What is an Acharya you may wonder?

An Acharya is a person who teaches by personal example the spiritual precepts that they propose to their followers.

Srila Prabhupada’s Journey to the Western World Was Predestined

As one candle can light many other candles...yet each candle has the same intensity as the first. The first candle remains the original candle.

In the same way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself in unlimited forms. He yet remains the cause of all causes.

In the Vedic scriptures the supreme original cause is known as Krishna because He posseses unlimited transcendental qualities which attract all living beings.

Five hundred years ago that same supreme cause Lord Sri Krishna appeared as Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and declared that the chanting of the Lord’s holy names;

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna 

Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare 

Hare Rama, Hare Rama 

Rama Rama, Hare Hare

are the only means of liberation in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also declared that these names would spread outside the physical borders of India to every town and village in the world.

For hundreds of years, the faithful followers of Lord Chaitanya endeavored to expand his mission as He had predicted with no visible signs of success. All of the time they were wondering how Lord Chaitanya’s prediction would come true.

On August 13^th 1965 days before his sixty-ninth birthday His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, spiritual messenger, Vaishnava, philosopher, scholar, saint and Swami, set out for America to accomplish the instructions of his spiritual master, and in so doing ignited the spark of a spiritual revolution that fulfilled Lord Chaitanya’s prediction over 500 years earlier. With a free passage from an Indian owned steamship company, he travelled as the only passenger on board a small weathered cargo ship, named the Jaladuta. In his possession, he had an umbrella, a supply of dry cereal about eight dollars worth of Indian rupees, and several boxes of his books.

When the Jaladuta arrived in New York His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada was completely alone in following his spiritual master’s instructions. He had come to America knowing no one, without any clear means of support; he had carried on board the ship only a handful of possessions. He had no friends, money, followers nor his youthful age and good health to help him. He did not even have a clear idea of how he could fulfill the mission he had accepted as his life and the sole reason for venturing so far away from the familiar to the uncharted environment of America knowing not what he would find simply to present the vast spiritual teachings of the ancient Vedas to the western world.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada expressed the faith He had in His spiritual master and Krishna, in a Bengali poem he wrote shortly after His arrival to the shores of the United States:

"My dear Lord Krishna…How will I make them understand this message of Krishna consciousness? I am very unfortunate, unqualified, and the most fallen. Therefore I am seeking Your benediction so that I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own…I am sure that when this transcendental message penetrates their hearts, they will certainly feel engladdened and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life…"

This poem is dated September 18^th, 1965. Twelve years later, on November 14^th, 1977, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada passed away in Vrindavan, India at the age of eighty-one. In twelve years, Srila Prabhupada had amazingly, against all odds of success, accomplished his colossal mission to jump start the process of re-spiritualizing the entire world towards a more GOD centered way of life.

In a letter to His disciple Sudama Dasa in 1972, Srila Prabhupada says it best when he wrote:

"Yes, from the very beginning I went to New York because I thought that Krishna Consciousness is the most important idea in the world, so let me go to that place, New York, which is the most important city in the world, and if I am able to do anything for Krishna and my Spiritual Master, even I am at the fag-end of my life, at least let me try for it there. So my dreams have all come true, and all of you nice boys and girls are getting the credit. When I was alone in your New York, I was thinking, who will listen to me in this horrible, sinful place? All right, I shall stay little longer; at least I can distribute a few of my books, that is something. But Krishna was all along preparing something I could not see, and He brought you to me one by one, sincere American boys and girls, to be trained-up for doing the work of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Now I can see that it is a miracle. Otherwise, your city of New York, one single old man, with only a few books to sell for barely getting eatables, how he can survive, what to speak of introducing God-consciousness movement for saving the humankind. That is Krishna's miracle. Now I can see it."

The Society He Created

After arriving in New York City in September 1965, Srila Prabhupada struggled alone to establish his God consciousness movement. He lived simply; talked, and lectured about Krishna whenever and wherever he got the opportunity to do so and gradually there was some small interest in what he was teaching.

In July of 1966, while still working alone from an obscure storefront in the Lower East Side of New York City, Srila Prabhupada founded the society he intended for the entire world’s participation in for their own personal spiritual salvation, benefit and enlightenment through self-realization.

Srila Prabhupada decided that the society would be called the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON for short.

At the time of the creation of his fledgling spiritual society, Srila Prabhupada did not even have one committed follower. Undeterred, he enlisted volunteers from some of the regular attendees at his evenings lectures to act as ISKCON’s first trustees. That was during the very beginning of ISKCON’s history. Today the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has more than 300 temples, farms, schools and special projects throughout the world and has a strong congregation numbering in the millions.

The Purpose of ISKCON

The precepts of Krishna Consciousness are more than another sectarian or mainstream faith based solely on traditions of the past. Rather than a faith based on tradition only Krishna Consciousness is a technical science based on the ancient Vedic teachings of India for the re-spiritualization of our present values and beliefs towards a vastly enlightened worldview that encompasses true equality and harmony based on the spiritual paradigm. The lofty aim of the Krishna consciousness concepts is nothing short of amazing because the aim is to reveal to the people of the world, the principles of GOD and in turn Self Realization so that they may derive the highest benefits of spiritual understanding, namely unity and peace in an age of uncertainty.

The ancient Vedas recommend that in the present age the most effective means of achieving self-realization is to constantly hear about, glorify and remember the all-good Supreme Lord, who is known by numerous names. In our view, the most important names in this present day and age are ‘Krishna’, which means ‘He who is all attractive’, and ‘Rama’, which means ‘He who is the reservoir of all pleasure’. In conjunction with these important names of ‘Krishna’ and ‘Rama’ is the evocative word ‘Hare’ that induces the inconceivable energy of the Supreme Lord to uplift our consciousness beyond the mundane to a transcendental state of experience.

The members of ISKCON follow the recommendations of the Vedic scriptures and are seen constantly chanting the great mantra or Maha Mantra:

Hare Krishna

Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama

Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

This sublime method of invoking the almighty Lord and His divine energies in helping us transcend the mundane reality towards a spiritual renaissance through the medium of chanting puts us in direct contact with the Supreme Lord through the transcendental sound vibration lifting us up on all levels of our existence. The Supreme Lord’s holy names gradually awaken us to our original and eternal relationship with GOD, the father of all living beings.

The primary mission of ISKCON is to encourage all of the members of the society at large, to devote at least some portion of their time and energies to this process of hearing and chanting about GOD, the prime mover, energetic and dynamic in our lives. In this way, they will eventually come to the realization that all living beings are spirit souls, eternally related to the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Spirit, in service and in Love.

The Distribution of Spiritual Food

Along with teaching the Vedic knowledge and spreading the Lords holy names, ISKCON also very freely distributes spiritualized food throughout the world. In the same way that the philosophy and chanting is done for receiving the mercy of Lord Krishna, Vegetarian food has first been offered to the Lord to imbue the food with the divine mercy of the Lord and in turn, this purifies the heart and the mind towards a more enlightened understanding of the reality of our existence.

Who would have thought that simply by doing something so ordinary and easy as sharing and eating food helps us in the gradual process of uncovering our original awareness of GOD? ISKCON’s distribution of spiritualized food (Prasadam) throughout the world is therefore known as ‘Food for Life’, which is beneficial for the body as well the soul of every single recipient.

The Teachings of…..

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Srila Prabhupada considered his books to be the most valuable contribution he had made in helping to spread the teachings and essence of the vast Vedic knowledge throughout the world. Actually, Srila Prabhupada would say that translating and explaining the ancient Vedic scriptures was his very life and soul. In 1970, Srila Prabhupada founded the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, and now it has become the largest publisher of Vedic literature in the world. Over the last forty years, millions of people have read at least one of Srila Prabhupada’s books, and have genuinely felt their lives enriched and changed for the better having opened their eyes to a fresh way of looking at their reality in light of modern day trials and tribulations that seem to never end.

Scholarly Appreciation for Srila Prabhupada’s Teachings

Srila Prabhupada noted often that, although universities and colleges of the modern day had many departments for understanding many subjects, there was no department that taught scientific knowledge of the self and God. By presenting the original Vedic science of God realization through his valuable books, Srila Prabhupada filled this large chasm and met this vital educational need by sparking a spiritual revolution in thought not ever seen in the history of the modern day world. Over the years, scholars who had met Srila Prabhupada or had read his works have expressed their appreciation for both his personal qualities and the contribution his teachings have made to the betterment of humanity.

Harvey Cox one such world-renowned professor of religion at Harvard University, tells us how he recognized the value of Srila Prabhupada’s works and what a contribution he had made:

“When I first met the Hare Krishna’s, I can remember thinking how surprised I was, and I wondered what this meant. The costumes, the chanting, and the shaved heads appeared a little strange to me. But as I came to know the movement, I came to find that there was a striking similarity in the essence of what they were teaching and in the original core of Christianity-that is, living simply, not trying to accumulate worldly goods, living with compassion towards all creatures, sharing, loving, and living joyfully. I am impressed with how much the teachings of one man and the spiritual tradition he brought impacted themselves into the lives of so many people. In my view Srila Prabhupada’s contribution is a very important one and will be a lasting one.”

The Temples He Founded

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada founded 108 temples before departing for the spiritual realm on November 14^th, 1977.

At present, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has well over three hundred temples, farms, schools and special projects and weekly gatherings throughout the world. At each center members give classes on the teachings, perform chanting for the upliftment of themselves and humanity at large and ancient Vedic ceremonies meant for spiritual unity, and provide valuable instruction on the science of Krishna Consciousness. Each center holds a weekly program and vegetarian feast, as well as celebrations throughout the year. All programs are open to the public free of charge.

Hare Krishna, may the blessings of the Supremely Divine Personality Of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna and His Divine Vaishnava representatives be ever-present in your life for your benefit and the ultimate gain of all souls ensnared within this world of duality and confusion.