Constitution of ISKCON

Srila Prabhupada made the preliminary Constitution of ISKCON as is described below:

Constitution Of ISKCON- Part 1
Constitution of ISKCON- Part-2
Srila Prabhupada’s Instructions on Constitution of ISKCON

The initial Constitution of ISKCON, as described in Constitution of ISKCON – Part 1, was the Certificate of Incorporation of ISKCON, Inc., specifically listing the “7 Purposes of ISKCON” and the Constitution of Association, which expanded those & purposes.
This Constitution was legally held by ISKCON, Inc.  As described in Constitution of ISKCON – Part 2, the new ISKCON entities that were being formed in USA and out of USA were being asked by Srila Prabhupada to form by copying these Constitution documents for their Incorporation/registration amending to their local laws. This is how the “7 Purposes of ISKCON” were copied everywhere in all ISKCON related entities worldwide. ISKCON, Inc. was thus the central repository of the then initial Constitution of Srila Prabhupada’s Worldwide Society.
As is described in Part 2, he instructed that detailed Constitution of ISKCON be made.
Direction of Management dated July 28, 1970, many other official documents and official letters sent by Srila Prabhupada, and the Resolutions of GBC of 1975, 1976 & 1977, among others, did work on some of those details under Srila Prabhupada’s supervision.
But a comprehensive Constitution of ISKCON has still not been drafted and adopted.
In 2005, the members of ISKCON, Inc. amended the initial Certificate of Incorporation of ISKCON, Inc., adopting many of the above instructions given after 1966 in the Certificate of Incorporation of ISKCON, Inc.
This was an interim Constitution, so as to help in bringing like minded temples/centers/ devotees together.

This interim constitution is to be replaced by a NEW Constitution of ISKCON to be drafted publicly and with worldwide participation and then put for adoption in centers/temples that agree with these principles. ISKCON, Inc. will then continue to protect/hold this constitution by means of its trustees who are proposed to be the GBCs or subset of them in the near future. This will ensure that future amendments to the Constitution of ISKCON will not be unilateral or whimsical to protect the integrity of the worldwide organization.  All new amendments to the Constitution will go through similar process as is being proposed for drafting it.

After the adoption of this Constitution as the Certificate of Incorporation of ISKCON, Inc., the worldwide Affiliates would, local laws permitting, adopt/amend this Constitution to their local incorporation papers. How exactly and how much of it would need to be done would be dealt with in the Constitution itself. This would ensure that the whole movement, consisting of centers/temples that agree to this Constitution will be on the same page both philosophically and organizationally. Those centers/temples who do not agree to this Constitution and do not agree to affiliate with ISKCON, Inc. would also be served by this Constitution as it will act as an example of governance as advised by Srila Prabhupada. At least that is our fervent hope.
Now the next step is formation of a Constitutional Committee of Coordinators that can ensure wide participation, maturity and respectability.
 The newly elected GBC of ISKCON, Inc will appoint this Constitution Committee.
The Constitutional Committee then will lead the discussion of the various clauses of the Draft Constitution on public forums here in this space on ISKCONinc.com/constitution.
Please await the announcements and come back with your valuable input in the process of drafting the Constitution. This draft, without it being based on the Documents and teachings of Srila Prabhupada, without wide participation, without worldwide viewpoints, without the years of experience of all ISKCON devotees, will not be complete.
Our hope is that this constitution will help ensure organizational unity and purity among ISKCON devotees for generations to come and thus please Srila Prabhupada.

If you would like to participate as an official moderator, researcher or contributor, or would like to be kept informed on its progress all the way up to its adoption, please write to constitution@iskconinc.com . We will contact you when the Constitution Committee is formed, the forums are ready to roll out on this space, and the first topics to start the discussion are posted.

Constitution of Association

These are  the original principles of Krishna Consciousness established by
Srila Prabhupada in 1966 in New York



1. The name of the society is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

2. The headquarters of the Society is located at Radha-krishna temple, 26 2nd Avenue, New York City, 10003, USA.

3.The objectives for which the Society is being established are:

(A) To educate the greater human society in the techniques of spiritual life as the basis for a balanced psychic and biological development, and thereby achieve for the first time in human society a real peace and unity among the contending forces in the world today.

(B) To propagate the sense of Godhead, the all attractive Personality of primal eternal form, as He Himself revealed in His own words in the Bhagavad-gita, the Holy Scripture of the Lord Krishna, the Godhead.

(C) To bring together individuals in a Society, regardless of nationality and irrespective of creed or caste, in order to develop a nearness to the Godhead and thereby the idea that within the members and humanity-at-large there is an infinitesimal soul-spirit that is part and parcel in quality with the Godhead, and that all life is meant for the satisfaction of said Godhead, the Supreme Soul.

(D) To encourage the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who demonstrated practically the transcendental process of approaching the absolute Personality of Godhead by His acts of congregational chanting of the holy name of God, a process known as samkirtan.

(E) To prove by active work and preaching that Lord Sri Krishna is the only enjoyer of all the outcomes of individual and collective sacrifice, penance, meditation, arts, culture, science, because He is the Supreme Proprietor of the whole universe, eternally apart of Him everyone knows Him as a friend. Real peace can be attained when this is realized, in fact.

(F) To assist whenever and wherever possible in the building of a social structure on the real foundation of spiritual progress and establishment of peace and unity between men throughout the world.

(G) To attempt to save men individually from the chain of victimization the ongoing trend in modern civilization operates by, in the name of ideologies of false sentiment, so that Man may again be a free soul, to act and live freely with spiritual vision. This is possible by individual spiritual initiation, Diksha, when a man can see everything in Godhead and Godhead in everything.

(H) To further toward realization this highest truth as revealed by Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the six Goswamins headed by Srila Rupa and Sanatana Goswamins.

(I) To have for its objectives amongst the others four principles which the Goswamins had in view. They are the following:

1. To erect a holy place of transcendental pastimes as well as a place where members of the Lord Sri Krishna can flourish.

2. To propagate all over the world in the form of missionaries the process of devotion, the transcendental service to the Godhead, and to make known that this devotional service is the main function of the human being.

3. In order to accomplish this, to adopt proselytizing methods of peaceful means and to establish a broader society of association for all members, including scholars, and admirers, to engage in this service as put forth in the Srimad Bhagavatam.

4. To install, wherever it is possible, the worship and temple of Radha-krishna and that of Sri Chaitanya, and to give facility to everyone to become trained in the modes of archan or preparatory principles of devotional service.

(J) To introduce to the members of the Society and humanity-at-large a simpler and more natural purpose in life by means suitable to the particular place and time, and as enjoined in the Bhagavad-gita.

(K) To organize educational programs, such as classes and lecture tours, and to institute services, such as mailing, for the benefit of the members of the Society and humanity-at-large.

(L) To publish periodicals, books and/or pamphlets in all important languages in order to reach human society and give an opportunity to same to communicate with the Society.

(M) To invoke the quality of goodness particularly in every member of the Society, individually by the process of Diksha and by establishing one in the status of a brahmin (good and intelligent man) on the basis of truthfulness, knowledge and faith in the transcendental service of the Lord.

(N) Among the secondary objectives of the society, it shall undertake the following activities:

1. To revive the scientific system of social orders of classification based on intelligence, martial spirit, productivity and common assistance, generally known as the four castes, with reference to quality and worth for the common cause of world society.

2. To discharge as a matter of course the vitiated system of supremacy of one man over another by false prestige of birthright or vested interests.

3. To popularize the vegetable-grain diet under approved methods in order that full value of protein, carbohydrate, fat and vitamin benefit may be derived.

4. To discourage intoxicating or addicting habits of all descriptions and dimensions and to expose such persons thus afflicted to approved methods of spiritual realization.

July 7, 1966

Original signed by

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Acharya

Raymond Marais
Micheal A. Grant
Robert Lefkowitz
James S. Greene