(Redirected from Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
'A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada' (
September 1 1896–
November 14 1977) was the founder of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as the "
Hare Krishnas"). Born as 'Abhay Charan De', in
Kolkata,
West Bengal,
India. He studied at the
Scottish Churches College, Calcutta, which was then administered by the
British. Before adopting the life of a
vanaprastha, or pious renunciant, in
1950, he was married with children and owned a small pharmaceutical business. He later took
sannyasa (a vow of renunciation) in
1959.
In his later years, as a
Vaishnava sadhu, he became an influential communicator of
Gaudiya Vaishnava theology to
India and specifically to the
West through his leadership of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), founded in
1966. In respects to this achievement, religious leaders from other
Gaudiya Vaishnava movements have given the praise:
He has been described as a
charismatic leader (in the sense used by sociologist
Max Weber), and was successful in acquiring followers in the United States, Europe, India and elsewhere.
[1][2]
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
In 1922, when Prabhupada first met his spiritual master,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (1874–1937), Srila Bhaktisiddhanta requested that Prabhupada spread the message of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the
English language[3]. Later in 1932 Prabhupada became a formally initiated disciple
[4] of Bhaktisiddhanta and in 1944 started the publication ''Back to Godhead,'' an English language
fortnightly, for which he acted as
publisher,
editor,
copy editor and distributer.
In 1947 the Gaudiya Vaisnava Society recognised Prabhupada's scholarship with the
honorific title ''Bhaktivedanta,'' meaning "one who has realised that devotional service to the Supreme Lord is the end of all knowledge"
[5] (with
Bhakti, indicating devotion and
Vedanta indicating conclusive knowledge). His later name of ''Prabhupada'', literally meaning "he who has taken the position of the Lord"
[6] (i.e one who is representing Krishna) was given later on by Prabhupada's disciples in America after he had been promoting Krishna Consciousness there for some time.
From 1950 onwards Prabhupada lived at the medieval
temple of
Radha-
Damodara in the holy city of
Vrindavan, where he began his translation work on the Sanskrit epic
Srimad Bhagavatam. His guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had always encouraged Prabhupada, "If you have any money, print books!", referring to
Srimad Bhagavatam,
Bhagavad Gita,
Chaitanya Charitamrita, and other fundamental works.
[7]
Sannyasa
He took ''
sannyasa'' (renunciant) vows in 1959 from his godbrother Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Maharaja at
Mathura, following which he singlehandedly published the first three volumes of his thirty-volume translation of the 18,000-verse
Bhagavata Purana with detailed commentary. He then left
India, obtaining free passage on a freight ship called the ''
Jaladuta'', with the aim of fulfilling his spiritual master's instruction to spread the message of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu around the world. In his possession were a suitcase, an umbrella, a supply of dry cereal, about seven dollars worth of
Indian currency, and several boxes of books.
Mission to the West
Prabhupada sailed to
New York City in 1965. By July 1966 he had brought "Hare Krishna" to the West, founding the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in
New York City. Prabhupada spent much of the last decade of his life setting up the institution of ISKCON. Since he was the Society's leader, his personality and management were responsible for much of ISKCON's growth and the reach of his mission.
After a group of devotees and temple had been established in New York another center was started in
San Francisco. From here Prabhupada travelled throughout America with his disciples, popularising the movement through street chanting, book distribution (
Sankirtana) and public speeches.
Once ISKCON was more established in America a small number of devotees from the San Francisco temple were sent to
London, England. After a short time of being in London they came into contact with
The Beatles, of whom
George Harrison took the greatest interest, spending a significant time speaking with Prabhupada and producing a record with members of the later London
Radha Krsna Temple. Over the following years Prabhupada's continuing leadership role took him around the world some several times setting up temples and communities in all of the major continents. By the time of his death in
Vrindavan eleven years later (1977), ISKCON was a widely known expression of
Vaishnavism on an international basis.
In the twelve years from his arrival in New York until his final days he:
★ circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents.
★ introduced Vedic ''
gurukul'' education to a Western audience.
★ directed the founding of the
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, which clams to be the world's largest publisher of ancient and classical Vaishnava religious texts.
[8]
★ founded the religious colony
New Vrindavan in West Virginia
★ authored sixty books (many available online
here) on Vedantic philosophy, religion, literature and culture (including four in
Bengali)
★ watched ISKCON grow to a
confederation of more than 100 schools, temples, institutes, farm communities, and
ashrams.
Through his mission, Prabhupada followed and communicated the teachings of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and introduced
bhakti yoga to an international audience. Within Gaudiya Vaishnavism this was viewed as the fulfillment of a long time mission to introduce Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings to the world.
[9]
In his discussion with historian
Arnold Toynbee in
London Prabhupada is quoted as saying: "I have started this Krishna Conscious Movement among the Indians and Americans and for the next ten thousand years it will increase"
[10]
'Books are the basis'
Srila Prabhupada's literary contribution.
Prabhupada's most significant contribution, it has been said, are his books.
[11] Within the final twenty years of his life Prabhupada translated over sixty volumes of classic
Vedic scriptures (such as ''Bhagavad Gita'' and ''Srimad Bhagavatam'') into the English language. For their authority, depth, and clarity, his books have won praise from professors at colleges and universities like Harvard, Oxford, Cornell, Columbia, Syracuse, Oberlin, and Edinburgh.
[12] His writings have been translated into seventy languages.
[13] The
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was established in 1972 to publish his works.
Views on other religious traditions
Prabhupada considered
Moses,
Jesus, and
Mohammed to be empowered representatives of God, describing them within his writings as pioneers of the same essential message of dedication to God with love and devotion.
★ "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." (from ''The Science of Self-Realization,'' ISBN 91-7149-447-2)
In line with traditional
Vaishnava theology (which focuses largely on
dualism), Prabhupada was critical of the
monist philosophies of Hinduism, calling the adherents of unadulterated monism "rascals". Although the Gaudiya-Vaishnava philosophy he followed was neither fully dualistic or monist (
Achintya Bheda Abheda),as a devotional path Gaudiya Vaishnavism has much more in common with the
Dvaita, as opposed to the
Advaita schools.
Within India
The ISKCON temple, in New Delhi, India
ISKCON has become a recognised religious organization within India. Srila Prabhupada has been honored by the Government and praised by the highest leaders of the country.
In 1996 the Government of India recognized Srila Prabhupada's accomplishments by issuing a commemorative stamp in his honor.
[14]
Speaking at the inauguration of ISKCON's cultural center in New Delhi in 1998,
Sri Atal Behari Vajpayee, then India's prime minister, said:
"If the Bhagavad Gita, the holy text of the Hindu traditions, is printed in millions of copies and scores of languages and distributed in all nooks and corners of the world, the credit for this great sacred service goes chiefly to ISKCON. For this accomplishment alone, Indians should be eternally grateful to the devoted spiritual army of Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, and to his followers. . . .
"The arrival of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the United States in 1965 and the particular popularity his movement gained in a very short span of twelve years must be regarded as one of the greatest spiritual events of the century."
[15]
Bibliography
Translations with commentary
#''
Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is (1968)''
#''
Śrī Īśopanishad (1969)''
#''
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1972-77)'' (multiple volumes)
#''
Caitanya-caritāmrta (1974)'' (multiple volumes)
#''
The Nectar of Instruction (1975)''
Summary studies
#''
Teachings of Lord Caitanya (1969)''
#''
Krishņa: The Supreme Personality of Godhead (1970)''
#''
The Nectar of Devotion (1970)''
Other works published within Prabhupada's lifetime
#''Beyond Illusion and Doubt (1967)''
#''Easy Journey to Other Planets (1970)''
#''Krishņa Consciousness: The Topmost
Yoga System (1970)''
#''Beyond Birth and Death (1972)''
#''The Perfection of Yoga (1972)''
#''On The Way to Krishnņa (1973)''
#''Rāja-vidyā: The King of Knowledge (1973)''
#''Elevation to Krishnņa Consciousness (1973)''
#''Krishņa Consciousness: The Matchless Gift (1974)''
#''Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers (1977)''
#''Teachings of
Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūtī (1977)''
#''The Science of Self-Realization (1977)''
#''Back to Godhead'' magazine (founder)
Bengali writings
#Geetār-gan
#Vairāgya-vidyā
#Buddhi-yoga
#Bhakti-ratna-boli
Published posthumously
#''Light of the Bhāgavata (1977?)''
#''Teachings of
Queen Kuntī (1978)''
#''Life Comes From Life (1978)''
#''Krishņa, The Reservoir of Pleasure (1979?)''
#''Chant and Be Happy (1982)''
#''Coming Back (1983?)''
#''
Nārada-
bhakti-
sūtra (1989?)''
#''Path of Perfection (1989?)''
#''Mukunda-mālā-stotra (1989)''
#''A Second Chance (1991)''
#''Journey of Self Discovery (1991)''
#''Laws of Nature: An Infallible Justice (1991)''
#''Renunciation Through Wisdom (1992)''
#''Quest for Enlightenment (1993?)''
#''The Path of Yoga (1995)''
#''Message of Godhead (1996?)''
#''Civilization and Transcendence (1998)''
#''
Dharma: The Way of Transcendence (1998)''
#''Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā (2005)''
Footnotes
1. "Unrecognized charisma? A study and comparison of four charismatic leaders: Charles Taze Russell, Joseph Smith, L Ron Hubbard, Swami Prabhupada" by George D. Chryssides. Paper presented at the 2001 International Conference ''The Spiritual Supermarket: Religious Pluralism in the 21st Century'', organised by INFORM and CESNUR (London, April 2001)
2. Knot, Kim "Insider and Outsider Perceptions of Prabhupada" in ''ISKCON Communications Journal'' Vol. 5, No 1, June 1997: "In an evaluation of the nature of the guru, Larry Shinn, a scholar of religions, utilised Max Weber's analysis of charisma in order to understand Prabhupada and the issue of leadership in ISKCON. He noted that 'Prabhupada profited from two intertwined sources of authority' (1987:40), the traditional authority of the disciplic lineage, parampara, inherited from his own guru, and his own charismatic authority, derived from his spiritual attainment and presence, and that Prabhupada's guru-successors had been able to adopt 'his traditional role as initiating acarya but not [...] his status as charismatic leader'.(49) Shinn offered an analysis based on sociological rather than spiritual (Vaishnava) authority in order to make sense of the role of guru in ISKCON and the unique qualities of Prabhupada." See also Larry D. Shinn (1987), ''The Dark Lord: Cult Images and the Hare Krishnas in America''. Philadelphia: The Westview Press.available online
3. ''Prabhupada - He Built a House, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1983, ISBN 0-89213-133-0'' page xv
4. ''Prabhupada - He Built a House, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1983, ISBN 0-89213-133-0'' page xviii
5. ''Science of Self-Realization, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2003, ISBN 91-7149-447-2, Ending Glossary''
6. ''Science of Self-Realization, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2003, ISBN 91-7149-447-2. Chapter: Choosing a Spiritual Master.''
7. For these and other details of Srila Prabhupada's life, see this biography: Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmŗta, , Satsvarūpa dāsa, Goswāmī, The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, , .
8. krishna.com: About the BBT "The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) is the world’s largest publisher of books of ancient and classic Vaishnava texts"
9. Branches of the Gaudiya Math Quote by Sridhar Maharaja "What was announced by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, conceived of by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, started by Srila Prabhupad Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Goswami M. was fulfilled by Swami Maharaja (Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami)."
10. Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta Vol. V, Ch. 6, p. 161
11. "I think the best feature of the Hare Krishna movement is that it is providing scholars with excellent translations of the rarest books on Krishna-bhakti [love of Krishna]." --Dr. Larry D. Shinn, President of Berea College, Kentucky, quoted on Krishna.com
12. Here is a sample of academic reviews.
13. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust offers a PDF file showing which books in which languages.
14. krishna.com see "Commemorative Stamp" section, including image
15. Speech by Sri Atal Behari Vajpayee, April 18, 1998. Here is the full text of the speech. (The website, however, gives the speech a wrong date--1988 instead of 1998.)
See also
★
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
★
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
★
Bhagavad-Gita As It Is
★
Hare Krishna
★
Bhakti Yoga
★
Krishnology
External links
★
ISKCON - About Srila Prabhupada
★
The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
★
Krishna.com - Online Book Library (PDF and HTML)
★
Bhaktivedanta Archives
★
Lectures by Srila Prabhupada
★
Letters by Srila Prabhupada
★
Srila Prabhupada's books online (HTML)
★
Photos of Srila Prabhupada
★
BBTI Company Site
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