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What
is the Hare Krishna Movement? |
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The Hare Krishna movement
is the popular name for the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON). Founded in 1966 by His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON carries on in the
modern world a great ancient tradition rooted in the Bhagavad-Gita
, the teachings Lord Krishna spoke five thousand years ago.
The Gita and the other Vedic scriptures declare Krishna to be
the original person, God Himself, who appears periodically in
this world to liberate all living beings.
Only five hundred years ago, Krishna descended as Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu to teach the most sublime and effective means of
meditation for the present day: the chanting of the names of
God, especially as found in the Hare Krishna mantra.
Today, members of ISKCON continue Lord Caitanya's movement by
distributing the teachings of Lord Krishna and the Hare Krishna
mantra all over the world. |
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What
is the purpose of ISKCON? |
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When Srila Prabhupada
began ISKCON, he defined 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 Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.
- To bring the members of the Society together with each
other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing
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, more natural way of life.
- With a view toward achieving the aforementioned purposes,
to publish and distribute periodicals, books and other writings.
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What
is reincarnation? |
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| The Bhagavad-Gita states that life does not begin at birth
nor end with death. It is eternal. The soul is constantly transmigrating
from one body to another according to its desires and quality
of activities (karma). The Vedas further explain that the soul
in the material world moves through a cycle of 8,400,000 forms
of life. The human form, however, is the only birth which affords
one the chance for self-realisation. Lower-than-human species
are not endowed with sufficient intelligence to understand the
self as different from the body. |
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