"The Hare Krishna Movement™ Organization is historically very significant, for now for the first time since the days of the Roman Empire, an Asian religion is being openly practiced by people of western origin in the streets of western cities."
— Dr. A.L. Basham, A Cultural History of India
The Hare Krishna Movement
The term "Hare Krishna", or The Hare Krishna Movement™ Organization, formally The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), is the orthodox core of Hinduism. It was registered in the West (in New York) in July 1966, but dates back over 5000 years.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (1486–1532) popularized the movement all over India. Hinduism is the world's third largest religion with over 900 million adherents. The principal scriptures are The Bhagavad-gītā (The Song of God), and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (the story of the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān). Devotees believe in one supreme God.
Basic Beliefs
The basic Hare Krishna beliefs can be summarized as follows:
- ✦By sincerely cultivating true spiritual science, we can be free from anxiety and come to a state of pure, unending, blissful consciousness in this lifetime.
- ✦We are not our bodies but eternal, spirit souls, parts and parcels of God (Kṛṣṇa). As such, we are all brothers, and Kṛṣṇa is ultimately our common father. We accept the process of transmigration of the soul (reincarnation).
- ✦Kṛṣṇa is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and all-attractive. He is the seed-giving father of all living beings, and He is the sustaining energy of the entire cosmic creation. He is the same God as The Father, Allah, Buddha and Jehovah.
- ✦The Absolute Truth is contained in the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the world. The essence of the Vedas is found in the Bhagavad-gītā, a literal record of Kṛṣṇa's words.
- ✦One can learn the Vedic knowledge from a genuine spiritual master — one who has no selfish motives and whose mind is firmly fixed on Kṛṣṇa.
- ✦Before one eats, one offers to the Lord (Kṛṣṇa) the food that sustains all humans; then Kṛṣṇa accepts the offering and purifies the food as prasādam.
- ✦One performs all actions as offerings to Kṛṣṇa and does nothing solely for one's own sense gratification.
- ✦The recommended means for achieving the mature stage of love of God in this age of Kali, or quarrel, is to chant the holy names of the Lord. The easiest method for most people is to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra: Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare / Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.
Founder's Statement
Kolkata-born A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (1896–1977), also known as Śrīla Prabhupāda, who founded The Hare Krishna Movement™ in New York in 1966, wrote a statement that was used in the religion's initial incorporation. This statement is still relevant for ISKCON, and serves as its Mission Statement:
- ✦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 Kṛṣṇa (God), as it is revealed in the great scriptures of India, especially Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We accept the principle of transmigration of the soul (reincarnation).
- ✦To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Kṛṣṇa, 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 (Kṛṣṇa).
- ✦To teach and encourage the saṅkīrtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
- ✦To erect for the members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Kṛṣṇa.
- ✦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 and to create websites that help realize these purposes.