ISKCON

Acronym for the International Society
for Krishna Consciousness, a Hindu
missionary community commonly
known as the Hare Krishnas. This
name comes from ISKCON’s emphasis
on the importance of repeating the
divine name, particularly the formula
known as the mahamantra (“Hare
Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna,
Hare Hare”). ISKCON was founded by A. C.
Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, and its religious roots lie in the Vaishnava piety of
his native Bengal. The Bengali Vaishnava
tradition has long emphasized the
importance of publicly chanting
Krishna’s name, particularly in the
Gaudiya Vaishnava community founded
by the Bengali saint Chaitanya.
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ISKCON comes out of this Bengali tradition, but in other ways it shows tensions that mark it as a twentieth-century
phenomenon. Its strong missionary
activities make it a highly unusual Hindu
religious organization, as does its membership—Prabhupada founded ISKCON in
New York City, most of ISKCON’s members
are Western converts from Judaism and
Christianity, and the bulk of its missionary activities have been performed outside of India. The roots of ISKCON’s
membership, and the general fervor
associated with converts, have led to
some theological contradictions. On
one hand, ISKCON doctrine tends to denigrate human capacity, putting the
emphasis on the saving power of God’s
grace. On the other hand, ISKCON devotees (bhakta) believe that they gain
religious merit by living a rigorously
regulated lifestyle that mandates a
strict vegetarian diet, abstinence from
liquor and nonmedicinal drugs, sexual
activity only for procreation, and a
well-established daily religious routine;
many devotees also adopt Indian clothing and hair styles. In these two opposing emphases—complete surrender to
God’s grace, and strict adherence to a
prescribed “holy” lifestyle—ISKCON shows
surprising parallels to evangelical
Christianity. Since Prabhupada’s death in
1977, the organization has been run by
these Western converts, and thus ISKCON
can be characterized as a “countercultural” Euro-American phenomenon,
despite its Indian origins. ISKCON has a
significant presence in Brindavan, the
village celebrated as Krishna’s childhood
home, where the group has built a
magnificent temple; they are also active
in Mayapur in Bengal, which they
claim as Chaitanya’s birthplace. After a
period of growth in the 1970s, ISKCON had
serious legal problems in the 1980s,
including losses in civil suits and
allegations of money laundering and
murder. For a sympathetic perspective
on the movement, see Larry Shinn,
The Dark Lord, 1987; and Robert D. Baird
(ed.), Religion in Modern India, 1998.
See also vegetarianism.
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