An Offering to:
His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada
I offer my respectful obeisances unto
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
who is very dear to Lord Krishna on this earth,
having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
Our respectful obeisances are unto you,
O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Gosvami.
You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Chaitanya deva
and delivering the Western countries,
which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
Srila Prabhupada – At various times
people have called him a scholar, a
philosopher, a cultural ambassador, a
prolific author, a religious leader, a
spiritual teacher, a social critic, and a
holy man. In truth, he was all these
things and more.
Over five hundred years ago, Lord Sri Krishna
appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa.
The purpose of His appearance was to
inaugurate the Sankirtana Movement,
the Yuga Dharma for this age of Kali.
He declared that the chanting of His holy names
would spread beyond the shores of India
to every town and village in the world.
He predicted that
His commander-in-chief would appear
to accomplish this mission.
Yes… Srila Prabhupada appeared to fulfill this prophecy.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was born on
September 1,1896 (on the day of Nandotsava) in Calcutta, India,
as Abhay Charan De, "one who is fearless, having taken shelter at Lord Krishna's feet“,
to Gaura Mohan De and Rajani Devi.
His parents were great devotees of Lord Krishna.
At the age of six, Prabhupada
was gifted a Jagannatha
Ratha by his father.
With that he was
performing Ratha Yatras
in Neighborhood .
Even then, among his playmates,
Srila Prabhupada was
always considered the From 1916 to 1920 (age 20-24)
leader. He attended Scottish Church College .
He graduated in 1920 with majors in English,
philosophy and economics. He rejected his
diploma in response to
Gandhi's independence movement.
After this, a friend of his
father, Dr.Bose, made him a
manager of his chemical company.
Thereafter, in 1918,
Prabhupada married and soon started a family.
He was a Gandhian and in 1920 joined
Non Cooperation Movement. Prabhupada had
been attracted to Gandhi’s Movement because it was
A non violent demonstration, a protest against
circumstances that were intolerable.
But something big happened
when he met his spiritual master.
He was reminded that , there’s another
kind of revolution going on, which is
much more important for a higher purpose,
not on a political end, but on a spiritual end.
In 1922, induced by his intimate friend, Sri
Narendranath Mullik, Prabhupada met for the first
time, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami
Maharaja, and was asked to preach the message of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the Western countries.
In 1933, Prabhupada accepted formal diksa initiation
From Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaja at Allahabad.
In 1935, Prabhupada visited Radhakunda to meet his Guru Maharaja
and received instructions on constructing temples and publishing books.
On February 14, 1944, Prabhupada published
first “Back to Godhead” magazine.
He wrote them himself, had them printed,
and even rode into town on the bus
to distribute these one page
sheets. But he never stopped. In 1947, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Society recognized
his scholarship with the title Bhaktivedanta,
meaning "one who has realized that devotional service
to the Supreme Lord is the end of all knowledge"
In 1951, Prabhupada accepted Vanaprastha Ashram (retirement from family life).
In 1953, Prabhupada went to Jhansi and initiated his first
Disciple, Acharya Prabhakar.
On May 13, 1953, he incorporated an organization
called “League of Devotees”. This was a forerunner of what
was to be ISKCON.
In 1956, Prabhupada finally moved to Vrindavana and kept
travelling to Delhi to get his books published and printed.
While living in Vrindavana he wrote many articles for
‘Back to Godhead’ magazine and also wrote many
poetries like Vrindavana Bhajan and Viraha Ashtaka.
On 17 September, 1959 Prabhupada was awarded
sannyasa by one of his godbrothers,
HH B.P. Kesava Maharaja,
at Shri Keshavji Math, Mathura.
After that he accepted the honorary
title of ‘Swami’.
Prabhupada first moved to Radha Damodar temple
in 1959 after accepting the sannyasa order of life.
The sevaite of the temple, Sri Gaurachanda Gosvami,
approached Srila Prabhupada and invited him to come
and live there since it was
the eternal home of
Srila Rupa Gosvami and
Srila Jiva Gosvami.
Srila Prabhupada took two rooms,
one that acted as a kitchen,
the other as a study where he would write.
While living there, though almost penniless
and sometimes only eating every other day,
he continued writing and distributing his Back To Godhead magazine.
In the six years that Prabhupada stayed at the Radha Damodar Temple
he wrote his first two books Easy Journey to Other Planets, In search of the Ultimate Goal of Life,
the first two volumes of Srimad Bhagavatam, wrote various articles for Back to Godhead
and Bhagavat-darsan and organized a successful Janmastami mahotsava at Radha Damodar Temple
which was attended by the U.P. Governor Biswanath Das.
By 1965 he had raised funds to publish the
first three volumes of Srimad Bhagwatam.
Armed with this, Prabhupada felt ready to finally
carry out the instructions his spiritual master had
given him nearly 40 years earlier.
Then he decided to travel to America
On 13 August 1965, at the age of sixty-nine, Srila Prabhupada traveled to New York City aboard a cargo ship,
named ‘Jaladuta’. He had no money, no contacts.
He carried only translations of ancient bhakti texts.
The journey was treacherous, and the elderly spiritual teacher suffered two heart attacks aboard ship.
Arriving in the United States with just seven dollars in Indian rupees
and his translations of sacred Sanskrit texts,
Srila Prabhupada began to share the timeless wisdom of Krishna consciousness.
• Prabhupada wanted to bring about a revolution against materialistic
civilization.
• He arrived in America at a time of great unrest and disrupted the
counterculture with a different type of revolution.
• People were searching a better way of life. His message of peace
and goodwill resonated with many young people, some of
whom came forward to become serious students of the Krishna tradition.
• To hippies he seemed to be experiencing a state of
happiness that came from someplace that they knew
nothing about and never had access to.
• He taught them that, “I am the spirit soul”. Prabhupada challenged
the vary premise of the material life.
• In New York, Prabhupada struggled for 1 year before incorporating ISKCON
• He stayed in an office building, moving from one office to another.
• The 1965 winter was the coldest winter ever recorded in New York.
• He was writing letters to industrialists asking for help or support,
but didn’t receive one letter that offered help.
• Prabhupada took his books and personally sold them to booksellers with
great difficulty.
• At a time, his books, Typewriter and everything else was stolen and
Prabhupada became very much depressed. He wanted to come back to India.
But he believed Krishna’s will and remained there.
• By this time Prabhupada gained American followers and they helped
Prabhupada in many tasks.
In the July of 1966, Prabhupada with the help of his followers
Secured a storefront(called “Matchless Gifts”)
with an adjoining apartment at 26 Second Avenue.
He began holding Bhagawad Gita classes at
6 AM and 7 PM.
There he taught his new followers about the science of God
and used to cook meals for them. He also washed the dishes
himself until someone asked to help.
Prabhupada cooked for about 15-20 people on regular
week days.
On July 13,1966 Prabhupada officially registered his organization in the state of New York,
formally founding the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Then throughout the year, Prabhupada gave many lectures
on Bhagwad Gita and Chaitanya Charitamrita.
On October 9, 1966, Prabhupada and his followers sat beneath a tree in Tompkins Square Park and
held the first outdoor chanting session outside of India.
Participants chanted for two hours as they danced
and played cymbals, tambourines, and other percussive instruments
Prabhupada called the NY Times as the most important newspaper in the world and said that this article in
NY Times marked the beginning of his movement.
In those early days Srila Prabhupada established
his basic program for spreading Krishna Consciousness,
From which he never deviated.
Every night he would only sleep a few
hours, and then rise early to translate.
In the morning hours he
would have the early
morning worship and then gave lectures.
Guided by Srila Prabhupada, two couples among
his disciples opened a Hare Krishna temple
in San Francisco.
After Matchless Gifts in New York,
that was the second ISKCON temple.
January 29, 1967: all the cutting edge San Francisco bands had agreed
to appear with Srila Prabhupada at the Avalon Ballroom’s Mantra-Rock dance,
proceeds from which went to the newly opened local Hare Krishna temple.
Thousands of jubilant hippies packed the hall.
His disciples were going out and opening new branches.
After NY and SF, new temples were opened in Montreal, Los Angeles,
Detroit, Philadelphia, Columbus……
1967
• In this year Prabhupada completed the translation and commentary of Bhagavad Gita As It Is.
• From January to April, Prabhupada continued to give lectures on Bhagavad Gita and Chaitanya
Charitamrita and published various volumes of Back to Godhead.
• On May 25, Prabhupada suffered a Heart attack and was admitted to a nearby hospital.
Devotees whole night prayed to Krishna, not to take their Swamiji away from them.
• In July, Prabhupada returned back to India thinking that he would not live long and it would be
better to leave his body in Vrindavana.
• From October to November Prabhupada stayed in Navadwipa and in December he returned to
San Francisco via Tokyo.
1968
• Prabhupada visited Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Montreal, New York and Seattle delivering
lectures on various topics, giving initiations and appearing in various interviews.
• The most important event that took place in this year was the publishing of Bhagavad Gita-As It Is
by Macmillan.
• Although an abridged version came out first in 1968, Macmillan
published Prabhupada’s unabridged version of
Bhagavad Gita –As It Is in 1972.
• The name ‘As It Is’ boldly announces to its readers that this is not yet
another interpretation but rather the original message of the book’s
original speaker: Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
• Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita has been translated in over 80 languages.
• Srila Prabhupada's Gita is a phenomenon. It can be found in homes,
bookstores, research libraries, and academic institutions
around the world.
• Srila Prabhupada created New Vrindavana, an
experimental Vedic community in the hills of
West Virginia.
1969-1971
• From 1969-71, ISKCON grew under the leadership of Prabhupada and he initiated many disciples
around the world to carry on his legacy and spread the message of Krishna Consciousness.
• During this time period Prabhupada met with many high officials in various countries to discuss the
science of god. He conducted many Rath Yatras around the world and installed various deities like
Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakanath in Los Angeles and Radha Londonisvara in London.
• Prabhupada published many more books like Sri Isopanisad and Nectar of Devotion.
• Prabhupada continued visiting many countries including the USA, England, Malaysia, Australia, France
and India to deliver lectures and direct his disciples on the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness.
• He also established the Governing Body Commission (GBC), Mayapur-Vrindavana Trust(MVT) and
• The Lifetime Membership.
• On November 26,1971 Prabhupada came to Vrindavana with his forty western disciples to tell Indians that
they have forgotten their culture. They travelled across India, setting up public programs for thousands of
people. Many Indian people joined his spiritual family.
1972
• For the first time the unabridged version
of Bhagavad Gita- As It Is was published by Macmillan.
• Prabhupada laid down the corner stone for Juhu Bombay
Centre on March 23.
• On May 29, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
was established.
Some of Srila Prabhupada’s
Unparalleled achievements
He sent his followers, chanting the names of God,
into the streets of cities and villages.
Thus, the Hare Krishna mantra became
famous in nearly every corner of the Earth.
He organised traveling bus parties in the USA
and Australia to spread Krishna’s teachings,
spoken in the days of the yore and written 5,000
years ago in the timeless Vedic literature.
He sent his disciples to London, where they
Recorded the single “Hare Krishna mantra”,
with George Harrison, in 1969.
It became the fastest selling of all the
Apple Corporation’s releases, including those
of the Beatles. Srila Prabhupada came to London the same
year and for the first time addressed the
English public in October 1969 in Conway Hall.
He formally initiated approximately five thousand
disciples. These initiates represented a sweeping
diversity of nationalities, races, ethnicities,
and religious backgrounds.
He spoke daily on the philosophy of Krishna
Consciousness, delivering thousands of
formal lectures. Over 2,200 were recorded
and archived.
He conducted many hundreds of
informal conversations on the science of Krishna
consciousness with his disciples, guests and
friends. Over 1,300 were recorded and archived.
He founded the Bhaktivedanta Institute to advance Krishna
Consciousness within the scientific community, engaging serious
academics in the consideration of the science of self realization.
He had scores of interviews and philosophical discussions with news reporters,
scientists, religious leaders and politicians,
as well as meetings with world-renowned dignitaries and celebrities.
He skilfully managed his international society simply through
letters and personal meetings, virtually without the
use of telephone.
In order to carry on he mission in his absence, he counselled
his disciples on complex managerial, philosophical and
personal issues in more than 6,000 archived letters.
He inaugurated the Rathayatra festival of
Lord Jagannatha in major cities around
the globe-in effect, bringing the
temple to the people.
In 1971, he planted the seed of Krishna Consciousness in
Moscow, thus repeating the same preaching strategy
he previously used in the USA.
Srila Prabhupada looked so lonely and all by
himself as he walked towards the Red Square
in Moscow.
• Srila Prabhupada created the world’s first chain of
vegetarian restaurants.
• He introduced the “Sunday Love Feast”-prasadam distribution
combined with spiritual music and lectures about
Vedic Wisdom.
• He set up farm communities to teach “simple living &
high thinking”, emphasizing cow protection and dependence
on God and nature.
In 1972 Prabhupada introduced the Vedic system
of primary and secondary education in the West
by founding the gurukula school in Dallas.
Since then, his disciples have established similar schools
throughout the world, in order to provide education
in the principles of devotional service.
In 1974, shocked and saddened upon
Seeing a group of village children
fighting with street dogs over scraps
of food, Srila Prabhupada told his
students to begin serving free meals
to the poor and destitute.
Prabhupada’s followers were inspired
to expand that original effort into
a global network of free kitchens,
vans and mobile services, establishing
daily delivery to homeless and
destitute people around the world.
He recorded more than twenty albums of
devotional music.
He established 108 Krishna temples on
six continents, installed the deity of
Krishna in each centre and trained
his disciples in the process of
deity worship.
Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contribution, however, is his
books. Highly respected by scholars for their authority, depth,
and clarity, they are used in numerous colleges worldwide.
He wrote more than seventy books on the science of
Krishna consciousness, sleeping only a few hours per
day. Dozens of prominent scholars and educators
from leading universities praised his works.
He founded the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust(BBT)
in 1972 to produce his books. By 1976,
over 5,50,00,000 literatures had been
published in 25 languages.
His books are being distributed in almost
every country, making the BBT the
world’s largest publisher of spiritual
and philosophical texts.
...For this reason I am very excited about the publication
of Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada, from his very birth was trained in the
strict practice of bhakti-yoga, and he appears in a
succession of gurus that traces back to the original
speaker of Bhagavad-Gita, Sri Krishna.
Prof. Kailash Vajpeye (University of Mexico,
Oriental Studies), 1976
“…As I came to know about the movement, I came to find that there was a striking similarit
in the essence of what they were teaching and in the original core of Christianity.
That is, living simply, not trying to accumulate
worldly goods, living with compassion
toward all creatures, sharing, loving
and living joyfully.
I am impressed with how much the
teachings of one man and the
spiritual tradition that he brought have
impacted themselves into the lives of so many people.
In my view, Srila Prabhupada’s contribution
is a very important one and will be a lasting one.”
Harvey Cox, world-renowned
professor of religion at Harvard University.
In spite of leading an international spiritual society, he preferred to keep a low profile, living
modestly and riding mostly on the public transport.
By dint of his spiritual power and great compassion, Srila Prabhupada turned many drug
addicts, drunkards, criminals, etc.-into…
…virtuous and saintly people who have dedicated their lives to sharing spiritual happiness
and wisdom with the whole world.
“Take advantage of this rare opportunity of this human form of life. There are 84,00,000
different species of life through which we are rotating life after life. So getting a human body is not an everyday affair.
This most auspicious opportunity only comes after many millions of lifetimes in the lower species. Anyone who does not
utilize their human life for self-realization is making the greatest mistake. When this happens it is the greatest tragedy, and
unfortunately today this neglect of the human form has become the standard behaviour for the entire human society.”
-A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada’s whole life was exemplary. In November 1977, he also
taught his followers how a real lover of God should leave his body.
Though utterly incapacitated and fragile, he spent the last particles of his
energy translating ancient Srimad Bhagvatam, with a
microphone held to his mouth.
On November 14, 1977, Prabhupada left his
body at his rooms in Vrindavana and went to
eternally serve the divine couple
Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundara in
Nitya Goloka Vrindavana.
Buildings like these( Samadhi Mandir) were erected to commemorate
the outstanding contributions of this noble soul and to enshrine his
body in Vrindavana.
This outstanding person circled the globe fourteen times and visited
every major country to build the house in which whole world could
live peacefully.
ALL GLORIES TO YOU PRABHUPADA!
E BOW DOWN AT YOUR LOTUS FEET
