You will find attached a two-part document presented by the Governing Body Commission (GBC) of ISKCON. We write this letter to provide you a brief account of the events leading to the writing and publication of this document. The first part, "Conversation Between Srila Prabhupada and H. H. Narayana Maharaja: Vrindavan-October 8, 1977,"consists of a transcription of the audio recording of that conversation preserved in the BBT Archives. The second part, titled "The Last Conversation," offers a careful analysis of the meaning and significan...

Iskcon Governing Body Commission Society. Minutes Of The Annual General Meeting. Sri Mayapur Dham, February 6 – 17, 2010. GBC Officers and Members. Zonal Assignments for GBC Members. Sannyasa Waiting List. Reaffirmation of Ministries and Standing Committees. Categories of GBC Resolutions. Minimum Standards for Guru Approval. Reestablishment of the ISKCON Interfaith Commission.

Anuttama Prabhu, representing the GBC's Guru Services Committee, reported on the Guru Seminars and Guru Retreats program. These programs allow devotees who are serving as initiating or instructing gurus to associate with one another and share their experiences serving Srila Prabhupada in the role of guru. The Guru Seminars and Retreats also aim to enhance skills in counseling disciples and caring for one's own physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

On February 14th, all members of ISKCON’s Governing Commission attending the Annual General Meeting in Mayapur, India assembled in the center of a construction zone. It was the construction zone of the long-awaited Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP), a massive and impressive temple dedicated to displaying the Vedic view of the spiritual and material worlds.

The GBC deputies began the eighth day of the Annual General Meeting of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission with another session of voting. GBC members discussed and voted on GBC Ministry and GBC Committee member appointments, such as the Minister of Book Distribution, Minister of Education, and Guru Services Committee members.

At present, ISKCON not only has an international Governing Body Commission (GBC) which is responsible for the overall management of ISKCON, but in some regions there are additional lower level governing bodies such as Regional Governing Bodies (RGBs), National Councils, and Continental Committees. What was at question is how these bodies, which hold regular meetings and pass resolutions, interact with and report to the overall managerial authority, the GBC.

Day five of the Annual General Meeting of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission began with presentations by the Succession and Leadership Training Committee and Devotee Care Committee. Tamohara dasa, on behalf of the Succession and Leadership

Strategic Planning for ISKCON’s future was the central focus for the second through fourth days of the 2010 Annual General Meeting for ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission. In 2006, the GBC Body collectively decided to increase their attention on Strategic Planning, more specifically to spend additional energy on defining and planning ISKCON’s direction and management for Srila Prabhupada’s mission to be passed down to future generations.

The 2010 Annual General Meeting of the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON commenced Saturday morning in Sri Mayapur Dham with Bhakti Caru Maharaja offering the traditional guru-puja ceremony to ISKCON's Founder-Acarya, Srila Prabhupada, while Ekalavya Prabhu led an enthusiastic and inspirational kirtan. This year's GBC Chairman, Romapada Maharaja, welcomed everyone in attendance and delivered a reading from the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam

Every year, each GBC member's zonal areas of responsibility are reviewed and ratified for the coming year. It is interesting to note a gradual shift over the years with an increasing number of GBC members preferring to share their zonal duties with one or more "co-GBCs". This holds true not just for major projects like Mayapur, which has a six-man GBC committee, but even for smaller yatras like Latvia, Bangladesh, and Honduras. Another recent development is a number of non-GBC members holding zonal responsibilities.

ISKCON devotees shall instruct new members to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada and to receive guidance, training and assistance from those who are practically and directly instructing them in Krishna consciousness. They must focus their attention on Srila Prabhupada as the Founder-Acarya and as their preeminent siksa guru.

Six devotees--Jagat-caksur Das, Yadunandana Das, Sarvaisvarya Das, Brhat Mrdanga Das, Jaya Govinda Das, and Vasudeva Das--are to take sannyasa this year.

So the future of this Krishna Consciousness movement is very bright, so long the managers remain vigilant that 16 rounds are being chanted by everyone without fail, that they are all rising before four in the morning, attending mangal arati-our leaders shall be careful not to kill the spirit of enthusiastic service, which is individual and spontaneous and voluntary. They should try always to generate some atmosphere of fresh challenge to the devotees, so that they will agree enthusiastically to rise and meet it. That is the art of mana...

For the last several years, strategic planning has been a major theme of the GBC meetings. Several days of the Annual General Meeting, as well as the second GBC meeting later in the year, is exclusively focused on this important theme. This year was no exception. Days four through six saw all regular work shelved and the entire Body, plus many other devotees, come together to proactively discuss the best way for the GBC and ISKCON to prepare for the future.

The second day of the GBC meetings opened with a presentation by the Law Book Committee. Aniruddha Prabhu presented the progress of the committee in revising the current law book which contains constitutional principles, action orders, rules of order, administrative guidelines and governing law.

The 2009 Annual General Meeting of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission commenced with arati and guru-puja kirtana to Srila Prabhupada, who is present in murti form in the meeting hall. Apart from the large murti, this year there is a small murti of Srila Prabhupada fixed on a beautiful altar near the Chairman's seat.