His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

GBC Double Standards

BY ISKCON BANGALORE

BANGALORE, INDIA, Feb 23 1999 — GBC tells the world one thing and does another thing.

GBC eye washes the world that five leaders of ISKCON India have been placed on probation while legally they have been expelled as members of ISKCON India. Chakra has posted the GBC resolution on the rtvik issue and the devotees involved in the rtvik preaching.

4.B. of the resolution says that 'the individuals Adhridharan das, Madhu Pandit dasa. Sattvic dasa, Chanchalapati dasa and Navayogendra Swami , as listed being members of ISKCON India , are hereby deemed as unfit to be members of ISKCON India unless the Executive Committee of the GBC deems them rectified sufficiently to remain as ISKCON members and issues a written statement to that effect.'

4.D. of the resolution says ' the GBC places Adridharan dasa, and Navayogendra Swami on probation as ISKCON Branch Managers /Temple Presidents and Sattvic Dasa, Chanchalapati dasa on probation as Vice-President of the branches. The GBC Executive Committee is hereby enjoined to establish by March 31, 1999 the conditions of rectification and probation for this year.'

The above devotees are members of ISKCON India. And in the constitution of Iskcon India, rules V. F says: "V. Any member shall cease to be a member of the Society in any one of the following events:

F. On being determined by action of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission Society (hereunder referred to as the GBC) to be otherwise to be unfit as a member."

The GBC's resolution 4.B has been very cleverly drafted (craftily) so that these members automatically cease to be members under this clause of ISKCON India without using the word expel.

On the other hand they have fooled the world of devotees by saying that these devotees have only been put on probation so that they don't appear harsh in their dealings with such senior leaders of Iskcon India.

But their real intention is clearly masked in legal word jugglery.

So as of today the GBC has expelled these members out of the movement. Look at their cheating propensity.

Clause 4.B was made to expel them without telling the world that they are expelled and Clause 4.D was merely to mislead the devotees and other leaders of ISKCON that they have only put them on probation. How can somebody be on probation when he ceases to be even a member of the society in the first place.

Two days back the new GBC chairman , H.H. Bir Krishna Maharaj, visited Adhridharan Prabhu and Madhu Pandit Prabhu at Calcutta temple to request them to give their terms of surrender to the GBC. They pointed out this hypocrisy of the GBC in passing a resolution intentionally to mislead the devotees around the world. He said he did not know really that that was what 4.B resolution meant. The Vice Chairman H.H. Gopalakrishna Maharaj called from Mayapur to speak to Madhu Pandit Prabhu, when asked he also denied having known the real meaning of 4B. resolution. He added that he was not the one who drafted the resolution.

The GBC cannot claim innocence of the legal meaning of the usage of the words that are there in the constitution of the ISKCON India rules and regulation i.e. 'unfit as members of the society'. Why don't they say straight that they have terminated their membership from ISKCON. Did the members of the GBC who voted know that they were voting for expelling these devotees straight away? May be. Or they were also taken on a ride by the few who used their crafty nature to draft it. Was the GBC body hoodwinked by the craftiness of the few GBC who drafted it. What is the value of such a resolution? The GBC members who were not part of drafting this resolution should seek an apology from them for making them vote on something they did not know at all. Can the GBC not show some integrity, at least in this crucial matter, when they want to expel devotees who have been in ISKCON in good standing for 20 to 30 years ?

The GBC chairman and Vice chairman who visited Calcutta temple spoke to Adridharan Prabhu and Madhu Pandit Prabhu and wanted to talk about compromise. They have asked them to rescind the resolution before any such meaningful talks can be had. They refused to participate in any official reconciliatory talks with the sword of expulsion hanging on their head. They said that they would wait for one week for this, failing which they will be obliged to protect themselves by taking legal course.

Viswaprana das
ISKCON Bangalore