Demand M1: ISKCON-Mumbai wanted the ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple on Hare Krishna Hill, Rajajinagar, Bangalore to be entirely brought under the ownership and control of ISKCON- Mumbai.
Response of ISKCON-Bangalore to Demand M1: ISKCON-Bangalore accepted this demand entirely – with just one condition. That only Srila Prabhupada be revered as the guru or Acharya of ISKCON in the ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple on Hare Krishna Hill.
No one else should occupy the revered position of Acharya of ISKCON and all the devotees made in the temple will be initiated by the ritviks or representatives of the Acharya as per the institutional directive of the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada, dated July 9, 1977.
As per the directive, devotees so initiated will be regarded as the disciples of Srila Prabhupada.
This has been the single point cause for the dispute with ISKCON-Mumbai. (See Background to the Issue) Demand M2: There shall be two Temple Presidents for ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra temple on Hare Krishna Hill, Rajajinagar, Bangalore: one from the ISKCON-Mumbai group and the other from the ISKCON-Bangalore group. The financial, legal and administrative control of the temple will vest with the Temple President of the ISKCON-Mumbai group. The Deity worship, preaching and initiation aspects will be overseen by the Temple President of the ISKCON-Bangalore group.
Response of ISKCON-Bangalore to Demand M2: ISKCON-Bangalore accepted this demand entirely – with just one condition. That only Srila Prabhupada be revered as the guru or Acharya of ISKCON in the ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple on Hare Krishna Hill.
Demand M3:
ISKCON-Mumbai wanted all the properties of ISKCON-Bangalore Society apart from the ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple on Hare Krishna Hill, the property on Kanakapura Road, Mysore, and Hubli to also be brought under the full control and ownership of ISKCON- Mumbai.
Normally the mediation in a certain suit should be restricted to the suit schedule property alone which is in this case, the ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple on Hare Krishna Hill.
ISKCON-Bangalore society (registered in Bangalore on May 7, 1978 under Karnataka Society Registration Act) had acquired properties (land allotted by the government for specific projects) on Kanakapura Road in Bangalore, Mysore and Hubli. All these properties were acquired after the litigation began.
And these properties are not part of the present litigation. Hence the mediation should have been normally restricted to the suit schedule property which is the ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple on Hare Krishna Hill.
However the representatives of the Bureau of ISKCON-Mumbai insisted that the mediation should integrate the two groups together completely as one ISKCON in India, and this can happen only if all the properties of ISKCON-Bangalore society, including the undisputed ones, are brought under the control and ownership of ISKCON-Mumbai.
Response of ISKCON-Bangalore to Demand M3: ISKCON-Bangalore accepted this demand entirely – with just one condition. That only Srila Prabhupada be revered as the guru or Acharya of ISKCON in the temples on Kanakapura Road, Mysore and Hubli.
Demand M4: After the litigation between ISKCON-Mumbai and ISKCON-Bangalore began in 1999, the devotees of ISKCON-Bangalore have expanded the mission of Srila Prabhupada by setting up preaching centres and temples in 16 different places in India.
To institutionalize the preaching activities in these different places, as per the institutional blue print given by Srila Prabhupada, separate trusts have been registered in the name and style of Hare Krishna Movement. For over a decade in some of these trusts activities of spreading Krishna consciousness have been going on and some of them have also acquired properties.
ISKCON-Mumbai further insisted that all these trusts and their properties, although they are beyond the purview of the present suit, should also be brought under the control and ownership of ISKCON-Mumbai for complete integration and only then will they be able to get a majority vote in the Bureau to approve the mediation.
Response of ISKCON-Bangalore to Demand M4: ISKCON-Bangalore accepted this demand entirely – with just one condition. That only Srila Prabhupada be revered as the guru or Acharya of ISKCON in all these 16 temples.
Demand M5: ISKCON-Mumbai demanded that Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa, Sri Jai Chaitanya Dasa and Sri Chitranga Chaitanya Dasa should not be office bearers in ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra temple on Hare Krishna Hill in Bangalore since they were all involved in
the litigation.
The Hare Krishna Hill temple has been the home to these devotees since its very inception in 1988. They were the ones who had persevered to get the land allotted, raised money and supporters and built the magnificent temple that stands today as Hare Krishna Hill and brought pride to the city of Bangalore. They were supported by a team of dedicated and hard working devotees.
But now ISKCON-Mumbai was demanding that they give up their services to take up service in other temples. The representatives of Bureau of ISKCON-Mumbai demanded that only if this condition is accepted, there is a possibility for the entire mediated settlement.
Response of ISKCON-Bangalore to Demand M5: ISKCON-Bangalore accepted this demand entirely – with just one condition. That only Srila Prabhupada be revered as the guru or Acharya of ISKCON in the ISKCON Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple on Hare Krishna Hill.
Position of ISKCON-Mumbai The Bureau of ISKCON-Mumbai took the position that the requirement of ISKCON-Bangalore that Srila Prabhupada alone should be revered as the guru or Acharya of ISKCON and initiation to be conducted by ritviks or representatives of Acharya will be placed before the International GBC (Governing Body Commission) and the Bureau shall deal with the property matters only.
Now that all the demands: M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5, of ISKCON-Mumbai have been accepted by ISKCON-Bangalore, the ball was in the court of ISKCON-Mumbai to fulfill the requirement of ISKCON-Bangalore, the prime and only cause of the dispute accepted by the International GBC.
Combined Response of the International GBC and Bureau of ISKCON-Mumbai