![]() ![]() Pious believers both teach and claim that Krishna is greater and far magnanimous than the traditionalist Hindu Trimurti of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma and all its conceived emanations. Prabhupada most frequently offers Sanatana-dharma and Varnashrama dharma as more accurate names for the religious system which accepts Vedic authority. The individual soul has an eternal spiritual identity which does not ultimately merge into the non-dual consciousness (Brahman) as believed by the monistic ( Advaita) schools of Hinduism. Registered members worship Krishna as the highest form of God, svayam bhagavan, and often refer to him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in their published writing, which was a phrase coined by Prabhupada in his books on the subject.įor its devotees, Radha represents Krishna's divine female counterpart, the original spiritual potency, and the embodiment of devotional love. ISKCON describes Krishna as the original source of all the avatars of the Almighty God. These works are now available in more than seventy languages and serve as the scriptures of ISKCON. Key to the spread of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology in the Western world were Prabhupada's writings and translations, including the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Srimad Bhagavatam ( Bhagavata Purana), Chaitanya Charitamrita, and other scriptures. Since then, ISKCON has established more than 800 centers all over the world and has millions of followers. The first Hare Krishna commune, New Vrindavan (West Virginia), was established by Prabhupada in 1968. He recorded several tracks with the Hare Krishnas and included the Mahamantra in his hit track "My Sweet Lord". When it spread to England, it gained publicity and financial backing from the Beatles' George Harrison. His movement, then known as the "Hare Krishna Movement", grew even larger when he relocated to San Francisco a year later. Instead of preaching to New York's elite, he tapped into the 1960s countercultural spirit by preaching and chanting in public parks and attracting hippies and the youth. ![]() At 70 years old, he landed in New York without any money (40 rupees of Indian currency). īhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, believed to have direct lineage with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, brought Chaitanya's Gaudiya Vaishnavism to the West in 1965. He is considered by Gaudiya Vaishnavas to be an incarnation of Krishna himself. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu emphasized chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra (the 'great mantra'). This form of communal worship responded to rigid caste structures by engaging all people in worship regardless of caste and creed. He established Sankirtan, the practice of publicly expressing devotion to Krishna, the Supreme God, through dance and song. Gaudiya Vaishnavism was founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who rapidly spread his form of ecstatic bhakti (devotion) throughout Bengal. Gaudiya Vaishnavism has had a following in India, especially West Bengal and Odisha, for the past five hundred years. Vaishnavism means 'worship of Vishnu', and Gauḍa refers to the area where this particular branch of Vaishnavism originated, in the Gauda region of West Bengal and Bangladesh. ISKCON devotees follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya Vaishnavas and are the largest branch of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. History and belief įurther information: Achintya Bheda Abheda and Gaudiya Vaishnavism Pancha-Tattva deities: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda, Advaita Acharya, Gadadhara and Srivasa, installed in a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple ISKCON's Bhajan during Navratri Golu at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Its most rapid expansion in registered membership has been within India and (after the collapse of the Soviet Union) in Russia and other formerly Soviet-aligned states of Eastern Europe. The religious organization practices Vegetarianism and was initially formed to spread the practice of Bhakti yoga, and its deeds called bhaktas which dedicate both their thoughts and actions towards pleasing Krishna, whom they consider the Supreme Lord Godhead, while regarding the rest of Hindu pantheon as secondary or lesser Demi-gods. ISKCON is "the largest and, arguably, most important branch" of Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which has had adherents in India since the early sixteenth-century with its American and European devotees since the early 1900s. ![]() Its unique form of monotheistic core beliefs are based on Hindu scriptures, particularly their own published translations of the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana. Its main headquarters are located today in West Bengal, India. ISKCON was founded in 13 July 1966 in New York City by A. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, abbreviated as ISKCON, known colloquially as the Movement of Hare Krishna, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ![]()
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