Srila Prabhupada was sent by the Lord to fulfil Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's prediction Prtvithe ache yata nagaradi grama, sarvatra pracara haibe more nama - In every town and village of the world, My name will be heard. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote in his Sajjona-tosani, "Soon there will be a time when the chanting of Krishna's name will be heard in England, France, Russia, Germany and America."
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), appeared as Abhay Charan De, in 1896, in Calcutta. 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), liked this educated young man and convinced him to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge. At their first meeting, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura requested Srila Prabhupada to broadcast Vedic knowledge through the English medium.
In 1933, at Allahabad, Srila Prabhupada was formally initiated and made it his life ambition to expound the Vedic conclusion that real freedom means liberation from the miseries of material life: birth, death, old age and disease, a state that can be permanently attained by awakening one’s pure love for God, Krishna-prema or Krishna-Bhakti.
In the years that followed, Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, assisted the Gaudiya Math in its work and, in 1944, started Back to Godhead, an English fortnightly magazine. Maintaining the publication was a struggle. 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 and is published in over thirty languages.
Recognizing Srila Prabhupada's philosophical learning and devotion, the Gaudiya Vaisnava Society honored him in 1947 with the title "Bhaktivedanta." In 1950, at the age of 54, Srila Prabhupada retired from married life, adopting the vanaprastha (retired) order to devote more time to his studies and writing. Srila Prabhupada travelled to the holy city of Vrindavana, where he lived in very humble circumstances in the historic medieval temple of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara. There he engaged for several years in deep study and writing. He accepted the renounced order of life (sannyasa) in 1959.
On the order of his spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada began translating and writing Vedic literature in the English language to bring the message of Lord Sri Krishna to the Western countries. At Sri Sri Radha-Damodara Temple, Srila Prabhupada began work on his life's masterpiece: a multivolume annotated translation of the 18,000 verse Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). He also wrote Easy Journey to Other Planets.
In 1965, at the age of 69, when ordinary persons are thinking of retirement, he went to the United States to fulfil the mission of his spiritual master. 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 (ISKCON), in July of 1966. Under his careful guidance, the Society has grew within a decade to a worldwide confederation of almost one hundred asramas, schools, temples, institutes and farm communities.
He brought to the West the divine teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who taught the public glorification of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Srila Prabhupada taught that every living being is an eternal servant of Lord Sri Krishna with a dormant natural propensity to experience the eternal bliss of pure love of God.
In 1968, Srila Prabhupada created New Vrindavan, an experimental Vedic community in the hills of West Virginia. Inspired by the success of New Vrindavan, now a thriving farm community of more than two thousand acres, his students have since founded several similar communities in the United States and abroad.
In 1968, Srila Prabhupada created New Vrindavan, an experimental Vedic community in the hills of West Virginia. Inspired by the success of New Vrindavan, now a thriving farm community of more than two thousand acres, his students have since founded several similar communities in the United States and abroad.
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, under his supervision, his disciples have established children’s schools throughout the United States and the rest of the world, with principal educational centre now located in Vrindavan, India.
Srila Prabhupada also inspired the construction of several large international cultural centres in India. The centre at Sridham Mayapur in West Bengal is the site for a planned spiritual city, an ambitious project for which construction will extend over many years to come. In Vrindavana, India, are the magnificent Krishna-Balarama Temple and International Guesthouse, and Srila Prabhupada Memorial and Museum. There is also a major cultural and educational centre in Bombay. Srila Prabhupada also started Jagannatha Rathayatra in the West. Today Lord Jagannatha Rathayatra is organized in many major cities and towns in more than 165 countries.
Srila Prabhupada's most significant contribution, however, is his books. Highly respected by the academic community for their authority, depth and clarity, they are used as standard textbooks in numerous college courses. By 1977 when Srila Prabhupada left this world in Vrindavan he had completed over 70 volumes of authoritative translations and commentaries including the Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya-Caritamrta and Sri Isopanisad. His writings have been translated into over 50 languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), 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, in spite of his advanced age, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents. In spite of such a vigorous schedule, Srila Prabhupada continued to write prolifically. His writings constitute a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture. Bhaktivedanta Vedabase has been created so that this great reservoir of knowledge may be preserved and propagated and so that all may take advantage of the wisdom and association of the pure devotee of Lord Sri Krishna.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is considered as world’s foremost spiritual ambassador. It is through his standard of purity, unprecedented dedication and genuineness that has instilled the hearts of many millions throughout the world with Krishna-Bhakti.
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