PM Modi to release special commemorative coin on ISKCON founder's 125th birth anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a special commemorative coin of Rs 125 and address the gathering on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on Wednesday, September 1, via video conferencing, a statement from Prime Minister's Office stated on Tuesday. The Union Culture Minister, Kishan Reddy, will be present to grace the memorable occasion.

The Government of India will be paying its reverence to founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, by issuing a special 125 Indian Rupees commemorative coin on the grand occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada. Swami Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". According to the ISKCON official website, the government will also feature a booklet on the contributions and achievements of Srila Prabhupada with each coin in a commemorative box. The composition of the coin will be 50% silver and 40% copper. 

Visionary teacher of Bhakti Yoga 

ISKCON has translated Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta and other Vedic literature into 89 languages, playing a stellar role in disseminating Vedic literature across the world. Prabhupada also established more than a hundred temples while writing several books and teaching the world the path of Bhakti Yoga.

ISKCON

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a 'Gaudiya Vaishnava' religious organisation. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Its core ideas are based on Hindu scriptures, particularly the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana and the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which has had adherents in India since the late 15th century and American and European devotees since the early 1900s.

ISKCON devotees follow Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya and are the largest branch of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Vaishnavism means 'worship of Vishnu', and Gauḍa refers to the area where this particular branch of Vaishnavism originated, in the Gauda region of West Bengal. The organisation has been formed to spread the practice of Bhakti yoga, the practice of the love of God in which those involved (bhaktas) dedicate their thoughts and actions towards pleasing Krishna, whom they consider the Supreme Lord. 

Image Credit: ANI, ISKCONCOMIND TWITTER