Alachua's Position on the GBC - by Dhira Govinda dasa

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Alachua's Position on the GBC
By Dhira Govinda dasa

CHAKRA (Alachua, Florida, USA)

November 3, 2000

Dear CHAKRA,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

It recently came to my attention that Adridharan printed a statement in his newsletter from the ISKCON of Alachua Board of Directors. While the board of directors did not widely publicize the statement, neither is it secret or confidential. In his newsletter Adridharana muddled the statement and got parts of it confused with something else. So, to clarify matters, I'm asking that CHAKRA print the full text of the statement. The statement is included at the end of this posting. Let me know if CHAKRA will publish it. Thank you for your attention in this matter. Hare Krishna.

Your servant,

Dhira Govinda dasa

[Here is the full text of the statement by the ISKCON of Alachua Board of Directors.]

The following statement, dated July 20, 2000, was unanimously accepted by the ISKCON of Alachua Board of Directors:

“Srila Prabhupada wanted his movement to be led by a Governing Body Commission that possesses integrity and commands respect. At present, despite the sincere efforts of the members of the GBC body, this does not exist. Though the New Raman-reti board of directors fully supports the principle of the GBC as Srila Prabhupada envisioned it, we herein express our lack of confidence in the GBC body in its current state to lead the movement and to adequately represent Srila Prabhupada. In order to avoid particulars obscuring the broader view of dysfunction, this short statement does not delineate specific reasons for discontent. However, general categories of misconduct of the GBC body that are far below acceptable standards include areas such as accountability, managerial competence, responsiveness, and representation. This board is willing and eager to participate in efforts towards constructive change concerning the GBC body, and some such efforts are currently being discussed. We believe it is essential that any new structure include a GBC body that is accountable to a group or constituency external to itself, since it is clear that the GBC body is unable to evaluate and discipline itself. This board views this statement as a service to the GBC body, and hopes that these comments will contribute to a positive reconstruction that will restore moral authority to the GBC body. The views expressed herein are those of the elected members of the New Raman-reti board of directors. We realize that these views do not necessarily represent the opinions of the members of the New Raman-reti Vaisnava community.

Regarding feedback to leadership, the New Raman-reti board of directors wishes to hear from community members on the issues described herein, and the board would also like to hear views from community members concerning the performance and functioning of the New Raman-reti management. Hare Krishna."

Your servants on the New Raman-reti board of directors,

Sukhada dasi, Nagaraja dasa, Nanda dasi, Raghupati Pran dasa, Kesihanta dasa, Isvara Puri dasa, Dhira Govinda dasa

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