September 1, 1896 - November 14, 1977
Birth Place : Abhay Charan De
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (September 1, 1896–November 14, 1977) was born Abhay Charan De, in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He studied at the Scottish Churches College, Calcutta, which was then administered by the British. In his later years, as a Vaishnava sadhu, he became an influential communicator of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology to India and specifically to the West through his founding of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly called "Hare Krishna") in 1966. He has been described as a charismatic leader (in the sense used by sociologist Max Weber), and was successful in acquiring followers in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.
Before adopting the life of a vanaprastha, or pious renunciant, in 1950, he was married with children and owned a small pharmaceutical business. He later took sannyasa (a vow of renunciation) in 1959
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
In 1922, when Prabhupada first met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (1874–1937), Srila Bhaktisiddhanta requested that Prabhupada spread the message of Lord Chaitanya in the English language. In 1933 Prabhupada became a formally initiated disciple. In 1944 Prabhupada started Back to Godhead, an English language fortnightly, for which he acted as publisher, editor and copy editor. In 1947 the Gaudiya Vaisnava Society recognised Prabhupada's scholarship with the honorific Bhaktivedanta, indicating devotion (Bhakti) and conclusive knowledge (Vedanta). Beginning in 1950 he lived at the medieval temple of Radha-Damodara in the holy city of Vrindavan, where he began his translation work on the Sanskrit epic Srimad Bhagavatam. His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had always encouraged Prabhupada, "If you have any money, print the books!", referring to Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita, Chaitanya Charitamrita, and other fundamental works.
Sannyasa
He took sannyasa (renunciant) vows in 1959 from his godbrother Sri Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Maharaja at Mathura, following which he singlehandedly published the first three volumes of his thirty-volume translation of the 18,000-verse Bhagavata Purana and the commentary on it. He then left India to fulfill his master's spiritual mission. In his possession were a suitcase, an umbrella, a supply of dry cereal, about seven dollars worth of Indian currency, and several boxes of books.
Mission to the West
Prabhupada sailed to New York City in 1965. By July 1966 he had brought Hare Krishna to the West, founding the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York City. Srila Prabhupada became well known as one who truly practiced what he preached; leading by example he expanded the movement from a small group of people in New York in 1966, to an international movement incorporating many thousands of people. By the time of his death in Vrindavan eleven years later (1977), ISKCON was a widely known expression of Hinduism in the West.
In the twelve years from his arrival in New York until his final days he:
* circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents.
* introduced Vedic gurukul education to a Western audience.
* directed the founding of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, the world's largest publisher in the field of Vedic religious texts and commentary.
* founded the religious colony New Vrindaban in West Virginia
* authored sixty books (many available online here) on Vedantic philosophy, religion, literature and culture (including four in Bengali)
* watched ISKCON grow to a confederation of more than 100 schools, temples, institutes, farm communities, and ashrams.
Through his mission, Prabhupada followed and communicated the teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and introduced bhakti yoga to a Western audience.
'Books are the basis'
Prabhupada's most significant contribution, it has been said, are his books. Within the final twenty years of his life Prabhupada translated over sixty volumes of classic Vedic scriptures (such as Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam) into the English language. For their authority, depth, and clarity, his books have won praise from professors at colleges and universities like Harvard, Oxford, Cornell, Columbia, Syracuse, Oberlin, and Edinburgh. His writings have been translated into seventy languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was established in 1972 to publish his works.
Reactions to Prabhupada's death
Prabhupada spent much of the last decade of his life setting up the institution of ISKCON. Since he was the Society's leader, his personality and management were responsible for much of ISKCON's growth and the reach of his mission.
Upon Prabhupada's death on November 14, 1977, eleven of his disciples became initiating gurus for ISKCON. Those chosen were Tamal Krishna Goswami, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, Jayapataka Swami, Hridayananda Goswami, Bhavananda Goswami, Hamsaduta Swami, Ramesvara Swami, Harikesa Swami, Bhagavan dasa Adhikari, Kirtanananda Swami, and Jayatirtha dasa Adhikari. Of these eleven, only the first four have stayed within ISKCON.
Since Prabhupada's death, ISKCON has been managed by the Governing Body Commission. Srila Prabhupada created this body to handle affairs in his absence concerning the daily management and spiritual standards for the organization and its members.
Views on other religious traditions
Prabhupada considered Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed to be empowered representatives of God. He considered them pioneers of the same essential message of dedication to God with love and devotion.
* "Actually, it doesn't matter – Krishna or Christ – the name is the same. The main point is to follow the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures that recommend chanting the name of God in this age." (from The Science of Self-Realization, ISBN 91-7149-447-2)
Respect in India
In India ISKCON has become a highly respected organization. Srila Prabhupada has been honored by the Government and praised by the highest leaders of the country.
In 1996 the Government of India recognized Srila Prabhupada's accomplishments by issuing a commemorative stamp in his honor.
Speaking at the inauguration of ISKCON's cultural center in New Delhi in 1998, Sri Atal Behari Vajpayee, then India's prime minister, said:
"If the Bhagavad Gita, the holy text of the Hindu traditions, is printed in millions of copies and scores of languages and distributed in all nooks and corners of the world, the credit for this great sacred service goes chiefly to ISKCON. For this accomplishment alone, Indians should be eternally grateful to the devoted spiritual army of Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, and to his followers. . . .
"The arrival of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the United States in 1965 and the particular popularity his movement gained in a very short span of twelve years must be regarded as one of the greatest spiritual events of the century."
Articles source : WikiPedia
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