ISKCON~~Krishnology!!!

Wondering as what dis post has to do with Youngistan???. Well I had recently been to one of the ISKCON temples and found out that its an International Organization which strives for Krishna Consciousness. What that struck my eye was the temple's Architecture and Incredibly pleasing environment.It was terribly awesome!!!

Know more, go through the post.......

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as 'the Hare Krishna' movement, was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. ISKCON has since developed into a worldwide confederation of 10,000 temple devotees and 250,000 congregational devotees.

Better known as the Hare Krishna movement, ISKCON is comprised of more than 350 centres, 60 rural communities, 50 schools and 60 restaurants worldwide.The mission of this nonsectarian, monotheistic movement is to promote the well being of society by teaching the science of Krishna consciousness according to Bhagavad-gita and other ancient scriptures.

While some classified it as a new religious movement, its core philosophy is based on scriptures such as the Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, both of which date back more than two millennia. The distinctive appearance of the movement and its culture come from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which has had adherents in India ever since the late 1400s. Early converts to the movement were dated to early 1930s.

Non-sectarian in its ideals , ISKCON was formed to spread the practice of 'Bhakti yoga' (The Yoga of Devotion); wherein aspirant devotees (Bhaktas) dedicate their thoughts and actions towards pleasing Supreme Lord, Krishna.

History

According to Hare Krishna devotees Krishna is the origin of Vishnu. They worship Krishna as the highest form of God, and often refer to him as "the Supreme Personality of Godhead" in writing, which was a phrase coined by Srila Prabhupada in his books on the subject. Devotees consider Radha to be Krishna's divine female counterpart, the embodiment of love. An important aspect of their philosophy is the belief that the individual soul is an eternal personal identity which does not ultimately merge into any formless light or void as suggested by the monistic (Advaita) schools of Hinduism.

Hare Krishna devotees specifically follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya, or Bengali, Bhagavata Vaishnavas which comes under the general description of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Vaishnavism means 'worship of Vishnu', and Gauḍa refers to the area where this particular branch of Vaishnavism is practiced and is widespread, among other places, such as Rajastan and Vrindavana. Gaudiya Vaishnavism has had a continuous following in India, especially West Bengal and Orissa for the past five hundred years. Srila Prabhupada disseminated Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology in the Western world through extensive writings and translations, including Bhagavad Gita, Srimad and Chaitanya Charitamrita and other scriptures. These works are now available in more than seventy languages and serve as the canon of ISKCON. Many of these books are now available online from a number of websites.

Early western conversions to monotheistic Krishna vaisnavism or Bhagavata Vaishnava line, that forms the basis of ISKCON philosophy, were recorded by the Greeks and survived as archeological monuments.

The Maha Mantra:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

The Seven purposes of ISKCON

When Srila Prabhupada first incorporated ISKCON, in 1966, he gave it seven purposes.

• To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all peoples in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world.
• To propagate a consciousness of Krishna, as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
• To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus to develop the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna).
• To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy names of God as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
• To erect for the members, and for society at large, a holy place of transcendental pastimes, dedicated to the personality of Krishna.
• To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life.
• With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings.

Preaching Activities

ISKCON is actively evangelistic. Members try to spread Krishna consciousness, primarily by singing the Hare Krishna mantra in public places and by selling books written by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Both of these activities are known within the movement as 'Sankirtan'. According to the doctrine of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one does not need to be born in a Hindu family to take up the practice of Vaishnavism. This philosophy places ISKCON in strong contrast to many other branches of Hinduism, which may stress hereditary lineage and are non-missionary by nature. There are ISKCON communities around the world with schools, restaurants and farms. In general, funds collected by ISKCON are treated as communal property and used to support the community as a whole and to promote the preaching mission.Many temples also have programs (like Food for Life Global) to provide meals for the needy. Also, ISKCON has recently brought the academic study of Krishna into western academia as Krishnology.[more...]


Slideshow:

You don't find more pictures of ISKCON temples on the web because their beauty can be enjoyed with your naked eyes only.



Links:

Indian Temple Architecture - A concise description of the diverse temple architectural styles seen in Indian temples, styles that have been in existence for over a millennium.

Click here for world-wide centers

Click here for official worldwide website

Krishna.com-the bhaktivedanta book trust