995/75 on the subject of inviting guests to the AGM.


312: Standardizing Letterheads, Mastheads, Name Cards, etc.

[Guideline]

Whereas, as an international society, ISKCON should have a standard letterhead for letters, masthead for web sites, layout for name cards – in short a standard format for any visual forum in which its centers, affiliates and individuals communicate to each other or to the public;

RESOLVED:

The Ministry of Communications shall design a standard format or formats for ISKCON centers and individuals to use for their mastheads, etc. It is strongly recommended that all temples, affiliates, and official representatives of ISKCON use these headers and no others in their varied communications.

The standard format should primarily and most prominently say “International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.” The name, address, telephone, etc., of the center, affiliate, and individuals should be secondary and less prominent.


313: Reestablishment of the ISKCON Interfaith Commission

Whereas ISKCON is an international religious, cultural and spiritual movement;

Whereas ISKCON has ongoing interactions with other religious and spiritual organizations on the international, national, and local levels;

Whereas His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada himself valued interactions with leaders of other faiths and did so on many occasions;

Whereas ISKCON needs to have, and will benefit from, an active commission that provides leadership in interfaith relationships and coordinates such activities;

Whereas a former ISKCON committee on interfaith established by the GBC has become inactive according to GBC procedures;

RESOLVED:

The reestablishment of the ISKCON Interfaith Commission under the ISKCON Ministry of Communications, with the following mandate:

1. To establish policies to guide the entire ISKCON society in its interfaith activities.
2. To officially represent the society at the highest levels of interfaith relations with other religious and spiritual institutions.
3. To be the official voice of ISKCON to other traditions of faith.
4. To encourage and facilitate international, continental, national, and local ISKCON entities in the conduct of their interfaith programs.
5. When appropriate, to appoint official representatives to interact with designated religious institutions, churches, etc.
6. Where appropriate, to consult with ISKCON/GBC legal counsel before agreeing to, or making public, an issue with possible legal consequences.

The Commission shall submit to the GBC Body a written annual report of its activities, and any recommendations it may have, to be presented to the GBC EC prior to the GBC Annual General Meeting. The GBC Executive Committee, on behalf of the GBC, may offer its guidance and recommendations to the Commission at any time, especially after receiving its Annual Report.

ISKCON entities involved in interfaith activities are encouraged to conduct such efforts as per the published policies of this commission.

The following persons are the initial members of the commission: the Minister of Communications, who shall serve as its Chairperson, Ravindra Svarupa Das (Dr. William Deadwyler), Radhika Raman Das (Dr. Ravi Gupta), Saunaka Rsi Das (Oxford), and Revati Raman Das (Tirupati). Additional members may be appointed by majority vote of the commission or by GBC vote.
 

314: Establishment of ISKCON Communications Offices

[ISKCON Law]

Whereas ISKCON is an international Vaisnava movement with chapters across the world;

Whereas ISKCON members and organizations regularly interact with the larger society to introduce Krishna consciousness, and in ordinary day-to-day affairs;

Whereas ISKCON needs to maintain and coordinate ongoing interactions with governments, media, religious bodies, academics, and other important organizations and individuals;

Whereas ISKCON needs ongoing development of internal communications networks among temples and other ISKCON entities;

Whereas the ISKCON Ministry of Communications exists to develop communications and relationships within ISKCON and with various other organizations and individuals to help ISKCON achieve its mission;

Whereas currently there is a lack of GBC and RGB policy that promotes the worldwide development of Communications Departments within ISKCON;

Whereas when direction has come from ISKCON leadership, local authorities and devotees have responded with enthusiasm and have substantially increased their Communications organizations and efforts;

RESOLVED:

1. All ISKCON Regional Bodies (RGBs) shall establish a Regional or Continental Office of Communications. They shall appoint a Director and provide reasonable funding and facilities for the execution of that service. The appointment of Regional Director of Communications shall be made in consultation with the ISKCON Minister of Communications, and that Director shall report to both the RGB and the Minister of Communications.

2. Regional Bodies, Continental Committees, and Divisional and National Councils shall also give priority to the establishment of National Offices of Communications, with appointed National Directors and reasonable funding and facilities, for each country within that region where ISKCON has a significant presence. National Directors shall report to the National or Divisional Council of their country and to the Regional Communications Director where they exist. They should report to the Minister where the Regional Communications Director does not exist.

3. In those countries where ISKCON has multiple temples or communities, the National Bodies shall encourage and facilitate the establishment at each major temple of a Temple Communications Office with a local Communications Representative and reasonable funding and facilities. The local Communications Representative shall report to the Temple President and the National Communications Director.

4. The Minister of Communications shall assist with training and strategic coordination among Regional Directors, National and Divisional Directors and Temple Representatives of Communications to ensure expertise and progress in ISKCON communications efforts.


315: Official Regulations Change for Midterm Meetings

[Rule of Order]

Whereas the official Regulations of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission Society contain provisions for two kinds of General Meetings of the Society, the Annual General Meeting and a Special General Meeting. The provisions for a Special General Meeting are as follows (Chapter VI, paragraph 4):

(a) A Special General Meeting of the Society may be called if an emergency exists which cannot be dealt with in another way and which cannot wait until the next Annual General Meeting. Such a special meeting may only conduct business directly related to the emergency situation. The procedures for the calling and conducting of Special Meetings shall be as described in the Rules of Order.

(b) Resolutions of a Special Meeting are binding until the next Annual General Meeting, when they shall be introduced as proposals for consideration.

However, there is no provision for a regularly scheduled meeting of the Society other than the Annual General Meeting in Mayapur;
 
Whereas for the past four years there have been mid-term meetings, one each year, which have been called not to deal with emergencies but to push on the regular agenda of the GBC to provide strategic leadership to ISKCON. Because the Regulations do not provide for such meetings, the resolutions of these four meetings, if any, have been considered as proposals at the subsequent Annual General Meeting;

Whereas the GBC Midterm meeting is expected to be a regular event for the foreseeable future, and it is cumbersome to continue with the requirement that all resolutions of such meetings must be again considered at the Annual General Meeting;

RESOLVED:

That the Regulations of the Society be modified to contain the following additional subparagraph c) within Chapter VI, paragraph 4:

(c) Special General Meetings may also be mandated by simple majority vote of the GBC at its Annual General Meeting, and then convened by the GBC Executive Committee. These shall be known as Midterm General Meetings. Formal proposals to be considered at such a Midterm General Meeting shall be as per the determination of the GBC Executive Committee. The resolutions shall come into effect immediately and shall not require review or revoting at the succeeding Annual General Meeting.


316: Law Book Implementation

Whereas the existing Law Book has been revised by the Law Book Committee and most sections are ready for implementation;

Whereas the GBC Deputies have reviewed and approved the revised sections;

RESOLVED:

That the Law Book revisions prepared by the Law Book Committee and accepted by the Deputies will be reviewed by the GBC members up until May 31, 2010.

If any GBC member objects to any suggested change within this time period, the change shall be deleted from the draft, and the Law Book Committee, after discussions with the objecting party, will prepare a proposal for the AGM 2011 to establish appropriate final language for the law in question.

After this exercise at the AGM 2011, the revised Law Book will be accepted, replacing the current Law Book.