The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is the spiritual institution founded by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in July 1966 as a continuation of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya. ISKCON was personally directed by its Founder-Acarya Srila Prabhupada until his departure on November 14, 1977.
ISKCON belongs to the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradaya, or denomination, a monotheistic tradition within the broad Hindu culture. It is scripturally based on the 5,000-year-old Sanskrit text Bhagavad-gita.
In ISKCON’s incorporating document, Srila Prabhupada imparts the “Seven Purposes of ISKCON”:
(1) To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all peoples 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 as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.
(3) To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, and thus to develop 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 Sankirtan movement of congregational chanting of the holy name of God as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya 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 and more natural way of life.
(7) With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings.
Overview:
Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi Mandir (Hindi: श्री श्री राधा पार्थसारथी मन्दिर), generally known as the ISKCON Delhi temple, is a well known Vaishnav temple of Lord Krishna and Radharani in the form of Radha Parthasarathi. Opened in 1998, it is located at Hare Krishna Hills (Near Nehru Place), in the East of Kailash area of New Delhi, India. ISKCON Temple, designed and built by Achyut Kanvinde who in 1993 agreed to accept a pro-bono commission to build this temple complex for the followers of Srila Prabhupada, is one of the largest temple complexes in India. It comprises numerous rooms for priests and for service renders. It has many halls that are used for its administration purposes and various seminars. It is divided into four broad sections.