Present

1. AC Bhaktivaibhava Swami (GBC Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, co-GBC Romania)
2. Bir Krishna das Goswami (GBC for Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and Slovenia)
3. Dina Sharana dasi (Euro GBC Germany - Austria)
4. Madhu Sevita (das) (GBC Italy - Villaggio Hare Krishna, Milano Area, Rome Area, and Catania Area, Malta, San Marino, co-GBC Benelux, France)
5. Narakriti dasa (Euro GBC Chairman, TP Prague - CZ)
6. Param Gati Swami (GBC France, Spain - New Vrajamandala, Portugal, Switzerland)
7. Praghosa dasa (GBC Channel Islands, England, France, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, co-GBC France)
8. Prahladananda Swami (Euro GBC, GBC Health and sannyasa minister)
9. Sivarama Swami (GBC Hungary, Turkey, co-GBC Romania)
10. Tattvavada dasa (TP Helsinki, Finland Regional Secretary) - late half an hour
11. Mahaprabhu dasa (coordinator of ISKCON Communications Europe)
12. Ravindra Svarupa dasa (GBC Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Sweden) - proxy vote through Dina Sharana dasi
13. Syamasundara dasa (Euro Minister for Cow Protection and Agriculture - UK)
14. Tapasa dasa (TP Stockholm, Chairman National Council - S)
15. Dadhibhaksa dasa (Director of ISKCON Croatia)
16. Janesvara dasa (representative of the Scandinavian Regional Council (Sweden, Denmark and Norway)

Dina Dayala dasa (Euro GBC Secretary)

Absent

1. Kavicandra Swami (GBC Japan, Greece)
2. Hrdaya Caitanya dasa (co-GBC GBC Benelux, Euro GBC Benelux, TP Radhadesh - BE)
3. Radhanath Swami (GBC Villa Vrindavana, Firenze Area, Centro Studio Bhaktivedanta, Bologna Area, and Venice Area - Italy)

Guests

1. Kripamoya dasa
2. Tapo Divyam dasa

Quorum (16/19)

2008/II-101 NEW VRAJA MANDALA FARM
The Euro GBC will not oppose the relocation of the New Vraja Mandala property as long as this relocation is done in conjunction with the local GBC, the property trustees (Kadamba Kanana Swami, Madhu Sevita dasa and Prahladananda Swami), and has clear majority support of the members of the local association that owns the New Vrajamandala property as well as the broad support of the local active devotees. All research data should be sent to the Euro GBC body within period of one month.

Final approval for any sale of New Vrajamandala would have to have the blessings of the International GBC body as per ISKCON Law

2008/II-102 UK LOAN FOR GERMANY
UK loan pledges from ELM - 06.10.2008

Mahaprabhu dasa - 500 Euros - paid
Titiksu dasa - 100 DVD donation
Vedavyasa dasa - 500 Euros
Schotland (Prabhupada Pran dasa) - 500 Euros
Tarakanatha dasa - 1000 Euros
Tapas dasa - 500.00 Euros
Praghosa dasa - 1300 Euros
Param Gati Swami - 300 Euros
Hungary yatra - 1.000 Euros
Swiss yatra - 500 Euros
Villa Vrindavana (Parabhakti dasa) - 500 Euros
Gaura Hari dasa - 200 Euros
Rotterdam temple - 250 Euros
Caitanya Candra dasa - 300 Euros
Tattvavada dasa - 200 Euros
Doyal Gauranga dasa - 300 Euros
Citrarupini dasa - 250 Euros
Bhaktivaibhava Swami - 2000 Euros - paid

Dina Sharana dasi will contact Bhakti Caru Swami and Sivarama Swami will contact Gopal Bhatta dasa asking about their previous pledges that are still outstanding.

2008/II-103 DINA SHARANA DASI AS ASSISTANT CO-GBC FOR GERMANY AND AUSTRIA
Euro GBC accepted the proposal that Dina Sharana dasi becomes Assistant Co-GBC for Germany and Austria. This will go forward for discussion by the International GBC body in February 2009

2008/II-104 TRAINING EUROPEAN LEADERS
Before endorsing this proposal the Euro GBC would like to see the full curriculum. Additionally the Euro GBC is of the view that the proposal does not fully reflect questions asked during the ELM.

2008/II-105 STANDARDS FOR LEADERS
The Euro GBC recommends that Visvambhara and Hanuman dasa become part of the committee working on standards for European leaders.

2008/II-107 INITIATION PROCEDURES

o    Whereas the ISKCON mission is successful in its preaching, attracting greater numbers to become devotees.
o    Whereas the majority of those devotees do not live in temple asramas, thus requiring additional and ongoing tuition, encouragement, guidance and supervision.
o    Whereas the initiation process is to create a lifelong and sustainable spiritual life for the disciple
o    Whereas it is often seen that after initiation takes place, the disciple's life may not include all the elements supportive of a long-term, sustainable spiritual life.

It is hereby resolved that before initiation can take place, the disciple must already be having formal and regular tuition, encouragement, guidance and supervision from a senior local Vaishnava.

o    Whereas scripture ordains that the prospective disciple must undertake a one-year period of personal scrutiny of the prospective guru;
o    Whereas prospective disciples do not always do this, and, in some cases, are not even aware that it is ordained by scripture;

It is hereby resolved that all prospective disciples must undertake a fixed period wherein they test the character, competence, knowledge and commitment of the prospective guru in consultation with a spiritual guide.

o    Whereas some ISKCON gurus are sometimes seen to undermine the movement's systems and structures by conducting initiations informally or otherwise inappropriately;
o     Whereas initiation is part of the movement's complete system of spiritual care;

It is hereby resolved that:
1. No promise of initiation may be made until all local formalities have been observed and a letter of recommendation received
2. There will be no more 'cross-border' initiations
3. No inducements to serve in another zone may be made either to the prospective initiate or to the new disciple
4. No initiations will be given to a husband or wife unless and until the partner understands all the ramifications

o    Whereas, as a preaching movement ISKCON preachers are presenting not only our philosophy, but our present guru-disciple culture and must therefore be worthy of respect and trust.
o    Whereas, in the past, power, money and followers has been instrumental in the downfall of many of our gurus; and because we now have to struggle to rescue our reputation in the face of considerable criticism;
o    Whereas there is now a lot more competition from other spiritual organisations

It is hereby resolved that in general ISKCON gurus may no longer make requests for funds from disciples or other devotees for projects or personal maintenance. Exceptions to this rule are if
i) Gurus are part of a local fundraising effort planned by local leadership, for local projects
ii) If local leadership has authorized them to fundraise for a non-local project that is authorized by ISKCON management in the locale of the said project
iii) If local leadership has first authorized gurus to request a fixed amount of funds.

2008/II-108 HELPING DEVOTEES SUCCEED: IMPORTANCE OF DEVOTEE CARE AND GUIDANCE
Guideline
That all GBCs, temple presidents and project leaders in ISKCON Europe will encourage a system of holistic care and guidance of residential and congregational devotees within their zone, centre or project in the form of personal spiritual guidance.

2008/II-109 FUNDRAISING FOR ISKCON COW PROTECTION PROJECTS
That ISKCON Cow Protection projects can in cooperation with local ISKCON leaders raise monthly donors from the national pool of devotees, congregation and others. This should be reasonably facilitated at ISKCON gatherings, festivals and special functions, as well as agreed days per year in temples and projects. Leaflets and donor forms can also be made available at temples for guests.

2008/II-110 INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF GBC'S IN THE FARM PROJECTS
Whereas ISKCON farms and farmers struggle to make their operations viable;
Whereas ISKCON farms, Cow Protectors, farmers and those engaged in rural development often feel unsupported by ISKCON management
Whereas the successful establishment of varnasrama and rural life was a key concern of Srila Prabhupada's;
Whereas the Vedic system was supportive of agricultural and rural communities;
Whereas there has been a decline in the general status of farm projects within Europe over the past years
Whereas production from the farms needs support by the other projects and temples of the respective country

Guideline
That all GBC members commit themselves to spend 10% of their time on a farm or farms within their area of responsibility and that time should also include group meetings with all the key farm workers, a guided tour of the farm with the head of the farm and project/temple in attendance, that some classes are dedicated solely to rural community development, that the GBC work with the local management bodies to develop self sufficiency within all the ISKCON and affiliated projects of the country using the farm as the source of production

2008/II-111 RURAL HOUSING PROPOSAL - "BUILD AS RENT"
Whereas ISKCON farm management attempts to secure community members by selling houses or land to ISKCON members has not succeeded in securing the houses and land as ISKCON assets or retained a devotee community;

Whereas ISKCON Rural Community projects require growth by increasing the homes and householder participants;

Whereas the successful establishment of varnasrama and rural life was a key concern of Srila Prabhupada's;

Whereas the Vedic system was supportive of rural communities;

Whereas most rural projects struggle to gain capital to build homes but have capacity to increase the number of homes with planning consent from their local government;

Whereas investors into community housing will require not to lose their investment;

Whereas it is important to secure a sustainable financial base for the temple and community and this has historically been done to a greater or lesser extent throughout history by tenancies paid to a landlord (with Krishna being the landlord for us)

RESOLUTION:

Resolved, That ISKCON projects can allow persons to "Build as Rent" or in other words to build homes on community land with the homes owned by ISKCON and the capital spent as a down payment on the rent.

Resolved, that once the rent for a "Build as Rent" has been paid off the capital investment then the tenant would pay rent monthly as arranged by the local management body

That in relation to homes "Build as Rent", for their to be an incentive for the person building the home; the difference between the rent level locally available and that set by the community; and the length of time that a subsidised rent can run once the rent has covered the building costs is up to the discretion of the local management body.

That should a person who "Built as Rent", moves out of the home before his investment is recompensed then the next tenant and following tenants will pay rent as normal and to the full level set by the temple management with the majority of the rent going to the investor and the remainder to the temple until the building costs plus incentive has been achieved, after which the full rent will go to the temple.

2008/II-112 DOCTRINAL PARAMETERS FOR SERVING IN EUROPE
Resolved:

The Euro GBC body will empower a committee to convene with the specific aim of clarifying the doctrinal parameters by which all devotees serving in ISKCON Europe will abide by.

Members: Kripamoya dasa, Praghosa dasa, Prahladananda Swami and Sivarama Swami.

2008/II-113 DEVOTEE MAINTENANCE IN ISKCON
Euro GBC accepted recommendation on devotee maintenance in ISKCON as a guideline by ISKCON Europe. The relevant paper is posted at the end of this document.

2008/II-114 NEXT EURO GBC MEETING
It was proposed that from next year the Euro GBC meeting will be held over two days

2008/II-115 ELECTION FOR EURO GBC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
[Resolved]

The following Euro EC officers were elected:
Chairman: Praghosa dasa
1st Vice-Chairman: Sivarama Swami
2nd Vice-Chairman:  Narakriti dasa
Secretary to the Euro GBC: Dina Dayala dasa   

2008/II-116 BUDGET FOR 2008/2009
The budget will remain as it is, half of the budget will be shared between the UK loan given to the German yatra and the ISKCON trademark bill.

[Resolved]

The 2008/2008 budget was accepted.
 
That the following recommendation be adopted as a guideline by ISKCON Europe

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From reading Srila Prabhupada 's instructions on this topic we find that Srila Prabhupada did not desire that devotees engaged in service to the institution recieve a wage or salary. Yet it is seen today that services within temples are done not only by volunteer devotees, but also by those who are salaried. In order to fulfil the desire of Srila Prabhupada and at the same time keep ISKCON running well, consideration needs to be given to the current systems of devotee-maintenance versus devotee-salary. This document makes a comparison between the practices of maintaining Vaiñëavas and employing them.

Definitions: Maintenace means that devotees serve the temple unconditionally and the institution meets all their needs. Salary means that devotees work for the temple on the condition of receiving an agreed amount of money or other forms of remuneration.

Desired goals

1. Protect and promote the spirit of devotion

2. Ensure the sustainability and onward growth of Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON

Principles of devotee maintenance

1. The ideal standard of devotee maintenance should be based on modest personal needs and not on want, position or title.

2. Arrangements for devotee maintenance must conform to ISKCON law and state law, and cannot be in violation of either.

3. For devotees engaged full-time in temple servces their maintenance must meet all their personal and family needs. Full-time devotees need not make secondary arrangement to cover their their basic needs.

4. Because the institution expects full-time devotees to fully surrender to it as Krishna's representative, the institution in turn must provide full shelter to such devotees thus fulfilling Krishna's promise "As all surrender unto me I reward them accordingly (Bg 4.11)

Who qualifies for full-time maintenance

1. Sannyasis, vanaprasthas, grhasthas, brahmacaris and brahmacarinis who maintain a proper standard of sädhana and are engaged in full-time service.

2. Any of the above devotees who accept maintenance based on the principles of simple living and the economic capacity of the the local temple.

Who by definition is/must be a full-time maintained devotee

Ashram devotees: All full-time devotees (sannyasis, vanaprasthas, grhasthas, brahmacaris and brahmacarinis) living on ISKCON property. They cannot receive a salary.

Services which only maintened devotees can fulfill

Some services in the temple should not be performed by salaried devotees, but should be performed by those who are dependent on and fully maintained by the temple. These are:

Pujari, teacher, preacher, temple/deity cook, temple president, vice-president, temple commander, certain department heads, book distributor/ kirtaneer and devotee fund-raiser.

Some differences between maintenance and salary

Maintenance	Salary
Health Insurance cover	Covered by legal salary
Pension covered	Covered by legal Salary
Service agreement	Service agreemens
For life	As per contract
Based on Need	What ISKCON offers or the individual negotiates
Versatility	Fixed job
Varies according to Centres	Varies according to Centres
Basis: Voluntary service and surrender in reciprocation for which ISKCON gives shelter	Conditional work or service according to terms of employment
Subordinate to temple authority in both varna & asrama	Works as per contract
Spiritual standards are compulsory	May or may not be the case depending on the work performed

Examples of what would likely be included in a maintenance package

* Accommodation and utilities (rent, electricity, water and heating)
* Budget for bhoga: either cash or prasadam or a mixture of both) 
* Clothing allowance
* Children allowance
* Health insurance
* Health allowance for medicine
* Local travel allowance
* Structural maintenance of house/accommodation
* Furniture allowance
* Savings budget in case of special needs

Guru or priest daksina in perspective of maintenance and salary

At present traveling preachers visit a congregation or temple of another zone and as a natural consequence of that will receive donations. In most cases these donations are neither recorded by the local temple nor accounted for according to government regulations. Thus these donations neither support temples and congregation, nor are they legally handled.

Principle

1. All donations given to ISKCON devotees (gurus and sannyasis included) belong to ISKCON and must be lodged into the local ISKCON account.

2. Whatever expenses that need to be covered for the invited travelling preacher concerned will be borne by the local ISKCON temple. In addition, the areas that a preacher spends the majority of his/her time in must arrange other aspects of general maintenance for those preachers as described above.