The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna Movement, is a Hindu religious organization. It follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which emphasizes devotion (bhakti) to Krishna as the supreme deity. The ISKCON was founded on 13 July 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The organization's spiritual and administrative headquarters is located in Mayapur, West Bengal, India, and it claims a global membership of around one million people.
ISKCON teaches a form of panentheistic Hinduism rooted in the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata Purana, and other scriptures, interpreted through the commentaries of its founder. Although commonly regarded as monotheistic by the general public, ISKCON theology emphasizes that the Supreme Being, Krishna, manifests in multiple forms while remaining the singular, ultimate reality. The movement is described as the largest and most influential branch of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which originated in India in the early 16th century and expanded internationally during the late 20th century.Bharati, Baba Premanand . Hinduism.enacademic.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
ISKCON promotes bhakti yoga—the path of devotional service to Krishna—as the central spiritual practice of its members, who are often referred to as "bhaktas." The movement also encourages lacto vegetarianism, regular chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, and strict ethical and devotional disciplines as part of its teachings on spiritual progress.
History and beliefs
Background Viṣṇu was a minor deity in the historical Vedic religion, to which Vaiṣṇavism has only "a very indirect connection". In the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahābharāta, Kr̥ṣṇa is both God and an ally of the Pāṇḍavas. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa enumerates numerous avatāras of Viṣṇu and of them considers Kr̥ṣṇa to be Svayam Bhagavān; many concepts integral to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition such as līlā, acintyabhedābheda, overflowing emotion in bhakti, and reciting the names of Hari find their foundation in this text. The theme of emotional devotion to Kr̥ṣṇa continued in bhakti poetry such as the Sanskrit Gīta-Govinda of Jayadeva and the Bengali poems of Caṇḍīdāsa, both of which were influential to Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavism.
The Gauḍīya sampradāya claims to originate from the Madhva sampradaya through Lakṣmīpati Tīrtha and Mādhavendra Puri; scholars debate the historicity of this connection and most consider them to have been Vaishnava-oriented Shankarite aka Dashanami sannyasis (many consider Baladeva Vidyabhushana to be responsible for connecting the Gaudiya's to the Madhva lineage). Caitanya Mahāprabhu, born in sixteenth century Bengal, is considered the founder of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, called such because it was spread in Gauḍa (region) i.e. Bengal. During the period around Caitanya's life, Bengal was ruled by a Muslim government which nevertheless patronized Vaiṣṇavas and their cultural work. There exist several biographies of Caitanya which are capped by the Caitanya-Caritāmr̥ta of Kr̥ṣṇadāsa Kavirāja; each biography explores Caitanya's life and Gauḍīya conceptions of his divinity. Caitanya started life as a precocious paṇḍita but soon became a sannyāsī ("ascetic") entranced with ecstatic devotion to Kr̥ṣṇa who developed a strong following centered around the recitation of Kr̥ṣṇa's names. Caitanya went on a pilgrimage of South India and is depicted as debating various religious groups and converting them to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism; scholars also believe he was searching for Vaiṣṇava traditions that did not survive in the Muslim-dominated North India. In Caitanya's pilgrimage of Vraja, he visited sites associated with Kr̥ṣṇa's life and is depicted as exhibiting ecstasies indicative of his true nature as Kr̥ṣṇa. Of sites in Vraja, Rādhā Kuṇḍa was considered by Gauḍīya's to be the most esoteric. On the return journey, he tasked Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī (future leaders of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan) to develop the theology of his saṁpradāya. The temple of Jagannātha in Caitanya's resident city of Puri is an important religious site for Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas and other Hindus; the Jagannātha deity has very old traditions regarding its origin, relation to the Gajāpati rulers and devadāsīs, and the Ratha Yātrā. Caitanya did not give anyone initiation nor he did he appoint a successor, but served as a "rallying point" for his contemporaries and was considered a yuga-avatāra (a contemporary incarnation of Krishna).
Sādhanā is the means or method used to increase devotion to God; in the Gauḍīya sampradāya sādhanas include worship of an arcā-vigraha (God in an idol form), smaraṇa (recalling) of Kr̥ṣṇa's līlās, saṅkīrtana (congregational chanting about Kr̥ṣṇa), vaidhī bhakti (following fixed ritual injunctions), rāgānugā bhakti (spontaneous and passionate devotion while assuming a personality from Kr̥ṣṇa's life). The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition considers Brahman to be infinite and having all personal qualities; it is strongly opposed to the Advaita philosophy that Brahman is indescribable and impersonal with no qualities. The Gauḍīya philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda considers reality to be inconceivably different and non-different at the same time; the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were powerful scholarly figures who were able to rationalize the philosophy and give it prestige. Hinduism has a long tradition of what has been termed "sonic theology", i.e. the spiritual and mundane effects of speaking certain syllables; the Gauḍīya tradition's sonic theology focuses on the loud chanting of Kr̥ṣṇa's names and the Hare Kr̥ṣṇa mantra to increase Kr̥ṣṇa devotion. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism has aspects of mysticism, where devotees attempt to attain certain ecstatic emotional states (sāttvika bhāvas) which has been termed "divine madness" (divyonmāda); through līlā smaraṇa devotees assume a dual identity as a mañjarī (a preteen handmaiden of Rādhā or Rādhā's friends) in Kr̥ṣṇa līlā and as a Bengali brāhmaṇa boy in Gaura līlā (the life of Caitanya). In Gauḍīya theology, rasa refers to the cultivated emotion a devotee has for Kr̥ṣṇa, the highest being madhura rasa or selfless erotic love for Kr̥ṣṇa. The līlā smaraṇa and mañjarī sādhana techniques are found to a greater extent among Gauḍīya ascetics; whereas householder (gr̥hastha) devotees more often access Kr̥ṣṇa līlā physically through pilgrimage to Vraja. While not mentioned directly in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the goddess Rādhā is considered chief among the gopīs (the cowherd girls of Vraja). Gauḍiya theology considers her to have the highest level of loving devotion for Kr̥ṣṇa (mahābhava) and Rādhā-Kr̥ṣṇa is considered the ultimate esoteric reality and receives the highest worship by Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavas. After Caitanya's death in 1534, the movement's philosophy and teachings were consolidated by his followers but eventually declined in popularity. In eastern India, Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyā is a Vāma-Tantra tradition in which male and female devotees imitate the erotic relationship between Kr̥ṣṇa and Rādha; this tradition is met with abhorrence by the orthodox Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, which asserts that devotees can only serve and may not imitate the divine couple. The theologies of the Vrindavan goswamis were brought to Bengal in the late-sixteenth century and consolidated the teachings of Radha-Krishna worship in madhura rasa, pancha tattva (recognition of Chaitanya's associates as incarnations of Krishna's associates), and raganuga bhakti/siddha pranali.
The Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition accepted the existing tradition of hereditary Brahmin kula gurus. The Hari-bhakti-vilasa and Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu of the Vrindavan goswamis approved of householder gurus and dissallowed ascetics to take disciples. The Gaudiya tradition rejected the Brahmin-only Dashanami sannyasa tradition of Chaitanya and his predecessors; unlike the saffron robes of the Shankarites Gaudiya renunciates (of any caste) wore white (a practice called bhekh) and were called babajis. Despite concessions of Krishna bhakti to lower castes, Gaudiya Vaishnavism remained in Brahmanical control and preserved the social status quo.
In the 19th century, the leading castes in Bengal included the Kulīna Brāhmanas who served as priests and teachers and Kulīna Kāyasthas who served as writers and scribes. Below them were Non-Kulīna Brahmanas who were landowners and entrepreneurs and non-Kulīna Kāyasthas, who achieved great economic success under British rule and were subject to Westernization. The Westernized non-Kulīna Brāhmanas and Kāyasthas were attracted to Western philosophies but viewed Gaudiya Vaishnavism with distaste as idol-worshipping superstition. Bhaktivinoda Thakur (born Kedarnath Dutt), a Westernized Gaudiya Vaishnava Kayastha, developed a rigorous intellectual interest in Gaudiya religious literature and began a personal mission to publish its texts and promote its teachings. Bhaktivinoda oriented his philosophies to a Westernized Bengali Hindu audience, arguing that Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a sophisticated universal religion in contrast to the hereditary caste-based nature of orthodox Brahmanism. Bhaktivinoda was a vocal opponent of Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyā (which had increased in popularity by the 19th century), "rediscovered" the "lost" birthplace of Caitanya, and deemphasized the external exhibition of caste. He also attempted to spread Caitanyite teachings among the Western world by sending texts to foreign universities. Bhaktivinoda utilised contemporary 19th-century scholarly methods (adhunika vada) to critically analyse Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He developed innovative theological principles such as his categorisation of spiritual seekers based on their intellectual capacity and his division of religious knowledge into phenomenal knowledge (which he considered subject to logical scrutiny) and transcendental knowledge (which he considered inscrutible).