Gurus & Saints of India
A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada appeared in this world in 1896 in Calcutta, India. He
first met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, in
Calcutta in 1922. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, a prominent religious scholar
and the founder of sixty-four Gaudiya Mathas (Vedic institutes) in India,
liked this educated young man and convinced him to dedicate his life to
teaching Vedic knowledge. Srila Prabhupada became his student and, in 1933,
his formally initiated disciple.
At their first meeting Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati requested Srila
Prabhupada to broadcast Vedic knowledge in English. In the years that
followed, Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-gita, assisted
the Gaudiya Matha in its work, and, in 1944, started Back to Godhead, an
English fortnightly magazine. Single-handedly, Srila Prabhupada edited it,
typed the manuscripts, checked the galley proofs, and even distributed the
individual copies. The magazine is now being continued by his disciples in
the West.
In 1950 Srila Prabhupada retired from married life, adopting the vanaprastha
(retired) order to devote more time to his studies and writing. He traveled
to the holy city of Vrndavana, where he lived in humble circumstances in the
historic temple of Radha- Damodara. There he engaged for several years in
deep study and writing. He accepted the renounced order of life (sanyasa) in
1959. At Radha-Damodara, Srila Prabhupada began work on his life's
masterpiece: a multivolume commentated translation of the
eighteen-thousand-verse Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). He also wrote
Easy Journey to Other Planets.
After publishing three volumes of the Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada came to
the United States, in September 1965, to fulfill the mission of his
spiritual master. Subsequently, His Divine Grace wrote more than fifty
volumes of authoritative commentated translations and summary studies of the
philosophical and religious classics of India.
When he first arrived by freighter in New York City, Srila Prabhupada was
practically penniless. Only after almost a year of great difficulty did he
establish the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in July of
1966. Before he passed away on November 14, 1977, he had guided the Society
and seen it grow to a worldwide confederation of more than one hundred
asramas, schools, temples, institutes, and farm communities.
In 1972 His Divine Grace introduced the Vedic system of primary and
secondary education in the West by founding the gurukula school in Dallas,
Texas. Since then his disciples have established similar schools throughout
the United States and the rest of the world.
Srila Prabhupada also inspired the construction of several large
international cultural centers in India. The center at Sridhama Mayapur is
the site for a planned spiritual city, an ambitious project for which
construction will extend over many years to come. In Vrndavana are the
magnificent Krsna-Balarama Temple and International Guesthouse, gurukula
school, and Srila Prabhupada Memorial and Museum. There is also a major
cultural and educational center in Bombay. Major centers are planned in
Delhi and in a dozen other important locations on the Indian subcontinent.
Srila Prabhupada's most significant contribution, however, is his books.
Highly respected by scholars for their authority, depth, and clarity, they
are used as textbooks in numerous college courses. 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.
In just twelve years, despite his advanced age, Srila Prabhupada circled the
globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents. Yet
this vigorous schedule did not slow his prolific literary output. His
writings constitute a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion,
literature, and culture.