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Srila Prabhupada's Hare Krishna Movement (ISKCON)

ISKCON belongs to the Gaudiaya Vaishnava sampradaya (denomination or tradition), a monotheistic tradition within Vedic or Hindu culture.

The word “Hindu” is not found in the ancient texts of India. The word originated as a designation for the people living in the vast regions east of the Sindhu River. Today,Hinduism has evolved into an umbrella term that refers to the “family of religions” based on the Vedic writings, including the major traditions Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism. Together, they make up the world’s third-largest religion—today called Hinduism.

Who is Srila Prabhupada?

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, or Srila Prabhupada, is the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). On the order of his guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, Srila Prabhupada left India at the age of 69 to teach the timeless message of bhakti-yoga, or connecting to God through devotion. Prabhupada founded ISKCON in 1966 in New York City, and in the eleven years before his passing away in November 1977 traveled the world to establish over 100 ISKCON temples. He also translated, with elaborate commentary, several dozen books on the Vaishnava tradition, or Krishna Consciousness, which are highly esteemed by scholars and have been translated into more than 70 languages.

What is reincarnation and what happens at death?

The word ‘reincarnate’ derives from the root ‘carna’ which means ‘flesh’. Reincarnate therefore means to enter into the flesh again. The Vedic texts explain that the spirit soul is eternal, and it never dies. In the natural course of life the body grows from a baby to youth to boyhood, middle age, then old age and death, and then transmigrates into another body at death. Your destination depends upon your thoughts at death, and what we think of at the time of death depends on what we have been absorbed in for most of our lives.

Are the Deities idols?

One of the unique aspect to Vaishnavism, is the form of Deity (murti). The Vedic texts maintains a sharp distinction between idols and Deities. The Deity is not a figment of imagination of the artist.The ancients text called Shilpa-shastras give exact prescriptions for the fashioning of deities. There are specifications for the proper stance of the Deities, hand gestures, bodily proportions etc. The artists called shilpins enter into deep meditation and carve deity forms in accordance to scriptural canon. After this, elaborate ceremony is performed where the Lord is asked “to imbue the Deity with His divine presence” At this point, Deity is ready to be worshipped.

What are the four regulative principles?

A devotee of Krishna does not take the regulations of spiritual life as restrictions, but rather as ‘regulative principles of freedom’ – a tool for advancing personal character development & spiritual consciousness.The four regulative principles we follow are:

• Cleanliness: Of body, mind and soul - This means the daily washing of the body, but also refraining from illicit sex (only sex for procreation within marriage). Chanting of God´s (Krishna´s) holy names and studying the holy Scriptures help us to keep the mind and soul clean and balanced.
• Mercy: To help living entities (materially as well as spiritually). True followers of the Vedic (or any other) Scriptures are strictly vegetarians. It is perfectly possible to live healthily and happily without needlessly killing innocent animals.
• Austerity: To take only what we really need, without greed or violence. Intoxications like alcohol, hard and soft drugs, tobacco, etc. make someone's mercy and friendliness disappear. Addictions are not only unnecessary, but also very harmful (to body, mind and to others). The best alternative for addictions is an awakening of our relationship with God (Krishna) by living in accordance with His laws.
• Truthfulness: Means that we should not lie or gamble.Gambling destroys truthfulness because it is an attempt to bypass the laws of nature and obtain material profit without honestly working for them.An honest deed is the best gamble in the world and a sure winner.

By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

One whose happiness is within, who is active within, who rejoices within and is illumined within, is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), otherwise known as the Hare Krishna movement, includes five hundred major centers, temples and rural communities, nearly one hundred affilated vegetarian restaurants, thousands of namahattas or local meeting groups, a wide variety of community projects, and millions of congregational members worldwide. Although less than fifty years on the global stage, ISKCON has expanded widely since its founding by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda in New York City in 1966.

ISKCON belongs to the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradāya, a monotheistic tradition within the Vedic or Hindu culture. Philosophically it is based on the Sanskrit texts Bhagavad-gītā and the Bhagavat Purana, or Srimad Bhagavatam. These are the historic texts of the devotional bhakti yoga tradition, which teaches that the ultimate goal for all living beings is to reawaken their love for God, or Lord Krishna, the “all-attractive one”.

Members of ISKCON practice bhakti-yoga in their homes and also worship in temples. They also promote bhakti-yoga, or Krishna Consciousness, through festivals, the performing arts, yoga seminars, public chanting, and the distribution of the society’s literatures. ISKCON members have also opened hospitals, schools, colleges, eco-villages, free food distribution projects, and other institutions as a practical application of the path of devotional yoga.