Information about Srila Prabhupada, my spiritual master
reprinted from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
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.
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
(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.
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 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 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.
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