ISKCON stands for International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and is more popular as Hare Krishna Movement in the west. The movement is based on the principle of one Supreme Being and human’s relationship with it, to know themselves better. This principle has been adopted from Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.
The history of the monotheistic branch of the Gaudiya Vaishnava spiritual tradition, ISKCON, traces back itself to five thousand years ago when Lord Vishnu revealed himself on Earth as Lord Krishna and gave the divine knowledge to Arjuna, which is known as Bhagvad Gita.
After this, it is that that 525 years ago, Krishna appeared in the form of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and revealed the Sankirtan, the holy chanting of the Divine Being as the easiest and most sublime spiritual practice for Kalyuga. Sri Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu popularized this chanting: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.
After Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, it was Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Prabhupada, who spread the chanting, and introduced the spiritual movement in the west, by the name of ISCKON movement. Its foundation was laid in New York in 1966.
The chanting of the Mahamantra is the first and foremost practice of the ISKCON movement, as you must have seen in the ISKCON temples all over the world. This practice is followed by Bhakti-yoga or the Krishna Consciousness, which includes the performing arts, yoga seminars, public chanting, and the distribution of the society’s literature.