KRISHNA WEST MISSION STATEMENT

Krishna West is a spiritual movement that serves the world through the teaching and practice of advanced spiritual knowledge found in ancient texts such as Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-bhagavatam. As one of the oldest, most cherished treatises on the philosophy and practice of yoga, Bhagavad-gitaexplains that we are all eternal spiritual beings. We have always existed and always wlll exist. Only our temporary body is born and dies. Compelled by the 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 an infinitely beautiful, all-knowing, and ever youthful God, Krishna. Krishna West teaches the timeless, non-sectarian path of bhakti-yoga, devotion to God and all souls. Bhagavad-gitadescribes bhakti-yoga as the highest stage of spiritual yoga.

We call this movement Krishna West because we do everything possible to make bhakti-yoga easy, relevant and enjoyable for Western people, without in any way compromising, diluting, or diminishing the purity and power of a glorious ancient tradition. We do this by offering the essential spiritual teaching and practice in its entirety, without requiring students and practitioners to embrace a new ethnicity composed of non-essential Eastern dress, cuisine, music etc. People in the West need and deserve the chance to practice genuine bhakti-yoga within an external culture that is comfortable and natural for them.

Krishna West is part of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the “Hare Krishna Movement,” founded by Srila Prabhupada. Thus, Krishna West is a “movement within the movement.” We seek to serve the Western world with intelligent, appropriate, non-sectarian spiritual activism that powerfully addresses, with spiritual wisdom, issues of social and economic justice, the global environment, and ultimate liberation. Our vision, that every living being is an eternal part of God and thus worthy of our love, forms the basis of our approach to justice, the environment, and enlightenment.

We warmly encourage interested persons to learn about Krishna West, enjoy its spiritual resources, and help us serve this planet through wide-ranging programs conducted in a collegial atmosphere of mutual support.