ISKCONor International Society for Krishna Consciousness is popularly called as Hare Krishna movement.

Founder

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Year & place of founding

July 1966, in New York City

Aims & ideals

• 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.

Monastic / Non-monastic

Monastic and house-holders

General philosophical outlook

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. They follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya Vaisnavas.

Spiritual disciplines generally advocated

Hare Krishnas' conduct includes strict observance of vegetarianism as well as abstinence from gambling, sex outside marriage, and intoxication including alcohol. They make a vow to chant the name of Krishna daily, in the form of 64 rounds of 108 repetitions each of the mantra:

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

Administrative set-up

The branches are autonomous administrative bodies. The Governing Body Commission (GBC) acts as the final authority.

Provision for joining

The monastic members and full time devotees—also known as temple devotees—reside in

Present chief of the movement

Srila Prabhupada is considered the chief of movement. GBC acts as the central body. The branch centre heads are the chiefs of respective temples and control the temples' activities.

Activities

Unlike other sects of Hinduism, ISKCON is an evangelical institution. The devotees actively spread the message of Krishna Consciousness.

Religion & spirituality

• ISKCON Prison Ministry - for the counselling of prisoners

Social field

• Akshaya Pātra - free mid-day meal scheme for school children in Karnataka, India conducted by the Bangalore centre is the most famous scheme. Currently it feeds 59,000 rural children in 258 schools everyday.
• ISKCON runs around 50 schools

Cultural field

• , publishes vedic texts as interpreted in ISKCON in several languages including non-Indian.
• Vrindavana Institute for Higher Education, Vrindavan

Relief activities

Province of its influence

Has world wide presence with 10,000 temple devotees and 250,000 congregational devotees. Apart from these thousands of Hindus visit the Radha-Krishna temples.

Major publications

• Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
• Śrīmad Bhāgavatam
• Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta
• Back to Godhead

Related Links

• Official ISKCON site

See also

• Survey of Hindu organisations