The BBT and the
Law
from Radha devi dasi
Dear Prabhus and Maharajas:
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I am writing in
response to Nityanandana
Rama's criticism of ISKCON's lawyers in the recently settled BBT
lawsuit. I am not one of the lawyers who worked on that lawsuit. Nor do I know Nityananda
Rama dasa or the basis for his outspoken complaints about the lawyers who did work on that
lawsuit. However, as the newly appointed legal director of ISKCON's North American Temple
Support Office I have come to realize that most devotees do not realize the very important
role they play in each and every legal matter which ISKCON faces.
The BBT lawsuit did not begin the day the first legal paper was filed in court. That
lawsuit began years earlier when ISKCON's corporate managers inadvertently ignored the
important legal steps which would have preserved the BBT chain of command. As a
consequence, a window of opportunity remained open for decades and that window was
exploited by Hansadutta dasa and others who now have legal access to Srila Prabhupada's
books.
Rather than criticizing the legal team which handled this matter, we should all take this
opportunity as ISKCON managers (or as the ISKCON members to whom those managers are
accountable) to ensure that we are following the letter of the law in preserving all of
our corporate assets. Does your temple have annual board of directors' meetings? Do you
keep minutes of those meetings? Do you file required annual reports with state and federal
regulatory agencies? Many times ISKCON's lawyers are called in to fix a legal problem
which has been brewing for years. This phenomenon is somewhat similar to permitting a
medical patient to bleed from a slow wound for months and then criticizing the doctor who
fails to save his life.
Please take this opportunity to review your temple's corporate records and ensure that
your community is in complete compliance with law. Due to the generosity of the ISKCON
Foundation, the Temple Support Office has some funds which enable me to help you review
the legal status of temples in North America. My COM address is Radha.MG@com.bbt.se
Temple managers in other areas, please contact lawyers in your regions for this kind of
legal review.
Your servant,
Radha devi dasi
© CHAKRA 15-Dec-98 |