His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada legally constituted the society of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in 1966 in New York. He is the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON. ISKCON is an organization of the Vedic tradition established in the West to perpetuate the ancient wisdom of the Vedas. Srila Prabhupada personally travelled around the world 12 times to develop this fledgling society into a truly international society, which currently has more than 300 temples, farm communities, asramas, schools and institutes. He established the Governing Body Commission (GBC) to oversee both the administrative and the spiritual needs of the society. His position as the founder cannot be replaced by anyone but he wisely gave the society a collective management structure so that it would survive his passing.

The headquarters of ISKCON is located in Mayapur in the state of Western Bengal, India. This place is of special significance because it is the birthplace of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, religious reformer and divine incarnate, by whose instructions and personal examples the glories of the holy names of God are spreading. ISKCON temples are found in almost every major city on every continent and the members are from all races and backgrounds, making it a truly international society.