ISKCON devotees follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya
Bhagavata Vaishnavas and are the largest branch of Gaudiya
Vaishnavism. Vaishnavism means 'worship of Vishnu',
and Gauḍa refers to the area where this particular branch of
Vaishnavism originated, in the Gauda region of West Bengal. Gaudiya
Vaishnavism has had a following in India, especially West
Bengal and Orisha, for the past five hundred years. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada disseminated Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology in the Western
world through extensive writings and translations, including the Bhagavad
Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), Chaitanya Charitamrita,
and other scriptures.
These works are now available in more than seventy
languages and serve as the canon of ISKCON. Many are available online from a
number of websites.
Early Western
conversions to monotheistic Krishna Vaisnavism or the Bhagavata Vaisnava
line which forms the basis of the ISKCON philosophy were recorded by the
Greeks and are reflected in the archaeological record.
Krishna is described as
the source of all the avatars. Thus ISKCON devotees worship Krishna
as the highest form of God, svayam bhagavan, and often refer to Him as
"the Supreme Personality of Godhead" in writing, which was a phrase
coined by Prabhupada in his books on the subject. To devotees, Radha
represents Krishna's divine female counterpart, the original spiritual potency,
and the embodiment of divine love. The individual soul is an eternal personal
identity which does not ultimately merge into any formless light or void as
suggested by themonistic (Advaita) schools of Hinduism. Prabhupada most
frequently offers Sanatana-dharma and Varnashrama dharma as
more accurate names for the religious system which
accepts Vedic authority. It is amonotheistic tradition
which has its roots in the theistic Vedanta traditions.
The philosophy of Krishna consciousness is non-sectarian and
monotheistic. It may be summarized in the following eight points:
1) By sincerely following an authentic spiritual science, we can
become worry-free and achieve a state of pure, unending, blissful
consciousness.
2) We are not physical bodies made of matter. Each of us is an
eternal soul, part of God, or Krishna. Realizing that we all have one common
father in God helps us to see each other as one global united family.
3) Krishna is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-attractive
and present everywhere. He is the source of all life and the sustaining energy
of the universe.
4) The Bhagavad-gita, spoken by Krishna Himself over 5,000 years
ago, contains the essence of the Vedas, ancient Sanskrit texts. The goal of
Vedic knowledge is simple: to know and love God.
5) A genuine spiritual teacher (guru) is an essential guide on
our path to self-realization. The Bhagavad-gita and other sacred texts list
many criteria one should look for in a potential guru. Above all, a guru should
repeat Krishna’s message unchanged, be free from selfish motives, and
constantly focus his thoughts and actions on Krishna.
6) Before eating, we should acknowledge and reciprocate
Krishna’s love by offering all our food to Him with a prayer. Like a parent
receiving a gift from a young child, Krishna is pleased when we offer Him food,
even though He Himself has provided it. Offering food to Krishna purifies our
consciousness and brings us closer to Him.
7) Rather than living in a self-centered way, we should act in a
way that gives Krishna pleasure. This is known as bhakti-yoga, the science of
devotional service.
8) The most effective means for today’s spiritual seeker to
reach the blissful, worry-free state mentioned in point one, and to become
closer to God, is to chant His holy names:
Founder’s Statement
Kolkata-born A.C. Bhakitivedanta Swami (1896-1977), also known
as Shrila Prabhupada, who founded The Hare Krishna Movement™ in New
York in 1966, wrote a statement that was used in the religion’s initial
incorporation. This statement is still relevant for ISKCON, and sometimes
serves as a Mission Statement.
It reads as follows:
1.
To systematically
propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people 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.
2.
To propagate a
consciousness of Krishna (God), as it is revealed in the great scriptures of
India, especially Bhagavad-gita andSrimad-Bhagavatam.
We accept the principle of transmigration of the soul (reincarnation).
3.
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).
4.
To teach and encourage
the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as
revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
5.
To erect for the
members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes
dedicated to the personality of Krishna.*
6.
To bring the members
closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of
life.
7.
With a view towards
achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals,
magazines, books and other writings and to create websites that help realize
these purposes.
What is Disciplic sucession?
By disciplic succession it is meant a line of spiritual teachers
that has transmitted the transcendental knowledge until the present day in an
unaltered form starting from Lord Krishna
A spiritual master must
be in an authorized disciplic succession to be bonafide. It is not possible for
someone to be a bonafide spiritual master in a line of spiritual authority that
does not come from Krishna.
The principle is that
Vaishnava teachings should be passed on, unchanged, from guru to disciple.
In sanskrit., disciplic
succession is also called "Parampara".
We can understand how
perfect knowledge can be received from Lord Krishna himself. In the Bhagavad
Gita, particularly in Chapter 4 Text 2 Lord Krishna mentions:
evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
imam rajarsayo viduh
This supreme science was
thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings
understood it in that way.
Spiritual knowledge
descends through the disciplic succession from Krishna. The representatives of
the disciplic succession carry the pure message of Krishna without changing
anything. The transcendental knowledge (divya jnana) is like a river flowing
from one acarya to the next. It's source is Krishna who directs it to a
qualified disciple who realizes, preserves and directs it to his qualified
disciple who again realizes, preserves and directs it to his successor and so
on until it arrives here.
Which are
the bonafide vaishanava sampradayas?
There are four bonafide
vaishanava sampradayas – all starting from Vishnu or Krishna. These are Brahma Sampradaya, Laxmi Sampradaya, Rudra Sampradaya & Kumar Sampradaya.
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