ISKCON (Hare Krishna)

Toggle navigation

History

Modern Age

Written by Benjamin E. Zeller

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness represents a case study in the transition of a new religious movement from a highly sectarian group -- what sociologists of religion call a sect -- to one in far less tension with both its mother tradition and broader society, namely a church or denomination, as sociologists call it. ISKCON has partially undergone this transition because of its shift toward congregational members and its aging demographic, but the greatest force has been the slow drift within the movement toward identifying with Indians and Hinduism. As scholar of ISKCON E. Burke Rochford Jr. noted in his 2007 book on the movement, in many of its North American and British centers, ISKCON has become "a Hindu denomination."

Because of its heritage in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, ISKCON has always possessed a natural affinity for Hinduism. In India, most Hindus consider ISKCON a subtradition of the broader Hindu religion. Hindus of all stripes accept Krishna as a deity, and Gaudiya Vaishnavism's sacred texts are recognized as sacred by other Hindus as well. Yet even in India, Gaudiya Vaishnavas demonstrate a sectarian tendency to focus exclusively on the worship of Krishna. ISKCON's founder Bhaktivedanta was notorious for his rejection of the worship of what he called the "demigods" -- namely the other gods worshipped by Hindus -- and for arguing for the primacy of Gaudiya philosophy, texts, and rituals.

In its worldwide diaspora, ISKCON initially followed its founder's lead in identifying itself as something other than Hinduism. Bhaktivedanta strongly differentiated Krishna Consciousness from Hinduism, arguing that ISKCON represented an ultimate truth that transcended its origin. Most of Prabhupada's initial converts adopted this perspective, and it its first decade ISKCON officially distanced itself from the label of Hinduism, despite the group's clear origin in Hinduism and identity in India as a Hindu sect.

ISKCON made tentative outreach to other Hindus beginning in the mid 1970s, primarily in response to persecution. When faced by hostile critics accusing ISKCON of being a cult, and its devotees as brainwashed, the Hare Krishnas looked to Indian Hindus to garner support in defending the movement as a real religion. Such outreach was sporadic and always limited to particular instances of persecution, but it did lay the groundwork for the later engagement with broader Hinduism.

Beginning in the 1980s, two factors led to the movement's shift toward identifying itself as a Hindu denomination. The first resulted from a series of financial woes experienced by the organization as many of its fulltime members started families and shifted toward congregational living. This resulted in fewer devotees dedicated exclusively to fundraising, preaching, and maintaining the institutional bureaucracy. Upkeep on the movement's aging infrastructure, costs associated with a series of court battles, and declining revenues from book sales led ISKCON to seek financial resources from Indian Hindus. In doing so, ISKCON permitted these Indian Hindus greater say in the workings of the movement. In 1991, these Hindu donors created the ISKCON Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing Indian Hindus engagement with ISKCON and providing financial support to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The second factor related to the first, namely the increased number of Indian Hindus who looked to ISKCON temples as locations for religious, social, and cultural gatherings. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed increased immigration of Hindus, and in the absence of an existent infrastructure of Hindu temples, many looked to ISKCON as offering a chance to reconnect to the religion of the homeland. By the late 1990s Indian Hindus numerically dominated the Sunday Feasts at most temples, a remarkable shift from the early days of the movement. On some major Hindu holidays, Indian Hindus represent well over 90 percent of attendees. Scholars have called this process the "Indianization" or "Hinduization" of ISKCON.

In most cases, Indian Hindus attending worship at the temple do not seek initiation into Krishna Consciousness, and most do not formally join the temple as members. In this regard, the Indian Hindus have followed the cultural norms of Indian Hinduism; temples serve as locations for infrequent worship, but most religious observance occurs at home. This shift has radically transformed ISKCON from a sectarian new religion founded with the goal of spreading Krishna Consciousness -- the exclusive worship of Krishna -- throughout the world, to a kind of Hindu church. This has resulted in an increased emphasis in temple worship, a decreased interest in missionizing, and a shift toward adopting normalized Hindu worship patterns.

In recent years, ISKCON temples have begun to host Hindu rituals from outside the Gaudiya lineage, and several temples have even considered installed images of other Hindu deities, such as Ganesha or Shiva. Though the engagement of Indian Hindus has provided new financial and cultural resources for ISKCON, it has also transformed the institution from within.

Study Questions:
     1.     What is the relationship between ISKCON and Hinduism? How did this relationship change over time?
     2.     Why did ISKCON eventually come to identify itself as a Hindu denomination?
     3.     How does the temple separate ISCKON followers and Hindus?

Back to History

Back to Religion Library