Members of the Brazilian Governing Council of ISKCON (Conselho Governamental do Brasil, or CGB) met this November 29 – 30 at the Vrajabhumi temple near Rio de Janeiro to plan a revolutionary new management strategy.

Until now, Brazil has been overseen by two international members of ISKCON’s Governing Body Comission (GBC), Param Gati Swami and Hridayananda Dasa Goswami. Four other sannyasis who reside in Brazil – all initiating gurus – acted as representatives of the GBCs and managed different geographical areas of the country.

But Brazil is huge, with dozens of ISKCON projects and a population of 200 million. And in recent times the current GBCs and other sannyasis have realized it is impossible to manage on their own. So they have spent the last several years working to revive and empower Brazil’s own leaders, the CGB.

This year’s meetings locked the deal, with all four sannyasis and two GBCs formally requesting exemption from all GBC administrative work.

A five-devotee Executive Committee, four of whom are grand-disciples of Srila Prabhupada, was created to replace them. The Committee includes the president and vice-president of the CGB, as well as three more leaders.

The previous sannyasi and GBC managers will act only as advisers to this Executive Committee, replying to specific requests. This will allow them to concentrate on what they do best and love most: preaching Krishna consciousness and enthusing devotees.

“If we can pull this off, it will be a remarkable feat,” says Executive Committee member Giridhari Dasa. “A new generation of leaders – not Prabhupada disciples, gurus, or sannyasis –taking the administrative lead. May Prabhupada and Lord Chaitanya empower us.”