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Revision as of 14:17, 14 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 group of traditional 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 Gaudiya Vaishnavas, 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 Vedic era. It was stressed in 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 initiate new disciples on behalf of Prabhupada and after his passing to become regular gurus with their own disciples.
There are now groups of people within and connected to ISKCON who are working to implement their view of teachings of Swami Prabhupada and reform the current administration of the society. Many of them believe in so-called "posthumous ritvik theory" (i.e. Prabhupada continues to initiate new devotees 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) which is a novel and unique view among the established Vaishnava and Shaiva lineages. An overview of this issue is at
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. (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 group. Unlike other branches of Hinduism, it is actively evangelical.
See also: Krishna, Rama, Vishnu, Chaitanya, Bhakti yoga, Bhakti movement
