Hare Krishna, in full International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), popular name of a semimonastic Vaishnava Hindu organization founded in the United States in 1965 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta (Swami Prabhupada; 1896–1977). This movement is a Western outgrowth of the popular Bengali bhakti (devotional) yoga tradition, or Krishna Consciousness, which began in the 16th century. Bhakti yoga’s founder, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1485–1534?), advocated the pursuit of mystical devotion through repetitive chanting, especially of the Hare Krishna