krishna culture festival tour

Krishna Culture Festival Tour

Saturday, september 8, 2007.

• Final Installment: Vancouver to Alachua

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Los angeles to vancouver.

• ISKCONyouth.com

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Radha Krishna Temple in Utah

Krishna culture tour kicks off cycle of inspiration.

By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON News on 28 May 2010 The Krishna Culture Festival Tour is in its sixteenth year. From June 23rd till August 23rd this summer, 28 ISKCON youth from countries as diverse as Poland, England, Bolivia, Canada, and the US will travel 16,000 miles on the Krishna Culture Festival Tour, visiting every state and province in North America.

The Krishna Culture Festival Tour is in its sixteenth year. From June 23rd till August 23rd this summer, 28 ISKCON youth from countries as diverse as Poland, England, Bolivia, Canada, and the US will travel 16,000 miles on the Krishna Culture Festival Tour, visiting every state and province in North America.

Youth will play a major part in no less than 34 festivals this year, the Tour’s sixteenth. Seven of these will be Ratha-Yatras— the cart festival in honor of Lord Jagannath originated in Puri, India—which the youth will set up and take down themselves and perform the entertainment for. The rest—cultural shows held at university auditoriums, theaters, temples, and yoga studios across the country—will be organized in full by the youth.

“Although we’ve visited yoga studios before during our winter tour in Mexico, this is the first time we will be doing so during our summer tour,” says organizer Manu Dasa. “As well as performing at studios in Texas, Ontario, Canada, and Denver, Colorado, we’ll also visit one in Helena, the capital of Montana, where there is no temple and most people have probably never even heard of Hare Krishnas. We try to reach out to new people unfamiliar with Krishna consciousness as much as possible.”

“By the end of our show, people are dancing and calling out to the Lord with their arms in the air,” Manu says. “Upon leaving the auditorium, they’re greeted by youth at our book table who present them with Srila Prabhupada’s books, which the show is based on. Next, they’re handed plates of sumptuous, healthy vegetarian food prepared by veteran ISKCON chef Apurva Dasa, who will be traveling with us throughout the tour.”

Every year, the response from audiences has been enthusiastic. “It blows their minds—it’s like nothing they’ve ever seen before,” says Manu. “They love the chanting, the uplifting energy, and our international cast. Usually because our show is about Indian culture they’re expecting Indian youth, but what they see is United Colors of the Spiritual World!”

It’s not just audiences that benefit spiritually. The tour will stop at every ISKCON temple along the way, with youth waking up to a different morning program at a different temple almost every day, and seeing the incredible variety of beautiful deities and temples across the country.

Tour participants will also associate with and render service to the devotees at each temple, gaining inspiration from the dedicated few who staff them (many temples in the US are run by only four devotees or less), as well as learning from senior devotees including Radhanatha Swami and ISKCON pioneer Yamuna Dasi.

Some senior devotees will also hop onto the bus with the youth for sections of the tour, including Jayadvaita Swami and Partha Sarathi Dasa, who served as a US sergeant in the Iraq war. An enthusiastic book distributor who had soldiers at his base holding morning programs and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, he inspires youth to distribute books with him whenever he joins the tour.

Bhakti Marg Swami will also hop on board for a few days to fine tune the Krishna Culture show’s drama with his professional touch, while in California youth will attend a one week japa meditation retreat led by Giriraja Swami.

“Our motto is: Serve to Love, Love to Serve,” explains Manu. “We request everyone joining the tour to leave all material things behind, and to absorb themselves one hundred per cent in devotional service for two months. And hopefully they’ll come off the end of those two months with a feeling of intense spiritual high. I usually don’t like the word ‘retreat,’ because it means ‘going back’ in Latin. But in a way the bus tour is a retreat—we’re retreating from material life and advancing in spiritual life.”

Of course, the youth will also have plenty of good, clean, natural fun throughout the tour. They’ll swim in the Pacific Ocean, hike in the Canadian Rockies at Banff National Park, and see the Grand Canyon. They’ll camp at Gatineau National Park in Canada for three nights, canoeing, swimming in fresh water lakes, camping under the stars, and building giant bonfires at night. And they’ll take the perfect natural bath at Yellowstone National Park. “It’s a hotspot for volcanic activity, so there’s hot thermal pools and geysers everywhere,” Manu says. “There’s one place where a hot river flows into a cold river beneath a little waterfall—now that’s the perfect way to get clean in the morning!”

Participants in this year’s tour will also have a special privilege to look forward to—taking Krishna Culture’s brand new bus, Garuda 3, on its maiden voyage. Still under warranty, with only 4,000 miles on the clock, and a brand new engine and transmission, the MCI J4500 Greyhound-style bus is ready for adventure. It’s been optimized for motor-home conversion, and has better suspension and shock absorbers than its predecessor for a smoother, more comfortable ride. “We drive through the night often,” Manu says. “And with this bus, everyone will get a better night’s sleep.”

The front of the bus will have bunk beds for its drivers on one side, with a row of seats for those who want to chant in the early mornings without disturbing their tour mates on the other. There will also be a beautiful new altar custom-made by Akuti Dasi for the tour’s Gaura Nitai deities, behind which a door will open into the main cabin full of bunk beds that will fold up to become couches during the day.

“We’re now on our fourth bus conversion, so we’ve learned a lot,” Manu says. “This time around, we’ve made everything more roomy and comfortable. There’ll be individual reading lights and air conditioning for each bunk, cell-phone charging stations, and separate showers and toilets for the boys and girls. This bus will also be kitted out with a slightly larger kitchen than its predecessor, complete with a giant two-burner stove, kitchen counter, sink, and spice racks.”

And the results show that it’s worth it. “One tour alumni observed to us that the ‘bus tour generation’—or those who had gone on the tour year after year—were more connected to Krishna consciousness, their community, and their temple than other generations of ISKCON youth,” says Manu. “Every year, they come off the tour completely spiritually recharged and inspired, and then they inspire other youth at their temple or community. It’s a cycle of inspiration!”

krishna culture festival tours (1)

North America Youth Bus Tour Filling Up Fast by Thomas Haribol

Since 1995, ISKCON Youth Ministry volunteers have led the Krishna Culture Festival Tours (aka Youth Bus Tours) across North America to inspire youth in Krishna consciousness. Hare Krsna youth (18-29) are invited to apply for this year’s immersive Bhakti-yoga adventure, which will take place in the US and Canada from June 30-August 14, 2023.

“The mission of ISKCON Youth Ministry bus tours is to inspire, train, engage and empower youth in Krishna consciousness to their fullest potential, through

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The Spiritual Life

“Windows To Spirituality”

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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 organization was formed to spread the practice of  Bhakti yoga , the practice of love of God in which those involved ( bhaktas ) dedicate their thoughts and actions towards pleasing  Krishna , the Supreme Lord. Its most rapid expansions in membership as of 2007 have been within India and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in Russia, Ukraine, and the rest of the ex-Soviet aligned states of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Today, it has around a million congregational members worldwide including 15 000 in the United Kingdom as of June 2019, and despite the “relatively small number of followers in the West (around a few thousand fulltime practitioners)”, it has been described as influential.

History and belief

Further information:  Achintya Bheda Abheda  and  Gaudiya Vaishnavism

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 Odisha, for the past five hundred years. Gaudiya Vaishnavism was founded by the saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who rapidly spread his form of ecstatic  bhakti (devotion) throughout Bengal. He established Sankirtan, the practice of publicly expressing devotion to Lord Krishna, the Supreme God, through dance and song. This form of communal worship responded to rigid caste structures by engaging all people in worship regardless of caste and creed. Chaitanya emphasized chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra (the ‘great mantra’). He is considered by Gaudiya Vaishnavas to be an incarnation of Krishna himself.

A temple of unparalled beauty for the worship of transcendental brothers Krishna and Balram in the same village where they played more then 5000 years ago.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada brought Chaitanya’s Gaudiya Vaishnavism to the West in 1965. At 69 years old, he landed in New York without any money. Instead of preaching to New York’s elite, he tapped into the 1960s countercultural spirit by preaching and chanting in public parks and attracting hippies and the youth. His movement, then known as the “Hare Krishna Movement”, grew even larger when he relocated to San Francisco a year later. When it spread to England, it gained publicity and financial backing from the Beatle George Harrison. He recorded several tracks with the Hare Krishnas and included the Mahamantra in his hit track “My Sweet Lord”. The first Hare Krishna commune, New Vrindavan (West Virginia), was established by Prabhupada in 1968. Since then, ISKCON has established more than 600 centers all over the world and has millions of followers.

Key to the spread of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology in the Western world was Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s extensive writings and translations, including the  Bhagavad Gita As It Is ,  Srimad Bhagavatam  ( Bhagavata Purana ),  Chaitanya Charitamrita , and other scriptures. These works are now available in more than seventy languages and serve as the scriptures of ISKCON.

Statue of Srila Prabhupada founder of ISKCON.

ISKCON describes Krishna as the source of all the avatars of God. Thus ISKCON devotees worship Krishna as the highest form of God,  svayam bhagavan , and often refer to him as  t he 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 a non-dual consciousness (Brahman) as believed by the monistic (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 a monotheistic tradition which has its roots in the theistic Vedanta traditions.

The most famous and publicly recognizable ISKCON practice is kirtan , or sankirtan, a congregational chanting or singing of the Hare Krishna mantra. It’s both a way to express devotion to God and a way to attract newcomers to the movement. Devotees gather in public, in streets and parks, to sing the mantra accompanied by instruments like the mridanga, hand cymbals, and the harmonium. During the 1970s ISKCON entered the public eye because of this practice. Devotees would sing, distribute books, and proselytize in airports and other public areas, often obtrusively. Sankirtan continues throughout the world today, but in a less confrontational manner.

Other important religious practice within ISKCON and Gaudiya Vaishnavism is japa, or the meditative practice of repeatedly chanting the names of Krishna on a rosary. It’s considered the only way for salvation for people in the current age. Prabhupada established a standard for initiated devotees to chant sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna a day. Each round requires chanting the  mahamantra  108 times on prayer beads, with sixteen rounds being 1728 repetitions and taking around two hours.

Another important practice in ISKCON is arati (also called puja). In arati, devotees offer water, incense, a fire lamp, and flowers to a murti, a sacred statue or image of Krishna. This is accompanied by prayers and devotional songs called bhajans. Practitioners may perform  aarti at their own home or congregate at a temple to join in the ceremony. Along with this worship, devotees will bathe the murti, dress it, offer it food, and even put it to sleep. By doing arati and serving the murti, devotees aim to deepen their relationship with Krishna.

ISKCON devotees meet regularly (typically on Sunday at a program known as the Sunday Feast) to worship deities, listen to discourses by senior devotees, participate in kirtan and eat sanctified offered food.

Pancha-Tattva deities: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda, Advaita Acharya, Gadadhara and Srivasa, installed in a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple

Four Regulative Principles

During initiation (diksha) ISKCON devotees vow to follow four basic rules and regulations, They are-

• to follow a lacto-vegetarian diet
• not to consume any intoxicants (alcohol, cigarettes or drugs)
• not to gamble
• not to engage in ‘illicit sex’.

Besides weekly gatherings, devotees within the ISKCON movement celebrate a diverse array of Hindu festivals, including Janmashtami, Radhashtami, Diwali, Gaura Purnima, Ekadasi, Holi, Rama Navami and Gita Jayanti.

The Ratha Yatra Festival of Chariots is an annual parade whereby devotees chant and dance on the street, pulling a chariot with the deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra behind them. This public procession is typically followed by performances and free vegetarian food.

ISKCON advocates preaching. Members try to spread Krishna consciousness primarily by singing the Hare Krishna mantra in public places and by selling books written by the founder.

A study conducted by E. Burke Rochford Jr. at the University of California found 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.

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.

Centres worldwide

India has the highest density of ISKCON centres in the world, with over 150 temples, 12 state-recognized educational institutions, 25 affiliated and non-affiliated restaurants, and a number of tourist and pilgrimage hotels. It is also home to Govardhan Eco-Village, an ayurvedic treatment and retreat centre near Mumbai. ISKCON India has been known to espouse more traditional orthodox Vedic values than its Western counterparts.

Shri Mayapur Chandroya Mandir Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, Mayapur

Set to be completed in 2022, the Sri Mayapur Chandroya Mandir in West Bengal is built in the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the founder of the Gaudiya-Vaishnava lineage of Hinduism. The temple itself currently sits at 425 000 square feet and is 340 feet tall, and is surrounded by accompanying lodges, shops, residences, educational centres, and gardens. The project cost an estimated $75 million, with its’ major investor being Alfred B. Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford. The complex ‘s main attraction is a planetarium based on Vedic cosmology as well as exhibitions about the Vedic arts, sciences and culture as described in the Srimad Bhagvatam. After completion, the temple will be the biggest in the world, second to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir, Vrindavan

Located in the Raman Reti area of Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, the temple was built in the original village where the spiritual figures Krishna and Balarama are said to have resided in the Vedic period of Indian history. It is built in close proximity to other holy sites such as the village of Gokul, Govardhana Hill, the Mathura palace, and various holy lakes. As a result, ISKCON Vrindavan is a common pilgrimage site for followers of the Krishna Conscious movement. The complex is home to a guesthouse, a museum, gift shops, a restaurant, a bakery, a broadcast studio as well as a marble temple hall. The temple is also affiliated with the Vrindavan Institute of Higher Education.

Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, Bangalore

Overseen by ISKCON Bangalore, the VCM is currently under construction and slated to be the tallest religious monument in the world, featuring a helipad, theme park, museum, accommodation, wooded and park area and temple.

Sri Sri Parthasarathi Mandir, New Delhi

The temple complex houses the Glory of India Vedic Cultural Centre which is a set of  interactive educational exhibits, as well as the world’s largest printed religious book, known as the “Astounding Bhagavad Gita”.

There are over 135 ISKCON-affiliated temples and cultural centres in Europe. The ISKCON movement in Europe is home to a number of rural and farming communities, including Nueva Vrajamandala in Spain, La Nouvelle Mayapura in France and Villa Vrindavan in Italy.

Radhadesh, Belgium

The Radhadesh temple in Durbuy, Belgium is home to Bhaktivedanta College, which opened in 2002 to provide ministerial and spiritual education for students, offering degrees and certificates online and on campus in Vaishnava theology externally validated by the University of Chester.

The Radhadesh temple is also home to Radhadesh Mellows, an annual kirtan retreat.

Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford

A landscaped property featuring gardens, lakes, a school, farm, numerous temple and housing buildings, accommodations and a bakery, the property for Bhaktivedanta Manor was donated by George Harrison of the Beatles and is on the National Heritage List for England. The houses on the property, including the temple, are built in the mock-Tudor mansion style of the 1800s.

Bhaktivedanta Manor is also home to the London College of Vedic Studies, and is the birthplace of the Avanti Schools Trust, a sponsor of state-funded primary and secondary schools that provides both non-denominational and Hindu-faith education throughout the UK.

Demographically, devotees in Europe are majority ethnic Europeans. An exception can be made with the demographics of devotees in the United Kingdom, which caters to the Indian immigrant population, mirroring the demographics of most North American centres.

North and South America

There are 56 formally affiliated ISKCON centres in the United States. Notable centres include New Raman Reti in Alachua, FL and The Radha Kalachandji Temple in Dallas, TX. Hare Krishna-affiliated full-time communities include New Vrindaban in West Virginia, and Gita Nagari Eco Farm and Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. There are various other centres in the United States that promote Krishna Conscious culture without being formally affiliated with ISKCON, including The Bhakti Center in New York City. The ISKCON Dallas temple is affiliated with the nearby TKG Academy, which provides private school academic education with additional Vedic-based courses.

There are 12 ISKCON centres in Canada, including the self-sustaining Saranagati Eco Village in BC. There are 5 formally affiliated ISKCON centres in Mexico.

There are 60 affiliated ISKCON temples in South America, with most congregations located in Argentina and Brazil. There are also a number of devotee-run farming communities throughout Latin America.

Asia, Africa and Australasia

Asia is home to over 80 ISKCON affiliated centres, with most being located in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. There are 31 additional centres in Russia, as Vaishnava Hinduism represents one of the largest denominations of faith in the country.

There are 69 affiliated ISKCON centres in Africa, four of which are rural farming communities and three of which are educational centres. ISKCON Durban hosts the world’s largest Ratha Yatra Chariot Festival outside of India.

There are six ISKCON centres including one farming village in Australia and four temple centres in New Zealand. The Hare Krishna Temple in Christchurch, New Zealand, distributed free meals to mourners and the local Muslim community after a mosque shooting in March 2019.

Kirtan and music influence

The practice of mantra meditation, also known as kirtan, is prominent in the ISKCON movement. Dedicated kirtan festivals are held annually around the world, such as the Sadhu Sanga Retreat in Boone, North Carolina, Kirtan 50 in Dallas, Texas, and Radhadesh Mellows, in Durbuy, Belgium. Notable  kirtaneers include Jahnavi Harrison, Gaura Vani, and the Mayapuris, who have all released kirtan albums. Kirtan sessions are also held outside of temple settings, including at local university “Bhakti Clubs”, mantra lounges, and at yoga and wellness festivals.

Full theatrical performances have been produced based on the Vedic mythologies. Prominent performance companies include Viva Kultura and Vande Arts.

Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is one of the four tenets of ISKCON.

With respect to AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s focus on food distribution, many ISKCON devotees have opened vegan and vegetarian eateries based on the Vedic non-violent eating principles. These include the informal “Govindas’” food chain, Doughnut Plant, Divya’s Kitchen NYC and OmNom Enlightened Eating.

Not all restaurants opened by ISKCON members are officially affiliated with ISKCON, although many Govindas’ restaurants or catering businesses operate out of the main temple center.

Charitable projects

Cow protection and iscowp.

ISCOWP (International Society for Cow Protection) was designed to “present alternatives to agricultural and dietary practices that support and depend upon the meat and dairy industries’ slaughter of innocent animals, specifically the cow”. Their philosophy of “compassionate cow protection” stems from the Hindu Vedic value of ahimsa, or non-violence, and the deity Krishna’s affection for cows and butter. ISCOWP believes that “the tenets of cow protection are universal and non-sectarian, available to all regardless of race, creed, or nationality”.

ISKCON has a number of cow protection farms and centres known as “goshalas” around the world in farming communities and temples. In 2018, Gita Nagari Eco Farm and Sanctuary was the only USDA-Certified slaughter-free dairy production facility in the United States.

ISKCON Tribal Care Trust

ISKCON Tribal Care Trust (ITCT) is an ISKCON affiliate which aims at providing socio-economic development to the tribal people. The trust has set up schools and potable water sources for the tribal people They also distribute blankets and study materials to the tribal communities.

Food For Life Global

Main articles:  Hare Krishna Food for Life  and  ISKCON Food Relief Foundation

Managed by ISKCON devotees but ultimately unaffiliated with the ISKCON movement, Food For Life Global is a not-for-profit vegan food relief organization with 211 international affiliates. The organization predicts Food for Life volunteers distribute 2,000,000 free meals daily through outreach to the homeless, school lunch programs, orphanages and for victims of natural disasters. Notable missions include food distribution during the Chechen Wars and during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

There is internal debate as to whether food distribution efforts should be required to include religious preaching, prayer or book distribution, but as of 2020 this is not mandated by the organization. However, food distributed in these missions, as per customs of the ISKCON movement, is often offered to temple deities prior to distribution.

Management structure

Bhaktivedanta Swami spent much of the last decade of his life setting up the institution of ISKCON.

The Governing Body Commission (or GBC) was created by him in 1970. In a document  Direction of Management written on 28 July 1970 Prabhupada appointed twelve members to the commission, all of them non-sannyasi, including Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, Hansadutta Swami, and Tamala Krishna Goswami. The letter outlined the 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 grown in size to include 48 senior members from the movement who make decisions based on consensus of opinion.

Succession of teachings

Main article:  ISKCON guru system

ISKCON’s founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada claimed to belong 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.

Specialty programming

Youth ministry.

Most ISKCON temples offer Sunday School services for children of devotees during the weekly program. The curriculum of these classes may vary by location.

ISKCON Pandava Sena

Based out of Bhaktivedanta Manor of Watford UK, ISKCON Pandava Sena is a youth organization that aims to “connect like-minded souls to the timeless philosophy of the Vedas”. The organization started in 1994 and is now composed of a variety of professionals and university students that host annual international mentorship and reunion retreats and weekly social gatherings.

Pandava Sena has also established “KCSocs” or “Krishna Conscious Societies” across 30 universities in the UK, bringing spirituality-based programming to students and working professionals. Many universities have similar student groups featuring youth from local ISKCON temples congregating for yoga, vegan food, or mantra meditation based on the KCSoc model.

The Sanga Initiative is a similar organization that is based in the United States and hosts an annual youth retreat and camping trip for ISKCON children called Camp Ignite.

Youth Bus Tour

Also known as the Krishna Culture Festival Tours, these tours occur multiple times a year and invite students and young professionals in the bhakti tradition to take cultural performances and services to various locations, including Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Mexico, Australia, China, Scandinavia, and Canada. There are various age and gender-specific groups available for tour participation.

ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry

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. While some of its leaders advocate that women should take public leadership roles, other leaders disagree, and maintain that “traditional” roles for women are more appropriate. They fear an undesirable influence of secular feminism within ISKCON.

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. 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.

Since mother is the most respected position in Vedic culture, women within the Hare Krishna community are all viewed as mothers, especially by celibate male members  brahmacharis . “Mother is a term of respect for women in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and is often prefixed to the Sanskrit name they receive in initiation. Even unmarried women are referred to as mothers”.

After years of discussion and reforms, a general consensus emerged to accept women as leaders and initiators in ISKCON. In 1998 Malati Devi Dasi became the first woman appointed to the GBC. The second woman leader, Dina Sharana, was selected in 2009.

An updated document was released by the GBC in 2019 stating that it was permissible for women to become initiating gurus within the ISKCON movement.

The Ministry was developed to account for the growing interest of female devotees to partake in temple practices and ensure representation in decision making.

ISKCON Child Protection Office

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. ISKCON had to later file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Known as the Turley Case, the eventual 2008 settlement was $15 million.

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 regularly beaten at school, denied medical care, and sexually molested and raped.

The  ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection was established by the GBC in 1997, and in 2005, released its first official Child Protection Policy and Procedure Guidelines. The CPO has provided Child Protection Information Training to over 500 child care providers within the organization internationally and continues to file and review reports on local Child Protection Teams. The Child Protection Policy and Procedure Guidelines was revised and ratified by the GBC in June 2018.

Significant Organizations

• The  Grihastha Vision Team provides premarital, parenting and family counselling services to members of any Vaishnava community. The team is made up of volunteers who are mental health and/or educational professionals outside of the religious community.
• The  Bhaktivedanta Medical Associations’ mission is to ”connect and inspire all devotees within the medical profession; to improve our practice of Krishna consciousness; to assist one another to improve our service to Srila Prabhupada: and the expand Krishna consciousness among medical professionals.” Based in the US, the BMA hosts an annual medical conference for physicians and medical students with accredited North American hospitals and medical schools. Areas of interest include ayurvedic and natural health, mental health, physician burnout, meditation research, and dietary research.
• Started in 2002,  ISKCON Resolve is a “neutral, confidential and informal” conflict-resolution service for ISKCON congregation members and leaders. Services provided include ombudsman services, conflict mediation services, and self-help tools.
• The  I SKCON Domestic Abuse Coalition’ s mission is “to raise awareness of [domestic abuse] within ISKCON and provide valuable resources for victims, leadership and the community at large.” The group formed in 2019 to release a statement denouncing all forms of domestic violence and mistreatment of women within the ISKCON movement.

Relationship with other Religions

ISKCON has a friendly relationship with other Religious societies seeing them as contributing in inculcating spiritual values in people.

In a historic first, ISKCON brought together the four Vaishnava Sampradayas for a Sankirtan festival in the year 2015.

It also has been organizing Vaishnava-Christian dialogues in the West for over 30 years to explore common ground between the two personalistic faiths. In India they have been organized from 2015 onwards.

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. ISKCON has also been scrutinised by some anti-cult movements.

• 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 in India 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.
• 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.
• In 2016, Swaroopanand Saraswati accused ISKCON of money laundering. He claimed that ISKCON institutions are being used to send money donated by Indians from India to foreign countries like the US. He also said that ISKCON’s aim was not religion and spirituality but something else. He said that if ISKCON is trying to propagate religion, it should have built temples in Assam and Chhattisgarh where there were fewer numbers of temples.
• Kirtanananda Swami, or Swami Bhaktipada, a leader of ISKCON, was expelled from the organisation in 1987 for various deviations; he 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. Kirtanananda is no longer considered a bonafide ISKCON initiating guru by the movement. The case placed a spotlight on New Vrindaban, which by then had nearly 500 members, making it the largest and most famous Hare Krishna community in the United States at that time.
• In the 1990s ISKCON faced accusations of child abuse, and its leaders acknowledged physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children who were sent to live in the movement’s boarding schools in the United States and India in the 1970s and 1980s. Several safety regulations and subcommittees, such as ISKCON Resolve and the ISKCON Child Protection Office, have been developed since these allegations to ensure that legal rights as well as the health and safety of devotees are protected.

ISKCON is banned in Singapore. It has also been called for banning in Bangladesh by the Hefazat-e-Islam organisation.

Persecution

• From 1971-1989, ISKCON devotees were jailed and beaten for performing their faith in public by the KGB. Details of the struggle of devotees to maintain their religious practices amidst Soviet policies have been fictionalized in the play “A Taste of Salted Bread”.
• In 2006, a bomb blast occurred in the Iskcon Imphal in Manipur. In the bomb blast 5 devotees died and a further 50 were injured.
• In 2007, the Kazakhstan government authorities demolished 25 homes belonging to the ISKCON members in Sri Vrindavan Dham commune in Almaty, on the grounds that they were illegal constructions.
• In 2009, an orphanage run by the ISKCON Chittagong (Sri Sri Radha Madhava Mandir) in Bangladesh was attacked by unknown men. The gang vandalised furniture and a statue in the orphanage and beat the devotees. They also tried to take control of the temple and the orphanage.
• In 2015, the ISKCON Dinajpur in Bangladesh was attacked by Jama’atul Mujahideen of Bangladesh terrorists.The terrorists opened fire and at least two people were injured in the attack.
• In 2016, the Iskcon Sylhet in Bangladesh was attacked by Muslims and at least ten people were injured in that attack.
• In 2018, the gate of the ISKCON Temple in Curitiba, Brazil was targeted by unknown perpetrators. The painting of Krishna with his mother Yashoda was defaced.
• In 2018, Rath yatra organised by ISKCON Dhaka in Bangladesh was attacked by a group of people, leaving six devotees injured.
• In 2020, the banned terrorist organisation Ansar al-Islam planned an attack on the ISKCON Dhaka but police arrested them.
• Indian religions

Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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By madhava smullen   |  may 29, 2010.

From June 23rd till August 23rd this summer, 28 ISKCON youth from countries as diverse as Poland, England, Bolivia, Canada, and the US will travel 16,000 miles on the Krishna Culture Festival Tour, visiting every state and province in North America.

Youth will play a major part in no less than 34 festivals this year, the Tour’s sixteenth. Seven of these will be Ratha-Yatras— the cart festival in honor of Lord Jagannath originated in Puri, India—which the youth will set up and take down themselves and perform the entertainment for. The rest—cultural shows held at university auditoriums, theaters, temples, and yoga studios across the country—will be organized in full by the youth.

“Although we’ve visited yoga studios before during our winter tour in Mexico, this is the first time we will be doing so during our summer tour,” says organizer Manu Dasa. “As well as performing at studios in Texas, Ontario, Canada, and Denver, Colorado, we’ll also visit one in Helena, the capital of Montana, where there is no temple and most people have probably never even heard of Hare Krishnas. We try to reach out to new people unfamiliar with Krishna consciousness as much as possible.”

The Krishna Culture show is tailored to such an audience, featuring traditional Bharat Natyam dances, Bhagavad-gita based drama The Three Modes of Nature, and an audio visual presentation on sacred sound, followed by a guided mantra meditation intended to get people in the mood for kirtan.

“By the end of our show, people are dancing and calling out to the Lord with their arms in the air,” Manu says. “Upon leaving the auditorium, they’re greeted by youth at our book table who present them with Srila Prabhupada’s books, which the show is based on. Next, they’re handed plates of sumptuous, healthy vegetarian food prepared by veteran ISKCON chef Apurva Dasa, who will be traveling with us throughout the tour.”

Every year, the response from audiences has been enthusiastic. “It blows their minds—it’s like nothing they’ve ever seen before,” says Manu. “They love the chanting, the uplifting energy, and our international cast. Usually because our show is about Indian culture they’re expecting Indian youth, but what they see is United Colors of the Spiritual World!”

It’s not just audiences that benefit spiritually. The tour will stop at every ISKCON temple along the way, with youth waking up to a different morning program at a different temple almost every day, and seeing the incredible variety of beautiful deities and temples across the country.

Tour participants will also associate with and render service to the devotees at each temple, gaining inspiration from the dedicated few who staff them (many temples in the US are run by only four devotees or less), as well as learning from senior devotees including Radhanatha Swami and ISKCON pioneer Yamuna Dasi.

Some senior devotees will also hop onto the bus with the youth for sections of the tour, including Jayadvaita Swami and Partha Sarathi Dasa, who served as a US sergeant in the Iraq war. An enthusiastic book distributor who had soldiers at his base holding morning programs and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, he inspires youth to distribute books with him whenever he joins the tour.

Bhakti Marg Swami will also hop on board for a few days to fine tune the Krishna Culture show’s drama with his professional touch, while in California youth will attend a one week japa meditation retreat led by Giriraja Swami.

Youth will also stop at the rural community Gita Nagari, where they’ll spend two days fixing up, cleaning, and painting the farm’s cow barns as this year’s contribution to the tour’s now famous “makeover” project.

“Our motto is: Serve to Love, Love to Serve,” explains Manu. “We request everyone joining the tour to leave all material things behind, and to absorb themselves one hundred per cent in devotional service for two months. And hopefully they’ll come off the end of those two months with a feeling of intense spiritual high. I usually don’t like the word ‘retreat,’ because it means ‘going back’ in Latin. But in a way the bus tour is a retreat—we’re retreating from material life and advancing in spiritual life.”

Of course, the youth will also have plenty of good, clean, natural fun throughout the tour. They’ll swim in the Pacific Ocean, hike in the Canadian Rockies at Banff National Park, and see the Grand Canyon. They’ll camp at Gatineau National Park in Canada for three nights, canoeing, swimming in fresh water lakes, camping under the stars, and building giant bonfires at night. And they’ll take the perfect natural bath at Yellowstone National Park. “It’s a hotspot for volcanic activity, so there’s hot thermal pools and geysers everywhere,” Manu says. “There’s one place where a hot river flows into a cold river beneath a little waterfall—now that’s the perfect way to get clean in the morning!”

Participants in this year’s tour will also have a special privilege to look forward to—taking Krishna Culture’s brand new bus, Garuda 3, on its maiden voyage. Still under warranty, with only 4,000 miles on the clock, and a brand new engine and transmission, the MCI J4500 Greyhound-style bus is ready for adventure. It’s been optimized for motor-home conversion, and has better suspension and shock absorbers than its predecessor for a smoother, more comfortable ride. “We drive through the night often,” Manu says. “And with this bus, everyone will get a better night’s sleep.”

With only three weeks until the tour’s starting date, volunteer carpenters, plumbers, and electricians from ISKCON Youth Ministry’s home in Alachua, Florida are working around the clock to outfit the bus for its trip.

The front of the bus will have bunk beds for its drivers on one side, with a row of seats for those who want to chant in the early mornings without disturbing their tour mates on the other. There will also be a beautiful new altar custom-made by Akuti Dasi for the tour’s Gaura Nitai deities, behind which a door will open into the main cabin full of bunk beds that will fold up to become couches during the day.

“We’re now on our fourth bus conversion, so we’ve learned a lot,” Manu says. “This time around, we’ve made everything more roomy and comfortable. There’ll be individual reading lights and air conditioning for each bunk, cell-phone charging stations, and separate showers and toilets for the boys and girls. This bus will also be kitted out with a slightly larger kitchen than its predecessor, complete with a giant two-burner stove, kitchen counter, sink, and spice racks.”

Youth aged 16 to 25 still have time to apply for the tour, which costs $967 for one month, and $1,933 for two. Although this price will just about cover the cost of the tour—in fact, Manu and his co-organizer and wife Jaya Radhe often have to subsidize with their own money—it’s hard for youth to afford in today’s economy.

“We encourage temples and individuals to sponsor youth or pay a percentage of the cost so that they can go on the tour,” says Manu. “We have three buses, and if everyone could afford it, we could potentially give 75 youth this experience every year.”

And the results show that it’s worth it. “One tour alumni observed to us that the ‘bus tour generation’—or those who had gone on the tour year after year—were more connected to Krishna consciousness, their community, and their temple than other generations of ISKCON youth,” says Manu. “Every year, they come off the tour completely spiritually recharged and inspired, and then they inspire other youth at their temple or community. It’s a cycle of inspiration!”

To apply to join the Krishna Culture Festival Tour this year, please visit Krishna.com/bustour.

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Must-see list

These monuments are recognized by UNESCO and included in the World Heritage List . They are essential tourist destinations in Vladimir.

Further destinations

From Vladimir, you can easily reach any place in Vladimir Oblast , and the trip should not take more than 3-3.5 hours. Below, the nearest destinations are listed:

• Bogolyubovo – a village near Vladimir with remarkable white-stone monuments from 12th century. The must-see destination for any traveller coming to Vladimir.
• Suzdal – the pretty, but quaint, world heritage site. Suzdal supplements Vladimir in the UNESCO list and presents lots of architectural sights from 13th-17th centuries.
• Yuryev-Polsky – another part of the Golden Ring , a very provincial town with a nice and unusual white-stone cathedral dating back to 13th century.
• Gus-Khrustalny – the town at the crystal factory. The local crystalware is really remarkable and compares to the international brands. Additionally, the town is a gateway to one of the few active networks of narrow-gauge railways in Central Russia.
• Vyazniki – a remarkable town with several ancient churches, interesting secular buildings, and a really splendid viewpoint on the hill above the Klyazma river. Vyazniki is close to Mstyora , a famous region of handicrafts, including miniature painting and magnificent emroidery.
• Sudogda – some people say that this is one of the most typical provincial towns in Central Russia. Sudogda preserves the complex of provincial buildings from 19th century and sufficiently reflects the present state of Russian province.
• Kovrov – an industrial area and the second largest city of Vladimir region. Kovrov does not have any popular tourist attractions, but a number of buildings from late 19th – early 20th century are remarkable.
• Lakinsk and Sobinka – small industrial towns to the west from Vladimir with several notable buildings from late 19th – early 20th century.

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