Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami, born Abhay Charan De, was an Indian spiritual teacher and the founder-preceptor of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement". Members of the ISKCON movement view Bhaktivedānta Swāmi as a representative and messenger of Krishna Chaitanya. Within the society he is commonly referred to as Shrila Prabhupāda or Prabhupāda.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organisation. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Its core beliefs are based on the Hindu scriptures, particularly the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which has had adherents in India since the late 15th century and American and European devotees since the early 1900s.
The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra, is a 16-word Vaishnava mantra which is mentioned in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, and which from the 15th century rose to importance in the Bhakti movement following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This mantra is composed of two Sanskrit names of the Supreme Being, "Krishna" and "Rama."
The Governing Body Commission (GBC) is the managerial authority of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). ISKCON's founder, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, created the GBC in 1970 and since then it has met on an annual basis, usually in Mayapur, India.
Gopal Krishna Goswami is a religious leader within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He was the first Indian disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to be initiated after the establishment of ISKCON. Gopal Krishna Goswami is currently a member of the Governing Body Commission and an initiating guru within the movement.
Kīrtanānanda Svāmī Hare Krishna guru. Co-founder of the New Vrindaban Hare Krishna community in Marshall County, West Virginia, where he served as spiritual leader from 1968 until he left it in 1994
Radhanath Swami is a guru, community builder, activist, and an author. He has been a Bhakti Yoga practitioner and a spiritual teacher for more than 40 years. He is the inspiration behind ISKCON's free midday meal for 1.2 million school kids across India, and he has been instrumental in founding the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai. He works largely from Mumbai and travels extensively throughout Europe and America. In the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), he serves as a member of the Governing Body Commission. Steven J. Rosen described Radhanath Swami as a "saintly person respected by the mass of ISKCON devotees today."
New Vrindaban is an unincorporated area and an ISKCON intentional community located in Marshall County, West Virginia near Moundsville. The town consists of 1,204 acres (4.87 km2), and several building complexes, homes, apartment buildings, and businesses including the Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra Temple and Prabhupada's Palace of Gold. New Vrindaban was founded in 1968 under the direct guidance of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON by his disciple Shri Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada who is also known as founding acharya of New Vrindaban. It is named for the Indian city of Vrindavan.
Bhaktivedanta Manor is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple set in the Hertfordshire countryside of England, in the village of Aldenham near Watford. The Manor is owned and run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), better known as the Hare Krishna movement. It is ISKCON's largest property in the United Kingdom, and one of the most frequently visited Radha Krishna temples in Europe. It stands in 70 acres (280,000 m2) of landscaped grounds, consisting of lawns, flower gardens, a children's playground, an artificial lake that attracts many water fowl, and a substantial car park.
Vishnujana Swami, born Mark Stephen D'Atillo, was a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and a sannyasi within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Despite his mysterious disappearance in 1976, he continues to be regarded as a saintly figure within ISKCON. His legend lives on through recordings of his celebrated singing of the Hare Krishna mantra and through his unmatched success as a preacher in the early days of the movement.
Jayatirtha Dasa was one of the leading disciples of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and a guru within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He was appointed a life trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust by his Guru Swami Prabhupada who also placed him in the managerial post of the fledgling Spiritual Sky company. Under Jayatirtha's able management the company became a multimillion-dollar concern and the Wall Street Journal covered the company's success with a front-page article.
Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also known as the KRSNA Book, is a summary and commentary on the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). It was published in 1970 by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. The publication was financed through a contribution of $19,000 from George Harrison, who also supplied the book's foreword.
Gour Govinda Swami was a Vaishnava religious leader. He was a leading ISKCON guru, sannyasi, governing body commissioner within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and the main inspirational force behind Gopal Jiu Publications.
Giriraj Swami is an initiating guru within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and one of the leading disciples of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of ISKCON.
Sri Krishna-Balaram Mandir is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple in the holy city of Vrindavan. It is one of the main ISKCON temples in India and internationally.
The Mantra-Rock Dance was a counterculture music event held on January 29, 1967, at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. It was organized by followers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as an opportunity for its founder, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, to address a wider public. It was also a promotional and fundraising effort for their first center on the West Coast of the United States.
Malati Dasi is a senior spiritual leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Born in Vallejo, California, she was part of the hippie movement before becoming an initiated disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1967. In the same year, she and her husband, Shyamasundar Das, helped Mukunda Das organize the Mantra-Rock Dance, a countercultural musical event held at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco; the dance was a fundraiser for ISKCON's first center on the west coast of the US.
Sri Radha Krishna Temple has deities of Radha and Krishna located at Rajajinagar, in North Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is one of the largest ISKCON temples in the world. The temple is a huge cultural complex that was inaugurated in 1997 by Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma. The project was conceived and executed by Madhu Pandit Dasa.
ISKCON Temple Chennai is a Vaishnava temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. It is located on the East Coast Road at Akkarai, Sholinganallur in southern Chennai. Built on 1.5 acres of land, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Chennai is the largest Radha Krishna temple in Tamil Nadu. It was formally inaugurated on 26 April 2012.
ISKCON schools are primary and secondary schools run by, or otherwise affiliated with, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement. ISKCON schools have been established all over the world. ISKCON schools are generally run independently, although the ISKCON Ministry of Educational Development (MED) may provide support and guidance in the establishment and running of these schools.
