PHILOSOPHY
Krishna West is a spiritual movement that propagates the teachings of Krishna Consciousness, a form of bhakti-yoga practiced within the theistic tradition known as Gaudiya-Vaishnavism. Traditionally practiced in India, this philosophy was brought to the Western world by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1965, who set up the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Krishna West is an initiative within ISKCON to make these teachings as accessible and relevant as possible for Western audiences today, while preserving the full potency and authenticity of a glorious, ancient tradition.
Krishna Consciousness is grounded in the iconic text known as Bhagavad-gita (the song of God), one of the oldest, most cherished treatises on the philosophy and practice of yoga. Bhagavad-gita explains that we are all eternal spiritual beings (souls). We have always existed and always will exist; only our temporary body is born and dies. Compelled by reactions to our worldly actions (karma) we wander through many lives until we clearly grasp our eternal identity as souls and our loving relationship with Krishna, a Sanskrit name of God meaning all-attractive. Krishna Consciousness is a transformative practice and way of life centred on this understanding of ourselves and the world. This is the highest stage of spiritual yoga revealed in the Bhagavad-gita.
Krishna, the all-attractive