Srila
Prabhupada
His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,, Foudner-Acharya 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 Lord Krishna.
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
. 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.
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 about 7 dollars.
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 das Goswami.
