International Society for Krishna Consciousness

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The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a new religious movement founded by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in New York in 1966. It is popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement. Hare Krishna devotees are known for their singing and dancing with drums and cymbals in streets of cities round the world; the ladies in colourful saris, the men in white or saffron robes.

The nickname "Hare Krishnas" for devotees of this movement comes from the maha-mantra (great chant) they recite, appearing in Kali-santarana Upanisad and other Vedic scriptures, and promoted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In the West the mantra is linked inextricably to ISKCON but in India it is chanted independent of any particular movement. It is as follows~

               HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

                     HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

Please listen to the maha mantra. Link courtesty of http://www.iskcon.org.uk/

ISKCON is a society formed for practitioners bhakti yoga or the yoga of devotion which is a form of Vaishnava Hinduism. The object of the bhakti yogi's devotion is specifically Krishna, which means "all attractive", along with Radha his divine consort. Hare Krishna devotees understand Krishna to be non-different from Vishnu, and the highest form of God, or "the Supreme Personality of Godhead", and Radha to be his female counterpart, the embodiment of love. The teachings of bhakti yoga date back to before the Vedic era and were stressed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in West Bengal in the mid 1500s. Thus Hare Krishna devotees specifically follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya, or Bengali, Vaisnavas. Historically Gaudiya Vaisnavism have had a strong and continuous following in India, especially West Bengal and Orissa. The teachings were popularised in the Western world by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who incorporated ISKCON and published English translations of the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures, which were then translated to over sixty languages. They oppose monistic interpretation of Hinduism and the Bhagavad Gita.

Shortly before Swami Prabhupada passed away, eleven of his disciples were named administrators of ISKCON on his behalf, and after he passed away in 1977 they become "gurus" with their own disciples. After Prabhupada's death there were a lot of problems and turmoil in the organization, especially in the USA. Unlike other branches of Hinduism ISKCON is an actively evangelical group. There are ISKCON communities around the world with schools, restaurants and farms. Many ISKCON temples also have programs to provide meals for the needy. ISKCON has absorbed western influences as it maintains mandirs (temples) in many countries of the world, but still the ISKCON members vow to follow Gaudiya Vaisnava principles including vegetarianism, abstinence from gambling and alcohol, sex ouside marriage and intoxication.

In the early days of ISKCON many members lived in temples, but nowadays most believers live in their own homes. The organization was a major target of anti-cult activists. One of the reasons for this was that ISKCON's ascetic form of Hinduism was unknown to the West. In contrast to many other Hindu movements they are somewhat exclusive. Outsiders who see them chanting in ecstacy may get the false impression that they neglect intellectual interest in theology. More recently it has acquired a degree of respectability as an authentic Hindu sect, celebrating Vaishnava festivals and taking out big chariot processions in various towns, and stability in membership.

There is now a group of Hare Krishna devotees [1] who work to implement their view of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and reform the current administration of the society. They adhere to the "posthumous ritvik theory" (Which proposes that Srila Prabhupada continues to take disciples after his physical departure through ritviks, or priests who perform the initiation ceremony on his behalf, but themselves have no other obligation to the new initiate) This is a new and unique view in Vaisnavism [1] Vaishnava. An overview of this issue is at [1] Other Hare Krishna devotee followers of Srila Prabhupada have broken away from ISKCON to join authentic groups of Gaudiya Vaisnavas and follow Gaudiya Gurus outside of ISKCON.

Early Hinduism | Hinduism | Hindu Philosophy

Schools & Systems: Vedanta | Yoga | Tantra | Bhakti

Denominations: Vaishnavism | Shaivism | Shaktism | Neo- and quasi-Hindu movements

International Society for Krishna Consciousness

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