A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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(Biography of Srila Prabhupada, courtesy of salagram.net, attached).

 

Srila Prabhupada

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International

Society for Krishna Consciousness, was born in 1896, in Calcutta, in a

Vaisnava family.

 

His father, Gour Mohan De, named him Abhay Charan. His father’s only wish

was that, Abhay would become a devotee of Srimati Radharani.

 

Abhay studied under British colonial rule, finally going to university to

read chemistry. At university, he became a supporter of Gandhi’s movement to

gain independence for India. As a measure of this support, he would only

dress in white handloom cloth, woven in India and furthermore, he declined

to accept his degree from the university.

 

Abhay married and went into business as a small pharmaceutical firm to

support his wife and family. He met his spiritual master, Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami, for the first time in Calcutta in 1922.

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, took a liking to Abhay and told him to devote his

life to teaching Vedic Knowledge; more specifically to preach Lord

Caitanya’s message to the English speaking world. Although, Abhay accepted,

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta within his heart as his spiritual master, it was not

until 1932 that he became initiated. He then received both harinama and

mantra diksa at his initiation.

 

In 1936 Srila Prabhupada wrote his spiritual master requesting if there was

any particular service that he could render. Srila Prabhupada received a

reply to that letter containing the same instruction the he had received in

1922: ‘Preach Krishna consciousness to the English speaking world’. His

spiritual master passed away from this world two weeks later; thus leaving

these final instructions engraved on Srila Prabhupada’s heart. These

instructions were to form the focus of Srila Prabhupada’s life.

 

Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-gita and assisted the

Gaudiya Matha in its work. In 1944, during the Second World War, when paper

was scarce and people had little money to spend, Srila Prabhupada began a

magazine called Back to Godhead. Single-handedly, he would write, edit,

oversee the layout, proof-read and sell the copies himself. This magazine is

still being published today.

 

In 1950 Srila Prabhupada adopted the vanaprastha (retired) life; thus

retiring from home and family life, in order to devote more time to his

studies. In 1953 he received the title Bhaktivedanta from his Godbrothers.

He travelled to Vrindavana, where he lived very humbly at the Radha-Damodara

temple. He spent several years there studying the scriptures and writing.

 

In 1959 he took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. It was then, while

staying at Radha-Damodara temple that he started on his masterpiece:

translation and commentary of the Srimad-Bhagavatam in English. He also

wrote Easy Journey to Other Planets. Within a few years, he had written

three volumes of English translation and commentary for the first canto of

Srimad-Bhagavatam. Once again, single handedly, he bought the paper and

gathered funds, to print the books. He sold the books himself and through

agents in the larger Indian cities.

 

He now felt ready to carry out his spiritual master’s orders and decided to

start by taking the message of Krishna consciousness to America, convinced

that other countries would follow suit. Obtaining free passage on a freight

ship, called the Jaladuta he finally arrived in New York in 1965. He was 69

and practically penniless. All he possessed was a few copies of the

Srimad-Bhagavatam and a few hundred rupees.

 

He had had a very difficult crossing, suffering two heart attacks and once

arrived in New York he didn’t know which way to turn. After a difficult six

months, preaching here and there, his few followers rented a storefront and

apartment in Manhattan. Here, he would regularly give lectures, kirtana and

distribute prasadam. People from all walks of life, including hippies, were

drawn here; in search of that missing element from their lives and many

became part of ‘Swamiji’s’ following.

 

As people became more serious, Srila Prabhupada’s followers used to hold

regular kirtanas in the parks. The lectures and Sunday feast days became

renowned. His young followers eventually took initiation from Srila

Prabhupada, promising to follow the regulative principles and chant 16

rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. He also reinstated the Back to

Godhead magazine.

 

In July 1966, Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for

Krishna Consciousness — ISKCON. His aim was to use the society to promote

Krishna Consciousness throughout the world. In 1967, he visited San

Francisco and started an ISKCON society there. He then sent his disciples

all over the world to spread Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s message and open new

centres in Montreal, Boston, London, Berlin, and other cities in North

America, India, and Europe. In India, three magnificent temples were

initially planned: Vrindavana, the Krishna Balaram temple with all its

ancillary facilties; Bombay, a temple with an educational and cultural

centre; and in Mayapur, a huge temple with a Vedic planetarium.

 

Srila Prabhupada produced all of his books bar the three written in India

within the next eleven years. Srila Prabhupada slept little and would spend

the early morning hours writing. He would write almost daily between 1:30

and 4:30 a.m. He dictated his text, which his disciples then typed and

edited. Srila Prabhupada would translate the original texts from Sanskrit or

Bengali, word by word, and gave a complete commentary.

 

His works include Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the multi-volume

Srimad-Bhagavatam, the multivolume Caitanya-caritamrta, The Nectar of

Devotion, Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Teachings of Lord

Caitanya, Teachings of Lord Kapila, Teachings of Queen Kunti, Sri

Isopanisad, The Nectar of Instruction, and dozens of small books.

 

His writings have been translated into over fifty languages. The

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, established in 1972 to publish the works of His

Divine Grace, has thus become the world’s largest publisher of books in the

field of Indian religion and philosophy.

 

Despite his heavy literary schedule, Srila Prabhupada did not let his

writing stand in the way of his preaching. In just twelve years, despite his

advanced age, he circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took

him to six continents.

 

His days were filled with writing, teaching his followers and the public,

and with guiding his growing society, until the day he departed from this

world. Before departing from this world Srila Prabhupada gave many

instructions to his disciples to follow in his footsteps and to continue the

preaching and spreading of Krishna Consciousness all over the world.

 

He departed this world on November 14 1977.

 

In the short time he spent in the west, he preached continuously,

established 108 temples, wrote more than sixty volumes of transcendental

literature, initiated five thousand disciples, founded the Bhaktivedanta

Book Trust, began a scientific academy (the Bhaktivedanta Institute) and

other trusts related to ISKCON.

 

Srila Prabhupada was an extraordinary author, teacher, and saint. He managed

to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world, through his writing and

preaching. His writings comprise of many volumes and are the basis of

Krishna consciousness not only for his disciples but for his

grand-disciples, affiliated members of the disciplic succession, and for the

public at large.

 

His life history from his earliest days to his passing away in 1977 is

vividly described in his authorised biography, the Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta

by Satsvarupa Goswami.