Indian spiritual teacher (1896–1977)"Bhaktivedanta" redirects here. For the college under same name, see Bhaktivedanta College.

Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (IAST: Abhaya Caraṇāravinda Bhakti-vedānta Svāmī; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a representative and messenger of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in a Suvarna Banik family, he was educated at the Scottish Church College. While working at a small pharmaceutical business, he met and became a follower of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. In 1959, after his retirement, he left his family to become a sannyasi and started writing commentaries on Vaishnava scriptures. As a travelling Vaishnava monk, he became an influential communicator of Gaudiya Vaishnavite theology across India and the Western world through his leadership of ISKCON, founded in 1966. He was well regarded by a number of American religious scholars but was criticised by anti-cult groups.

He has been described as a charismatic leader by his followers,who was successful in acquiring followers in many Western countries and India. After his death in 1977, ISKCON, the society he founded based on a form of Hindu Krishna Bhakti using the Bhagavata Purana as a central scripture, continued to grow. In February 2014, ISKCON's news agency reported reaching a milestone of distributing over half a billion of his books since 1965.

Contents

• 1 Mention in the Scriptures
• 2 Biography
  • 2.1 Early life
  • 2.2 Religious journey
  • 2.3 Renunciation
  • 2.4 Mission to the West
  • 2.5 Death
• 3 In India
• 4 Monuments
• 5 Books and publishing
• 6 Works
  • 6.1 Bengali writings
  • 6.2 Translations with commentary
  • 6.3 Summary studies
  • 6.4 Discography
  • 6.5 Other works
• 7 References
• 8 Further reading
• 9 External links

Mention in the Scriptures

Biography

Early life

Prabhupada was born Abhay Charan on 1 September 1896 in Calcutta. He was also called Nandulāl. His parents, Gour Mohan De and Rajani De, were devout Vaishnavas and resided in Calcutta.

Abhay Charan studied at the Scottish Church College. He is said to have refused his degree in response to Gandhi's calls to challenge British rule. In 1919, at the age of 22, he was married to Radharani Devi, who was then 11 years old, in a marriage arranged by their parents. At 14, Radharani Devi gave birth to their first son.

Religious journey

In 1922, he met his spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, in Prayagraj. He was asked to spread the message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the English language. In 1933 he became a formally initiated disciple of Bhaktisiddhānta. In 1944, he started the publication called Back to Godhead, for which he was writer, designer, publisher, editor, copy editor and distributor.

In 1947, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Society gave him the *le Bhaktivedanta, (bhakti-vedānta). He became known by the honorific Prabhupāda.

From 1950 onwards, he lived at the medieval Radha-Damodar mandir in the holy town of Vrindavan, where he began his commentary and translation work of the Sanskrit work Bhagavata Purana. His guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, had always encouraged him to publish books referring to the need for the literary presentation of the Vaishnava culture.

Renunciation

Prabhupada also lived at Gaudiya Matha at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, where he wrote and edited the Gauḍīya Patrikā magazine. While there he donated the statue of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which stands on the altar beside those of Radha Krishna (named Śrī Śrī Rādhā Vinodavihārījī). In September 1959, he was initiated as a sannyasi by his friend Bhakti Prajnana Keshava and was given the *le of Swami. He published the first book of Bhagavata Purana.

Mission to the West

Main article: International Society for Krishna Consciousness

Prabhupada was the first Hindu preacher to take advantage of the removal of national quotas by the 1965 Immigration Act of the United States. In July 1966, he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York City. He defended the name, arguing that Krishna included all other forms and concepts of God. In 1967, a centre was started in San Francisco. He travelled throughout America with his disciples, popularising the movement through street chanting (sankirtana), book distribution and public speeches. George Harrison of The Beatles produced a recording with some of the devotees in London and helped establish the Radha Krisna Temple in that city.

Over the following years, his role as preacher and leader of the Krishna consciousness movement took him around the world several times setting up temples and communities in other countries. By the time of his death in Vrindavan in 1977, ISKCON had become an internationally known expression of Vaishnavism.

Through his mission, he followed and preached the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and introduced bhakti yoga to an international audience. Within Gaudiya Vaishnavism this was viewed as the fulfilment of a long time mission to introduce Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings to the world.

Death

Bhaktivedanta Swami died on 14 November 1977 at the age of 81, in Vrindavan, India. His body was buried in Krishna Balaram Mandir in Vrindavan.

In India

Beginning his public preaching mission in India, he founded the League of Devotees in Jhansi in 1953. On his return to India in 1971, he oversaw the construction of temples in Mumbai, Mayapur and Vrindavan. To promote Vedic education within the Indian education structure, he started a chain of ISKCON schools. In 1996 the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp and a Rs 125 commemorative coin in his honour.

Monuments

ISKCON Prabhupada's Palace of Gold in West Virginia, USA

A number of samadhis or shrines to Bhaktivedanta Swami were constructed by the members of ISKCON, with those in Mayapur and Vrindavan in India being notable. Prabhupada's Palace of Gold, built by the New Vrindavan community in 1979, was intended to be a residence for Bhaktivedanta Swami, but has now developed into a tourist attraction.

Books and publishing

Srila Prabhupada Room at Radha Damodar Mandir in Vrindavan

Bhaktivedanta Swami's books are considered to be among his most significant contributions. During the final twelve years of his life, Bhaktivedanta Swami translated over sixty volumes of cl*ic Hindu scriptures (e.g. Bhagavad Gita, Chaitanya Charitamrita and Srimad Bhagavatam) into the English language. His Bhagavad-gītā As It Is was published by Macmillan Publishers in 1968 with an unabridged edition in 1972. It is now available in over sixty languages around the world with some of his other books available in over eighty different languages. In February 2014, ISKCON's news agency reported reaching a milestone of distributing over half a billion books aut*d by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada since 1965.

The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was established in 1972 to publish his works.

Prabhupada's Palace of Gold in 1982

Bhaktivedanta Swami said:

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.

Other typical expressions present a different perspective, where he pointed out that "today I may be a Hindu, but tomorrow I may become a Christian or Muslim. In this way faiths can be changed, but dharma is a natural sequence, a natural occupation or a connection and it can not be changed, because it is permanent, according to him". While the ISKCON theology of personal god is close to Christian theology, both personal and monotheistic, being a preacher of bhakti and a missionary he sometimes would add that "already many Christians have tasted the nectar of divine love of the holy name and are dancing with karatalas (hand-cymbals) and mridangas (drums)".

His approach to modern knowledge was similar to that of sectarian Orthodox Judaism, where the skills and technical knowledge of modernity are encouraged, but the values rejected. "Whatever our engagement is, by offering the result to Krishna we become Krishna conscious". Bhaktivedanta Swami taught a dualism of body and soul and that of the genders. Similar to many traditional religions, he considered sexuality and spirituality as conflicting opposites. Among some liberal male followers there is a positive recognition of his example in applying the spirit of the law according to time, place, person and cir*stance, rather than literal tracing of the tradition.

Works

Samadhi of Prabhupada in Vrindavan.

Bengali writings

• Gītār Gān (in Bengali). c. 1973.

• Vairāgya-vidyā (in Bengali). 1977.

A collection of his early Bengali essays, which were originally printed in a monthly magazine that he edited called Gauḍīya Patrika. Starting in 1976, Bhakti Charu Swami reprinted these essays in Bengali language booklets called Bhagavāner Kathā (Knowledge of the Supreme) , Bhakti Kathā (The Science of Devotion), Jñāna Kathā (Topics of Spiritual Science), Muni-gānera Mati-bhrama (The Deluded Thinkers), and Buddhi-yoga (The Highest Use of Intelligence), which he later combined into Vairāgya-vidyā. In 1992, an English translation was published called Renunciation Through Wisdom.

• Buddhi-yoga (in Bengali).
• Bhakti-ratna-boli (in Bengali).

Translations with commentary

• Srimad Bhagwatam. Vol.:3 vols. Delhi: League of Devotees. 1962–1965. LCCN:sa64001457. OCLC:64215631.
• Bhagavad-gītā As It Is (in Sanskrit and English), New York: Macmillan, 1968, LCCN:68008322, Wikidata:Q854700
• Śrī Īśopaniṣad. Boston, M*.: ISKCON Books. 1969. ISBN:0-89213-138-1. LCCN:78102853. OCLC:70457388. OL:1145820M. Wikidata:Q108771214.
• Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Vol.:30 vols. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1972–1977. LCCN:73169353.
• Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, vol.:17 vols., New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1973–1975, LCCN:74193363, Wikidata:Q108771289
• The Nectar of Instruction. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1975. LCCN:75039755.
• Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūtī. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1977. LCCN:77011077.

Summary studies

• Teachings of Lord Caitanya, a treatise on factual spiritual life. New York: International Society for Krishna Consciousness. 1968. LCCN:68029320.
• Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, vol.:2 vols., Boston, M*.: ISKCON Press, 1970, LCCN:74118081, Wikidata:Q4205088
• The Nectar of Devotion: The Complete Science of Bhakti-yoga. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1970. LCCN:78118082.

Discography

• Krishna Consciousness (12 in. LP record). New York, NY: Happening Records. 1966. OCLC:11402285. CA2210.
• Govinda (12 in. LP record). Los Angeles, CA: Golden Avatar Productions. 1973. LCCN:94748438. OCLC:12622399. GOPI-108.
• Kṛṣṇa Meditation (2 x 12 in. LP records). Germany: Radha Krsna Productions. 1974. OCLC:17247069. RKP-1005.

Other works

• Back to Godhead (magazine). 1944–1966. LCCN:45002240.
• Easy Journey to Other Planets (by practice of Supreme Yoga). Vrindaban, U.P. (India): The League of Devotees. 1960. ISBN:91-7149-699-8. LCCN:70118080. Wikidata:Q108770844.
• Kṛṣṇa Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System, Boston: ISKCON Press, 1970, LCCN:77127182, Wikidata:Q108772725
• Kṛṣṇa, the Reservoir of Pleasure. Boston, M*.: ISKCON Press. 1970. ISBN:0-89213-149-7. OCLC:1086768968.
• Beyond Birth and Death. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1972. ISBN:0-912776-41-2. OCLC:1181333746. Wikidata:Q108770415.
• The Perfection of Yoga, New York: ISKCON Press, 1972, LCCN:72076302, Wikidata:Q108770991
• Elevation to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1973. LCCN:73076635.
• On the Way to Kṛṣṇa. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1973. LCCN:72084842.
• Rāja-vidyā: The King of Knowledge. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1973. LCCN:72084845.
• Kṛṣṇa Consciousness: The Matchless Gift. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1974. LCCN:73076634.
• Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1977. LCCN:74027525.
• The Science of Self-Realization. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 1977. ISBN:978-1-84599-039-8. LCCN:77095065. OCLC:819932403. OL:32140029M. Wikidata:Q108772906.

References

Further reading

• Goswami, Satsvarupa dasa (2002). Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta Vol 1–2 (2nd:ed.). Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. ISBN:0-89213-357-0.
• Ekstrand, Maria; Bryant, Edwin H. (2004). The Hare Krishna movement: the postcharismatic fate of a religious transplant. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN:0-231-12256-X.
• Rhodes, Linda (2001). The challenge of the cults and new religions. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan. ISBN:0-310-23217-1.
• Vasan, Mildred; Lewis, James P. (2005). Cults (contemporary world issues). Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. ISBN:1-85109-618-3.
• Cole, Richard; Dwayer, Graham (2007). The Hare Krishna movement: forty years of chant and change. London: I. B. Tauris. ISBN:978-1-84511-407-7.
• Goswami, Satsvarupa dasa (1984). Prabhupada: he built a house in which the whole world can live (abr:ed.). Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. ISBN:0-89213-133-0.
• Harvey Cox; Larry D. Shinn; Thomas J. Hopkins; A.L. Basham; Shrivatsa Goswami (1983). Gelberg, Steven J (ed.). Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna: five distinguished scholars on the Krishna movement in the West. New York: Grove Press.
• Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2000). Hinduism: a short history. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. ISBN:1-85168-213-9.
• Klostermaier, Klaus K (2007). A survey of Hinduism (3rd:ed.). New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN:978-0-7914-7081-7.
• Bhaktivedanta, A. C. (2003). The Science of self-realization. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. ISBN:91-7149-447-2.
• Shinn, Larry D (1987). Bromley, David G (ed.). "The future of an old man's vision. ISKCON in the twenty-first century". The Future of New Religious Movements: 123–140. ISBN:978-0-86554-238-9.
• Knott, Kim (1997). "Insider and outsider perceptions of Prabhupada". ISKCON Communications Journal: 5: 1.
• Knott, Kim (2005). "Insider/outsider perspectives in the study of religions". In Hinnells, John (ed.). The Routledge companion to the study of religion. Routledge. p.:243. ISBN:978-0-415-33311-5.
• Shinn, Larry D. (1987). The dark lord: cult images and the Hare Krishnas in America. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. ISBN:0-664-24170-0. OCLC:15017927. OL:2737873M.
• Goswami, Srivatsa; Dasa Goswami, Satsvarupa; Cox, Harvey; Hopkins, Thomas J.; Judah, J. Stillson (1983). "Review: Srila Prabhupada-Lilamrta". Journal of Asian Studies. 42 (4): 986–988. doi:10.2307/2054828. ISSN:0021-9118. JSTOR:2054828.
• Sharma, Jagdish Saran, ed. (1981). Encyclopaedia Indica. OCLC:8033900. OL:13760440M.
• Shinn, Larry D; Bromley, David G (1989). Krishna consciousness in the West. Lewisburg : Bucknell University Press. ISBN:0-8387-5144-X.

External links

• Bhaktivedanta Vedabase – Official online multilingual library of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
• Srila Prabhupada – Biography, Books, Hare Krishna Movement, Teachings, Samadhi
• Who is Srila Prabhupada
• A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada at Curlie
• A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada at IMDb
• BNF:118918976 – Bhaktivedanta Swami, A. C. (1896–1977)
• Works by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada at WorldCat Iden*ies
• Works by or about A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada at Internet Archive

• Category

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