His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada appeared in
this world in 1896 in Kolkata, India. He first met his spiritual master,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami, in Kolkata in 1922.
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, 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.At their first meeting Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati request Srila Prabhupada to bradcast Vedic knowledge in English.. In the years that followed, Seila 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 vdnapnastha (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 (sannydsa) In 1959. At Radha-Damodara, Srila Prabhupada Began work on his life’s masterpiece: a multivolume commentated Translation of the eighteen-thousand-verse Sri-mad-Bhagavatam (Bhagauasa 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 then 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 Krishna 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 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 cone. In Vrndavana are the magnificent Krsna-Balarame Temple and International Guesthouse, gurukula school, and Srila Prabhupada Memorial and Museum. There is also a major cultural and educational center in Bombay. There are beautiful temples in delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Baroda besides many other centers through our India.
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 writing have been translated into over fifty languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, established in 1972 to publish the works of His Divine Grace, his 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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