Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is understood by devotees to be Sri Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He appeared in Kali yuga (the present age), 513 years ago in 1486 AD, in the mood of His own greatest devotee, Srimati Radharani.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's divinity is substantiated by scriptures such as the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.32), by the sadhus (saintly persons) such as Srila Advaita-acarya, Nityananda Prabhu and the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu predicted that the holy name of the Lord would be spread to every town and village all over the world. He propagated the chanting of the maha mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

His followers (in disciplic succession)
There are many branches to this sampradaya. Our society belongs to the branch founded by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the 16th century.
The principle is that Vaisnava teachings should be passed on, unchanged, from guru to disciple. The most prominent devotees in this lineage are accepted as acaryas: those who teach by example, who carry the line forward. Listed below are the acaryas since, and including, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, was born in 1896, in Calcutta, in a Vaisnava family.
In July 1966, Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness - ISKCON. His aim was to use the society to promote Krishna Consciousness throughout the world.
He departed from this world on November 14 1977. In the short time he spent in the west, he preached continuously, established 108 temples, wrote more than sixty volumes of transcendental literature, initiated five thousand disciples, founded the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, began a scientific academy (the Bhaktivedanta Institute) and other trusts related to ISKCON.
Srila Prabhupada was an extraordinary author, teacher, and saint. He managed to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world, through his writing and preaching. His writings comprise many volumes and are the basis of Krishna consciousness, not only for his disciples but for his grand-disciples, affiliated members of the disciplic succession, and for the public at large.
His life history from his earliest days to his passing away in 1977 is vividly described in his authorised biography, the Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta by Satsvarupa Goswami.

Governing Body Commission (GBC)
In 1970 Srila Prabhupada formed a Governing Body Commission (GBC) to help manage an expanding ISKCON. Before Srila Prabhupada passed away in 1977, he requested that executive authority for ISKCON be passed to this Commission. The GBC decides ISKCON's major strategies and guidelines by democratic voting and in consultation with Temple Presidents and other leaders. The GBC representative for ISKCON Hong Kong is His Holiness Giridhari Swami.

ISKCON International
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) commonly known in the West as the Hare Krishna Movement comes in a tradition that traces all the way back to Lord Krishna Himself. ISKCON was founded in New York in 1966 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), referred to as Srila Prabhupada. His spiritual teacher, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, asked him to teach Bhakti to the English-speaking world. After 12 years from 1966, there were 108 temples, asramas, communities, restaurants and so on all over the world. Today, ISKCON has about 400 centers around the world, with a worldwide congregation in the tens of thousands, from all walks of life.

ISKCON Hong Kong
The Hare Krishna Movement was first introduced to Hong Kong people in 1972 by His Grace Bhurijana Dasa. Later on, in 1981, the movement was officially founded in Hong Kong by His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja. Both of them are the sincere disciples of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, the founder acarya(spiritual teacher) of ISKCON, or more simply as the worldwide Hare Krishna movement. We have been teaching the general public about the ancient Vedic scripture, the benefit of being vegetarian, the natural way of living, and the necessity of human beings to acquire spiritual knowledge and the understanding of our material existence. We have a slogan " Simple Living and High Thinking." We also help to promote green concepts, organic farming and natural cure.

Management Council
A team of Council Members is responsible to manage the overall affairs of the Hong Kong temple. They have to report to the GBC in this region. At this time, there are 2 Council Advisors, His Grace Krishna Baladeva dasa and Her Grace Sri Radhika devi dasi, and 4 Council Members : Her Grace Bhavatarini devi dasi, Her Grace Vishaka Priya devi dasi, His Grace CaturBhuja dasa and Her Grace Lalita Sundari devi dasi.

Sankirtan
Sankirtan is congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord and distributing the books of Srila Prabhupada. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu introduced the sankirtan movement 500 years ago and it is the spiritual process recommended in the Vedas for the age of Kali, the age we now find ourselves in. From the beginning of the Krishna consciousness movement in the West, Srila Prabhupada directed the devotees to chant congregationally in the temple as well as in the parks and streets of the towns and cities. Soon, devotees began selling Back To Godhead magazines alongside the chanting party, and when book distribution started, it was also called "going out on sankirtan." Srila Prabhupada said that book distribution is the most important form of sankirtan, because it spreads transcendental knowledge and engages people in devotional service. It is the Brhat Mrdanga "the big drum". Therefore the production and distribution of transcendental literature is very pleasing to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and the entire disciplic succession.

Festivals
One of the features of Vaisnavism is the high number of festivals in the year. Festivals provide an opportunity to remember Krishna and His devotees and to increase one's spiritual practice. The year's major festivals are marked by fasting, usually followed by feasting.
The Vaisnava year is based on a lunar calendar rather than a solar calendar. This means that the dates of the festivals vary from year to year.
In this section you can find the Vaisnava Calendar for your area and biographical information about the Saints and Incarnations commemorated in the calendar. For condensed descriptions of the major Vaisnava festivals please click here.

Kitchen
The Kitchen Department is responsible for preparing prasadam (pure vegetarian meals offered to the Supreme Lord) for the devotees and guests who visit our temple. The devotees who are responsible for cooking the meals are pure vegetarians and also practicing devotional service (bhakti yoga). Therefore, besides the vegetables & spices, our meals are imbued with an additional special ingredient - love and devotion. Sometimes known as the "kitchen religion", all our food is prepared with love and we pride ourselves on serving healthy, delicious meals to all. You are welcome to come and taste the difference!

Office
The Management Office is responsible for the overall operation of the activities in ISKCON HK. There are 4 staff who assist in the different areas of operations. They are Lalita Sundari devi dasi, Caturbhuja dasa, Radha Priya devi dasi and Siromani devi dasi.

Deities' Service
The Deities' Service Department is responsible for the daily services such as bathing and dressing, performing arati (worship ceremony), food offering etc. rendered directly to the presiding deities of ISKCON HK - Their Lordships Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai.

Education
The main business of the Hare Krishna movement is to bring people to the platform of understanding their original, constitutional position as an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna. Therefore the devotees are primarily engaged in educating the public in spiritual values through various activities such as conducting philosophy classes, cooking classes, quizzes, distributing books on Vedic literature, organising pilgrimages to the holy places in India, and so on.
His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada has written 51 books, which are translations and commentaries of the ancient Vedic scriptures. These books give the highest form of spiritual knowledge, and Srila Prabhupada's purports make the meaning clear and concise. These books are considered Srila Prabhupada's crowning achievement and the most important means of educating humanity in the science of God consciousness.

Preaching

The main business of the Hare Krishna movement is to bring people to the platform of understanding their original, constitutional position as an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna. Therefore the devotees are primarily engaged in educating the public in spiritual values, called preaching.

Chinese Congregation
This department is mainly to take care of the Chinese congregation members. There are regular weekly philosophy programmes and services in helping the Chinese to understand this ancient knowledge, in a spiritual and friendly atmosphere.

Indian Congregation
This department is mainly to take care of the Indian congregation members. Besides other programmes, there is a weekly Sunday Lecture and Feast for the Indian congregation on each Sunday which allows them to come together to worship, chant, learn philosophy, partake of a sumptuous feast and associate with each other, in a spiritual and friendly atmosphere.

Fund-Raising
A charitable organization such as ours is dependent on funds and donations from the generous public in order to maintain the organization & provide the relevant services to the public. The Fund Raising Department is responsible for raising funds to carry out the many services offered by ISKCON such as educational services, prasadam (sanctified food) distribution, preaching, printing & distributing Vedic literature etc. to benefit the public at large.

Public Relations
The Public Relations department is responsible for promoting the image, activities and services of ISKCON HK to the general public, and to establish better relationships with the many religious groups/institutions in Hong Kong. This is done through email promotions, newsletters, brochures, website information, press interviews etc.

International Yoga Institute
The International Yoga Institute (IYI) is a sister organisation of ISKCON HK, founded on 16th October 1981 by His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja. IYI is the oldest yoga school in Hong Kong and registered with the Hong Kong government. Located on the golden mile in Tsim Sha Tsui, IYI provides quality yoga instruction to urban dwellers from all walks of life, including businessmen and women, working professionals, factory workers, students and housewives.

Higher Taste International Vegetarian Society
Higher Taste International Society (HTIS) is a subsidiary of ISKCON HK, founded in 1982. The Mission of HTIS is to promote vegetarianism to the Hong Kong public, advocate yoga-vegetarianism, lifestyle in the mode of goodness, cooking skills in preparing vegetarian meals at home and generally act as a source of information and support to anyone who would like to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle.

Food for Life
Food for Life, as the name suggests, is a unique project for bringing food and life to the needy of the world through the liberal distribution of karma-free vegetarian meals. The project started in 1974 when an elderly Indian swami, Srila Prabhupada, asked his followers to not allow anyone within a ten mile radius of the temple to go hungry. The program grew quickly and now operates in over 60 countries worldwide. The Food for Life programme in Hong Kong is mainly to educate people about the real food for life and allow more friends who would like to participate this valuable social service to others.