ISKCON PHILOSOPHY
The Hare Krishna Movement™, officially known as The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is an accurate representation of the Sanatana culture followed by millions of Hindus worldwide. At its core, ISKCON is a Gaudiya Vaishnava organization based on the teachings of Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. Throughout the years, ISKCON has been successful in promoting the Sanatana culture through its 750 global temples and the distribution of millions of Vedic texts.
These things might sound magical and out of this world to many, but they won’t appear so to someone who has heard of a song sung by God. Lord Shri Krishna sang this song in Mahabharat to Arjuna 5000 years ago. It is the timeless wisdom known as Gitopnishad or the Bhagavad Gita.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krishna Himself, appeared in this mortal world to popularize this culture of devotion to all of us. Just a father who leads by his example, the Lord preached about devotion to God in the streets of villages and towns throughout Bengal 500 years ago. The Lord declared, “Prthivite ache yatanagaradi-grama, sarvatrapracarahaibe mora nama (CB Anta 4.126)”, that one day, this culture of devotion will spread in every nook and corner of every village and town of this world.
A prophecy was made, but it was not until the appearance of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada that the prophecy came true. Having firm faith in the words of the Lord Chaitanya under the guidance of his Guru Maharaj, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, he set off on this great mission at the delicate age of 70. What many young devotees would people dream of doing in a lifetime, Srila Prabhupada achieved in just 11 years. By 1977, Srila Prabhupada had successfully built 108 temples throughout the world.