Other Sects and Teachers

International Society for Krishna Consciousness

    This is a modern day offshoot of a religious movement in Hinduism that emphasized devotion to Krishna. This movement boasts a lineage of spiritual masters extending all the way back to the Hindu mystic Caitanya (1485-1533 AD). Caitanya taught that Vishnu was actually an incarnation of Krishna and that Lord Krishna is the highest expression of the Godhead. He also interpreted the legends of Krishna and his main lover, Radha (the wife of another cowherder) as being symbolic of the ecstatic love existing between God and the soul of the devotee.

     In 1922 a philosophy and economics major at the University of Calcutta named Abhay Charan De was initiated into this vein of mystical thought. He was greatly influenced by an Indian sage named Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saroswati Gosvami Maharaj, who was spearheading a revival of devotion to Krishna in the early 1900’s. Later on, at the age of 58, Abhay Charan De left his wife, his five children and his thriving pharmaceutical business to carry this message to the Western world. He became known as His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON. The main source of the religious philosophy of ISKCON is the Bhagavad-Gita.

Doctrinal Stance on the Seven Pillars of Wisdom

The Origin and Nature of the Universe

ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness): Contrary to traditional Hindu doctrine, Krishna is described as the Creator of all things. “In the beginning of the creation…there was no Brahma, no Siva, no fire, no moon, no stars in the sky, no sun. There was only Krishna, who creates all and enjoys all.”¹ “Krsna [preferred spelling of Krishna] who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes.”²

The Nature of God  

ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness): According to the teachings of Swami Prabhupada, Krishna is the principal expression of the Godhead, exceeding even the impersonal Brahman. He admits, “There is a common controversy over whether the Supreme Absolute Truth is personal or impersonal. As far as Bhagavad-Gita is concerned, the Absolute Truth is the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna…the primeval Lord, the reservoir of all pleasure…the eternal form of complete bliss and knowledge.”¹

This is undoubtedly a departure from classical, philosophic, Hindu doctrine, which teaches the impersonal Brahman as the Ultimate Expression and Absolute Essence of Deity. However, this unique approach is not without support in Hindu Scripture. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna asserts, “I am the origin of all this world and its dissolution as well. There is nothing higher than I.” (Bhagavad-Gita 7.6-8) In another Scripture source (the Hari-vamsa), Brahman is relegated to a somewhat inferior status. Krishna explains, “The glaring effulgence of the impersonal Brahman [the impersonal Absolute] illuminates all existences, both material and spiritual. But…you must understand that this Brahman illumination is the effulgence of My body.”²

Deity-forms are accepted and encouraged in ISKCON facilities. (The term “idols,” having a negative connotation, is not used.) Though God is everywhere, it is believed that he makes himself tangibly available for worship in his deity-forms. Images of Krishna are bathed, clothed, and ‘fed.’ Followers drink the water used to bathe them. They also eat food offerings. This is called prasada-a method used to purify the consciousness.

The origin and Nature of Man

ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness): The soul enters a human being at conception. Its measurement is “one ten thousandth part of the tip of a hair. This is very small; in fact, it is atomic.”¹ “The soul is a small God.”² Krishna, as a personal manifestation of Deity, resides within the heart of every human being, but must be discovered in order for a relationship to be established. The soul is part of God, but it is not God. Human beings possess three bodies: (1) The gross body (made of the five basic elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether); (2) The subtle body (comprised of the mind, intelligence and the false ego); and, (3) The spiritual body (made up of sat-chit-ananda, meaning “eternal-knowledge-bliss”). The atma (the soul) is not created; it is eternal and therefore, indestructible.

The Nature of Salvation, Liberation or Enlightenment

ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness): According to the teachings of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the world is now in a lengthy era of degeneration called the Kali Yuga (“the dark age”). Liberation of the soul at this time can only be accom-plished by kirtana: reciting the Hare Krishna chant. Most dedicated adherents chant this mantra on each of 108 japa beads, sixteen times a day.

Numerous rules govern the life of Krishna’s followers, such as: purificaton of desire, mandatory vegetarianism (including exclusion of onion and garlic from the diet), and abstinence from drugs, alcohol and caffeine. Devotees place thirteen symbolic marks on their bodies daily using special clay. Men are encouraged to shave their heads leaving a sikha (similar to a ‘pony tail’) by which Krishna can pull them up to heaven if he chooses. According to Swami Prabhupada, “To the perfect devotee, everything is spiritual (sarvam khalv idam brahma). So, we have to train our eyes to see Krsna everywhere. And this training is devotional service to Krsna, which is a process of purification.”¹

According to Swami Prabhupada, “The preliminary qualification for going back to Godhead is given in the Bhagavad-Gita [15.5]: “One who is free from illusion, false prestige, and false association, who understands the eternal, who is done with material lust and is free from the duality of happiness and distress, and who knows how to surrender unto the Supreme Person attains that eternal kingdom.””² Echoing Caitanya, originator of the movement emphasizing devotion to Krishna, Swami Prabhupada asserted, “The actual identity of every living creature is that he is the eternal servant of God. If one thinks like that-“I am no one else’s servant; my business is to serve God”-then he is liberated.”³

Dimensions or Planes of Existence

The Spiritual Journey and Ultimate Destiny of Man

Cycles, Ages and the Ultimate State of the Universe

ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness): A cyclical view identical with traditional Hinduism is taught with four different yugas (ages) of varying length totaling 4,320,000 years. The life span during these four yugas is: (1) The Satya-yuga—approximate life expectancy for human beings during this most perfect of all ages, 100,000 years. (2) The Treta-yuga—an average life expectancy of 10,000 years. (3) The Dvapara-yuga—a potential life expectancy of 1,000 years. (4) The Kali-yuga, this “present age of quarrel and hypocrisy”—a maximum life expectancy significantly reduced to 100 years. This has since been lowered to 70 years. “It will eventually decrease to the point where if a man lives for twenty to thirty years, he will be considered a very old man.” This yuga began about 5,000 years ago.[1]

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