Further reading: Anne Cushman and Jerry Jones, From
Here to Nirvana: The Yoga Journal Guide to Spiritual India
(New York: Riverhead Books, 1998).
International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON) (est. 1966)
The International Society for Krishna Conscious-
ness (ISKCON) was founded in 1966 by the Krishna
devotee and Vedic scholar Swami Prabhupada
BHAKTIVEDANTA (1896–1977). He entered New York
City at age 69 in 1965, when the U.S. quotas on
immigration from Asia were abolished, and quickly
attracted a following of young men and women by
chanting the Hare Krishna mantra (Hare Krishna /
Hare Krishna / Krishna Krishna / Hare Hare, / Hare
Rama / Hare Rama / Rama Rama / Hare Hare).
The first ISKCON temple was established in
a tiny New York storefront at 26 Second Avenue,
and from here the movement spread quickly, first
throughout North America, London, and Ham-
burg, and then all over the world. In just over
a decade Bhaktivedanta Swami had established
108 Krishna temples and published 70 volumes
of books, more than 100 million copies of which
were distributed by his disciples, who in the late
1970s numbered in the thousands.
ISKCON’s teachings are based exclusively on
Bhaktivedanta Swami’s translations and explana-
tions of classical Hindu scripture, particularly the
BHAGAVAD GITA and the BHAGAVATA PURANA. ISK-
CON sees itself theologically as representing the
monotheistic central core of Hinduism. According
to this position the absolute truth is a supremely
powerful being, KRISHNA, and all individual souls
are of the same spiritual nature as Krishna, but
never equal to him. By chanting the Hare Krishna
mantra, which was introduced 500 years ago by
Sri Krishna CHAITANYA (1486–1533), believed to
be an incarnation of Krishna, the individual soul
can reawaken its dormant love for God and at the
time of death return to the spiritual realm to serve
Krishna eternally in full bliss and knowledge. All
other Hindu deities are seen as either subservient
demigods, such as DURGA, SHIVA, and BRAHMA, or
direct expansions of Krishna, such as VISHNU and
Narayana.
Members of ISKCON are strict lactoveg-
etarians and offer their food to Krishna before
eating. Such offered food is called prasadam or
the Lord’s mercy. Practitioners living in temple
ashrams are expected to rise early for religious
observances (known as aratis) in the temple, the
first starting at 4:30 A.M. During these ceremonies
devotees sing Sanskrit songs while dancing before
elaborately decorated forms of Krishna and his
consort, Radha. After chanting the Hare Krishna
mantra on beads and worshipping a form (or
murti) of Bhaktivedanta Swami, the morning pro-
gram ends with a class based on a verse from the
Bhagavat Purana. Ceremonies and observances
are standardized in all temples throughout the
world.
ISKCON grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s
but has seen a recent decline in membership,
attributed by some observers to the controversies
surrounding the leadership succession after Bhak-
tivedanta’s death and the creation of subsequent
reform movements.
See International Society for Krishna Con-
sciousness Revival Movement (IRM).Further reading: Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhu-
pada, Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (New York: Bhaktivedanta
Trust, 1972); ———, KRSNA, The Supreme Personality
of Godhead, 3 vols. (New York: Bhaktivedanta Trust,
1970); ———, The Science of Self-Realization (New
York: Bhaktivedanta Trust, 1977); Steven J. Gelberg,
ed., Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna (New York: Grove
Press, 1983); J. Stillson Judah, Hare Krishna and the
Counterculture (New York: Wiley, 1974).International Society for
Krishna Consciousness Revival
Movement (IRM) (est. 2000)
The ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) was
formed in 2000 as a pressure group to revive andInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness Revival Movement 199 J