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Revision as of 12:51, 4 April 2004
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is the best-known organization of the religious movement popularly known as Hare Krishna. It is a sect of Vaishnava Hinduism which practices bhakti yoga in the worship of Lord Krishna who is popularly known as the eighth avatar of the god Vishnu and, according to ISKCON beliefs, his highest form ("the supreme personality of Godhead").
The teachings of ISKCON and its form of bhakti yoga (literally, "path of devotion") dates back to the teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu in present-day West Bengal in the 1500s. While enjoying a strong and continuous following in India, especially the east in such strongholds of bhakti like Orissa and West Bengal, India it was finally introduced to the Western world by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who incorporated ISKCON in New York in 1966 and subsequently published translations of the Bhagavad Gita and many other scriptures in English, as well as other Western languages, Bengali, Hindi, and all Indian dialects, Chinese, Japanese, and African languages too. In fact his books are now published in over 60 languages all over the world.
Shortly before Swami Prabhupada's passing, eleven of his disciples were named administrators on his behalf. They were ordered to continue initiating new disciples on behalf of Prabhupada.
There are now groups of people within and connected to ISKCON who are working to restore the original teachings of Swami Prabhupada and reform the current administration of the society.
The nickname "Hare Krishnas" for devotees of this movement comes from the maha-mantra (great chant) they recite, written by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. (While in the West it is linked inextricably to ISKCON, in India it is chanted independent of any particular movement):
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Listen to the maha mantra. Link courtesty of http://www.iskcon.org.uk
Devotees are well known for their chanting and dancing with drums and cymbals in the streets of capital cities of the world: the ladies in saris, the men in white or saffron (signifying celibacy) robes.
ISKCON has absorbed many western influences and maintains mandirs (temples) in more countries of the world than any other Hindu sect. Unlike other branches of Hinduism, it is actively evangelical.
See: Krishna, Rama, Vishnu, Chaitanya, Bhakti yoga, Bhakti movement
External links
- ISKCON: http://www.iskcon.com/
- Krishna.com: http://www.krishna.com/
- Google Directory: Vaishnava Hinduism
- Critical views of ISKCON: http://trancenet.org/krishna/
- Online Hare Krishna Temple: http://www.harekrishnatemple.com
- ISKCON UK: http://www.iskcon.org.uk
- Adi-Vani: http://www.adi-vani.org
- Ex-follower, Nori Muster's critical site