5/5 Rajat J. 1 year ago on Google
The
International
Society
for
Krishna
Consciousness
(ISKCON),
known
colloquially
as
the
Hare
Krishna
movement
or
Hare
Krishnas,
is
a
Gaudiya
Vaishnava
religious
organization.
ISKCON
was
founded
in
1966
in
New
York
City
by
A.
C.
Bhaktivedanta
Swami
Prabhupada.
Alfred
Ford
is
one
of
the
prominent
patrons.
Its
core
beliefs
are
based
on
Hindu
scriptures,
particularly
the
Bhagavad
Gita
and
the
Bhagavata
Purana.
ISKCON
is
"the
largest
and,
arguably,
most
important
branch"
of
Gaudiya
Vaishnava
tradition,
which
has
had
adherents
in
India
since
the
early
16th
century
and
American
and
European
devotees
since
the
early
1900s.
ISKCON
was
formed
to
spread
the
practice
of
Bhakti
yoga,
the
practice
of
love
of
God
in
which
those
involved
(bhaktas)
dedicate
their
thoughts
and
actions
towards
pleasing
Krishna,
whom
they
consider
the
Supreme
Lord.
Its
most
rapid
expansion
in
membership
have
been
within
India
and
(after
the
collapse
of
the
Soviet
Union)
in
Russia
and
other
formerly
Soviet-aligned
states
of
Eastern
Europe.
ISKCON
devotees
follow
a
disciplic
line
of
Brahma
Madhva
Gaudiya
Bhagavata
Vaishnavas
and
are
the
largest
branch
of
Gaudiya
Vaishnavism.
Vaishnavism
means
'worship
of
Vishnu',
and
Gauḍa
refers
to
the
area
where
this
particular
branch
of
Vaishnavism
originated,
in
the
Gauda
region
of
West
Bengal.
Gaudiya
Vaishnavism
has
had
a
following
in
India,
especially
West
Bengal
and
Odisha,
for
the
past
five
hundred
years.
Gaudiya
Vaishnavism
was
founded
by
the
saint
Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu
who
rapidly
spread
his
form
of
ecstatic
bhakti
(devotion)
throughout
Bengal.
He
established
Sankirtan,
the
practice
of
publicly
expressing
devotion
to
Lord
Krishna,
the
Supreme
God,
through
dance
and
song.
This
form
of
communal
worship
responded
to
rigid
caste
structures
by
engaging
all
people
in
worship
regardless
of
caste
and
creed.
Chaitanya
emphasized
chanting
the
Hare
Krishna
Mahamantra
(the
'great
mantra').
He
is
considered
by
Gaudiya
Vaishnavas
to
be
an
incarnation
of
Krishna
himself.
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