History of Hare Krishnas

1.  
From Beginning to the Present

2.  Hare Krishnas was
discovered by A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada (Srila
Prabhupada) in 1966
 His goal was to spread the
idea of Krishna
Consciousness around the
world
 He created ISKCON in 1975
(International Society for
Krishna Consciousness)

3.  Srila Prabhupada lived in India
and then traveled to New York
City to begin the Hare Krishna
Movement. He earned the
hearts of many followers there
(typically white young adults
[Hippies]).
 They dressed up in
white/yellow robes and
chanted up and down the
streets of the cities.
 It was very good for the young
adult society at the time; it kept
many of them out of trouble

4.  Krishna Consciousness is the idea that our bodies are
not real. We need to understand the reality that we are
eternal and that our physical bodies are just illusions.

5.  ISKCON started programs such as Food for Life, which
provided food for the less fortunate, and it also started
boarding schools for children whose parents were firm
believers in the movement
 A hospital was also created in India, and they have a medical
team with doctors and specialists who helped with the
Tsunami in 2004
 When Srila Prabhupada died in 1977 he appointed 11 Gurus
to take his place.
 Instead of ruling in his honor they began having the devotees
(followers) worship them and each started their own
movement causing division between devotees.
 This is when ISKCON took a turn for the worse

6.  In recent years it has been discovered that, while in the
boarding schools, many of the children were physically,
emotionally, and sexually abused.
 June 12, 2000 there was a lawsuit filed against ISKCON
and its boarding schools
 In May 2005 it was eventually settled and they lost 9.5
million dollars which was split between all of the people
who claimed that they were abused while enrolled in the
schools

7.  In 2010, after being brought to court once before this for
something similar in 1997, Los Angeles airport brought
ISKCON to court for soliciting in the terminals at the
airport
 Although this was not as much of a setback for their
mission to spread the Krishna Consciousness, like the
previous scandal was, it was harmful to their finances
 In this court case the California Supreme Court ruled it
illegal to solicit in the airports. (they could talk to people
about their movement with those who were willing to
listen)

8.  These events, plus many more, caused for the quieting
of the movement
 They went from having 4000 monastics in 1970 to less
than 1000 in 2000
 Although they had lost many followers, in recent years
there has been an drastic increase in followers because
of the influx of Indian immigrants who have come to
North America

9.  Typically if you were to walk in to a Hare Krishna temple
in 1970 there would be young white Americans dressed
in yellow/orange robes
 Today, there are less white Americans and more Indian
people
 People are less interested in the movement to reach
Krishna Consciousness, but more interested in it to
experience a new culture full of food and chanting

10.  http://www.gunagrahidasgoswami.org/english/wp-
content/uploads/2011/08/srila-prabhupada.jpg
 http://humanosophy.org/wp-
content/uploads/clip_image00215.jpg