The Hare Krishna movement is one of the most well-known new religious movements in the Western societies. It was founded in New York in 1966 by the Indian monk A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda (1896-1977). The fact that it emerged during the heyday of the countercultural protests is often invoked in the explanations of its success. This book offers a completely new account for the rise and growth of the Hare Krishna movement by analysing it from the viewpoint of cognitive science of religion. It focuses on the charisma of the founder-guru through the writings of his earliest disciples and also takes a close look at the theology and ritual practices of the movement.
Traces the growth of the Hare Krishna movement in the U.S., describes the experiences of individual followers, and analyzes recruitment patterns, activities, and leadership of the movement.
Most widely known for its adherents chanting “Hare Krishna” and distributing religious literature on the streets of American cities, the Hare Krishna movement was founded in New York City in 1965 by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Formally known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON, it is based on the Hindu Vedic scriptures and is a Western outgrowth of a popular yoga tradition which began in the 16th century. In its first generation ISKCON actively deterred marriage and the nuclear family, denigrated women, and viewed the raising of children as a distraction from devotees' spiritual responsibilities. Yet since the death of its founder in 1977, there has been a growing women’s rights movement and also a highly publicized child abuse scandal. Most strikingly, this movement has transformed into one that now embraces the nuclear family and is more accepting of both women and children, steps taken out of necessity to sustain itself as a religious movement into the next generation. At the same time, it is now struggling to contend with the consequences of its recent outreach into the India-born American Hindu community. Based on three decades of in-depth research and participant observation, Hare Krishna Transformed explores dramatic changes in this new religious movement over the course of two generations from its founding.
Combining behind-the-scenes coverage of an often besieged religious group with a personal account of one woman's struggle to find meaning in it, Betrayal of the Spirit takes readers to the center of life in the Hare Krishna movement. Nori J. Muster joined the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)--the Hare Krishnas--in 1978, shortly after the death of the movement's spiritual master, and worked for ten years as a public relations secretary and editor of the organization's newspaper, the ISKCON World Review. In this candid and critical account, Muster follows the inner workings of the movement and the Hare Krishnas' progressive decline. Combining personal reminiscences, published articles, and internal documents, Betrayal of the Spirit details the scandals that beset the Krishnas--drug dealing, weapons stockpiling, deceptive fundraising, child abuse, and murder within ISKCON–as well as the dynamics of schisms that forced some 95 percent of the group's original members to leave. In the midst of this institutional disarray, Muster continued her personal search for truth and religious meaning as an ISKCON member until, disillusioned at last with the movement's internal divisions, she quit her job and left the organization. In a new preface to the paperback edition, Muster discusses the personal circumstances that led her to ISKCON and kept her there as the movement's image worsened. She also talks about "the darkest secret"–child abuse in the ISKCON parochial schools--that was covered up by the public relations office where she worked.
DURING A SCANDAL-FILLED DECADE, after they had buried the saintly Founder of the institution, eleven "spiritual" leaders and managers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)--more commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement--(along with the Governing Body Commission which spawned them), utilized deception and collective fantasy to enact what some called "a bloodless coup." This ultimately resulted in the hijacking of a Gaudiya-Vaishnava religious institution, the banishment of dissenters, the abuse of innocents, the alienation of the public, the brutal murder of one outspoken reformer, and the near-fatal hemorrhaging of the Society. Thousands of formerly loyal members defected, were blacklisted, or, in some cases, even committed suicide. This decade-long reign of self-aggrandizement and political intrigue by the leaders appointed by the GBC, periodically characterized by strong-armed tactics, tainted the Society which had been painstakingly cultivated for more than a decade by the ISKCON Founder and spiritual preceptor, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977). After Prabhupada passed away, eleven senior disciples were installed by the GBC as his successors. Each of the eleven ruled their own zones, where they were worshiped as good as God. Known among their supporters as "The Magnificent Eleven," they claimed their orders came directly from Lord Krishna, whom devotees consider the Absolute Truth and Cause of All Causes. They also claimed that Prabhupada had appointed them as perfect and pure "Acharyas." Unfortunately they, like the main character in Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 tale of The Emperor's New Clothes, pretended to be something they were not, and were eventually revealed as frauds. The system of succession that they and the GBC established collapsed like a house built upon sand. This book chronicles the ISKCON era of the zonal-acharyas from their first appearance in 1978 through their meteoric rise to power, their ten-year reign, their fall in 1987, and beyond. For fifteen years (1978-1993), the author served as a faithful disciple of one of the zonal acharyas, and he lived through many of the events described in this book. Recently, he has interviewed major players in this drama, who have contributed important inside information to help everyone interested more fully understand this unfortunate and little-documented chapter in the history of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
The first draft of The Hare Krishna Explosion was written in July 1969 just after Srila Prabhupada’s first visit to New Vrindavan. At that time Hayagriva realized that the details of the beginnings of the Krishna Consciousness Movement had best be recorded when the events were still fresh. Working from notebooks, diaries and memories he compiled the first edition in a month. Then the manuscript remained packed away until Srila Prabhupada left the mortal world in 1977.
A critical look at widely-believed assumptions and theories held by modern scientists about the origin of life. For people who have come to accept every pronouncement of modern scientists as tested and proven truth, this book will be an eye-opener. Life Comes From Life is an impromptu but brilliant critique of some of the dominant policies, theories and presuppositions of modern science and scientists by one of the greatest philosophers and scholars of the twentieth century, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada's vivid analysis uncovers the hidden and blatantly unfounded assumptions that underlie currently fashionable doctrines about the origins and purpose of life. This book is based on taped morning-walk conversations between Srila Prabhupada and his disciple Thoudam D. Singh, Ph.D., an organic chemist.
Foreword by Klaus K. Klostermaier, PhD The Biography of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada A remarkable journey into the deepest dimensions of the human experience, Swami in a Strange Land shows how one man with a dream can change the world. In 1965, a seventy-year-old man—soon to be known as Prabhupada—set sail from India to America with a few books in his bag, pennies in his pockets, and a message of love in his heart. He landed in New York at the peak of the revolutionary counterculture movement of the ’60s, and went on to spark a global spiritual renaissance that led to the creation of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which has changed millions of lives. Through the depiction of Prabhupada as both an enlightened luminary and a personable, funny, and conscientious individual, Swami in a Strange Land shows why cultural icons such as George Harrison and Allen Ginsberg incorporated Prabhupada’s teachings into their lives, and why millions more around the globe embarked upon the pa th of bhakti yoga in his footsteps. Carefully researched, skillfully crafted, and extraordinarily intimate, this narrative follows Prabhupada as he rises from an anonymous monk to a world-renowned spiritual leader. Set in locations as far ranging as remote Himalayan caves and the gilded corridors of Paris’s City Hall, this book traces the rise of Eastern spirituality in the West—and in particular, the rise of yoga culture and vegetarianism and the concepts of karma and reincarnation. JOSHUA M. GREENE has produced films for PBS and Disney, has served as vice president for New York’s largest PR rm, and was appointed director of strategic planning for the United Nations Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. He was also an adjunct professor at Hofstra University in New York. “Joshua Greene reveals the true, thrilling adventure story of Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada...” —SHARON GANNON, author and co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga “Overflowing from his heart was a treasure of spiritual love that he yearned to share with the world. And miraculously, he did—within a few years Prabhupada had inspired a movement that spread across the planet. ” —RADHANATH SWAMI , author, The Journey Home
A Summary Study of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita Taking the role of His own devotee, Lord Sri Krishna appeared as Sri Krishna Chaitanya about five centuries ago in Bengal, India, and began a great social and spiritual revolution that has profoundly affected the lives of millions worldwide. His conversations with the great scholars, kings, and mystics of the day form the basis of Teachings of Lord Chaitanya.
"To most people, the words 'Hare Krishna' conjure images of robed monks with shaven heads singing and dancing, or selling copies of the Bhagavad Gita in the streets. These were indeed iconic of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in its early years. Over the nearly half-century of its existence, however, the organization has changed considerably in order to remain relevant as the world around it has changed. In this volume, nine scholars, all of whom have had years of first-hand experiences with ISKCON, evaluate its successes and failures in adapting to new social and demographic circumstances while struggling to remain true to its original intentions, and offer insights into new directions that it may take in the future."--P. [4] of cover.
