The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), popularly called Hare Krishna, is a new religious movement based on Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism founded by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, referred to by followers as "Prabhupada," in New York in 1966. ISKCON is a society formed for practitioners of bhakti yoga or the yoga of devotion. The bhakta's devotion is specifically directed towards Krishna, along with Radha his divine consort. ==An overview== 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 married men in white dhotis and the celibate monks in saffron dhotis. ===The great mantra=== The popular nickname "Hare Krishnas" for devotees of this movement comes from the ''maha-mantra'' (great chant) they recite, which is written in Kali-santarana Upanisad and other Vedic scriptures, and promoted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared in Mayapur, India in 1486 CE. In the West the mantra is linked inextricably to ISKCON but in India it is chanted independent of any particular movement. The sound vibration created by repeating these names of God is said to gradually induce pure God-consciousness. It is as follows: : HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE : HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE The maha mantra appears originally in the Kali Santarana Upanisad: ''hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare ''hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare ''iti sodasakam namnam kali-kalmasa-nasanam ''natah parataropayah sarva-vedesu drsyate'' "These sixteen names destroy the sins of the Kali age. No method higher than this is found in all the Vedas." (Lord Brahma to Narada Muni) Krishna and Rama are names of God and Hare (vocative of 'Hara') refers to God's Shakti, known as Sri Radha, or Radharani. Frequently other mantras will be creatively appended to this, as in the background vocals to "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison. See [http://www.iskcon.org.uk/rathayatra/audio/indradyumna_sw.ram maha mantra] for an audio recording of the chant, link courtesy of [http://www.iskcon.org.uk/ ISKCON United Kingdom]. ===Philosophy and history=== 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 the Vedic era and were fully developed since the times of Chaitanya in West Bengal in the mid 1500s. Thus Hare Krishna devotees specifically follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya, or Bengali, Vaisnavas. Since the middle ages Gaudiya Vaisnavism has had a continuous following in India, especially West Bengal and Orissa. An important aspect of Gaudiya Vaisnavism is the understanding that the individual soul is an eternal personal identity which does not ultimately merge into any formless light or void. They oppose monistic interpretations of Hinduism and the Bhagavad Gita. The teachings were popularised in the Western world by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who incorporated ISKCON and published English translations of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Srimad Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrta and numerous other scriptures, which were then translated to over sixty languages and serve as the canon of the sect. Many of these books are now available online [http://www.vedabase.net here]. === The Seven Purposes of ISKCON === When Srila Prabhupada first incorporated ISKCON, in 1966, he gave it seven purposes: * To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all peoples in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world. * To propagate a consciousness of Krishna, as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam. * To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus to develop the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna). * To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy names of God as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. * To erect for the members, and for society at large, a holy place of transcendental pastimes, dedicated to the personality of Krishna. * To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life. * With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings. == Spreading the word == ISKCON is actively evangelical. Members try to spread "Krishna consciousness" by, for example, going on the streets to chant their mantra or to sell their books. According to the doctrine of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu one does not need to be born in a Hindu family to take up the practice of Vaishnavism. This openness places ISKCON in strong contrast to many other branches of Hinduism, which may place strong or exclusive stress on hereditary lineage and are non-missionary by nature. Thus 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 assimilated Western cultural contexts as it maintains mandirs (temples) in many countries of the world, but still the ISKCON members vow to follow Gaudiya Vaisnava principles, including vegetarianism, and abstinence from gambling, alcohol, sex outside marriage, and intoxication. In the early days of ISKCON many members lived in temples, but nowadays most believers live in their own homes. ISKCON has recently brought the academic study of Krishna into western academia as Tamala Krishna Gosvami. ==Issues Since Prabhupada's Death== Prabhupada spent much of the last decade of his life setting up the institution of ISKCON. As the charismatic leader, Prabhupada's personality and management were responsible for much of the growth of ISKCON and the reach of his mission. Upon the death of Prabhupada on November 14, 1977, eleven of his disciples became initiating gurus for ISKCON. Those chosen were: Tamala Krishna Gosvami, Satsvarupa dasa Gosvami [http://www.sdgonline.org/site/index.htm], Jayapataka Swami [http://www.iskcon.net/perth/Biographys/ISKCON_Gurus/Jayapataka_Swami.html#Jaya], Hrdayananda Gosvami, Bhavananda Gosvami, Hamsaduta Swami, Ramesvara Swami, Harikesa Swami, Bhagavan dasa Adhikari, Kirtanananda Swami, and Jayatirtha dasa Adhikari. Of these eleven individuals, only the first four have stayed within ISKCON. While traveling through West Bengal, India, Tamala Krishna Gosvami died in a car crash on March 15, 2002. Presently ISKCON is managed by the Governing Body Commission. Srila Prabhupada created this body to handle affairs in his absence concerning the daily management and spiritual standards for the organization and its members. The authority and mission of this body has evolved since the time of Prabhupada's death in 1977. Devamrta Swami is currently the Chairman of the Governing Body Commission. Since the death of Prabhupada, ISKCON experienced a variety of heresies over the next two decades. These heresies include: 1) The Guru is God Heresy 2) The Centralisation Heresy 3) The Zonal Acarya Heresy 4) The Proxy-Initiation Heresy 5) Heresies of Continuity 6) The Sannyasi-Householder Controversy 7) The Gopi-bhava Club Heresy 8) The Rasika-bhakti Heresy 9) The Origin of the Soul Heresy [http://www.iskcon.com/icj/5_1/5_1perils.html] [http://www.iskcon.com/icj/5_1/5_1perils2.html]. ==Scandal and controversy== Over the years ISKCON and its leadership have been accused of kidnapping, child molestation, obstruction of justice and fraud. In the early 1980s there were a number of lawsuits which resulted in some large financial settlements and the imprisonment of some of its leaders. The most notable lawsuit that reached all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States was that of Robin George and her parents. [http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1993/8/1993-8-15.shtml] In their book ''Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness and the Hari Krishnas'' (ISBN 0451401875) about an American Hare Krishna community called ''New Vrindaban'', authors John Hubner and Lindsey Gruson, wrote of members that were involved in drug smuggling, gun running and possibly even murder. Following Prabuhpada's death, the U.S. branch of the organization went through years of turmoil and controversy. After much negative plublicty regarding child molestation, in 1998 ISKCON Communications Journal[http://www.iskcon.com/icj/6_1/], the group's official publication, ran an article that detailed the widespread physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children at ISKCON boarding schools in India and the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s.[http://www.rickross.com/reference/krishna/krishna5.html] ISKCON's founder Srila Prabhupada encouraged members to live in ashrams and to abandon their education thus isolating members from their family. This is one of the reasons that the organization has often been accused of being a cult. ==See also== *Panchatattva ==External links== ISKCON: *[http://www.krishna.com/ Krishna.com - The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust] *[http://www.iskcon.com ISKCON] *[http://www.iskcon.com/icj/ ISKCON Communications Journal] *[http://www.iskcon.org.uk ISKCON UK] *[http://www.bharatavarsa.net ISKCON's global photo gallery] *[http://www.dipika.org Dipika news server] *[http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online] Reform, issues and replies: *[http://surrealist.org/gurukula/timeline.html ISKCON Timeline] *[http://surrealist.org/gurukula/ Child Abuse History in the Hare Krishna Movement] *[http://www.harekrsna.org/history.htm History of corruption in the Hare Krishna Movement] *[http://mitglied.lycos.de/gbc/black/abuse.htm Personal accounts of child abuse] *[http://adi-vani.org/index.php Unauthorized changes of the founder's books] *[http://www.kuruvinda.com/personal.php?c=6 Book Changes - a reply] *[http://www.chakra.org/discussions/BMJan31_03.html Who Needs Authentic Books?] *[http://www.yedaveda.org Srila Prabhupada:The Prominent Link] *[http://www.harekrsna.com/index.htm Hare Krishna website] *[http://surrealist.org/norimuster/postcharismatic.html Women in a Patriarchal religion] *[http://www.pratyatosa.com Reform site] *[http://www.surrealist.org/betrayalofthespirit/index.html#general Concerning abuse of children] *[http://www.yedaveda.org Concerning the founder of the movement] *[http://www.trancenet.org/krishna/ Pro-Krishna but against the sect] *[http://istagosthi.org/forum/ Istagosthi.org - Uncensored Forum for Hare Krishna Devotees] *[http://www.b-i-f.com Bhaktivedanta Investigation Force] *[http://www.krishna.org Reform group] *[http://www.rickross.com/groups/krishna.html A collection of critical articles] *[http://www.hinduismtoday.org/archives/1998/10/1998-10-14.shtml ISKCON claiming to be not part of Hinduism.] *[http://www.salagram.net/IskconHinduism.html#What The Hare Krishna Movement and Hinduism] *[http://www.dvaita.org/shaastra/iskcon.shtml Madhva followers criticizing ISKCON.] *[http://www.gosai.com/dvaita/madhvacarya/index.html Defense of ISKCON's theological beliefs against attacks by Madhva followers.] *[http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/html/letters.html More defense of ISKCON's theological beliefs.] *[http://surrealist.org/betrayalofthespirit/faq.html ISKCON viewed as a cult.] *[http://chakra.org CHAKRA: A discussion site for ISKCON-related issues.] Vaishnavism New religious movements ISKCON Bhakti movement Hindu movements and organizations
I have deleted the link for "Spiritual Realization Institute" because the Institute, although advocating Krishna consciousness, is not connected with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (the subject of this article) and the site offers no content directly pertaining to the Society. Krishna Dasa, 16 Oct 2004 ISKCON comes from the sect Gaudiya Vaishnavism. User:Andries 31 Jan 2004 Hello User 129.127.46.214, Why did u remove this information about Prabhupada's successor's. Don't remove but improve and correct. Otherwise you commit unconstructive behavior. At least write on the discussion page why you removed that phrase. I will put this message both on your user page as well as on the ISKCON talk page. Thanks in advance. User:Andries 19:12, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC) '''From now on I will revert any change that I don't understand that has been implemented without any explanation on the talk page. There are too many strange deletions and edits of this article. If you remove content then please explain why. I think I know the reason though. Please improve and correct. Don't just remove.''' User:Andries 20:55, 22 Mar 2004 (UTC) Changes I've implemented: it said that ISKCON revived the Chaitanya movement in India whereas the Chaitanya movement has had a strong and continuous following in East India for more than four centuries, with groups not even associated with Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Secondly, 'leaving this material world' is not appropriate phraseology for his death in an article that claims to be NPOV. That also goes for the proselytizing bit at the very end, which talked about how it, unlike other Hindu sects, wishes to convert without regard for faith and to spread love of God. Clearly biased, as 1) it backhands other Hindu sects for not trying to spread the word, 2) is redundant since proselytizing is innately about converting and thus not concerned with the other person's faith and 3) brings in bias about whether God's love can be spread, since many may not believe in God or ISKCON's methodology of accessing 'God.' --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 07:50, Apr 4, 2004 (UTC) :Thanks for your explanation. Some people just removed content without giving an explanation and that is why I wrote such a strict warning on the talk page. The warning wasn't meant for edits like yours. I think the mysterious deletions have to do with the power struggle between the reform movement and the people who are the current gurus. But we would like to have a good, NPOV article and this power struggle should be stated and explained, not just ignoring it or write a one sided version of the events. User:Andries 08:08, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC) As of today, this article appears still to be biased, rather more like promotional material for the organization. Also, Krishna, Vishnu and Shiva are all supposed to be Avatars of Brahman, so claiming that is it a distinguishing principle for this group to assert the "non-difference" of Krishna from the supreme godhead is deceptive, since all Hindus believe that already. I don't want to touch it, though, because my knowledge of the organization and Hindu mythology is limited.User:Glasperlenspiel 01:46, Jun 27, 2004 (UTC) :No, it is not a balanced article and I think it even contains mistakes (that are part of the ISKCON propaganda) but I miss the knowledge to be certain and to correct them. ISKCON and Gaudia Vaishnava believe that the form of Vishnu is always Krishna, unlike mainstream Hinduism. Andries16:24, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC) Well, it gives information about ISKCON and its beliefs, as it is supposed to as a page in Wikipedia encyclopedia. I believe the bias on balance is more tilted against the organisation than for it, although perhaps someone could include info about some allegations of child abuse and how (well or badly) they dealt with it. By the way I am a hindu, though not a Hare Krishna devotee but sometimes attend their meetings.User:Nondualist I have removed the half of the mantra because I had never heard of it. (I know quite a lot about ISKCON). And besides I couldn't find it on the ISKCON website. User:Andries 08:50, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC) : Just a comment: "Krishna, Vishnu and Shiva are all supposed to be Avatars of Brahman." That is false. First of all, an avatar by definition is an earthly incarnation of Vishnu. Secondly, Brahman is not a god, or even God. Brahman is the Truth, a formless, personality-less, infinite, Divine Ground, bereft of attributes and beyond time, space, and causation. Brahman does not have 'incarnations'. Lastly, different sects of Hinduism believe different things; there's no single authoratative view of Hindu belief. --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 02:53, Oct 18, 2004 (UTC) ::Further to what Lord Surya of Shropshire says of Hinduism, I've revised this sentence "Unlike Hinduism, which rarely seeks converts, ISKCON is an actively evangelical group." Hinduism is not the Roman Catholic church. It encompasses such a vast range of beliefs and practises it doesn't make sense to personalize it in this way. So I've changed it to this "Unlike other Hindu groups, which rarely seek converts, ISKCON is actively evangelical.". The Hare Krishnas, for all intents and purposes, are a Hindu sect whether or not they themselves believes this and whether or not other Hindu groups want to acknowledge them. --User:LeeHunter 14:44, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC) == Hare krishna's are not hindu == they don't consider themselves Hindu, and most hindu's don't either. 21:00, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC) :That's not quite true. Take a look at the "Hare Krishna and Hinduism" section of this ISCON UK page. [http://www.iskcon.org.uk/whatis/]. It says they are both part of Hinduism and a separate religion. --User:LeeHunter 14:53, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::OK, I acknowledge that there are some contridictory statements made, but for the sake of neutrality we must remain impartial. For this reason I have removed statements promoting one view or the other. However this issue is certain to resurface, and I feel the weight of the evidence is on my side (just look at the external links section). Cheers, 15:43, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) :::The thing is, that Hinduism lacks a universally accepted definition. According to one common definition, Hindus accept the Vedas as the supreme scriptural authority, while ISKCON reveres the Bhagavad Gita as the supreme scriptural authority. That would technically make ISKCON a splinter group, though it is certainly more widely considered a Hindu sect. User:Mkweise 20:53, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::::Yes, I agree with Mkweise. I don't think there is a definition of Hinduism that can encompass all of what is commonly understand as Hinduism in India that would also exclude ISCKON. It claims to be promoting Sanatana Dharma, a key concept of Hinduism. There is certainly a degree of sectarianism (and the usual "we're right, everybody else is wrong" ideology that goes along with The true believer: thoughts on the nature of mass movements). But ISKCON is clearly associated with Hinduism. In a way it is a sort of extreme Hindu fundamentalism--God's Word, the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, are taken to be literally true (despite requiring the intermediation of a so-called guru, many of which in ISKCON have had a poor track record in maintaining their own vows). User:Bkonrad≠User talk:Bkonrad 21:19, Jan 13, 2005 (UTC) ::::If one accepts the Hinduism article as accurate, it would be difficult to argue that Hare Krishna's are not part of the mix. The issue of whether Vishnu is an expression of Krishna or vice versa is a pretty esoteric point. Same with putting emphasis on one scripture over another. It's not really enough to disqualify you from Hinduism. Look at Christianity, which is not nearly as open-ended. Some folks believe in the divinity of Mary and some don't. Some think the Old Testament is unimportant and some think it is. Some jump up and down and roll on the ground and some sit quietly in their pews. And some Christians belong to tiny groups that fit the definition of cults. It doesn't mean that they're not still Christian. I also have my doubts about the claim that the 'majority' of Hindus believe that ISCON are not part of Hinduism. I could see that in certain quarters, some Hindus might think so, but I suspect that the majority of the 900 million don't really have an opinion one way or the other. --User:LeeHunter 23:08, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) :::::Alot of what you have said is likely true, but our position here is catalog information, the POV's of experts, not to quest for objective reality, or present our own POV's, however legitimate. The experts are divided on this one, much as they are about Mormonism (which considers itself ''jewish'', I believe) and Jehovas witnesses (who think they are the ''only'' Christians, excluding other denominations) being Christian, regardless of consistancy with the wiki article on Christianity. 23:31, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::::First I would like to add that ISKCON devotees are devoted to a large scope of Vedic literature, and literature in pursuit of the vedas. This range includes the Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads, Epics, Puranas, and various vernacular scriptures in English and Bengali. Given this, it is fair to note that they place a higher emphasis on scriptures such as the Bhagavad-Gita, Bhagavata Purana and the Caitanya Charitamrta. This scriptural tradition offers a solid link connecting ISKCON to other various "Hindu" denominations, whether that connection is acknowledged or not. Given this, it should be noted that the term "Hindu" is a recent phenomenon given the long history of the literary tradition. JCM 5/24/05 The definition of "Hinduism" has been used for the past few hundred years to describe the religions of South Asian that pay homage to one or more of the various traditions in pursuit of vedic literature and vedic tradition. In the attempt to catalog information, we have to recognize the limitations of these words and catagories. It is not unrealistic that ISKCON devotees could both identify as "Hindu" while also recognizing the limitations of that catagorization, and adding additional catagories to a complex personal identity. Many South Asian traditions use the term "Sanatana Dharma" which roughly translates to "eternal religion." This term acknowledges that the religious traditions now identifying as Hindu, did in fact exist long before the term "Hindu" was introduced as an historical evolution (albiet one that isn't easily dated). The Caitanya Charitamrta (a Gaudiya Vaishnava hagiography on Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu) is one of the first "Hindu" scriptures to reference the word "Hindu." This scripture was constructed towards the end of the 15th century in Bengal, where Hindus identified their religious tradition in the context of a society ruled by a Muslem establishment. This date of 1500 BCE leaves the vast majority of Gaudiya Vaishnava literary tradition (from the Rig Veda circa 1500 BCE to the Caitanya Charitamrta circa 1500 CE) as predating "Hindu" identification. The above sequence places the complex identity issue of Gaudiya-Vaishnava/Hindu/Sanatana-Dharma into its larger and more complex historical context. My point is that these terms should never be so oversimplified as to allude to an either/or identity. JCM 5/24/05 == Book Pollution? == (Sorry - that's just an attention grabber) How about adding some statistics on the number of books published by the movement? There must be some truly remarkable (if not staggering) figures out there that may be of interest. I envision a graph with years on the X axis and thousands (or millions?) of books published on the Y axis... == User 66 == The edit by user 66._._..... was partly helpful and partly vandalism. If someone has the time his edits should be checked for factual accuracy. User:Freestylefrappe 20:46, May 5, 2005 (UTC)
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International_Society_for_Krishna_Consciousness
International_Society_for_Krishna_Consciousness
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), popularly called Hare Krishna, is a new religious movement based on Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism founded by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, referred to by followers as "Prabhupada," in New York in 1966. ISKCON is a society formed for practitioners of bhakti yoga or the yoga of devotion. The bhakta's devotion is specifically directed towards Krishna, along with Radha his divine consort. ==An overview== 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 married men in white dhotis and the celibate monks in saffron dhotis. ===The great mantra=== The popular nickname "Hare Krishnas" for devotees of this movement comes from the ''maha-mantra'' (great chant) they recite, which is written in Kali-santarana Upanisad and other Vedic scriptures, and promoted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared in Mayapur, India in 1486 CE. In the West the mantra is linked inextricably to ISKCON but in India it is chanted independent of any particular movement. The sound vibration created by repeating these names of God is said to gradually induce pure God-consciousness. It is as follows: : HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE : HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE The maha mantra appears originally in the Kali Santarana Upanisad: ''hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare ''hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare ''iti sodasakam namnam kali-kalmasa-nasanam ''natah parataropayah sarva-vedesu drsyate'' "These sixteen names destroy the sins of the Kali age. No method higher than this is found in all the Vedas." (Lord Brahma to Narada Muni) Krishna and Rama are names of God and Hare (vocative of 'Hara') refers to God's Shakti, known as Sri Radha, or Radharani. Frequently other mantras will be creatively appended to this, as in the background vocals to "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison. See [http://www.iskcon.org.uk/rathayatra/audio/indradyumna_sw.ram maha mantra] for an audio recording of the chant, link courtesy of [http://www.iskcon.org.uk/ ISKCON United Kingdom]. ===Philosophy and history=== 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 the Vedic era and were fully developed since the times of Chaitanya in West Bengal in the mid 1500s. Thus Hare Krishna devotees specifically follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya, or Bengali, Vaisnavas. Since the middle ages Gaudiya Vaisnavism has had a continuous following in India, especially West Bengal and Orissa. An important aspect of Gaudiya Vaisnavism is the understanding that the individual soul is an eternal personal identity which does not ultimately merge into any formless light or void. They oppose monistic interpretations of Hinduism and the Bhagavad Gita. The teachings were popularised in the Western world by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who incorporated ISKCON and published English translations of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Srimad Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrta and numerous other scriptures, which were then translated to over sixty languages and serve as the canon of the sect. Many of these books are now available online [http://www.vedabase.net here]. === The Seven Purposes of ISKCON === When Srila Prabhupada first incorporated ISKCON, in 1966, he gave it seven purposes: * To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all peoples in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world. * To propagate a consciousness of Krishna, as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam. * To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus to develop the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna). * To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy names of God as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. * To erect for the members, and for society at large, a holy place of transcendental pastimes, dedicated to the personality of Krishna. * To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life. * With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings. == Spreading the word == ISKCON is actively evangelical. Members try to spread "Krishna consciousness" by, for example, going on the streets to chant their mantra or to sell their books. According to the doctrine of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu one does not need to be born in a Hindu family to take up the practice of Vaishnavism. This openness places ISKCON in strong contrast to many other branches of Hinduism, which may place strong or exclusive stress on hereditary lineage and are non-missionary by nature. Thus 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 assimilated Western cultural contexts as it maintains mandirs (temples) in many countries of the world, but still the ISKCON members vow to follow Gaudiya Vaisnava principles, including vegetarianism, and abstinence from gambling, alcohol, sex outside marriage, and intoxication. In the early days of ISKCON many members lived in temples, but nowadays most believers live in their own homes. ISKCON has recently brought the academic study of Krishna into western academia as Tamala Krishna Gosvami. ==Issues Since Prabhupada's Death== Prabhupada spent much of the last decade of his life setting up the institution of ISKCON. As the charismatic leader, Prabhupada's personality and management were responsible for much of the growth of ISKCON and the reach of his mission. Upon the death of Prabhupada on November 14, 1977, eleven of his disciples became initiating gurus for ISKCON. Those chosen were: Tamala Krishna Gosvami, Satsvarupa dasa Gosvami [http://www.sdgonline.org/site/index.htm], Jayapataka Swami [http://www.iskcon.net/perth/Biographys/ISKCON_Gurus/Jayapataka_Swami.html#Jaya], Hrdayananda Gosvami, Bhavananda Gosvami, Hamsaduta Swami, Ramesvara Swami, Harikesa Swami, Bhagavan dasa Adhikari, Kirtanananda Swami, and Jayatirtha dasa Adhikari. Of these eleven individuals, only the first four have stayed within ISKCON. While traveling through West Bengal, India, Tamala Krishna Gosvami died in a car crash on March 15, 2002. Presently ISKCON is managed by the Governing Body Commission. Srila Prabhupada created this body to handle affairs in his absence concerning the daily management and spiritual standards for the organization and its members. The authority and mission of this body has evolved since the time of Prabhupada's death in 1977. Devamrta Swami is currently the Chairman of the Governing Body Commission. Since the death of Prabhupada, ISKCON experienced a variety of heresies over the next two decades. These heresies include: 1) The Guru is God Heresy 2) The Centralisation Heresy 3) The Zonal Acarya Heresy 4) The Proxy-Initiation Heresy 5) Heresies of Continuity 6) The Sannyasi-Householder Controversy 7) The Gopi-bhava Club Heresy 8) The Rasika-bhakti Heresy 9) The Origin of the Soul Heresy [http://www.iskcon.com/icj/5_1/5_1perils.html] [http://www.iskcon.com/icj/5_1/5_1perils2.html]. ==Scandal and controversy== Over the years ISKCON and its leadership have been accused of kidnapping, child molestation, obstruction of justice and fraud. In the early 1980s there were a number of lawsuits which resulted in some large financial settlements and the imprisonment of some of its leaders. The most notable lawsuit that reached all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States was that of Robin George and her parents. [http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1993/8/1993-8-15.shtml] In their book ''Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness and the Hari Krishnas'' (ISBN 0451401875) about an American Hare Krishna community called ''New Vrindaban'', authors John Hubner and Lindsey Gruson, wrote of members that were involved in drug smuggling, gun running and possibly even murder. Following Prabuhpada's death, the U.S. branch of the organization went through years of turmoil and controversy. After much negative plublicty regarding child molestation, in 1998 ISKCON Communications Journal[http://www.iskcon.com/icj/6_1/], the group's official publication, ran an article that detailed the widespread physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children at ISKCON boarding schools in India and the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s.[http://www.rickross.com/reference/krishna/krishna5.html] ISKCON's founder Srila Prabhupada encouraged members to live in ashrams and to abandon their education thus isolating members from their family. This is one of the reasons that the organization has often been accused of being a cult. ==See also== *Panchatattva ==External links== ISKCON: *[http://www.krishna.com/ Krishna.com - The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust] *[http://www.iskcon.com ISKCON] *[http://www.iskcon.com/icj/ ISKCON Communications Journal] *[http://www.iskcon.org.uk ISKCON UK] *[http://www.bharatavarsa.net ISKCON's global photo gallery] *[http://www.dipika.org Dipika news server] *[http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online] Reform, issues and replies: *[http://surrealist.org/gurukula/timeline.html ISKCON Timeline] *[http://surrealist.org/gurukula/ Child Abuse History in the Hare Krishna Movement] *[http://www.harekrsna.org/history.htm History of corruption in the Hare Krishna Movement] *[http://mitglied.lycos.de/gbc/black/abuse.htm Personal accounts of child abuse] *[http://adi-vani.org/index.php Unauthorized changes of the founder's books] *[http://www.kuruvinda.com/personal.php?c=6 Book Changes - a reply] *[http://www.chakra.org/discussions/BMJan31_03.html Who Needs Authentic Books?] *[http://www.yedaveda.org Srila Prabhupada:The Prominent Link] *[http://www.harekrsna.com/index.htm Hare Krishna website] *[http://surrealist.org/norimuster/postcharismatic.html Women in a Patriarchal religion] *[http://www.pratyatosa.com Reform site] *[http://www.surrealist.org/betrayalofthespirit/index.html#general Concerning abuse of children] *[http://www.yedaveda.org Concerning the founder of the movement] *[http://www.trancenet.org/krishna/ Pro-Krishna but against the sect] *[http://istagosthi.org/forum/ Istagosthi.org - Uncensored Forum for Hare Krishna Devotees] *[http://www.b-i-f.com Bhaktivedanta Investigation Force] *[http://www.krishna.org Reform group] *[http://www.rickross.com/groups/krishna.html A collection of critical articles] *[http://www.hinduismtoday.org/archives/1998/10/1998-10-14.shtml ISKCON claiming to be not part of Hinduism.] *[http://www.salagram.net/IskconHinduism.html#What The Hare Krishna Movement and Hinduism] *[http://www.dvaita.org/shaastra/iskcon.shtml Madhva followers criticizing ISKCON.] *[http://www.gosai.com/dvaita/madhvacarya/index.html Defense of ISKCON's theological beliefs against attacks by Madhva followers.] *[http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/html/letters.html More defense of ISKCON's theological beliefs.] *[http://surrealist.org/betrayalofthespirit/faq.html ISKCON viewed as a cult.] *[http://chakra.org CHAKRA: A discussion site for ISKCON-related issues.] Vaishnavism New religious movements ISKCON Bhakti movement Hindu movements and organizations
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
I have deleted the link for "Spiritual Realization Institute" because the Institute, although advocating Krishna consciousness, is not connected with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (the subject of this article) and the site offers no content directly pertaining to the Society. Krishna Dasa, 16 Oct 2004 ISKCON comes from the sect Gaudiya Vaishnavism. User:Andries 31 Jan 2004 Hello User 129.127.46.214, Why did u remove this information about Prabhupada's successor's. Don't remove but improve and correct. Otherwise you commit unconstructive behavior. At least write on the discussion page why you removed that phrase. I will put this message both on your user page as well as on the ISKCON talk page. Thanks in advance. User:Andries 19:12, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC) '''From now on I will revert any change that I don't understand that has been implemented without any explanation on the talk page. There are too many strange deletions and edits of this article. If you remove content then please explain why. I think I know the reason though. Please improve and correct. Don't just remove.''' User:Andries 20:55, 22 Mar 2004 (UTC) Changes I've implemented: it said that ISKCON revived the Chaitanya movement in India whereas the Chaitanya movement has had a strong and continuous following in East India for more than four centuries, with groups not even associated with Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Secondly, 'leaving this material world' is not appropriate phraseology for his death in an article that claims to be NPOV. That also goes for the proselytizing bit at the very end, which talked about how it, unlike other Hindu sects, wishes to convert without regard for faith and to spread love of God. Clearly biased, as 1) it backhands other Hindu sects for not trying to spread the word, 2) is redundant since proselytizing is innately about converting and thus not concerned with the other person's faith and 3) brings in bias about whether God's love can be spread, since many may not believe in God or ISKCON's methodology of accessing 'God.' --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 07:50, Apr 4, 2004 (UTC) :Thanks for your explanation. Some people just removed content without giving an explanation and that is why I wrote such a strict warning on the talk page. The warning wasn't meant for edits like yours. I think the mysterious deletions have to do with the power struggle between the reform movement and the people who are the current gurus. But we would like to have a good, NPOV article and this power struggle should be stated and explained, not just ignoring it or write a one sided version of the events. User:Andries 08:08, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC) As of today, this article appears still to be biased, rather more like promotional material for the organization. Also, Krishna, Vishnu and Shiva are all supposed to be Avatars of Brahman, so claiming that is it a distinguishing principle for this group to assert the "non-difference" of Krishna from the supreme godhead is deceptive, since all Hindus believe that already. I don't want to touch it, though, because my knowledge of the organization and Hindu mythology is limited.User:Glasperlenspiel 01:46, Jun 27, 2004 (UTC) :No, it is not a balanced article and I think it even contains mistakes (that are part of the ISKCON propaganda) but I miss the knowledge to be certain and to correct them. ISKCON and Gaudia Vaishnava believe that the form of Vishnu is always Krishna, unlike mainstream Hinduism. Andries16:24, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC) Well, it gives information about ISKCON and its beliefs, as it is supposed to as a page in Wikipedia encyclopedia. I believe the bias on balance is more tilted against the organisation than for it, although perhaps someone could include info about some allegations of child abuse and how (well or badly) they dealt with it. By the way I am a hindu, though not a Hare Krishna devotee but sometimes attend their meetings.User:Nondualist I have removed the half of the mantra because I had never heard of it. (I know quite a lot about ISKCON). And besides I couldn't find it on the ISKCON website. User:Andries 08:50, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC) : Just a comment: "Krishna, Vishnu and Shiva are all supposed to be Avatars of Brahman." That is false. First of all, an avatar by definition is an earthly incarnation of Vishnu. Secondly, Brahman is not a god, or even God. Brahman is the Truth, a formless, personality-less, infinite, Divine Ground, bereft of attributes and beyond time, space, and causation. Brahman does not have 'incarnations'. Lastly, different sects of Hinduism believe different things; there's no single authoratative view of Hindu belief. --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 02:53, Oct 18, 2004 (UTC) ::Further to what Lord Surya of Shropshire says of Hinduism, I've revised this sentence "Unlike Hinduism, which rarely seeks converts, ISKCON is an actively evangelical group." Hinduism is not the Roman Catholic church. It encompasses such a vast range of beliefs and practises it doesn't make sense to personalize it in this way. So I've changed it to this "Unlike other Hindu groups, which rarely seek converts, ISKCON is actively evangelical.". The Hare Krishnas, for all intents and purposes, are a Hindu sect whether or not they themselves believes this and whether or not other Hindu groups want to acknowledge them. --User:LeeHunter 14:44, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC) == Hare krishna's are not hindu == they don't consider themselves Hindu, and most hindu's don't either. 21:00, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC) :That's not quite true. Take a look at the "Hare Krishna and Hinduism" section of this ISCON UK page. [http://www.iskcon.org.uk/whatis/]. It says they are both part of Hinduism and a separate religion. --User:LeeHunter 14:53, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::OK, I acknowledge that there are some contridictory statements made, but for the sake of neutrality we must remain impartial. For this reason I have removed statements promoting one view or the other. However this issue is certain to resurface, and I feel the weight of the evidence is on my side (just look at the external links section). Cheers, 15:43, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) :::The thing is, that Hinduism lacks a universally accepted definition. According to one common definition, Hindus accept the Vedas as the supreme scriptural authority, while ISKCON reveres the Bhagavad Gita as the supreme scriptural authority. That would technically make ISKCON a splinter group, though it is certainly more widely considered a Hindu sect. User:Mkweise 20:53, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::::Yes, I agree with Mkweise. I don't think there is a definition of Hinduism that can encompass all of what is commonly understand as Hinduism in India that would also exclude ISCKON. It claims to be promoting Sanatana Dharma, a key concept of Hinduism. There is certainly a degree of sectarianism (and the usual "we're right, everybody else is wrong" ideology that goes along with The true believer: thoughts on the nature of mass movements). But ISKCON is clearly associated with Hinduism. In a way it is a sort of extreme Hindu fundamentalism--God's Word, the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, are taken to be literally true (despite requiring the intermediation of a so-called guru, many of which in ISKCON have had a poor track record in maintaining their own vows). User:Bkonrad≠User talk:Bkonrad 21:19, Jan 13, 2005 (UTC) ::::If one accepts the Hinduism article as accurate, it would be difficult to argue that Hare Krishna's are not part of the mix. The issue of whether Vishnu is an expression of Krishna or vice versa is a pretty esoteric point. Same with putting emphasis on one scripture over another. It's not really enough to disqualify you from Hinduism. Look at Christianity, which is not nearly as open-ended. Some folks believe in the divinity of Mary and some don't. Some think the Old Testament is unimportant and some think it is. Some jump up and down and roll on the ground and some sit quietly in their pews. And some Christians belong to tiny groups that fit the definition of cults. It doesn't mean that they're not still Christian. I also have my doubts about the claim that the 'majority' of Hindus believe that ISCON are not part of Hinduism. I could see that in certain quarters, some Hindus might think so, but I suspect that the majority of the 900 million don't really have an opinion one way or the other. --User:LeeHunter 23:08, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) :::::Alot of what you have said is likely true, but our position here is catalog information, the POV's of experts, not to quest for objective reality, or present our own POV's, however legitimate. The experts are divided on this one, much as they are about Mormonism (which considers itself ''jewish'', I believe) and Jehovas witnesses (who think they are the ''only'' Christians, excluding other denominations) being Christian, regardless of consistancy with the wiki article on Christianity. 23:31, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::::First I would like to add that ISKCON devotees are devoted to a large scope of Vedic literature, and literature in pursuit of the vedas. This range includes the Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads, Epics, Puranas, and various vernacular scriptures in English and Bengali. Given this, it is fair to note that they place a higher emphasis on scriptures such as the Bhagavad-Gita, Bhagavata Purana and the Caitanya Charitamrta. This scriptural tradition offers a solid link connecting ISKCON to other various "Hindu" denominations, whether that connection is acknowledged or not. Given this, it should be noted that the term "Hindu" is a recent phenomenon given the long history of the literary tradition. JCM 5/24/05 The definition of "Hinduism" has been used for the past few hundred years to describe the religions of South Asian that pay homage to one or more of the various traditions in pursuit of vedic literature and vedic tradition. In the attempt to catalog information, we have to recognize the limitations of these words and catagories. It is not unrealistic that ISKCON devotees could both identify as "Hindu" while also recognizing the limitations of that catagorization, and adding additional catagories to a complex personal identity. Many South Asian traditions use the term "Sanatana Dharma" which roughly translates to "eternal religion." This term acknowledges that the religious traditions now identifying as Hindu, did in fact exist long before the term "Hindu" was introduced as an historical evolution (albiet one that isn't easily dated). The Caitanya Charitamrta (a Gaudiya Vaishnava hagiography on Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu) is one of the first "Hindu" scriptures to reference the word "Hindu." This scripture was constructed towards the end of the 15th century in Bengal, where Hindus identified their religious tradition in the context of a society ruled by a Muslem establishment. This date of 1500 BCE leaves the vast majority of Gaudiya Vaishnava literary tradition (from the Rig Veda circa 1500 BCE to the Caitanya Charitamrta circa 1500 CE) as predating "Hindu" identification. The above sequence places the complex identity issue of Gaudiya-Vaishnava/Hindu/Sanatana-Dharma into its larger and more complex historical context. My point is that these terms should never be so oversimplified as to allude to an either/or identity. JCM 5/24/05 == Book Pollution? == (Sorry - that's just an attention grabber) How about adding some statistics on the number of books published by the movement? There must be some truly remarkable (if not staggering) figures out there that may be of interest. I envision a graph with years on the X axis and thousands (or millions?) of books published on the Y axis... == User 66 == The edit by user 66._._..... was partly helpful and partly vandalism. If someone has the time his edits should be checked for factual accuracy. User:Freestylefrappe 20:46, May 5, 2005 (UTC)
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