1. His Grace Praghosa Dasa is elected GBC Chairman.

2. His Holiness Devamrita Swami is elected GBC First Vice-Chairman.

3. His Holiness AC Bhaktivaibhava Swami is elected GBC Second Vice-Chairman.

4. His Grace Radha Krishna Dasa is elected GBC Secretary.

5. His Holiness Bir Krishna Dasa Goswami is elected Special Duty Officer.

6. The following devotees are elected full GBC members:

His Holiness Bhanu Swami

His Holiness Bhakti Purusottama Swami

His Holiness Devamrita Swami

His Grace Praghosa Dasa

7. The following devotees continue as assistant GBC members:

His Grace Hridaya Caitanya Dasa

His Grace Radha Krishna Dasa

[Action Order]

RESOLVED:

For 2004, these are the candidates for sannyasa:

Bir Krishna Dasa	approved for this year
Brihad Mrdanga Dasa	4-year waiting list
Gaura Hari Dasa	3-year waiting list
Makhanlal Dasa	4-year waiting list
Janananda Dasa	3-year waiting list
Partha Sarathi Dasa	2-year waiting list
Pariksit Dasa	1-year waiting list
Prabhodananda Dasa	4-year waiting list
Pundarika Vidyanidhi Dasa	approved for this year
Purnacandra Dasa	3-year waiting list
Ramacandra Dasa	3-year waiting list
Sarvaisvarya Dasa	3-year waiting list
Siddhartha Dasa	4-year waiting list
Simhesvara Dasa	1-year waiting list
Svayambhu Dasa	approved for this year
Visvambhara Dasa	1-year waiting list

[Action Order]

RESOLVED:

The GBC budget for 2004/2005 is:

[Action Order]

RESOLVED:

Sri A. K. Shah, F.C.A., Chartered Accountant, of 125, Netaji Subhas Road, Room No. 45, Kolkata 700 001, is appointed the Auditor for the year 2004-2005.

203. GBC Financial Accounting Committee

[Action Order]

WHEREAS:

The GBC, as the supreme ecclesiastical authority for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), appointed a sub-committee to look into the matter of funds dispersed by the BBT to ISKCON, and this sub-committee has suggested the need to establish a permanent GBC Financial Accounting Committee,

The resignation of Naresvara Prabhu has left a void in the financial relationship between the BBT, the GBC, and the SMPDC,

The GBC, as the representative of ISKCON, the beneficiary under the Trust created by Srila Prabhupada in 1972, has a responsibility to see to the proper receipt and dispersal of all income from the BBT and other sources,

There is a need to introduce improved accounting procedures for the various monies received and dispersed by the GBC Body,

RESOLVED:

A permanent GBC Financial Accounting Committee is hereby established. The committee shall consist of three members, to be appointed by the GBC body for a 3-year term. The mandate of the committee shall be:

[Action order]

RESOLVED:

During the installation of the Panca-tattva Deities, only the local pujaris, one representative of the local GBC, and one representative of the GBC Executive Committee will bathe the Deities. We unanimously invite H.H. Sridhara Maharaja to bathe the Deities. We also invite donors to bring water for bathing.

[Statement]

WHEREAS:

Rupa Vilasa Dasa was expelled from ISKCON for not complying with the conditions stated in resolution #90-73,

Resolution #90-73 provided the possibility that any of the devotees expelled as a consequence of the resolution could be reinstated in the future as members of ISKCON in good standing if they presented a letter rectifying themselves in the manner expressed in the resolution;

And Rupa Vilasa Dasa has now presented such a letter to the satisfaction of the GBC,

RESOLVED:

Rupa Vilasa Dasa is reinstated as a member of ISKCON in good standing.

[Amendment to ISKCON Law]

WHEREAS:

Although ISKCON law states mandatory and discretionary qualifications for gurus in ISKCON, and gurus having spiritual degrees like Bhaktivedanta and Bhakti Sastri is in the discretionary lists,

Spiritual exams, courses, and degrees were formerly not available but now are,

Srila Prabhupada, by mentioning in a letter that devotees with the Bhaktivedanta Degree would be considered for being gurus and initiating, established it as a qualification he considered important,

In 1987, when the standard for serving as a guru in ISKCON was adopted, the spiritual degree system was still in an early formative stage,

RESOLVED:

Spiritual degrees--Bhakti Sastri, Bhakti Vaibhava, and Bhaktivedanta (when available)--are now a mandatory qualification for being granted "no objection" status to serve as a guru in ISKCON.

[Internal Procedure Guideline]

WHEREAS:

The GBC deliberates for many hours prior to making a decision, but devotees generally do not understand the rationale behind the decision,

In the future, evidence for why decisions were made will help ISKCON better implement decisions,

When revisited years later, GBC resolutions are often unclear as to their original intention,

Without evidence of support from guru, sadhu, and sastra, GBC decisions are subject to undue challenge,

RESOLVED:

The GBC Secretary shall, wherever possible, include in the minutes an explanation of the reasoning and purpose for any new laws.

To demonstrate the correctness and authority of resolutions relating to spiritual or philosophical standards, the GBC shall provide for each such resolution a written explanation detailing its logic and purpose, with available evidence from guru, sadhu, and sastra.

[Statement]

The members of the GBC Body give their blessings to His Holiness Kesava Bharati Maharaja for resuming his sannyasa.

[Amendment to ISKCON Guideline]

WHEREAS:

The definition of Congregational Preaching Directorates given in the ISKCON law passed as resolution number 405 of 2002 was not sufficiently broad for situations in some parts of the world,

RESOLVED:

The definition of Congregational Preaching Directorates given in resolution number 405 of 2002 shall be modified to read as follows:

10.4.3.4 Congregational Preaching Directorates

"Congregational Preaching Directorates" are characterized by having at least one primary location that is either stable or semi-stable, by having financial autonomy (not being financially controlled by any other affiliate), and by having activities centered on development of congregational preaching over a significantly large area. There may or may not be regular activities of public worship.

[ISKCON Guideline]

WHEREAS:

Srila Prabhupada is the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, the GBC body is the ultimate ecclesiastical managing authority of ISKCON, the individual GBC zonal secretaries are the representatives of the GBC body, and the temple presidents are the local authority,

It is a general practice of institutions to publicly display pictures of their leaders,

Although a significant percentage of temple visitors know the temple president, most do not know of the GBC, what purpose the GBC body serves, or who their local GBC zonal secretary is,

RESOLVED:

In the reception area or any equivalent public place of every ISKCON temple there should be:

A large framed picture or painting of Srila Prabhupada with a plaque saying, "His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness."

Alongside Prabhupada's picture and significantly smaller, a photograph of the local GBC, Regional Secretary (where there is one), and Temple President, with a plaque stating the name of the GBC and temple president, and the name of the city the temple is in.

Alongside the photos a one-page framed document on ISKCON letterhead briefly describing Srila Prabhupada as the Founder-Acarya, the GBC as the ultimate ecclesiastical authority, and the local GBC and temple president (or local temple management team or board) as the local authorities.

The wording of this document is up to the local temple.

Sample:

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

Srila Prabhupada formed a Governing Body Commission (GBC) to oversee ISKCON's worldwide spiritual and missionary activities. The GBC meets annually in Mayapur, West Bengal, India, to set ecclesiastical policies for the society. Each ISKCON center is managed by a temple president, or other officers, or both, whose primary responsibility is to maintain the spiritual standards of the center. A GBC representative sees to it that these international policies are implemented.

Srila Prabhupada's religious and philosophical teachings and personal character remain perpetually the inspiration for all the members of ISKCON.

WHEREAS:

RESOLVED:

[Rule of Order]

[Statement]

WHEREAS:

RESOLVED:

"On My Order-Understood" is replaced as official GBC policy by the following statement.

[Action Order]

WHEREAS:

There is a need for improved efficiency and accountability in ISKCON's evangelical operations in Europe,

The GBC body has encouraged the establishment of continental committees (GBC Resolution 404/2002. Regional and Continental Governing Bodies),

The Euro RGB has been working for the past 18 months on developing a proposal to suit the specific needs of Europe. Work which included the following:

• continuous e-mail communication among European ISKCON leaders
• discussion among European National Councils
• five Euro RGB Executive Committee meetings (a total of fifteen days) assimilating all the feedback of National Councils and individual devotees
• meeting with key GBC members with responsibility in Europe
• three-day meeting with over 60 European leaders reviewing and fine tuning the proposal and determining their level of support

RESOLVED:

The GBC Body hereby designates "Europe" as a "Region" as defined under ISKCON Law 3.4.1.1. The region may consist of any or all of the following countries, as may be decided by the local leaders of each country, with notification to the GBC Secretary:

The following GBC members are responsible to submit proposed Rules and Regulations for a Regional Governing Body for the Europe region, as per Section 3.4.1.4: Sivarama Swami, Bhakti Vaibhava Swami, Param Gati Swami, Madhu Sevita Dasa, and Praghosa Dasa.

These five GBC members are also empowered to nominate an interim Regional Governing Body for Europe, to be called "The Euro GBC Body." It may be delegated functions under Section 3.4.1.2 on an ad hoc basis by the GBC Executive Committee until such time as Rules and Regulations are submitted as above. The GBC Body will review this at its Annual General Meeting of 2006.

The Euro GBC Body, when constituted, shall propose to the global GBC Body the division of the Region of Europe into contiguous zones, up to five, each supervised by a Global GBC Member, called a "Global GBC." The Euro GBC Body will introduce this structure by suggesting a pilot scheme. This pilot scheme will initially involve one of the proposed five zones of Europe. The Euro GBC, at its annual meeting, will review reports on the progress of this pilot scheme.

For the sake of effective ecclesiatical and spiritual management, the Euro GBC Body will further propose the division of each of these contiguous zones into appropriate sub-regions. A Zonal Secretary called a "Euro GBC" will manage each sub-region. Each Euro GBC will be a member of the Euro GBC Body and will work in cooperation with and report to his or her respective Global GBC. In sub-regions where there is no Euro GBC appointed, the Global GBC will assume all the responsibilities of the Zonal Secretary.

[Action Order]

WHEREAS:

There is a need for the GBC to ensure that ISKCON centers predominantly distribute the books of the BBT, rather than those of other publishers,

RESOLVED:

No ISKCON temple or zone should do mass book distribution of non-BBT books in a proportion greater than, in total, 5% of the value of the BBT books distributed.

WHEREAS:

The 108^th Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's appearance can bring special inspiration to the devotee community by glorifying Srila Prabhupada,

H.H. Lokanath Swami was successful in performing the service of Srila Prabhupada Centennial Global Minister,

RESOLVED:

ISKCON will make the celebration of Srila Prabhupada's 108^th Appearance Anniversary year a highlight of its activities until Vyasa Puja 2005. H.H. Lokanath Swami will take up the service of global coordinator for this project.

[Amendment to ISKCON Law]

WHEREAS:

The current ISKCON Law provides that a ten-person committee, by a simple majority, may nominate a candidate for serving as a guru,

A simple majority allows a thin margin of support,

When the GBC Secretary sends the GBC members the name of a candidate, he does not send the full report of how the members of the nominating committee voted and their reasons,

RESOLVED:

Section 6.4.1.1 shall be amended to read as follows:

A candidate for guru in ISKCON must first receive a three-fourths majority vote of approval in a council composed of all the GBC zonal secretaries of his current preaching area and at least ten other senior devotees residing in his area of activity. The council will be organized and convened by the GBC zonal secretary(s).

Section 6.4.1.1.2 shall be amended to read as follows:

The council shall evaluate the candidate according to the qualifications for guru given by Srila Prabhupada in his oral and written teachings and by the GBC Body in its standards and guidelines. Each member of the Area Council shall fill out the Guru Qualifications Checklist and return it to be compiled by the Area Council chairman.

[Click on link to see Guru Qualifications checklist.]

Section 6.4.1.3.2 shall be amended to read as follows:

After verifying that the candidate has been properly endorsed, the GBC Corresponding Secretary shall send the candidate's name with the full letter of endorsement and the compilation of responses by the local nominating committee to all members of the GBC.

[Click to see the complete law after amendment.]

[Action Order]

RESOLVED:

The Annual General Meeting for 2005 will start on the 27^th of February 2005 and end on the 8^th of March. The GBC Executive Committee can change the date by a maximum two days and can extend the duration of the meeting to include time for GBC-BBT Meetings.