International Society for Krishna Consciousness Revival Movement

International Society for Krishna Consciousness Revival Movement
(IRM)
(est. 2000)
   The ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) was formed in 2000 as a pressure group to revive and reform ISKCON on the basis of an interpretation of the directives for succession given by Swami Prabhupada BHAKTIVEDANTA (1896–1977), the founder of ISKCON.
   According to IRM, the founder revealed, in a philosophical treatise called “The Final Order” issued on July 9, 1977, a signed directive appoint-ing 11 of his senior managers to act as ritviks (officiating priests) to initiate new recruits into the ISKCON movement on his behalf. According to IRM, all future disciples within ISKCON were supposed to revere Bhaktivedanta Swami as their GURU, not any successor. However, shortly after Bhaktivedanta Swami’s demise on November 14, 1977, these ritviks ignored the directive; instead, they divided the world into 11 zones, each claim-ing to be the guru or spiritual successor in a dif-ferent area. By early 1978 the 11 ritviks had begun to initiate disciples on their own behalf, acting as gurus for the movement.
   Over time, a number of the gurus suffered law-suits, suicide, and other problems. The movement was plunged into confusion and acrimony. By the mid-1980s the Governing Body Commission (GBC), which managed ISKCON, issued a new interpretation of Bhaktivedanta Swami’s direc-tive. What he had really wanted, it said, was for all disciples to become initiating gurus, not just the 11 ritviks. Today new gurus are added to the roster via a majority vote by the GBC at its annual meetings in Mayapur. Currently ISKCON gurus number around 80.
   IRM contends that both the zonal guru system and its replacement multiple-guru system are unauthorized innovations. Citing GBC resolu-tions and management directives approved by Bhaktivedanta Swami, the IRM insists that ISK-CON will continue to flounder as long as it fails to comply with the orders of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
   The IRM has grown quickly in the few years of its existence, claiming members and temples on every continent, including the ISKCON temple in Bangalore, the largest ISKCON temple in the world. It publishes an international magazine, Back to Prabhupada, and an electronic newsletter. They have also met with considerable opposition from those supporting the current multiple-guru system in ISKCON.
   The IRM’s followers consist of both current and former ISKCON members, ISKCON Life Members, and members of the Hindu community at large. The IRM’s ultimate goal is to rebuild an ISKCON movement operating just as Bhaktive-danta Swami intended, with him as the sole guru and authority.
   Further reading: Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhu-pada, Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (New York: Bhaktivedanta Trust, 1972); Krishnakant Desai, The Final Order (Lon-don: Printed privately, 1996; Bangalore: International Society for Krishna Consciousness, 2001).

Encyclopedia of Hinduism. . 2007.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • International Society for Krishna Consciousness — (ISKCON) (est. 1966)    The International Society for Krishna Conscious ness (ISKCON) was founded in 1966 by the Krishna devotee and Vedic scholar Swami Prabhupada BHAKTIVEDANTA (1896–1977). He entered New York City at age 69 in 1965, when the… …   Encyclopedia of Hinduism

  • International Society for Krishna Consciousness — The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement, is one of several Vaishnava groups. [Harvnb|Gibson |2002|p=4] It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.… …   Wikipedia

  • New Religious Movement — Introduction       the generally accepted term for what is sometimes called, often with pejorative connotations, a “cult.” The term New Religious Movement has been applied to all new faiths that have arisen worldwide over the past several… …   Universalium

  • Bhaktivedanta, Swami A. C. Prabhupada (1896–1977) —    Vaishnavite guru and founder of the International Society for Krishna ConsciousnessBhaktivedanta Swami played a major role in inter preting Vedanta for modern Western readers and in spreading the worship of Krishna outside India. For several… …   Encyclopedia of Hinduism

  • Monk — For other uses, see Monk (disambiguation). St. Anthony the Great, considered the Father of Christian Monasticism A monk (from Greek: μοναχός, monachos, single, solitary [1]) is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or… …   Wikipedia

  • Hinduism — /hin dooh iz euhm/, n. the common religion of India, based upon the religion of the original Aryan settlers as expounded and evolved in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, etc., having an extremely diversified character with many… …   Universalium

  • religion — religionless, adj. /ri lij euhn/, n. 1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and… …   Universalium

  • APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control — The APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control (DIMPAC[1]) formed at the request of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1983. The APA asked Margaret Singer, one of the leading proponents of theories… …   Wikipedia

  • История Международного общества сознания Кришны — Международное общество сознания Кришны (ИСККОН) было основано в 1966 году в Нью Йорке индуистским вайшнавским религиозным деятелем Бхактиведантой Свами Прабхупадой с целью проповеди традиции гаудия вайшнавизма по всему миру. Среди всех… …   Википедия

  • Международное общество сознания Кришны в России — Международное общество сознания Кришны (ИСККОН)[К 1] является наиболее крупной[1] индуистской религиозной организацией в России.[1] История ИСККОН в России началась в 1971 году с пятидневного визита в Москву о …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”