The aim of ISKCON is to acquaint all people of world with universal principles of self-realization and God consciousness so that they may derive the highest benefit of spiritual understanding, unity and peace. The Vedic literature recommend that in the present age of Kali-yuga the most effective means of achieving self-realization is hearing about, glorifying, and remembering the all-attractive Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. Therefore, it recommends the chanting of the Holy Names:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

This sublime chanting puts the chanter directly in touch with the Supreme Lord through the sound vibration of His Holy Name.

ISKCON follows the teachings of the Vedas and Vedic scriptures, including the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam which teach Vaishnavism or devotion to God (Krishna) in His Supreme Personal aspect of Sri Sri Radha Krishna.

These teachings are received through the parampara or from a bona fide Guru to the disciple through an unbroken chain known as the Brahma-Madhav-Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya. ISKCON is part of the disciplic succession which started with Lord Krishna Himself and continued with Srila Vyasadeva, Srila Madhavacharya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and in the present day His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his followers.

ISKCON’s teachings are non-sectarian, following the principle of sanatana dharma or eternal religion, which denotes the eternal activity of all living beings – loving devotional service (bhakti-yoga) to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

History of Hare Krishna Movement

In 1965, at the age of 69, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada boarded the steamship ‘Jaladuta’ from Mumbai on his way to the United States. At an age when most people think of retiring, Srila Prabhupada undertook this arduous journey to fulfill the mission of Lord Caitanya and follow the instruction of his spiritual master Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur to carry the message of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam to the Western world.

After arriving in New York City in September 1965, Srila Prabhupada struggled alone for the first year to establish his Krishna consciousness movement. He lived simply, lectured whenever and wherever he got an opportunity and gradually began to attract some interest in his teachings. In July of 1966, while still working from an obscure storefront on New York City’s Lower East Side, Srila Prabhupada founded a spiritual society that would spread all over the world. He called it International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and thus began the Hare Krishna movement in America.

At the time of incorporation, Srila Prabhupada had not attracted even one committed follower. Undeterred, he enlisted volunteers from amongst the small group of regular attendees at his evening lectures to act as ISKCON’s first trustees. That was then. Today, ISKCON has a presence in every continent and its followers are present in every country of the world.

PHILOSOPHY

Krishna Consciousness explained through 5 simple questions

1.Who are we?

We are eternal spirit souls, not our bodies.

2.Who is God?

Krishna, the supremely attractive person and the source of everything, is God.

3.What is our relationship with God?

We have a relationship of eternal love with God.

4.What is our relationship with this world?

We are in this material world having forgotten that relationship with God, and are therefore caught in a cycle of birth and death, evolving through different species of life.

5.What is the goal of life?

To revive that love with God, primarily by the process of chanting the holy names of Krishna.

Hare Krishna Hare KrishnaKrishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama Hare RamaRama Rama Hare Hare

Bhakti-yoga | The yoga of love

Yoga is more than just a physical exercise. The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root Yuj which means to link up with, or combine. Bhakti is derived from the Sanskrit word bhaj, which means – loving service. Bhakti-yoga means to connect to the Supreme by means of loving devotional service.