Zonal Acarya System

The period following the death of the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in 1977 constituted a turbulent period in its development when eleven members took on the role of spiritual and institutional leaders in the organization. Debates ensued regarding whether they were the legitimate successors to the founder, culminating in a period of leadership reform in the mid-1980s. The organization then settled into a less turbulent rhythm, and changes in the organization included a shift from a predominantly Western membership to a substantial Indian-Hindu congregation. In 2014 a new preaching initiative, Krishna West, was initiated to reverse this shift. Key themes include authority, legitimacy, institutional reform, the coming together of Indian and Western values, and tradition and modernity. Krishna West has been a divisive issue amongst ISKCON members, and how it is dealt with will determine how the institution moves forward in the 21st century.

This paper presents work to date on a PhD thesis that uses an oral history method to examine spiritual leadership in ISKCON, following the passing of its founder in 1977 up until the late 1980s when a period of leadership reform took place. I note that variations in accounts by key players in this time period have been the most striking observation to date. Rather than view this as problematic for consensus, I am viewing this phenomenon to be indicative of the existence of various narratives. Moreover, the need to excavate these narratives is seen to be necessary if a more nuanced understanding of this complex subject is to be attained. I argue that the subject has been dominated by a master narrative, leading to an incomplete understanding. Narrative analysis is being used to unearth and examine the various narratives.

The period following the death of the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in 1977 constituted a turbulent period in its development when eleven members took on the role of spiritual and institutional leaders in the organization. Debates ensued about whether they were the legitimate successors to the founder, culminating in a period of leadership reform in the mid-1980s. Key issues in this period include authority, legitimacy, institutional reform, and the threat of schism. The organization subsequently settled into a less turbulent rhythm, but succumbed to a post-reform malaise as well as changes that produced a substantial Indian-Hindu congregation. In 2014 controversy erupted again when the GBC and one of the gurus, Hridayananda das Goswami clashed regarding his new preaching initiative, Krishna West, a response to what he has characterized as the collapse of a dynamic preaching movement into a lethargic and Indianized religious institution. This latest development indicates that the key issues that beset ISKCON’s earlier period are still significant. Krishna West is currently one of the most talked about and divisive issues amongst ISKCON devotees. How it is dealt with by ISKCON members will be important for how the institution moves forward in the 21st century and adapts itself to a post-countercultural world.