ISKCON was established in July 1966 in New York. Celebrated on July 12 (Sridhara month krishna navami). Srila Prabhupada decided to found the Krishna Consciousness Society together with a few friends. Some suggested calling it the Society for God Consciousness instead of Krishna Consciousness, but Prabhupada objected to this, because the word God does not indicate the personality and what the name of that personality is.
7 Goals of ISKCON
To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people 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 (God), as it is revealed in the great scriptures of India, Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.
To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing 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 name 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, more natural way of life.
With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings.
The general mission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (adopted in 1992) is to spread Krishna Consciousness so that all living entities on Earth: humans and other moving and non-moving creatures – would engage in service to Sri Krishna according to their abilities.
Definition of ISKCON
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a spiritual institution founded by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in July 1966, continuing the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya tradition. ISKCON operated under the personal guidance of the founder Srila Prabhupada until his departure on November 14, 1977. After Srila Prabhupada's departure, representing his will, ISKCON is governed by the GBC – Governing Body Commission.
Founder-Acharya
Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON. This means that through his books and teachings, he connects ISKCON with the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, and that his writings, teachings, and exemplary behavior remain the constant and unchangeable foundation for all of ISKCON's activities and teachings.
Srila Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness as a branch of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, seeking to fulfill the desire of previous spiritual masters – to expand the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by creating a unified global preaching organization. Srila Prabhupada presented the philosophy of previous Vaishnava teachers in language understandable to this age, therefore Srila Prabhupada's instructions are important for every ISKCON member. He is and will always remain the instructing spiritual master for all ISKCON devotees. Srila Prabhupada's books are the embodiment of his teachings, therefore they are considered standard for all future generations of ISKCON. Every ISKCON spiritual master must encourage his disciples to follow Prabhupada's instructions.
As the Founder-Acharya, Srila Prabhupada indicated how to manage the organization and cooperate with each other, and also gave other practical instructions that form the basis of ISKCON policy. His words and instructions unite the entire movement and help maintain the same direction of development. Back in 1970, Srila Prabhupada established the GBC. It consisted of about 12 devotees who were to help Srila Prabhupada manage the society, and after his departure take full responsibility for ISKCON.
GBC – Governing Body Commission
The GBC meets every spring in Mayapur, India. There, resolutions are adopted that govern the organization. All GBC resolutions are adopted by an equal vote. The GBC also annually elects the GBC chairman, vice-chairman and secretaries who organize GBC meetings, agendas, and handle correspondence. Currently, the GBC has about 35 members. GBC members are divided into full members and deputies.
Deputies are various regional secretaries, temple presidents, project managers, managers. Some resolutions appoint or confirm persons responsible for the development of the movement in various parts of the world or in certain fields of activity. GBC members responsible for certain areas of activity, such as public relations, congregational preaching, book publishing etc., are true specialists in their field. Their task is to share their experience and develop these fields throughout ISKCON.
Zonal Secretaries – GBC members ensure that all temples in their zone do not deviate from spiritual standards and philosophical doctrine. In their zone, they act on behalf of the entire Governing Body Commission. For devotees in that zone, the GBC zonal secretary is the highest authority. They are also accountable to the entire GBC for the activities of devotees and the temple.
Temples and Centers
They are fully autonomous and must organize their own economic, social, political and spiritual activities to maintain the center and spread Krishna Consciousness. Each center is independent of other centers, although the National Council may help a group of centers in one country to act jointly and harmoniously in accordance with local laws and people's needs.
A temple is a center of ISKCON preaching activities where devotees gather together to worship the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna under the guidance of ISKCON Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In Lithuania currently there are two temples: in Vilnius and Kaunas. Temples are not only places of worship, but also places where most dedicated devotees live.
Each temple has a council or president, appointed or confirmed by the GBC zonal secretary from among the most experienced local devotees. The temple council usually includes a secretary, treasurer, manager and heads of separate departments.
Preaching Centers
In areas where there are no large temples, preaching centers can be established where a few initiated devotees live. It is a mini temple without elaborate Deity worship.
Nama Hatta Centers
The smallest unit where families or like-minded people gather to associate and glorify Sri Krishna. No strict requirements are imposed, these are gathering places for devotees and favorable people.
All temples, preaching or Nama Hatta centers, restaurants, shops etc. must be recognized in ISKCON if they want to use such names as "ISKCON", "Hare Krishna movement", "Govinda" etc.
Main Ideas
Eternality of the Soul
First of all, the Krishna Consciousness movement recognizes the eternality of the soul. This means that the soul, or the real "I", was never created and will never be destroyed. All spiritual souls are individual by nature and qualitatively identical to God, although infinitely small in size and cannot compare to the Lord in power. The eternality of the soul is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (verse 2.12), where it is stated that "never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be".
Samsara
In the material world, living entities, spiritual souls, travel from one life form to another. This is called samsara – reincarnation, transmigration or migration of the soul. There are 8,400,000 forms of life.
Karma
What body a living entity gets in the next life depends on karma – actions performed by the living entity to fulfill its desires. A mature desire gives birth to an action, and an action creates a reaction.
Material existence (birth, disease, etc.) can be terminated only by giving up the desire to satisfy the senses. This can be done by engaging in spiritual activity, that is, by serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
God, or the Supreme Being, is a person – Bhagavan. The all-pervading spirit – Brahman – is the effulgence of His body, and the Paramatma – the Supreme Soul – present in every living entity is His localized aspect.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has many names... The Vedas distinguish the name Krishna as the most important, because the word Krishna means ‘all-attractive’. He perfectly possesses six opulences: 1) beauty, 2) strength, 3) fame, 4) wealth, 5) knowledge and 6) renunciation.
The Vedas describe three paths to reach God: knowledge (jnana), meditation (yoga) and devotional service (bhakti). Of these three paths, bhakti is considered the best, because it alone continues even after liberation is achieved.
In this age the most important religious practice is the chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare
Self-Check Questions
- State the time and circumstances of the founding of ISKCON.
- List the 7 purposes of ISKCON from memory.
- Briefly describe the structure of ISKCON.
- What are the main ideas of Krishna Consciousness philosophy and practice?