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Srila Prabhupada's spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Gosvami, convinced him to dedicate his life to Vedic knowledge. Srila Prabhupada began publication of a magazine, Back to Godhead, along with his many other writing and teaching pursuits. He retired from married life in order to fully devote his time to his other practices. Eventually after years of study and teaching in India, he came to the United States. He gathered followers and through his lectures and outdoor chanting sessions, he founded The International Society for Krishna Consciousness on July 1966 as a continuation of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. He wanted his teachings to circled the globe, so he traveled extensively to spread his religion.
The goals of the Religious Movements Homepage are to (1) provide resources for objective understanding, (2) encourage appreciation of religious diversity, and (3) promote religious tolerance. The opportunity to pursue these goals is diminished when the language employed in public discourse silently carries highly negative presuppositions. For more information see the current edition of this page.
Another core belief of Hare Krishnas is reincarnation. They believe that you and your body are different. They view death as a transition, not an end. How one acts in a current life will determine whether one moves up or down or out of the cycle completely. The goal is to break away from the endless repetitive reincarnations, called samsara, and return to the kingdom of God. This can only be accomplished by sankirtana, congressional singing of God's names, leading to Krishna Consciousness. Hell is a temporary destination for people who have sinned greatly on earth.
There are "Nine Processes of Devotional Service." These include the following:
Another of their core beliefs is the rejection of the four pillars of sinful life>. These include meat-eating, intoxication, illicit sex, and gambling. The so-called pleasure that they offer is not real pleasure at all. Since ISKCON is so strongly opposed to meat eating, they practice a strict vegetarian lifestyle.
Hare Krishnas are a sectarian movement of Hinduism which was founded in the United States by Srila Prabhupada. There are several distinguishing features of ISKCON that differentiate it from traditional Hindu beliefs. Hare Krishnas believe that Krishna is the supreme lord, whereas Hinduism believes Krishna is the 8th reincarnation of Vishnu.
ISKCON emphasizes bhakti, which is the way of devotion. Jesus Christ is viewed as a direct representative of Krishna in ISKCON, but Hinduism does not recognize him. For Hare Krishnas, a spiritual master is needed for devotees and this master must be in succession from guru Caitanya. Food is prepared for and offered to God and is then eaten as an act of communion and purifies the body of the devotee.
ISKCON is a very demanding faith that requires much devotion and time.
In an important decision on June 26, 1992, in the case of ISKCON v. Lee the Supreme Court decided that they would no longer be able to solicit money in airports. ISKCON felt that airports were public areas and that their first amendment rights protected them but the court decided that the airports were not public and therefore the Hare Krishnas could not ask for donations there.
ISKCON has gotten a bad reputation throughout the years. However, this organization does not always live up to their reputation. In Grozny, Russia in December of 1995, members were feeding the starving people in this land while fighting surrounded them. The people of the town swear that the Hare Krishnas are saints due to their kindness.
On August 28, 1996, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, a former ISKCON leader, Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada, was convicted for racketeering. He was sentenced to 20 years and fined $250,000. The branch Bhaktipada headed was expelled from ISKCON in 1987.
ISKCON Communications Journal>
ISKCON Communications Journal, a scholarly publication of ISKCON, was initiated in 1994. They currently have the complete contents of most of the issues on line. In additiona to articles by members, their regularly publish articles by scholars. This is a rich source of material for those who wish to seriously study this "new" religion. For even more extensive resources about ISKCON, including links to many other Krishna site, go to the home page of ISKCON.com.
http://www.iskcon.com/ICJ/icj.htm
What Is ISKCON?
This section of the ISKCON.com page provide a succinct presentation of the beliefs, practices, history, and organization of this religious movement.
http://www.iskcon.com/ISKCON/iskcon.htm
BBC Hare Krishna Homepage
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust is the publishing house of ISKCON. This is their home page.
It provides links to all of their publications (including both books and magazines),
and also a large array of other materials including teaching of the faith, information
about the founder, Krishna art,links to ISKCON centers around the country, news and
other valuable resources are available.
http://www.webcom.com/ara/
Hare Krishna Experience
This Canadian page is equipped with amazing graphics and includes many links. It also has
a mission statement and a place to send your comments. This page is a must see!
http://swami.simplenet.com/hkexperience/index.html
Hare Krishna WWW Resources
This is a very interesting site. It includes video clips of Srila Prabhupada and other
devotional videos which can be downloaded for free or ordered from the page. A video
catalog can be ordered in addition. It includes great pictures and some cool links.
http://www.com.org/itv/video.html
The Bhagavad Gita As It Is
The Bhagavad Gita is the most sacred text for Krishnas and many other Hindu groups.
This is the complete English translation along with commentary by Srila Prabhupada.
http://www.krsna.com/gita/toc.html
Hare Krishna & ISKCON Homepage by OCRT
This site maintained by the Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance contains a brief summation of ISKCON beliefs and practice.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hare.htm
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
c/o ISKCON International Ministry of Public Affairs
1030 Grand Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109
Created by Sharon Lawrence
For Soc 257: New Religious Movements
Spring Term, 1997
Last updated: 10/07/00
All external links have been removed from this page.