Govardhan Ecovillage, Mumbai, March 6-18, 2017: The first residential session of the 2017-2018 academic year of the GBC College was held at Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV), a farm community and retreat center located in Wada, two hours north of Mumbai at the foothills of the Sahyadri mountains. The residential involved 12 days of training in the fields of leadership development. The GBC College is focusing on imparting training to leaders to establish Zonal Supervisors across the globe. Twenty-five devotee participants attended the residential program, the curriculum for which included lessons in the areas of leadership and management. Participants enrolled in this program came from eleven countries- India, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Kenya, Nigeria, Hungary, Russia and Italy. Rasika Raman Prabhu from GEV was the organizer of this residential program and arranged for the various speakers and instructors to participate in it.
The 12-day training period comprised of courses taught by eight instructors- Rupanuga Prabhu, President of the College, Kaunteya Prabhu, Co-Minister of the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, Gauranga Prabhu, Director of Govardhan Ecovillage, Brajamohan Prabhu, Rasakridaparayana Prabhu, Tapan Mishra Prabhu, Bal Govind Prabhu and Gopinath Prasad Prabhu. The session started on March 6 with an opening address by HH Radhanath Swami, who hosted this program at GEV. Maharaj welcomed all participants warmly and spoke on the importance of leadership and service, citing various examples from Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and the Vaishnava scriptures.
Kaunteya Prabhu provided an orientation session which included the history of zonal configuration and the specifics of the zonal supervisor position. During the entire residential he also offered classes in the areas of leadership, sadhana (Devotional Practice) and samanvaya (Art of Dialogue). Topics included the Seven levels of Leadership, Leaders as Cultural Engineers, Introduction to the Global Duty Officer position, as well as hands-on exercises focusing on teamwork and collaborative thinking. Kaunteya Prabhu served as the facilitator of the program, providing guidelines at each stage and the final wrap-up session on the last day of the residential.
Rupanuga Prabhu, a management professor from California, USA, led comprehensive classes on Strategic Planning and Quality Management, often quoting Srila Prabhupada’s axioms. He also conducted ALP (Action Learning Project) exercises which proved quite beneficial in terms of practical learning.
Rasakridaparayana Prabhu offered a course on Succession planning, highlighting the need for effective strategies and protocols for establishing succession programs.
Brajamohan Prabhu, founder of a highly successful coaching program and trainer in the corporate world taught a variety of topics in the areas of Coaching and Situational Leadership.
Tapan Mishra Prabhu, a recent graduate from the college taught important principles in the area of Team Building.
Bal Govind Prabhu, vice president of ISKCON’s Pune project and the co-director of LOTUS VOICE offered a class on Database Management, delineating steps to effectively manage and broaden contacts.
Gauranga Prabhu, one of the first graduates of the College offered sessions focusing on the need for Leadership Training. He utilized the GEV itself as a model and successful product of a robust and well-planned ALP exercise.
Gopinath Prasad Prabhu, an expert in IT areas, offered training in the usage of online platforms for the college, including access to online courses and communication.
With such an excellent lineup of skilled instructors, participants received a well-rounded training, ably assisted by a team of dedicated staff members who helped them navigate through any problems smoothly. Nandini Radha Mataji, an academician from California also assisted in this program.
All sessions were infused with profound statements made by Srila Prabhupada, constantly reminding the participants about the importance of leadership and management. Classes would start daily with a brief kirtan followed by two 3-hour training sessions, spanning mornings and afternoons. There was plenty of opportunity for participants to interact and work collaboratively on a variety of in-class exercises which were highly engaging and required introspective thinking in spiritual development and day-to-day management within various spheres of ISKCON. Participants were able to establish meaningful and productive relationships through this collaborative effort and hope to continue to seek advice and guidance from one another.
One of the highlights of the residential was the celebration of the Gaura Purnima festival which saw participants chanting 64 rounds on this most auspicious day and exploring the gorgeous Vrndavan Forest, getting absorbed in the pastimes of Lord Krishna. By the mercy of the most beautiful Sri-Sri-Radha Vrndaban Bihari and Gauranga Mahaprabhu, both the participants and the College staff were able to have wonderful sanga and celebrate the legacy of Srila Prabhupada joyously. The idyllic environment offered by the Ecovillage, embodying the principle of “simple living and high thinking”, with its pristine rural setting, sattvik prasadam and the sweetest cows proved to be an excellent venue for this important training program. We hope and pray that we can continue to serve future college participants and offer them rich experiences in leadership education.
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