How we began
[[TEMPLE_FOUNDING_STORY]]
Srila Prabhupada
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York in 1966, at the age of 69. Acting on the instruction of his own spiritual teacher, he had arrived in the United States a year earlier carrying little more than a set of Srimad-Bhagavatam volumes and the resolve to carry the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to the world.
In the twelve years that followed, he wrote and published nearly eighty volumes of translation and commentary, initiated thousands of disciples, and opened temples on six continents. ISKCON Satara carries that same mission forward today, in the heart of Maharashtra.
“Chant Hare Krishna and be happy.” — Srila Prabhupada
What ISKCON stands for
When he incorporated ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada set out a charter of purposes for the society: to systematically spread spiritual knowledge; to teach Krishna consciousness as given in the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam; to bring devotees together in the association of Krishna consciousness; to encourage a simpler, more natural way of life; to publish and distribute books and magazines; to build temples and places of pilgrimage; and to help people come closer to Krishna, and thereby to one another. Every programme at ISKCON Satara — from the morning arati to the Sunday Feast — traces back to that same charter.
Local management
ISKCON Satara is managed locally by [[LOCAL_MANAGEMENT_INFO]], under the guidance of the Governing Body Commission (GBC), which oversees ISKCON centers worldwide.