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Coordinates: 23.26°N 88.

23°E

International Society for Krishna Consciousness


The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON),
International Society for Krishna
known colloquially as theHare Krishna movementor Hare Krishnas,
Consciousness
is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organisation.[6] ISKCON was
founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada known to his followers as Guru and spiritual master.[7] Its
core beliefs are said to be based on select 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 ISKCON Temple in Dwarka, Delhi, India
century and American and European converts since the early 1900s in Abbreviation ISKCON
North America [8]. In West Virginia, the Prabhupada's Palace of Gold is
Formation 13 July 1966
now a shrine for the founder, who died in 1977.[9]
New York City, New York, U.S.
The movement has been labelled a sect by anti-cult organizations,[10] Founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
but the New York State Supreme Court determined that ISKCON is a Prabhupada
"bonafide religion".[11][12][13] ISKCON was formed to spread the Type Religious organisation
practice of Bhakti yoga, in which those involved (bhaktas) dedicate
Legal status Foundation
their thoughts and actions towards pleasing Krishna, their Supreme
Lord.[14] Its most rapid expansions in membership as of 2007 have been Purpose Educational, Philanthropic,
within India and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in Religious studies, Spirituality
Russia, Ukraine, and the rest of the ex-Soviet aligned states of Eastern Headquarters Mayapur, West Bengal,
Europe and Central Asia[15][16] India[1][2][3][4][5]
Location 850 temples and centres
worldwide
Contents Coordinates 23.26°N 88.23°E
History and belief Area served Worldwide
Preaching activities Main organ Governing Body Commission
Bhaktivedanta Institute Affiliations Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Food for Life
Website iskcon.org
Management structure
Succession of teachings
Influential leaders
Women in ISKCON
Gender equality
Procreation and marriage
Problems and controversies
Food For Life controversy
Rasika-bhakti
Litigation
Brainwashing cases
Murder cases
Child abuse cases
In popular culture
Image gallery of ISKCON temples
See also
Notes
References
External links

History and belief


For further information see: Achintya Bheda Abheda and
Gaudiya Vaishnavism

ISKCON devotees follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya Bhagavata Vaishnavas and are
the largest branch of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.[17] 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 Odisha, for the past five hundred
years. Bhaktivedanta Swami disseminated Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology in the Pancha-Tattva deities: Chaitanya
Western world through extensive writings and translations,[18] including the Mahaprabhu, Nityananda, Advaita
Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), Chaitanya Charitamrita, Acharya, Gadadhara and Srivasa,
and other scriptures. These works are now available in more than seventy languages installed in a Gaudiya Vaishnava
temple
and serve as the scriptures of ISKCON.[19]

Krishna is described as the source of all the avatars of God.[20] 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 the
monistic (Advaita) schools of Hinduism. Prabhupada most frequently offers
ISKCON's Bhajan during Navratri
Sanatana-dharma and Varnashrama dharma as more accurate names for the
Golu at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu,
religious system which accepts Vedic authority.[21] It is a monotheistic tradition India
which has its roots in the theisticVedanta traditions.[22]

Preaching activities
ISKCON advocates preaching.[23] Members try to spread Krishna consciousness, primarily by singing the Hare Krishna mantra in
public places and by selling books written by the founder.[24] Both of these activities are known within the movement as Sankirtan.
Street preaching is one of the most visible activities of the movement. ISKCON street evangelists sometimes invite members of the
public to educative activities, such as a meal with an accompanying talk.

A study conducted by E. Burke Rochford Jr.at the University of Californiafound that there are four types of contact between those in
ISKCON and prospective members. Those are individually motivated contact, contact made with members in public areas, contact
made through personal connections, and contact with sympathizers of the movement who strongly encourage people to join.[25]
According to the doctrine of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one does not need to be born in a Hindu family to take up the practice. 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.[26] Many temples also
have programs (like Food for Life) to provide meals for the needy. In addition, ISKCON has recently brought the academic study of
Krishna into eastern academia asKrishnology.
The ISKCON Ministry of Education regulates educational activities within ISKCON and oversees the operation of primary,
secondary, tertiary, and seminary schools and centres of education. The Ministry of Education also oversees education for religious
and sastric study, developed and monitored by the UK-basedVaisnava Training and Education organisation.

Bhaktivedanta Institute
The Bhaktivedanta Institute (BI) is the scientific research branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Founded in
1976 by Bhaktivedanta Swami and Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, it aims to advance the study of the nature and origin of life,
utilising Vedic insights into consciousness, the self, and the origin of the universe. The institute's motto, in the Sanskrit language, is
"Athato Brahma jijnasa," which translates as "One should inquire into the Supreme." Under the directorship of Bhaktisvarupa
Damodara Swami, the BI organised four international conferences and hundreds of panel discussions and talks and published over
thirty books. Currently, there are a number of branches of BI, with one of the main branches in Mumbai. Ravi Gomatam is the
director of BI in Berkeley and Mumbai.[27] The director of BI in Kolkata is Vrajapati Das.

Food for Life


ISKCON founded a project called Food for Life, which it has also sponsored in the
past. The goal of the project is to distribute vegetarian meals.[28] The international
headquarters known as Food for Life Global, established by Paul Rodney urner
T and
Mukunda Goswami,[29] coordinates the project. Food for Life is currently active in
.[29]
over sixty countries and serves up to 2 million free meals every day

Management structure
Bhaktivedanta Swami spent much of the last decade of his life setting up the Member of Food for Life Russia
institution of ISKCON.[30][31] giving food

The Governing Body Commission (or GBC) was created by him in 1970.[32]
In a document Direction of Management written on 28 July 1970 Prabhupada
appointed the following members to the commission, all of them non-
sannyasi:[30]

1. Śrīmān Gopal Krishna Adhikari


2. Śrīmān Bhagavandas Adhikari
3. Śrīmān Syamsundar Das Adhikari
4. Śrīmān Satsvarupa Das Adhikari
5. Śrīmān Karandhar Das Adhikari
6. Śrīmān Hansadutta Das Adhikari
7. Śrīmān Tamala Kṛṣṇa Das Adhikari Hare Krishna devotee.
8. Śrīmān Sudama Das Adhikari
9. Śrīmān Bali Mardan Das Brahmachari
10. Śrīmān Jagadisa Das Adhikari
11. Śrīmān Hayagriva Das Adhikari
12. Śrīmān Kṛṣṇadas Adhikari
The letter outlined the following purposes of the commission: improving the standard of temple management, the spread of Krishna
consciousness, the distribution of books and literature, the opening of new centers and the education of the devotees. GBC has since
consensus of opinion.[30][33]
grown in size to include 48 senior members from the movement who make decisions based on

Succession of teachings
ISKCON adheres to the traditional system of paramparā, or disciplic succession, in
which teachings upheld by scriptures are handed down from master to disciple,
generation after generation.[34]

Influential leaders

See also: Principal disciples of A. C. Bhaktivedanta


Swami.

Before his death, Prabhupada appointed the following eleven of his disciples to
serve as gurus[35][36] or to continue to direct the organisation:[37] Satsvarupa Dasa
ISKCON Mayapur Main Gate
Goswami,[38][39] Jayapataka Swami,[40] Hridayananda Dasa Goswami, Tamal
Krishna Goswami,[41] Bhavananda Goswami, Hansadutta Swami, Ramesvara
Swami, Harikesa Swami, Bhagavan Dasa, Kirtanananda Swami, and Jayatirtha Dasa. These eleven "Western Gurus were selected as
spiritual heads" of the ISKCON after 1977, however "many problems followed from their appointment and the movement had since
veered away from investing absolute authority in a few, fallible, human teachers",[42] however of these eleven, the first three have
remained prominent leaders within the movement, as was Tamal Krishna Goswami until his death in a car accident in March 2002.
Bhavananda no longer holds the post of an initiating guru. Ramesvara, Bhagavan and Harikesa resigned as spiritual leaders in 1985,
1987 and 1999 respectively and the remaining three were all expelled from the movement by the Governing Body Commission
during the 1980s.[43] Of Prabhupada's disciples, who number 4,734 in total,[44] approximately 90 are diksha gurus within ISKCON.
As of April 2011, ISKCON had a total of 100 sannyasis, most of whom were acting as gurus. Also, there are 2 Grastha Prabhupada
disciples who act guru in ISKCON.

Women in ISKCON

Gender equality
According to the essay "Women in ISKCON in Prabhupada's times" written by Jyotirmayi Devi Dasi, women are renowned within
ISKCON and regarded as completely equal in regards to spirituality.[45] Prabhupada in his original writings encouraged the complete
equality of women in the eye of Krishna based on the teachings of Bhagavad Gita that soul does not have any gender and everybody
is eligible for spiritual liberation.[46][47]

Srila Prabhupada rebuked several of his male followers for discriminating against women. Since mother is the most respected
position in Vedic culture, women within the Hare Krishna community are all viewed as mothers, especially for celibate male
members Brahmacharis. "Mother is a term of respect for women in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON),
[48]
and is often prefixed to the Sanskrit name they receive in initiation. Even unmarried women are referred to as mothers".

Women's roles are a controversial issue within ISKCON, and its members have strongly divergent opinions regarding the
interpretation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings on gender roles.[49] While some of its leaders, such as Hridayananda Dasa Goswami,
advocate that women should be allowed to join the workforce and take public leadership roles,[50] other leaders, such as Bhakti
Vikasa Swami, condemn these views as an undesirable influence of secularfeminism within ISKCON.[51]

Procreation and marriage


Within ISKCON, both men and women can advance spiritually by chanting Hare Krishna, studying the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the
Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Carita Marta, and other Vaisnava literature and rendering devotional service to the spiritual master and
Krishna. Marriage is highly recommended and married women can also "advance through motherhood and devotion to their husbands
[48]
in the tradition of stri dharma, the wifely duty of submission to the husband and the bearing of sons" but is not entirely accepted.
Problems and controversies
ISKCON has experienced a number of significant internal problems, the majority of which occurred from the late seventies onwards,
and especially within the decade following Prabhupada's death.[52] ISKCON has also been scrutinised by some anti-cult
movements.[53][54][55]

Food For Life controversy


Some Food for Life programs have suffered severe criticism from ISKCON leaders and devotees who believe them to be a major
deviation from Srila Prabhupada's original preaching mission by their promotion of so-called "mundane welfare activities".
According to these opponents, Srila Prabhupada was strongly opposed to food distribution done without chanting of the names of
Krishna and without preaching.[56][57][58]

Rasika-bhakti
The elder sannyasi Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami was a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami's sannyasa guru and was
long a well-wisher of ISKCON. A small group of prominent ISKCON leaders were closer to his association and Srila Bhaktivedanta
Narayana made no effort to conceal his relationship with them, which as time went on became increasingly intimate. His emphasis on
gopi-bhava, the mood of Krishna's cowherd lovers, particularly disturbed his ISKCON audiences since Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami
had stressed that the path of spontaneous devotion was only for liberated souls. At the annual GBC meeting in 1993, members
questioned their affiliation with Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami. Those involved minimized the seriousness of the
relationship, though for some it had been going on for as long as five years. By the next annual meeting, the GBC forced the involved
members to promise to greatly restrict further association with their new teacher. Though adhering externally, their sympathies for
Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana's teachings were unabated. In 1995, GBC's position was firm and the controversy was first on the 1995
annual meeting's agenda. A week of thorough investigation brought the implicated members in line. Asked to suggest what they
might do to make amends, the leaders involved with the controversy tendered their resignations, which the GBC promptly refused.
They further volunteered to refrain from initiating new disciples or visiting Vrindavana until their case could be reassessed the
[59]
following year and at the March 1996 meeting GBC insisted on maintaining most of the restrictions.

The capitulation of the GBC members previously following Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaj did not prevent the departure of
.[42][59]
devotees who felt unable to repose full faith in the ISKCON Governing Body Commission authority

Litigation

Brainwashing cases
In a landmark 1976 case, People vs. Murphy, the Supreme Court of New York found that "'the Hare Krishna religion is a bona fide
religion with roots that go back thousands of years." Although the parents of two Hare Krishna members claimed ISKCON had
brainwashed their children, the court found they had not and that their children had freely followed the tenets of their chosen
faith.[60][61]

A brainwashing lawsuit filed by an Orange County mother and daughter, Robin George, in 1977 led to numerous appeals reaching
the Supreme Court. In a long-awaited ruling on religious liberty, the state appeals court dismissed a claim that the Hare Krishna sect
brainwashed a 15-year-old girl. In addition to the brainwashing claim, the 4th District Court of Appeal dismissed claims that they
intentionally caused Robin George emotional distress and libeled her.[62]

Murder cases
Kirtanananda Swami, or Swami Bhaktipada, a leader of ISKCON was expelled from the organisation in 1987 for various
deviations,[63] pleaded guilty before his 1996 retrial to one count of racketeering and after serving 8 years of a 20-year prison
sentence was subsequently released in 2004. Previously in 1991 the jury found him not guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit the
murders-for-hire of two devotees, but found him guilty of racketeering and mail fraud. These convictions were later overturned on
appeal, only to result in the later retrial.[64][65][66]

The case placed a spotlight on New Vrindaban, which by then had nearly 500 members, making it the largest and most famous Hare
[67]
Krishna community in the United States at that time.

Child abuse cases


A suit for $900 million was filed in Texas State Court by alleged victims of abuse in the temples' schools in the 1970s and
1980s.[68][69] ISKCON had to later file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[70] Known as the Turley Case, the eventual 2008
settlement was $15 million.[71]

In 1998, ISKCON published an exposé of widespread physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children in the group's boarding
schools in the United States and India. The Hare Krishna monks and young devotees caring for the children had no training in the
task and often resented having to perform it, the report said. At a meeting in 1996, former Krishna pupils testified that they had been
[69]
regularly beaten at school, denied medical care, and sexually molested and raped.

The Child Protection Policy and Procedure Guidelines was revised and ratified by the GBC in June 2012. This document is
ecclesiastical in nature.[72]

In popular culture
The Hare Krishna mantra appears in a number of famous songs, notably in former Beatle George Harrison's 1970–71 hit "My Sweet
Lord".[73][74] John Lennon also included the phrase "Hare Krishna" in his lyrics to "Give Peace a Chance" and the Beatles's 1967
track "I Am the Walrus", as did Ringo Starr in his 1971 hit "It Don't Come Easy", written with the help of Harrison. Later Paul
McCartney produced a single with a picture of Krishna riding on a swan on the cover, although there was no chanting of Krishna's
names inside.

Of the four Beatles, only Harrison fully embraced Krishna Consciousness; he also provided financial support for ISKCON's UK
branch[75] and enjoyed a warm friendship with Swami Prabhupada,[76][77] who provided the inspiration for Harrison songs such as
"Living in the Material World".[78]

Image gallery of ISKCON temples


Srila Prabhupada Pushpa New Mayapur (Luçay-le-Mâle, Krishna Balaram Mandir
Samadhi (Mayapur, West France, 1975) (Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India,
Bengal, India) 1975)

Sri Sri Radha Prabhupada's Palace of Gold (New ISKCON Temple Bhubaneswar
Rasabihari ji Vrindaban, West Virginia, US, 1979) (Odisha, India, 1996)
Temple (Mumbai,
India, 1978)

ISKCON Temple Delhi (India, Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (Utah, US, 2001)
1998)
ISKCON Temple, Ujjain (Madya ISKCON Temple Tirupati (Andhra ISKCON Temple Chennai (Tamil
Pradesh, India, 2006) Pradesh, India, 2007) Nadu, India, 2012)

ISCKON Temple Ananthapur ISKCON Temple of Vedic Planetarium Bhaktivedanta Manor (Hertfordshire,
(Andhra Pradesh, India) under construction (Mayapur, West England, 1973), donated to ISKCON by
Bengal, India) George Harrison

See also
Hare Krishna movement and sexual orientation
Krishna valley, Hungary
New Vrindaban, West Virginia
https://tovp.org/ Temple of Vedic Planetarium

Notes
1. "ISKCON Headquarters – among the world's most visited sacred places" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180714221
900/http://giridhari.com/iskcon-headquarters-among-the-worlds-most-visited-sacred-places/)
. Archived from the
original (https://giridhari.com/iskcon-headquarters-among-the-worlds-most-visited-sacred-places/)
on 14 July 2018.
Retrieved 22 July 2018.
2. "Second Largest ISKCON Temple in the World to Open in Kanpur"(https://iskconnews.org/second-largest-iskcon-te
mple-in-the-world-to-open-in-kanpur,4363).
3. https://iskconnews.org/hare-krishna-movement-celebrates-50th-anniversary-in-2016,5308(https://iskconnews.org/ha
re-krishna-movement-celebrates-50th-anniversary-in-2016,5308)
. Retrieved Mar 17, 2018. Missing or empty
|title= (help)
4. "Mayapur (West Bengal) ISKCON, India - Directory" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180714221902/http://directory .kri
shna.com/mayapur-west-bengal-iskcon-india) . directory.krishna.com. Archived from the original (https://directory.kris
hna.com/mayapur-west-bengal-iskcon-india)on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
5. "ISKCON's World Headquarters DevastatedYet Again By Mother Ganges - Krishna.org"(https://krishna.org/iskcons-
world-headquarters-devastated-yet-again-by-mother-ganges/)
. krishna.org.
6. Gibson 2002, p. 4
7. Gibson 2002, p. 6
8. Bharati, Baba Premanand(https://hinduism.enacademic.com/150/Bharati,_Baba_Premanand)Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20171001031529/http://hinduism.enacademic.com/150/Bharati%2C_Baba_Premanand) 1 October
2017 at the Wayback Machine. Hinduism.enacademic.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
9. Urban, Hugh B. (2015).New Age, Neopagan and New Religious Movements
. Oakland, California: University of
California Press. ISBN 978-0520281189.
10. "Critiquée, la Miviludes défend le principe d'une"(https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2008/04/04/critiquee-la-mivil
udes-defend-le-principe-d-une-liste-des-sectes_1030958_3224.html) . Le Monde.fr (in French). Retrieved
2018-11-25.
11. https://www.leagle.com/decision/197733398misc2d2351294
12. "Le gourou de Valbonne | UNADFI" (https://www.unadfi.org/groupes-et-mouvances/le-gourou-de-valbonne/).
UNADFI (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-25.
13. "Naissance d'un groupe | UNADFI"(https://www.unadfi.org/groupes-et-mouvances/naissance-d-un-groupe/).
UNADFI (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-25.
14. Beck 2005, p. 39, "According to Orthodox Gaudiya. Krishna's svarupa, or true form manifests in three ways. His
svayam-rupa or transcendent form is self-existent, not dependent on anything. His tadekatma rupa is identical in
essence to his true form, though it differs in appearance (and would include such forms of Krishna as Narayana and
Vasudeva). His avesa form has Krishna appearing though in varying degrees of possession"
15. Cole & Dwyer 2007, p. 38
16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg2TaDmLt2o
17. Bryant & Ekstrand 2004, p. 34
18. A Hinduism, Page 8, Lynne Gibson, 2002
19. "Bhaktivedanta Vedabase Online" (https://www.vedabase.com). Bhaktivedanta Vedabase Online.
20. Gibson 2002, p. 18
21. Brzezinski, J. "Vol 6, No 2 December 1998ICJ" (https://archive.is/20130629133609/http://content.iskcon.com/icj/6_2/
62jagat.html). www.iskcon.com. Archived fromthe original (https://content.iskcon.com/icj/6_2/62jagat.html)on 2013-
06-29.
22. Laderman, Gary (2003). "ISKCON".Religion and American Cultures: An Encyclopedia of rTaditions, Diversity, and
Popular Expressions. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.ISBN 1-57607-238-X.
23. ISKON LAWBOOK, Section 4.3, International Society For Krishna Consciousness,
http://krishna.ie/images/docs/2009-10-19-IskconLawBook.pdf
, Publication October 19, 2009
24. Krishna Consciousness in the West – David G. Bromley, Prof. Larry D. Shinn, 1989, Page 149
25. Rochford, E Burke, Jr.Recruitment Strategies, Ideology, and Organization in the Hare Krishna MovementSocial
Problems Vol.29, No 4 1982
26. Hare Krishna Transformed, E. Burke Rochford, 2007. Page 67
27. "Director, Bhaktivedanta Institute, Mumbai and Berkeley" (https://web.archive.org/web/20171006114851/http://bvinst.
edu/rgomatam). Bhaktivedanta Institute. Archived fromthe original (https://www.bvinst.edu/rgomatam) on 6 October
2017. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
28. "History of Food for Life"(https://www.ffl.org/about/). ffl.org. 12 December 1995. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
29. "About Food for Life Global"(https://web.archive.org/web/20100324130526/https://www .ffl.org/ffl_about.php). Ffl.org.
Archived from the original (https://www.ffl.org/ffl_about.php) on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
30. Das Goswami, S. (1982). "Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta, Vol 4: In Every Town and Village, Around the World, 1968–71".
Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
31. Knot, Kim (https://www.leeds.ac.uk/trs/staff/kim_knott.htm) "Insider and Outsider Perceptions of Prabhupada" in
ISKCON Communications JournalVol. 5, No 1, June 1997: "In an evaluation ofthe nature of the guru, Larry Shinn, a
scholar of religions, utilised Max Weber's analysis of charisma in order to understand Prabhupada and the issue of
leadership in ISKCON. He noted that 'Prabhupada profited from two intertwined sources of authority' (1987:40), the
traditional authority of the disciplic lineage, parampara, inherited from his own guru, and his own charismatic
authority, derived from his spiritual attainment and presence ... (49) Shinn offered an analysis based on sociological
rather than spiritual (Vaishnava) authority in order to make sense of the role of guru in ISKCON and the unique
qualities of Prabhupada."See also Larry D. Shinn (1987),The Dark Lord: Cult Images and the Hare Krishnas in
America. Philadelphia: The Westview Press.available online (https://archive.is/20130629124429/http://content.iskco
n.com//icj/5_1/5_1knott.html)
32. Cole & Dwyer 2007, pp. 181–183; 30: "Out of some of his most committed disciples, Srila Prabhupada created
ISKCON's international Governing Body Commission (GBC)"
33. Maria Ekstrand; Bryant, Edwin H. (2004).The Hare Krishna movement: the postcharismatic fate of a religious
transplant. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 205. ISBN 0-231-12256-X.A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. Letter of 28 July 1970. "As we have increased our volume of activities, now I think a Governing Body
Commission (hereinafter referred to as the G.B.C.) should be established. I am getting old, 75 years old, therefore at
any time I may be out of the scene, therefore I think it is necessary to give instruction to my disciples how they shall
manage the whole institution. They are already managing individual centers represented by one president, one
secretary and one treasurer, and in my opinion they are doing nice. But we want still more improvement in the
standard of Temple management, propaganda for Krishna consciousness, distribution of books and literatures,
opening of new centers and educating devotees to the right standard."
34. See the brief essay From Master to Disciple(https://www.jswami.info/master_disciple)by Jayadvaita Swami.
35. Smith, Huston; Harry Oldmeadow (2004).Journeys East: 20th century Western encounters with Eastern religious
traditions. Bloomington, Ind: World Wisdom. p. 272. ISBN 0-941532-57-7. "Before his death Prabhupada appointed
eleven American devotees as gurus."
36. Rochford, E. Burke (1985).Hare Krishna in America. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press. p. 222.ISBN 0-
8135-1114-3. "In the months preceding his death Srila Prabhupada appointed eleven of his closest disciples to act
as initiating gurus for ISKCON"
37. Ron Rhodes (2001). Challenge of the Cults and New Religions. Zondervan. p. 179. ISBN 0-310-23217-1. "Before
Prabhupada died in 1977, he selected senior devotees who would continue to direct the organization.
"
38. Rodney Stark (1985). Religious movements. Paragon House Publishers. p. 100.ISBN 0-913757-43-8. "Satsvarupa
dasa Goswami, one of the eleven initiating gurus Bhaktivedanta appointed to succeed him "...
39. S.G.Goswami. "sdgonline.org" (https://www.sdgonline.org/). sdgonline.org. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
40. "ISKCON.NET" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090107225157/http://www .iskcon.net/perth/Biographys/ISKCON_Gur
us/Jayapataka_Swami.html#Jaya). Archived from the original (https://www.iskcon.net/perth/Biographys/ISKCON_Gu
rus/Jayapataka_Swami.html#Jaya)on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
41. "Tamal Krishna Goswami homepage"(https://www.goswami.com/). Goswami.com. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
42. Flood, G.D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. p. 272.ISBN 0-521-43878-0. "Upon
demise of Prabhupada eleven Western Gurus were selected as spiritual heads of the Hare Krsna movement, but
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External links
Official website
Works by or about ISKCONat Internet Archive
Works by or about Hare Krishnaat Internet Archive

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