Chapter 2: Teachings of ISKCON

The teachings of Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot properly be classified as belief. The teaching is true eternal knowledge. Belief may be either true or false, but it is still belief. Truth may be believed or disbelieved, but it is still truth. For example, a blind man might not believe in the existence of the sun, but the existence of the sun is still a fact. Similarly, the eternal, knowledgeable and blissful nature of God is a fact regardless of the belief or disbelief of anyone.

It is this fact which is the primary concern of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the revival of the original consciousness of the living being—the conscious awareness that one is eternally related to God, or Kṛṣṇa.

The true self or soul of the individual is eternal, ever-existent. Due to the ignorance of material contamination, the soul is forced to assume a continuous succession of material bodies. When one body dies, the soul immediately assumes another body and is born again. The individual forgets his past life and identifies with the present body, which is, in reality, simply a temporary covering for the soul. One must overcome this false identification with the temporary body and realize his true position. When an individual realizes that his true position is to be the loving servant of Kṛṣṇa, he is freed from the cycle of birth and death and can resume his spiritual life, an eternal life of knowledge and bliss in the loving service of the Supreme Lord.

This transcendental loving service, called bhakti, is the goal of all religion and philosophy; actually it is the goal of life itself. The process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is bhakti, the ultimate goal. Kṛṣṇa Himself is the Absolute Truth, and the function of the living entity is to live in constant loving service to the Truth. This love is reciprocal. Whatever the devotee gives to the Lord is returned with love many times over.

All living beings are already accepting love from Kṛṣṇa in the form of their food and all material comforts, and, in fact, life itself. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the process of becoming aware that all this is the gift of Kṛṣṇa and living accordingly. All facilities and abilities at our disposal should be used in service to Kṛṣṇa. In this way one's consciousness will be raised to the transcendental platform because he will be thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Thus all the senses and faculties can be engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. It is not necessary to wait for death to enter into the Kingdom of God, because one who is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord is living in the Kingdom of God, even before death. He may still be on this earth, but because he is constantly serving Kṛṣṇa, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa he is constantly aware of Kṛṣṇa everywhere.

One cannot make up his own God and then claim to be constantly aware of God. Kṛṣṇa is a distinct individual with distinct characteristics. For example, if someone wants to meet the President of the United States, he cannot create a fictional president and then claim to know the President of the United States. The President is a specific person, not the creation of someone's imagination. Unless one knows that specific person, with his specific form and characteristics, he cannot claim to know the President.

Similarly, unless one knows the specific form and personality of Kṛṣṇa, he cannot claim to know Kṛṣṇa just because he has created some fictional God in his mind.

Actually, no one can reach God by guesswork or by his own devices. In order to know Kṛṣṇa, one must follow the instructions of Kṛṣṇa. These instructions are given in the scriptures.

The prime instruction is that one must revive his dormant love for Kṛṣṇa. In the present age, known as the Kali-yuga, or the age of quarrel, the recommended method for reviving this dormant love for Kṛṣṇa is the process of constantly chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. This was revealed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who said that in this age the easiest means of spiritual realization is the chanting of the holy names. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is dedicated to spreading the chanting of these holy names. By the mercy of Lord Caitanya, these holy names have been given to us in an easily learned and repeated form known as the mahāmantra or great chanting:

Hare (pronounced Ha-ray) is the supreme pleasure potency of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa is the original name of the Lord, and it means the all-attractive. Rāma is another name of the Lord meaning the enjoyer because Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer; the function of the living being is to be enjoyed by Kṛṣṇa. Under the false impression that they are the enjoyers, the living beings are actually suffering in material existence. The living being cannot enjoy independently. It is impossible. Because the living entities are constantly trying to accomplish the impossible, they are constantly frustrated. Our limited senses do not have the capacity for independent enjoyment, but when we use our senses to please the senses of Kṛṣṇa, then we are automatically satisfied. In so doing, the senses of the individual become dovetailed with the supreme senses of Krṣṇa, and the living being attains the pleasure and happiness which is otherwise impossible to find. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is experienced as a process of self-purification. Its means and ends are an open secret, and there is no financial charge for learning Kṛṣṇa consciousness or receiving initiation into the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, saṅkīrtana, or the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in the city streets for the benefit of all citizens, is one of the more important activities of ISKCON. Saṅkīrtana parties are frequently seen celebrating the holy name of Kṛṣṇa with dancing and melodious singing, accompanied with mṛdaṅga drums and pairs of karatālas (hand cymbals). The devotees experience that this joyous singing of the names of God produces immediate feelings of ecstasy. The effect is a clearing away of the dirt from the mind engrossed in the gloom of material existence. Because the Personality of Godhead is absolute, His name is nondifferent from Himself. Therefore the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of pleasure, allows the chanter of His name to experience the nectar of association with Him. The Society is as famous for its Sunday feasts and festivals as for its chanting in the streets. Every Sunday, in each of the ISKCON centers, a grand feast of from ten to fifteen courses of Indian vegetarian food is prepared and distributed to the guests. The feasts are arranged around festival days celebrating the pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa during His appearance on the earth 5,000 years ago. Plays, puppet shows and chanting are regular items which invite guests to participate in the transcendental glorification of the Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not a dry philosophy. Residents of San Francisco appreciate the yearly Ratha-yātrā Festival in which the large cart bearing the Jagannātha Deity is wheeled to the sea. During the Ratha-yātrā celebration of 1969, more than 15,000 people followed the regal 8,000 pound cart, and thousands were fed full plates of prasādam at the seaside. In London, a similar procession is led to Trafalgar Square. The important aim of the festivals, chanting and philosophizing is to engage people in the service of the Personality of Godhead so they can feel His soothing contact. All miseries are caused by forgetfulness of God, and ISKCON, by reviving the lost memory of the Supreme Lord in the minds of the people, is—according to Bhagavad-gītā—performing the greatest service and highest welfare work for suffering humanity. Moreover, it is performed in this sublime and easy way, by feasting, dancing, singing and philosophizing.

In addition to chanting the holy names, one should study the scriptures thoroughly. The basic scripture of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is the Bhagavad-gītā, which was spoken by Kṛṣṇa to the great devotee Arjuna. Because it was spoken to a great devotee, the Bhagavad-gītā contains information which is not found in other scriptures. This is not to imply that the other scriptures are false, but in the Bible Lord Jesus Christ says, "I have more to tell, but ye cannot bear it now." The Bhagavad-gītā and the Bible are in complete agreement because the knowledge revealed in both is that the only valid life is a life of loving service to the Lord. It may appear contradictory that in the Bible it is recommended that one worship Lord Jesus Christ and in the Bhagavad-gītā it is recommended that one worship Lord Kṛṣṇa. Actually there is only one God, but He can appear in different forms at different times and places. The form of Kṛṣṇa is the original form from whom the other forms emanate. So Lord Jesus is actually an incarnation of God, as the son of God. It is not the purpose of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to dissuade sincere devotees of Lord Jesus from worshiping Him. The purpose of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to spread love of God to all people. Anyone can practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness by the process of chanting the holy names, but in order to teach and spread this knowledge it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the scriptures. Bhagavad-gitā is not the only scriptural text of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Other texts include Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, and many others. The texts that are studied are originally written in Sanskrit and Bengali and are presently being translated by the spiritual master and founder of the Society, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. To learn and understand all these texts requires an intense effort and much time. The scriptures must be thoroughly learned and understood without any personally motivated interpretation. In order to teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness one must live in exact accordance with the scriptural injunctions without the slightest deviation. Teachers of Kṛṣṇa consciousness are badly needed in the world today, and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is engaged in training qualified teachers. One who wishes to study Kṛṣṇa consciousness and teach others must be completely dedicated without any outside interest whatsoever.

The students of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness lead completely regulated lives, according to the injunctions of the scriptures. They eat only foods that are specially prepared according to scriptural directions. They have no sex life outside of marriage; they take no intoxicants, and they do not indulge in gambling or idle amusements, such as movies, television, etc.