Back To Prabhupada, Issue 24, Summer 2009
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the pre-eminent research tool in the field of American religious organizations and spiritual movements - Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions. Considered the standard reference tool since its inception, the Encyclopedia is published by Gale, Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses. The current 8th edition expands on previous editions in providing comprehensive and compelling coverage of the American religious landscape for students, scholars and general researchers. The Encyclopedia is edited by J. Gordon Melton, a nationally recognized leading authority on religion who is the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and a research specialist with the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Since the Encyclopedia is the standard reference text for anyone seeking comprehensive information on religious organizations in North America, the inclusion of the ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) is therefore indeed a very prestigious sign of recognition for the IRM’s role as the sole international organization battling to re-institute Srila Prabhupada’s actual teachings.
The Encyclopedia marks the latest landmark in a growing list of world scholarly interest in the IRM which to date has included: the International Cultic Studies Association (2003); Center for Studies on New Religions [CESNUR] (2004); American Academy of Religion (2004); Columbia University Press (2004); Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg (2006); Continuum International Publishing (2006); Carl University, Prague (2006); Facts on File’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism / World Religions (2007); and New York University Press (2007).
The IRM, Back To Prabhupada and BTP editor Krishnakant are all listed in the Encyclopedia’s index. Below are extracts from the Encyclopedia’s profile of the IRM:
“The ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) is a movement working for the revival and reordering of the larger International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) [...] a vehicle for ISKCON members who believe that the ISKCON movement has erred in the guru structure it adopted after the death of Prabhupada and thus needs to be exposed and reformed. The ISKCON Revival Movement believes that ISKCON disobeyed the will and wishes of Prabhupada in adopting a zonal guru leadership after his death. The IRM has offered signed documents and papers arguing that the leadership in the movement was assigned to 11 gurus — Harikesa Swami, Jayatirtha dasa Adhikari, Hamsaduta Swami, Hrdayananda Gosvami, Ramesvara Swami, Bhagavan dasa Adhikari, Kirtanananda Swami, Tamala Krsna Gosvami, Satsvarupa dasa Gosvami, Bhavananda Gosvami, and Jayapataka Swami — instead of keeping Prabhupada as sole guru. [...] The IRM was formed through the efforts of longtime ISKCON devotee Krishnakant [...] Krishnakant began researching the issue of guru succession in the late 1980s; his work resulted in initial publication of the Back to Prabhupada magazine in 1995. The book The Final Order was released the next year. [...] The group’s Web site contains extensive material on the issues related to guru succession. [...] The IRM is present in the United States, Canada, and 13 other countries.
Periodicals: Back to Prabhupada.
Sources: ISKCON Revival Movement.
www.iskconirm.com
Krishnakant. The Final Order. 1996.”
From Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions, 8E. © 2009 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, Inc. Reproduced by permission. www.cengage.com/permissions
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