Iskcon - Management Structure

Management Structure

Bhaktivedanta Swami spent much of the last decade of his life setting up the institution of ISKCON. As a charismatic leader, Bhaktivedanta Swami's personality and management had been responsible for much of the growth of ISKCON and the reach of his mission.

The Governing Body Commission (or GBC) was created by Bhaktivedanta Swami in 1970. In a document Direction of Management written on 28 July 1970 Prabhupada appointed the following members to the commission, all of them non sannyasi:

1. Sriman Rupanuga Das Adhikary
2. Sriman Bhagavan Das Adhikary
3. Sriman Syamsundar Das Adhikary
4. Sriman Satsvarupa Das Adhikary
5. Sriman Karandhar Das Adhikary
6. Sriman Hansadutta Das Adhikary
7. Sriman Tamala Krsna Das Adhikary
8. Sriman Sudama Das Adhikary
9. Sriman Bali Mardan Das Brahmacary
10. Sriman Jagadisa Das Adhikary
11. Sriman Hayagriva Das Adhikary
12. Sriman Kṛṣṇadas Adhikary

The letter outlined the following purposes of the commission: 1) improving the standard of temple management, 2) the spread of Krishna consciousness, 3) the distribution of books and literature, 4) the opening of new centers, 5) the education of the devotees. GBC has since grown in size to include 48 senior members from the movement who make decisions based on consensus of opinion rather than any one person having ultimate authority. It has continued to manage affairs since Prabhupada's passing in 1977 although it is currently a self-elected organization and does not follow the provision where Srila Prabhupada instructs that members be elected by temple presidents.