RIP: IN MEMORY OF BNI: this is what Hare Krishna and its communes are

Hare Krishna religion began in 1486.  It was promoted in USA beginning in 1965.   The Hare Krishna movement came to America by means of Abhay Charan De Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, an aged Indian exponent of the worship of Krishna.  The Swami forsook the world in 1959 at the age of 63 to be a guru in total devotion to Krishna.   At the age of 70 he traveled to New York to popularize his views.   The Hare Krishna movement sprouted quickly in the ready soil of the 1960s. Western values were being questioned, and Eastern thought was becoming fashionable.   The larger culture of the United States was shifting to a new religious paradigm of which ISKCON was another player.   A tireless evangelist, the Swami founded ISKCON and remained its leader until his death in 1977. ISKCON is a wealthy organization today, having gained its wealth largely through soliciting funds and distributing its lavishly illustrated literature, including the Bhagavad Gita and its periodical Back to Godhead.   During the 1960s and 1970s, Hare Krishnas were so prevalent in public places such as airports that laws had to be passed to prevent them.ISKCON is quite demanding of its adherents.   Becoming a member involves choosing a guru and becoming his disciple. This guru is so critical that it is said, "Without [the guru] the cultivation of Krishna consciousness is impossible.” From the devotee's side, “initiation means that he accepts the guru as his spiritual master and agrees to worship him as God." (Ron Rhodes, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions 2001, p. 176).   And the whole of one's life is to be encompassed by Krishna-centered practice and devotion.
To attain this goal, ISKCON pulls its members into communal settings where all discussion and life is deliberately centered around Krishna.   Very intricate rules are established in these communities to make sure that all activity is Krishna-centered.  
The beliefs of the Krishnas are typically Hindu, the view of God is basically pantheistic, meaning that they believe God is all and in all.
For Hare Krishnas, God is everything and everything is God - or everything GOOD is God.  
Salvation for the Hare Krishna is thoroughly entwined with the Hindu concept of karma, or retributive justice.  
This teaching requires belief in reincarnation and/or transmigration of the soul.   One's works, good and bad, are measured and judged either for or against him.   He continues to be reincarnated into higher life forms if his deeds are good, or lower life forms if his deeds are bad.  
It is only when his good deeds have counterbalanced his bad deeds that he can cease the cycles of rebirth and realize his oneness with Krishna.
No eating of meat (including fish) or eggs.

No illicit sex: only between married couples and only for the procreation of children;
No gambling.
No intoxicants (including alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and other recreational drugs).

The four legs of Dharma are:

Daya: Mercy
Tapas: Self-Control or Austerity
Satyam: Truthfulness (playing any games keeping/for money and/or things)
aucam: Cleanliness of body and mind

 
There are ISKCON communities around the world with schools, restaurants and farms.   In general, funds collected by ISKCON are treated as communal property and used to support the community as a whole and to promote the preaching mission.   Many temples also have programs (like Food for Life) to provide meals for the needy.   In addition, ISKCON has recently brought the academic study of Krishna into eastern academia as Krishnology.
 
ISKCON temples in Alachua, Florida and in Hertfordshire, England have established, successful primary schools on-site which form an important part of the community.