History of ISKCON
Sri Abhirama Thakura — His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada (1896-1977) carried the movement forward and established ISKCON in New York in 1965.
The Beginning
In 1965, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada left Vrindavan behind for spreading the message of Lord Krishna in Western countries. He entered Boston with a trunk full of Lord Krishna’s books and a negligible amount of money in his pocket.
Initially, he struggled a lot, but within a few days, people started noticing him. Some curious people joined him in his chanting and lectures, while some started to acquire serious concern about his holy mission. He lived in New York until the year 1966.
He had started giving lectures on the sacred Bhagavad Gita weekly. In 1966, he established ISKCON in New York City successfully.
Expansion of ISKCON
During the period 1966-1968, more followers joined the sacred mission. As a result, he inaugurated temples in cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Montreal, and New Mexico.
Rath-Yatra festival is the largest and oldest yearly festival celebrated in India. The first Rath-Yatra festival was organized in San Francisco. However, at present, this Rath-Yatra festival is celebrated in different corners of the world by the devotees of the ISKCON.
Between 1969-and 1973, several temples were inaugurated in Canada, Europe, Mexico, Africa, South America, and India. A supervisory body was also established in the year 1970 to supervise society’s overall growth.
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust & Achievements
From 1970-to 1977, ISKCON created several major pilgrimage centers and sites at Vrndavana and Mayapur in India. The largest temple in Mumbai was also built by the same name.
Srila Prabhupada established BBT (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust), a publishing house, in 1972. They are one of the biggest publishers of Lord Krishna’s books in the contemporary world. Srila Prabhupada translated over 40 volumes of Krishna literature from Sanskrit to English between 1966 and 1977, including Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, and many others — now available in over 50 languages.
Some Accomplishments
About 525 years ago, Lord Krishna appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu — a combined form of Srimati Radharani and Krishna — to spread the chanting of the holy names:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Bhaktivedanta Institute was created in 1973. In 1974, ISKCON started relief programs like Food for Life. By 1977, ISKCON had 108 temples, over 10,000 members, and a presence in many countries.
Srila Prabhupada’s magazine “Back to Godhead” reached over 1 million copies per issue in the 1970s. He promoted “simple living and high thinking” with cow protection.
Today, ISKCON has more than 500 centers globally.
