Apr 22 2009, INDIA — We have seen various arguments on both, namely in favour of a DOM poll or a worldwide class action lawsuit against corporate ISKCON. Devotees should not leave any stone unturned in their endeavour to bring about a change in ISKCON management. They should give it a last try to resolve matters peacefully, even though all attempts have failed so far, and even though it has been observed that the corporate leadership is only ever moved by legal action. The Turley case and the Bangalore lawsuit are the best examples.
I therefore propose setting up a Sun Poll immediately, even if it is only for the sake that others cannot say that devotees have not tried all possible avenues to implement Srila Prabhupada’s ‘Directive of Management’ (DOM).
I firmly believe implementing the DOM will change the entire landscape within ISKCON by introducing some form of transparency and accountability. There is a huge potential for voting if the Sun is really getting 80,000 hits a day.
The poll can be conducted similarly to the past Chakra poll on child abuse. Chakra may even agree to provide a link to the poll. YouTube and Facebook support would also be helpful. At the same time there should be a link to the full copy of the DOM, which speaks for itself. A third party polling provider can be used.
The wording should be such that it appeals to as wide a readership as possible and the procedure should be simple and quick. There are still many who have never heard about the DOM. You will be surprised how many devotees within ISKCON alone want to see such accountability. The poll should be fair and above suspicion.
Rocana prabhu has already agreed in principle to put up such a poll. Let’s do it now. There is no loss in it. Articles alone will not change anything. If an overwhelming poll fails to break the silence of the GBC, then a Class Action should be the next step.
[Editor’s Note: We have received quite a number of responses to the suggestion of a poll on the DOM. We will host the poll, using the third-party polling platform we’ve used over the last few years. We will wait until next week to start running the poll, to give those with ideas or input a little more time to make themselves heard before we firm up the questions and poll design.
Sun Editors do not have a presence on Facebook, but if someone familiar with that platform would like to create an account, or point us to an existing account where a link to the poll can be posted, that would be helpful. We’ll give some thought to how best we can utilize YouTube to promote the poll.
On the subject of our site traffic, while it fluctuates, 80,000 hits/day is a fair estimate, but that includes the entire HareKrsna.com website, not just the Sun. It is true that the great majority of HareKrsna.com site traffic makes its way to the Sun on a regular basis. That said, historically, our reader participation in Sun Polls has been only a small percentage of traffic – perhaps 5%. This number will undoubtedly be higher if readers encourage their friends and associates to participate.]
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