The discussions were dynamic and pertinent, and then the participants broke for lunch. After lunch, the participants stood before a large banner on the wall with an important excerpt from a letter from Srila Prabhupada: “This is called unity in diversity. I am therefore suggesting that all our men meet in Mayapur every year during the birth anniversary of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Jai Nitai Prabhu, Temple President of ISKCON Soho Street, London, and serving as a member of the SPN's Temple Development/Systems Administration Committee (TDSA) explains another initiative coming out of the TDSA, an open source database, that has the potential to help projects harness their manpower and resources and better accommodate and provide for the communities they serve. Information is provided for those interested in participating in this initiative.

Participants arriving were greeted with garlands by the GBC Chairman Anuttama Dasa and then proceeded to perform a Guru Puja of Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of ISKCON. The meetings began with a presentation on the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) by Badrinarayan Swami, congratulating the devotees for the best book distribution year since 1996. He emphasized the importance of distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books and shared encouraging reports of book distribution including second...

Reading the observations, participants voiced concern, among other things, on the trend they were seeing on diminishing standards in our movement as we continue to move from a temple-centric to congregation-based movement.

Bhaktivijnana Swami, a GBC leader and preacher in Russia and Israel, also serves on the SPN’s Succession Committee. Maharaja expresses his appreciation of the strategic planning process, personally witnessing how the culture of strategic planning has dramatically changed the work of the GBC, allowing it to put energy into addressing important issues relevant for the whole Society and its direction for the future, particularly in the area of succession.

Sivarama Swami, a GBC leader, preacher, and educator in Hungary, Romania and Turkey and a member of the SPN's Organizational Development Committee and Lines of Authority Committee speaks on strategic planning work helping to insure that ISKCON can become the movement Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya envisioned it to be. After all, he says, everything in the spiritual world is strategically planned and organized to the highest standard, for Krishna's pleasure. In ISKCON we wa...

Badrinarayan Swami explains why the GBC is investing so much time and energy in planning for ISKCON’s future. Sesa Prabhu speaks on Srila Prabhupada being the first strategic thinker among us, his vision for education being an example that illustrates this. That vision covers all aspects of our Society, and if we follow it, it will solidify both ISKCON’s present and its future.

The topic of “Lines of Authority” is a heritage or legacy issue. By “heritage” or “legacy” issues we mean those topics that are of core importance to the future of ISKCON. These are the issues that are going to be relevant for generations to come. How to address them in a way that reflects Srila Prabhupada’s intent and purpose will be expressed in papers like this one. This “Lines of Authority” paper is not the full and final statement on this topic. Rather, it is a good first step. The GBC fully expects that the paper will be updated, made more co...

There shall be an ISKCON Dispute Resolution Committee (IDRC) and an ISKCON Dispute Resolution Office to institute and conduct a system of formal dispute resolution in ISKCON. The members of the IDRC shall be the Minister of Justice, a Co-Director of ISKCONResolve, and the Director of the ISKCON Dispute Resolution Office. The IDRC shall promulgate policies for the operation of the IDRO within the scope of these mandates. A draft of a set of initial policies for the IDRO is given at the end of this document. The mandates are described as follows: A....

Tirupati, India—The Governing Body Commission (GBC) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) recently completed a special three-day session during which the GBC Body considered whether or not this worldwide Vaishnava community should endorse and implement the policy of having women serve as diksa-gurus, or initiating spiritual masters, within the ISKCON society. The special session was held from October 16-18 and was part of the GBC’s Annual Midterm Meeting. During this first of its kind confe...

Srila Prabhupada wanted the GBC to lead ISKCON through good governance and to establish global policies, and he wanted an expansive, thriving movement that served both the public and those who accepted its shelter. For the past eight years, the GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) has been helping the GBC explore the ways in which ISKCON needs to grow into the vibrant movement Srila Prabhupada wanted it to be. From these deliberations came The Strategic Planning Network, a group of devotees ...

In honoring ISKCONs diversity, the SGGS will help us to also awaken to what unifies us – to value those things and protect them through open, clear communications. The SGGS offers a forum for all participants to hear and be heard, resolve differences, and discuss the important issues that affect the movement. Ultimately, the Sanga also facilitates moving things from dialogue to an action plan. Devotional service is infinitely more effective, joyful and attractive when performed in the a...