Opinions from members of ISKCON or former devotees?

It's based on Vaisnava Hinduism, vegetarianism, no drugs or alcohol, no gambling, no sex outside of marriage. There is a heavy emphasis on meditation and chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.

I have never been a member but I have been a friend of the movement since the late 1970s. I might have become a member but I was a bit turned off by the way they seemed be very pushy about trying to get converts and asking for donations. However, they seem to have mellowed out over the years and I don't see very many acting in such a pushy way as they used to years ago. If the movement was like it is today, there's a good chance I might have joined when I was young.

I have a very good impression of them overall, and I attend their services on a regular basis. I'm Baha'i and my wife is Hindu. I love the chanting, the services and the food. Although I never became a member they did convince me to become a vegetarian.

I would consider joining if I wasn't already converted to Baha'i. But I'd have an awfully hard time giving up coffee; I'm very addicted to it.

ISKCON is a very shrunken, simplified form of Hinduism dumbed down for white hippies

You are probably better off with full Hinduism than a shrunken simplified, spoonfed form of Hinduism

Try Hinduismtoday.org

It is also run by white Hindu swamis, but it is very mainstream Hinduism

For all ISKCON News related contents check this site out.

I found it responsive and effective

http://www.iskcontruth.com/

Just contact that person and ask him

Above all others, ISKCON traces its religious influences to the 16th-century Bengali reformer Chaitanya (1486-1533), the Hindu saint who founded the Gaudiya lineage of Vaishnavism. Like others within the Hindu sub-tradition of Vaishnavism, Chaitanya looked to the God Vishnu as center of his theology. Three tenets mark the Chaitanya school of Vaishnavism -- or Gaudiya as it is often called, after the region where Chaitanya preached -- as unique, all of which also appear in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness: 1) the centrality of Krishna, 2) the identity of Chaitanya himself as an avatar or form of God, and 3) the place of sankirtan (public devotionalism). The wider Hindu tradition understands Krishna as one avatar (or divine form) of the god Vishnu, but for ISKCON devotees, Krishna is not only an avatar, but also the highest name and identity of God. As such, the Gaudiya sect centers its worship on Krishna, but understands itself as part of a broader Vishnu-centered tradition.

Moving from the realm of theology to practice, ISKCON has adopted Chaitanya's teachings regarding what he called sankirtan, the public social expression of devotion. Like other 16th-century Hindu reformers, Chaitanya responded to both restrictive caste structures and regimented learning systems by emphasizing communal public worship wherein all devotees, regardless of caste or station, engaged in worship through the chanting of easily-learned mantras. Chief among these was the mahamantra, or great prayer, "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare, Hare," which would in the 20th-century give ISKCON its informal name, the Hare Krishnas. Chaitanya taught that devotional singing represented the best method of achieving transcendental consciousness for the present cosmic era, or yuga.

Chaitanya's approach to worship emphasized the direct ecstatic experience of God, unmediated by textual study or caste-restrictions. It appealed to a wide variety of Hindus, and even, the historical records indicate, Indian Muslims. Scholars have noted obvious parallels between Chaitanya Vaishnavism and Islam, particularly monotheism and the umma, the Islamic holy community comprised of all people, as well as the Sufi tradition of Islamic mysticism, which employs a method of chanting God's name in its worship, similar to that of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. These commonalities are all the more notable because Chaitanya lived during an era of Muslim political dominance of Bengal.

http://www.patheos.com/Library/ISKCON-%28Hare-Kris...

Welcome to the official site of the The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). ISKCON is a religious movement that also identifies itself as The Hare Krishna Movement™. ISKCON belongs to the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradaya, a monotheistic tradition within the Vedic and Hindu cultural traditions.

It is based on the Bhagavad-gita, the spiritual teachings spoken by Lord Krishna. According to many writings, this sacred text is over 5,000 years old and documents the conversation between Lord Krishna and his close friend and disciple Arjuna.

ISKCON traces its spiritual lineage directly to the speaker of this sacred book, Lord Krishna, who is revered as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The text teaches that the goal of life is to develop love of God, or Krishna. Love of God is realized through the practice of bhakti-yoga, the science of devotional service.

In the latter part of the 15th century, a saint named Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revitalized the bhakti-yoga tradition by introducing an expansive spiritual movement that swept India. Central to this renaissance was Chaitanya’s emphasis on the chanting of Krishna’s name. Underlying this simple practice was a profound, rational, and intellectually comprehensive theology. Hare Krishna devotees worship Lord Chaitanya as an incarnation of Krishna for this age, and ISKCON is a vibrant continuation of the movement Chaitanya revitalized.

http://iskcon.org/