Hare Krishna Temple of Austin

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS

FOUNDER-ACHARYA HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C.BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA


1003 Adventure Ln, Cedar Park, TX 78613 admin@harekrishnatempleofaustin.com

About Us

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada -
Founder Acharya International Society For Krishna Consciousness:

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) is widely regarded as the world’s pre-eminent exponent of the teachings and tradition of Bhakti-yoga, the practice of loving devotion to God, to the Western world.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was born Abhay Charan De on September 1, 1896 in Calcutta, India. From birth, Abhay was raised in a family devoted to Krishna (whose name means the all-attractive, all-loving Lord). As a youth he became involved with Mahatma Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement. However, it was a meeting with a prominent scholar and spiritual leader, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, which proved most influential on young Abhay’s future.
 
Upon their first meeting in 1922, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, who represented an ancient tradition of Bhakti-yoga, asked Abhay to propound the teachings to the English-speaking world. Deeply moved by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s devotion and wisdom, Abhay became his disciple and dedicated himself to carrying out his mentor’s request. But it wasn’t until 1965, at the age of seventy that he would set off on his mission to the West.Abhay Charan, now known as Bhaktivedanta Swami (an honorary title awarded by his peers), was given free passage aboard a cargo ship to New York. The journey proved to be treacherous, and he suffered two heart attacks while on the ship. After 35 days at sea he finally arrived at a lonely Brooklyn pier with just seven dollars in Indian rupees and one crate of his translations of sacred Sanskrit texts.


In New York he faced great hardships and was regularly without money and a steady place to live. He began his mission humbly, giving classes on the Bhagavad-gita in lofts in the Bowery (New York’s infamous skid row), and leading kirtan (traditional devotional chants) in Tompkins Square Park. His message of peace and goodwill resonated strongly with the hippie community and younger generation, some of whom came forward to become serious students of the Bhakti-yoga (loving devotion to God) tradition. With the help of these followers, who affectionately began calling Bhaktivedanta Swami “Swamiji,” a small storefront was rented on New York’s Lower East Side to use as a temple. In July 1966, after almost a year of adversity and struggle, Swamiji established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness for the purpose of working for real unity and peace and reinstating proper values in the world.


He taught that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of God and that one could find true happiness through living a simpler, more natural way of life and dedicating one’s energy in the service of God and all living beings. Having begun initiating his New York followers into the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage (the line of Bhakti-yoga stemming from the 16th century saint Sri Krishna Caitanya), Swamiji next travelled to San Francisco. Amidst the emerging hippie community in the Haight-Ashbury district, during 1967’s “Summer of Love,” he taught that the experience of devotion through Bhakti-yoga was a spiritual “high” superior to any pleasures derived from material sources such as wealth, fame, or intoxication. In the following months, many more people came forward to study under him and assist him.


Desiring to address him with the respect due to a revered spiritual teacher, his disciples began to call him Srila Prabhupada, meaning “one at whose feet the masters sit”. In the eleven years that followed, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe fourteen times, bringing the teachings of Bhakti-yoga to many thousands of people across all six continents. Men and women of all ages and backgrounds accepted his message and integrated the teachings into their lives. With his disciples’ help, Srila Prabhupada established centers and projects throughout the world, including temples, rural communities, educational institutions, and what would become the world’s largest food relief program (which happens to be vegetarian). Srila Prabhupada returned to India several times where he sparked a revival of the Bhakti-yoga tradition and opened many temples, including important centers in the holy towns of Vrindavana and Mayapur.Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contribution, however, is his books.


He authored over seventy authentic volumes on Bhakti-yoga, which are highly respected for their authority, depth, clarity, and fidelity to tradition. His writings have been translated into seventy-six languages and are used as standard textbooks in most colleges around the world. His most prominent works include:Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the thirty-volume Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the seventeen-volume Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. To see the list of all books toggle “Books by Srila Prabhupada”.A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada left this world on November 14, 1977 in the holy town of Vrindavan.

                                                                                  Basic Philosophy of ISKCON                                                                  


The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), otherwise known as the Hare Krishna movement, includes five hundred major centers, hindu temples and rural communities, nearly one hundred affiliated vegetarian restaurants, thousands of namahattas or local meeting groups, a wide variety of community projects, and millions of congregational members worldwide. Although less than fifty years on the global stage, ISKCON has expanded widely since its founding by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda in New York City in 1966.
 
ISKCON belongs to the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradāya, a monotheistic tradition within the Vedic or Hindu culture. Philosophically it is based on the Sanskrit texts Bhagavad-gītā and the Bhagavat Purana, or Srimad Bhagavatam. These are the historic texts of the devotional bhakti yoga tradition, which teaches that the ultimate goal for all living beings is to reawaken their love for God, or Lord Krishna, the “all-attractive one”.

 
God is known across the world by many names including Allah, Jehovah,Yahweh, Rama, etc. ISKCON devotees chant God’s names in the form of the maha-mantra, or the great prayer for deliverance: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama  Rama Rama Hare Hare.

 
Many leading academics have highlighted ISKCON’s authenticity. Diana Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies at Harvard University, describes the movement as “a tradition that commands a respected place in the religious life of humankind.” In the 1980s Dr.A. L. Basham, one of the world’s authorities on Indian history and culture, wrote of ISKCON that, “It arose out of next to nothing in less than twenty years and has become known all over the West. This, I feel, is a sign of the times and an important fact in the history of the Western world.”

 
I feel, is a sign of the times and an important fact in the history of the Western world.” ISKCON’s founder, Srila Prabhupada, has drawn appreciation from scholars and religious leaders alike for his remarkable achievement in presenting India’s Vaishnava spiritual culture in a relevant manner to contemporary Western and worldwide audiences. Members of ISKCON practice bhakti-yoga in their homes and also worship in temples. They also promote bhakti-yoga, or Krishna Consciousness, through festivals, the performing arts, yoga seminars, public chanting, and the distribution of the society’s literatures. ISKCON members have also opened hospitals, schools, colleges, eco-villages,free food distribution projects, and other institutions as a practical application of the path of devotional yoga.

 
1) Anyone by sincerely cultivating true spiritual science, we can be free from anxiety and come to a state of pure, unending, blissful consciousness in this very lifetime.

 
2) We are not our bodies but eternal, spirit souls, parts and parcels of supreme lord Sri Krishna. As such, we are all brothers, and Krishna is ultimately our common father. We accept the process of transmigration of the soul (reincarnation).

 
3) Krishna is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and all-attractive. He is the seed-giving father of all living beings, and He is the sustaining energy of the entire cosmic creation. He is the same God as The Father Allah, Buddha and Jehovah.

 
4) The Absolute Truth is contained in the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the world. The essence of the Vedas is found in the Bhagavad-gita, a literal record of Krishna’s words.

 
5) One can learn the Vedic knowledge from a genuine spiritual master — one who has no selfish motives and whose mind is firmly fixed on Krishna.
 *  Before one eats, one offers to the Lord Krishna the food that sustains all humans; then Krishna becomes the offering and purifies the offered.
 *  One performs all actions as offerings to Krishna and does nothing for one’s own sense gratification.

 
6) The recommended means for achieving the mature stage of love of God in this age of Kali, or quarrel, is to chant the holy names of the Lord. The easiest method for most people is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra:
 
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

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                                                                                                    Our Mission                                                                  


The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was officially established in 1966 in America by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.
 
The philosophy of ISKCON is nothing but the philosophy of Sanantan Dharma. Sanatan means which has no beginning and no end. This is existing from the dawn of creation. It is the world’s most ancient religion. The main scriptures are The Bhagavad-gita (The Song of God), and the Shrimad Bhagavatam (entire story of supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna).


 
The principles and practices of ISKCON were taught by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1532) through his dearmost associate Nityananda Prabhu and six of his principle associates, the Goswamis of Vrindavana, Sanatana, Rupa, Jiva, Gopal Bhatta, Raghunatha Dasa and Raghunatha Bhatta. And later by BhaktivinodaThakura (1838-1914), his son Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami (1874- 1937) and Srila Prabhupada (1896-1977) who spread Krishna consciousness all over the world in English Language.


 
ISKCON’s history includes a disciplic succession (guru sisya parampara). It draws its legitimacy from its place in a succession of spiritual teachers and disciples. There are four major disciplic successions, and ISKCON belongs Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya lineage founded by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the 16th century.

7 Purposes of ISKCON

                                                                  


1) To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world.                                                                  


2) To propagate a consciousness of Krishna (God), as it is revealed in the great scriptures of India, especially Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. We accept the principle of transmigration of the soul (reincarnation).                                                                  


3) To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna).                                                                  


4) To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.                                                                  


5) To erect for the members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Krishna.
 
6) To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life.

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    7) With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings and to create websites that help realize these purposes.
                                                                      


    Hare Krishna Temple of Austin, is affiliated to ISKCON and is an Hindu temple which follows Vedic culture guided by ISKCON's philosophy.

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