By the GBCThe Governing Body Commission (GBC) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) offers its deepest appreciation to the members and leaders of the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai for their excellent service and dedication to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada and his ISKCON society
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- 23 Apr 2013
By Praghosa DasaMany services we are fortunate to engage in are more or less what you might consider universal to most vaisnavas. Attending the morning program, chanting our rounds, honouring prasadam, going out on sankirtana, cooking for the Deities and the devotees, reading, writing, cleaning, growing flowers and vegetables, sewing, looking after the cows, teaching, administration etc., etc, etc.
...- 3 Apr 2013
By the GBCAs the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and the preeminent teacher and ultimate authority within our society, Srila Prabhupada has a unique relationship with every ISKCON devotee
...- 11 Mar 2013
By Praghosa DasaThe 5 million or so vegetarians residing in the UK must be feeling relieved at their dietary choice given the grotesque, unprecedented, bizarre and unacceptable horse meat controversy that shows no sign of abating in Europe. For the other 55 million or so non-vegetarians in the UK they have been thrown into considerable turmoil; one commented: "If horse meat were okay then our butchers would sell it"
...- 20 Feb 2013
Official GBC position paperSeveral years ago the GBC embarked upon developing a systematic plan for the future of ISKCON. They selected several issues of primary importance to the movement and formed committees to discuss those issues. One of the committees was requested to study the divergent lines of authority within ISKCON and suggest a method for settling disagreements between them
...- 6 Dec 2012
By GBC Community Relations OfficeThese are the reports from the 2012 GBC and Strategic Planning midterm meetings for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) that were held from October 21–26 in Tirupati, India. At gbc.iskcon.org there have been posted also audio reports from GBC members regarding the meetings and committee work, overall impressions, and experiences in Tirupati
...- 6 Nov 2012
By Praghosa DasaIt is seemingly becoming commonplace in our society now for such weapon wielding aggressors to cause grief, misery, pain, suffering and of course great mourning to an unsuspecting audience. One of many worrying aspects of these senseless killings is the cool, calm and measured way they are undertaken. Practically since time immemorial we are familiar with crimes of passion, those crimes are even recognised by the judicial system to the point of mitigating circumstances being considered
...- 12 Aug 2012
By the Lines of Authority committeePlease find below the final, official version of the GBC Understanding ISKCON's Lines of Authority paper. The themes of this paper were approved at the GBC AGM in Mayapur this February. This final version has taken into consideration all comments received in Mayapur and thereafter. The release of this version as the full and final paper has been approved by the GBC executive committee
...- 11 Jun 2012
By Iskcon Governing Body ComissionWhereas there is a continued need to educate new devotees in ISKCON about the pre-eminent position of Srila Prabhupada as (a) Our Founder-Acarya and (b) The primary siksa-guru for all ISKCON members; Whereas it will benefit both individual devotees and the ISKCON society at large to improve the standards of discipleship within our movement; And whereas there is a lack of formal training regarding what it means to be a disciple within ISKCON and how to properly execute the duties of a disciple towards one’s diksa- and siksa-gurus as well a...
- 28 Mar 2012
By the GBCThat all ISKCON temples, congregations, yatras, and devotees please; 1. Include Yamuna Maharani in their daily prayers. 2. Explain the spiritual importance of Shri Yamuna Maharani to others. 3. Organize special kirtans or dedicate existing kirtans to the Yamuna cause. 4. Organize special programs or dedicate existing programs to the Yamuna cause.
...- 25 Feb 2012
By the ILSThe GBC recognizes that good, strong leadership is key both to ISKCON’s improvement and its ongoing success. In an effort to support and encourage such leadership, the GBC invited more than 500 ISKCON leaders from 42 countries around the world to assemble in Sridham Mayapur for the ILS from February 10-17 to participate in portions of the GBC’s AGM, to attend and discuss presentations on the last several years of GBC strategic planning efforts, and to spend time with one another in devotional sanga.
...- 24 Feb 2012
By Yasomati devi dasiThis year Gaur Purnima Festival will be a little different, for the first 4 days the focus is on re-learning to chant from our hearts, a four day Kirtan Mela with the world's best kirtaniyas headed by Sacinandana swami and Madhava prabhu. You can find more details on this particular aspect of the festival at KirtanMela.org
...- 11 Jan 2012
By Bhakti Vijnana and Sivarama SwamisToday we received the testimony of the experts from Kemerovo State ... University. As it should have been expected, it is highly negative. We uploaded the petition. It is self-explanatory, and formulated in such a way that not only ISKCON devotees can vote
...- 16 Dec 2011
By Sivarama SwamiThe new "Church Law" in Hungary will take away ISKCON Hungary's church status as of January 1st requiring us to re-apply for the same next year. However the government has not provided any legal stipulation for the society's continued ownership of Krsna Valley's lands in the interim period until we are again re-registered. In short we risk losing Krsna Valley with no pasture for our cows or land to grow our food
...- 5 Dec 2011
By Kaisori dasiIt is the mandate of the GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) to assist the Governing Body Commission in building a better future for ISKCON. In practice this requires solid visionary planning, the establishment of systems for the effective execution of those plans, and support of the GBC's desire to offer both better leadership and clearer global coordination based on sound organizational principles
...- 13 Nov 2011
By Anuttama DasISKCON’s Governing Body Commission , during its international meetings this past week in Mumbai, selected personnel to fill four new and historically important positions as part of gradual unfolding of the GBC Strategic Development Plan. Other progress on the GBC Strategic Plans are expected to be put in place during the Annual General Meeting of the GBC at ISKCON’s international headquarters in Mayapura next February
...- 22 Oct 2011
By The GBC Executive CommitteeDear Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. It was with great sadness that we heard of the tragic passing away of His Grace Gopiparanadhana Prabhu. He was a leading disciple of Srila Prabhupada who served him faithfully since joining ISKCON in the early 1970's. Whatever service he did in Srila Prabhupada's movement he gave his whole heart to, although he is best known for his translating and commenting on different Vedic scriptures following in the footsteps of his Guru Maharaja
...- 19 Sep 2011
By Praghosa DasaAs stated by Bhismadeva in the SB 1.9.16 na hy asya karichid rajan – no one can know the plan of the Lord – still we are all advised to roll with it and have faith in it, understanding at all times that everything is for our ultimate benefit. With that in mind and after decades of hard work and many struggles, we have now begun constructing the extraordinary place of worship that will be the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. However if we didn’t accept the plan of the Lord not only would this project have likely never got to this point but we would ...
- 23 Jun 2011
By the GBC SecretaryIskcon Governing Body Commission Society. Minutes Of The Annual General Meeting. Sri Mayapur Dham, February 20 – March 3, 2011. 2011 Zonal Assignments. GBC Deputies. Sannyasa Waiting List. Reaffirmation of Ministries and Standing Committees. Memorial for Jayananda Prabhu. Kirtan Standards – Instruments. Statement Regarding Umapati Das. Letter of Censure to Bir Krishna Das Goswami
...- 2 May 2011
A devotee friend asked me recently about the rationale behind creating a strategic plan for a spiritual organization. He understood the need for strategic planning in the corporate world where you have to anticipate market changes and consumer interests, but he suspected its relevance to our confederation of devotees who, after all, are ultimately interested in transcendence. Doesn't it go against the spontaneous nature of performing devotional service and spoil the devotees' spirit a little if everything has to be so mapped out?
...- 4 Apr 2011
A number of the GBC's Strategic Planning Committees have broad international mandates. The mandate of the Outreach Committee, for example, covers all aspects of preaching - from how to encourage book distribution to congregational preaching to how to effectively present Krishna consciousness in university settings to all other aspects of outreach
...- 15 Mar 2011
By Sraddhadevi dasiFriday, March 3rd marked the final day of the 2011 Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the Governing Body Commission (GBC) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Along with discussing sannyasa candidates, the day involved a presentation on the Midday Meal project in India and a special visit by the students of the Sri Mayapur International School
...- 13 Mar 2011
By Sraddhadevi dasiEvery year during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC), GBC members reaffirm their Oath of Allegiance. This year GBC members gathered in Srila Prabhupada’s samadhi in Sridham Mayapur for the event, and Bhakti Marga Swami led the recitation of the Oath. The following is the Oath of Allegiance and photos of the occasion
...- 7 Mar 2011
By Sraddhadevi dasiISKCON’s 2011 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Governing Body Commission (GBC) continued February 26th and 27th with GBC members separating into committees to discussion specific topics. Some of the committees were Guru Services, GBC-BBT Relations, Parallel Lines of Authority, and the Sannyasa Committee. Regional Governing Bodies, such as the Latin Governing Body and the North American GBCs also convened to discuss issues particular to their geographic area of service
...- 3 Mar 2011