Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (IAST: Abhaya Caraṇāravinda Bhakti-vedānta

Svāmī; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977[1]) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru
who founded ISKCON,[2] commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement".[1][3][4]
Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a representative and messenger of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.[5]

Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in a Suvarna Banik family,[6] he was educated at the
Scottish Church College.[1] While working at a small pharmaceutical business,[7] 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.[8] 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.[9][10] He was well
regarded by a number of American religious scholars but was criticised by anti-cult
groups.[11]

He has been described as a charismatic leader by his followers,who was successful

in acquiring followers in many Western countries and India.[12][13][14] 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.[15]

Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early life
1.2 Religious journey
1.3 Renunciation
1.4 Mission to the West
1.5 Death
2 In India
3 Monuments
4 Books and publishing
5 Works
5.1 Bengali writings
5.2 Translations with commentary
5.3 Summary studies
5.4 Discography
5.5 Other works
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
Biography
Early life
Prabhupada was born Abhay Charan on 1 September 1896 in Calcutta.[1] He was also
called Nandulāl. His parents, Gour Mohan De and Rajani De, were devout Vaishnavas
and resided in Calcutta.[16]

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.[1] 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.[17]

Religious journey
Part of a series on
Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the
poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of
devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands
at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who
sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Important deities
Holy scriptures
Sampradayas
Teachers–acharyas
Related traditions
vte
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.[18] In 1933 he became a formally initiated disciple of
Bhaktisiddhānta. In 1944, he started the publication called Back to Godhead,[19]
[20] for which he was writer, designer, publisher, editor, copy editor and
distributor.[21]

In 1947, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Society gave him the title Bhaktivedanta, (bhakti-
vedānta).[22] He became known by the honorific Prabhupāda.[23]

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.[24] His guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, had always
encouraged him to publish books[25] referring to the need for the literary
presentation of the Vaishnava culture.[26]

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 title of Swami. He published
the first book of Bhagavata Purana.[27]

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.[28] In July 1966,
he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York
City.[2] He defended the name, arguing that Krishna included all other forms and
concepts of God.[29] In 1967, a centre was started in San Francisco.[30][31] 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.[32]

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.[33] By the time of his death in Vrindavan in
1977, ISKCON had become an internationally known expression of Vaishnavism.[30]

Through his mission, he followed and preached the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
and introduced bhakti yoga to an international audience.[33][34] Within Gaudiya
Vaishnavism this was viewed as the fulfilment of a long time mission to introduce
Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings to the world.[35]

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.[1]

In India
Beginning his public preaching mission in India, he founded the League of Devotees
in Jhansi in 1953.[36] On his return to India in 1971, he oversaw the construction
of temples in Mumbai,[37] 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[38] and a Rs 125 commemorative
coin in his honour.[39]

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.[40]

Books and publishing

Srila Prabhupada Room at Radha Damodar Mandir in Vrindavan
Srila Prabhupada Room at Radha Damodar Mandir in Vrindavan
Bhaktivedanta Swami's books are considered to be among his most significant
contributions.[41][42] During the final twelve years of his life, Bhaktivedanta
Swami translated over sixty volumes of classic Hindu scriptures (e.g. Bhagavad
Gita, Chaitanya Charitamrita and Srimad Bhagavatam) into the English language.[43]
His Bhagavad-gītā As It Is was published by Macmillan Publishers in 1968 with an
unabridged edition in 1972.[44][45][46] It is now available in over sixty languages
around the world with some of his other books available in over eighty different
languages.[19][34] In February 2014, ISKCON's news agency reported reaching a
milestone of distributing over half a billion books authored by Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada since 1965.[15]

The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was established in 1972 to publish his works.[2][47]

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.[48]

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".[43] 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)".[49]

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".[50] 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.[51] 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 circumstance, rather than literal
tracing of the tradition.[52]

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) [from 1948 & 1949 issues], 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.[53]
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, Mass.: 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, Mass.: 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.[54]
Govinda (12 in. LP record). Los Angeles, CA: Golden Avatar Productions. 1973. LCCN
94748438. OCLC 12622399. GOPI-108.[55]
Kṛṣṇa Meditation (2 x 12 in. LP records). Germany: Radha Krsna Productions. 1974.
OCLC 17247069. RKP-1005.[56]
Other works
Back to Godhead (magazine). 1944–1966. LCCN 45002240.[57]
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, Mass.: 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.