Research paper on Hare Krishna Movement/CONCISION

It is a fact that Hinduism has been one of the oldest as well as largest religions in the world with so many diversity and strains. It is known that Hinduism roots date back to a period 4000 years ago. It is hard to define any of its specific founders, because its origin is not an easy one to trace back (History.com). As it is mentioned that Hinduism as a religion is so diverse with so many philosophies and a tradition, so one of major philosophies is Hare Krishna Movement. It is considered a branch of Hindu religion, and in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, it is one of the branches which is monotheistic in nature. The origin of this movement has been inspired by Krishna Himself; the spiritual supreme God of Hindus, who came on earth and spoke with the people through Bhagavad-Gita. It is important to mention here that Hare Krishna Movement is the name, which is known for this branch of Hinduism in West, but it is actually an initiative by “The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)”. The teachings of Krishna are followed by ISKCON, which have been revealed in sacred Hinduism books such as Srimad-Bhagavatam as well as Bhagavad-Gita. The primary act that is done by the followers of the ISKCON is that they chant the holy names of God along with many other devotional kinds of services to bring peace, love and prosperity in the society (HAGERTY)

History of ISKCON

It is important to have a look at history of ISKCON before analyzing various aspects of this new religious movement. It has been observed that ISKCON was started in 1966 and it took its start from United States. Its foundation was laid by Swami Prabhupada. The important thing to know about this organization is that it was inspired by the Krishna Consciousness, which type of a yoga tradition, and it roots date back to 16^th century. This movement was brought to the West by Swami Prabhupada, and founded the organization from New York City and his age at the foundation of this organization was 69. He was living in India in an area named Vrindavan, but soon he realized that he must spread the message of Krishna to the communities living in Western world, and he revealed that he did so, because it was ordered by the spiritual master. His early days in United States were extremely struggling as people were not known to his message. He used to bring a drum in parks and sit there while chanting Krishna’s holy names. Then people started to show their interest in his mission and started joining him in his chanting (ISKCON)

Once people were known with his mission through ISKCON, he started opening ISKCON temples across various locations such as New Mexico, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angles, and New York. This journey continued as from 1969 till 9173, more temples were opened in Africa, India, Mexico, South America, Canada & Europe. Till 1977, ISKCON was able to build their primary centers in India along with building one of their largest temples in the city of Mumbai. The publishing house associated with ISKCON was opened in 1972 with the name Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT). ISKCON has been involved in various devotional services and one of their major programs is “Food for Life”, which provides vegetarian food to people in various locations around the world, especially the ones dealing with aftermaths of any disasters (Krishna.com). It is important to mention here that this new religious movement of Hare Krishna was started by one person, but it has been driven by the spiritual God, which has been behind this whole movement. The central texts recognized by this religious movement are Srimad-Bhagavatam as well as Bhagavad-Gita.

Significant Events of ISKCON

            The ISKCON is something, which is full of life as various events are celebrated by the organization every year. The year 2016 was special for the organization, as they celebrated 50 years of their foundation made in 1966. This 50 years celebration was celebrated in Washington DC. In this particular event, various people from different spheres of life participated such as political leaders, people from academic and religious fields. This event was held not only to celebrate 50 years of ISKCON, but it was held to remember the founder of ISKCON Swami Prabhupada and his work & teachings for the cause. The fact of the matter is that it was important for members of ISKCON to pay tribute to Swami Prabhupada, because his efforts, work and devotion of was great for the organization, and to bring the message of Krishna to the West ( Desai)

            ISKCON has always showed that festivals are a vital part of their organization, and they never step back to celebrate these festivals. The spiritual experience for people of ISKCON is fun filled in so many ways as people are able to participate in dramas, dance, kirtans, ritual as well as feasts. The lunar calendar is used by ISKCON to celebrate their Vaishnava festivals, so dates can vary each year. The biggest as well as most significant event of the year celebrated by ISKCOON is called Janmastami. Janmastami means the birth of their Supreme God Krishna. To understand the importance of Janmastami, one can relate it to Christmas as it is same like Christmas. The event celebrated because it is believed by the followers that Lord Krishna came to this world 5000 years ago from the spiritual world. This event is fully celebrated at all centers and temples of ISKCON across the world. The acts involved in this event are dance, drama & music performances along with chanting of God’s names (iskcon.org)

            The other major event or festival celebrated by ISKCON is Rath Yatra, which means a festival associated with Chariots. The tradition is that this particular festival is held in an Indian area called Puri, and pilgrims from all over the world gather here to celebrate it together. So, the devotees of ISKCON also visit Puri to taste this wonderful festival. Three giant and biggest chariots are made and carried by the people, and these chariots are made for three major Deities named Subhadra (the sister of Krishna), Baladev (the brother of Krishna), and Jagannath (the universe’s Lord). The great efforts of Swami Prabhupada made sure that this specific event is also celebrated in North America, so now it is being celebrated around the world in various major locations. The largest gathering America is made in Los Angles, where approximately 50,000 individuals walk through streets carrying three chariots and they all are dressed up in colorful dressing (iskcon.org)

            There are two more events/festivals, which are very important part of the Hinduism, so ISKCON members also follow the tradition and celebrate these events at their fullest. Diwali is said to be the festival of lights and new Hindu year is actually marked with this festival. This festival is celebrated at all of the ISKCON temples and even in White House of United States. ISKCON members see this festival as an important one, because they believe that it is the day, when Lord Rama returned back, the Krishna’s incarnation. The welcome given to Rama was filled with dispas and lit lamps, which showered the sky with lights to celebrate his return. So, it is kind of victory which is celebrated with lights on the defeat of darkness. The last but not the least festival cherished by ISKCON members is Holi festival, an event full of colors. When spring season arrives, it is actually an event to mark the start of spring, and it is believed that there was a time, when colors were sprinkled on each other by Lord Krishna as well as his all devotees. So, ISKCON temples cherish this event with same tradition, where colors are sprayed and people enjoy the moment in temples with music, feasting & dance (iskcon.org)

The Belief/Philosophy of ISKCON

            It is important to look at some of the major beliefs and philosophies followed by the ISKCON members. One of their beliefs is doing Bhakti Yoga. This service or belief held by ISKCON members’ shows that they connect with their Supreme God by giving devotional services for the love of God. Moreover, the ISKCON members believe that God is not something, which cannot be given a form or shape; rather they take it as a person, that’s why pictures are made by them in which they show that Lord Krishna is playing the flute. This belief has also been endorsed by oldest scriptures that Lord Krishna had shown both personal as well as impersonal aspects of his personality. The cooking is taken to be sacred kind of experience by Hare Krishna Movement and its devotees. They believe that cooking should be done compassionately with the essence of balancing lives and sharing the event without incurring any violence. The devotees off Krishna only believe in eating vegetarian diet and meat is avoided by them along with eggs and fish. They also present this food to God first, so that it can be purified by Lord Krishna before they consume it (ISKCON.ORG)

            One more important belief held by ISKCON members is Karma. It is one off the fundamental methods or beliefs to reassure the existence of ISKCON believers so one has to believe in it. The law of karma explained by their belief is that whatever acts are done by people, they face reactions for those acts. So, it means that if people act well, they will face good in reward, and if they act badly, then consequences will also be bad to be faced by them. So, it is a philosophy, which revolves around action and then its subsequent reactions. The other important belief held by devotees of ISKCON is that whatever action is performed by the followers of Krishna, nothing is done for their own selves, and rather everything is done for the sake of Lord Krishna. They also believe that the Vedas is the actual word of Lord Krishna described in Bhagavad-Gita, one of the world’s oldest scriptures. The ISKCON members also have a belief that their bodies are part of a spiritual soul, which is their God Krishna (ISKCON Leicester)

Important Ritual Practice of ISKCON

            The ISKCON believers are involved in various ritual practices and offer so many things in their prayers to Lord Krishna, and one of their primary rituals is chanting the holy names of their God. They chant a mantra to get connected spiritually with their Lord, and enjoy the moment of life by celebrating their love and affection for Lord Krishna. The mantra which is commonly chanted by the ISKCON followers is given below:

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare - Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”.

            So, it is one of the sublime and ultimate methods to revive the consciousness of Krishna. It allows the believers to feel that they are all conscious entities of Lord Krishna, and they cherish this feeling by chanting this mantra. So, this is how they practice different rituals, which differentiates them with many other strains of the Hindu religion, and that’s why ISKCON is considered to be a unique and new religious movement with its own held beliefs, rituals, events and philosophies (ISKCON Bangalore)

References of Works Cited the history of Hinduism

Desai, Ronak D. ISKCON Celebrates 50 Years Since Its Founding. 2016. 22 May 2019

<https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronakdesai/2016/10/27/iskcon-celebrates-50-years-since-its-founding/#10c5bd30a0dc>.

HAGERTY, BARBARA BRADLEY . What You Need to Know About Hare Krishnas. 2008. 22 May 2019

<https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90643796>.

History.com. Hinduism. 2018. 22 May 2019 <https://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism>.

ISKCON Bangalore. Hare Krishna Mantra. n.d. 22 May 2019 <https://www.iskconbangalore.org/hare-krishna-mantra/>.

ISKCON Leicester. What is the Hare Krishna Philosophy? 2013. 22 May 2019 <http://www.iskconleicester.org/philosophy.php>.

ISKCON. What is ISKCON? 2019. 22 May 2019 <http://www.iskcon.org/what-is-iskcon/>.

ISKCON.ORG. Beliefs. 2019. 22 May 2019 <http://www.iskcon.org/vegetarianism/>.

iskcon.org. Festivals. 2019. 22 May 2019 <http://www.iskcon.org/festivals/>.

Krishna.com. History of the Hare Krishna Movement. 2019. 22 May 2019 <http://www.krishna.com/history-hare-krishna-movement-0>.