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Srila Prabhupada >> A Brief Biography of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada
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 vanaprasta (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 (sannyasa) 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.
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 Krsna 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'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. |
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.
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.
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.
Chant japa with Srila
Prabhupada - 1 round (4,1 Mb, 48 kbps) >>
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