Part of what made this Indian teacher unique among those who had come to the West before was that Prabhupada was a strict "Personalist." He held to the dogma of acintya bheda-bheda tattva. This is the Vedantic doctrine of a single Supreme Being/God who is inconceivable, simultaneously one with the creation, and yet utterly distinct from it. This is to say, that like most historic Jews, Christians, Sikhs, and Muslims, Srila Prabhupada proclaimed the existence of an individual supreme God. He taught that the ultimate nature/form of God was personal (individual) rather than impersonal (i.e. not a collective consciousness), as believed by many other Hindus.

Prabhupada's conception of the One God was similar to the Christian Trinity (indeed the Christian doctrine developed from related non-biblical sources). For Srila Prabhupada the gods or devas, including the Hindu Trinity (trimurti): Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva/Rudra, were all emanations or manifestations of the One God Sri Vishnu/Krishna who alone, he taught, is eternal Bhagavan (God). All other conceptions of God and gods arise from Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

His Hindu predecessors to the West had all espoused variations of Advaita Vedanta, the monistic neo-Buddhist doctrine championed by Srila Shankara (aka Shankara Bhagavatpada 788-822 CE) and popularized by Swami Vivekananda, 1863-1902, Swami Shivananda, 1887-1963, Swami Muktananda, 1908-1983, and others more recently.

George's 1969 hit single Hare Krishna Mantra topped the 10 best-selling record charts throughout the UK, Europe, and Asia:

During this period the Hare Krishna Movement had far more impact than is normally conceded. After their heavily publicized experiences with Guru Maharishi Mehesh Yogi (i.e. Transcendental Meditation), George Harrison and John Lennon studied with Prabhupada and Harrison became a devotee (CBH). George remained a devotee until his death on November 29, 2001. In 1969 he produced the Hare Krishna Mantra as a service to Srila Prabhupada. Harrison also donated a seventeen acre estate outside London to ISKCON. Today it is a Temple and ashrama known as Bhaktivedanta Manor (Back to Godhead magazine, January 1983).

Through ISKCON millions of Westerners were introduced to eastern spirituality and practical religious observance. Several thousands became full time Vaishnava monks and nuns for a time. Today only a few hundred people remain within ISKCON as full time devotees. A few thousand more remain associated as householder devotees (grahastha) living outside the ISKCON ashram system. Many of these people regularly visit and support the temples (mandirs). Due to the rampant abuses and rejection of Prabhupada's instructions the vast majority of Prabhupada's devotees eventually left the Movement. Several splinter groups arose and generally fell as the devotees left ISKCON seeking to restore the Movement to its original intent and spirit. Some Devotees joined other groups while most returned to the dominant culture and belief system. Many embraced Buddhism and not a few became Fundamentalist Christians.

On November 14, 1977, at 7:30 P.M., Srila Prabhupada attained Maha-samadhi (died). Since that time ISKCON has abandoned many of his core teachings and altered many more. Without his hands-on leadership the movement has been plagued with countless scandals, including grand theft, various cases of child abuse, arms smuggling, and even murders. It has become a small organization with little influence outside its own religious society (MoS). This is very sad but true. Prabhupada's books continue to be read however and individuals still put his teachings into practice in their personal lives.