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The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON),
popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a
worldwide association of devotees of Krishna, the supreme
personality of Godhead. God is known by many names according
to His different qualities and activities. In the bible he
is known as Jehovah("the almighty one"), in the
Koran as Allah("the great one"),and in the Bhagavat
-gita as Krishna, a Sanskrit name meaning "the all -attractive
one".
The movement's main purpose is to promote the well-being
of human society by teaching the science of god consciousness
(Krishna consciousness) according to the timeless Vedic scriptures
of India.
Many leading figures in the international religious and
academic community have affirmed the movement's authenticity.
Diana L.Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian
studies at Harvard University, describes the movement as "a
tradition that commands a respected place in the religious
life of humankind."
In 1965 ,his Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami, known
to his followers as srila prabhupada , brought Krishna consciousness
to America. On the day he landed in Boston, on his way to
New York City , he penned these words in his diary :"my
dear Lord Krishna, I am sure that when this transcendental
message penetrates [the hearts of the Westerners ], they will
certainly feel gladdened and thus become liberated from all
unhappy conditions of life." he was sixty -nine years
old, alone and few resources ,but the wealth of spiritual
knowledge and devotion he possessed was an unwavering source
of strength and inspiration.
"At a very advanced age ,when most people would be
resting on their laurels,"writes Harvey Cox,Harvard University
theologian and author ,"srila prabhupada harkened to
the mandate of his own spiritual teacher and set out on the
difficult and demanding voyage to America. Srila prabhupada
is, of course, only one of thousands of teachers , maybe one
in a million."
In 1966, srila Prabhupada founded the International Society
for Krishna Consciouness, which became the formal name for
the Hare Krishna movement .
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