What Is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness?
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement, includes five hundred major centers, temples, and rural communities, nearly one hundred affiliated vegetarian restaurants, thousands of namahattas (local meeting groups), and millions of congregational members worldwide.
Founded in New York City in 1966 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON belongs to the Gaudiya-Vaishnava tradition—a monotheistic lineage originating in the Vedic culture of ancient India.
Philosophically, it is rooted in timeless Sanskrit literatures, prominently the Bhagavad-gita As It Isand Srimad Bhagavatam. These historic texts teach that the highest perfection of life is to reawaken pure unconditional love for God—Lord Krishna, the “All-Attractive One.”
Teachings of Lord Krishna
Pathways to God
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna elucidates the different yogic paths—Karma Yoga (action without fruitive desire), Jnana Yoga (philosophical discrimination), and Bhakti Yoga (the supreme yoga of loving devotion).
Nature of the Eternal Soul
Lord Krishna reveals the eternal, imperishable nature of the soul (Atman). We are distinct from the temporary physical body, which changes from boyhood to youth to old age, just as the soul passes into another body at death.
Devotion & Surrender
The crowning conclusion of the Gita: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me alone. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (BG 18.66)
Find joy in the path of selfless service infused with devotion to Krishna
“Where every action becomes a sacred offering, and the journey itself becomes a blissful communion with the divine.”