Srila Prabhupada was a 20th century Indian spiritual teacher as well as one of the top 10 spiritual gurus of Bengal.

 Srila Prabhupada

He is best known as the founder of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and Hare Krishna Movement. He took initiative to preach Gaudiya Vaishnavism philosophy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu throughout the world.

Prabhupada’s Appearance And Diksha

Krishnakripashrimurti Srila Abhayacharanarvinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada appeared in this world in 1896 in Kolkata, India. In 1922 in Kolkata he met his guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was an ingenious scholar of the devotional path and the founder of 64 Gaudiya Maths (Vedic Sanghs). He inspired this intelligent, energetic and educated young man to dedicate his life to spreading Vedic knowledge. Srila Prabhupada received Vedic education in his obedience for eleven years and was later initiated by him at Allahabad in 1933.

Prabhupada In Preaching Vedic Knowledge

At their first meeting in 1922, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur requested Srila Prabhupada to preach Vedic knowledge through the English language. Later, Srila Prabhupada helped in the propagation of the Gaudiya Math by writing commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita. In 1944, he started publishing an English fortnightly magazine on his own, typing the manuscript, proofreading and editing the paper manually. He even distributed the magazine for free with his own hands. Once started, the magazine is no longer closed, it is still being printed and published by his disciples around the world.

Prabhupada’s Vanaprastha And Sanyas

In 1947, in recognition of Srila Prabhupada’s philosophical knowledge and excellence in devotion, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Society conferred on him the title of ‘Bhaktivedanta‘. In 1950, at the age of 54, Srila Prabhupada retired from family life and after four years took up the Vanprastha Ashram and concentrated on the study, propagation and writing of scriptures. Srila Prabhupada traveled to the city of Vrindavan, where he lived in the historic medieval Sri Sri Radha-Damodar temple. There he spent several years in deep study and writing. He became a monk in 1959. It was in the Sri Sri Radha-Damodar temple where Srila Prabhupada began the work of translating and commenting on Srimad-Bhagavatam, the best contribution of his life – consisting of eighteen thousand verses. He also wrote a book, Anya Loke Sugam Yatra.

Prabhupada In New York

In 1975, at the age of 60, he arrived in New York City, USA, completely without any money. After working hard for almost a year, he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in July 1966. Under his careful guidance, hundreds of ashrams, schools, temples and village ashrams were established all over the world within a decade.

Prabhupada And Nava Vrindavan

In 1964, Srila Prabhupada built the Nava Vrindavan in the hills of West Virginia, a symbol of Vedic society. Inspired by this success, his disciples later built many more village ashrams in Europe and America.

Prabhupada And His Books

Srila Prabhupada’s impeccable contribution is his books. His style of writing is solemn, clear and scriptural. That is why his style of writing is highly regarded in the intelligentsia and is being used as a text in many educational institutions today. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, one of the largest book publishing houses in the world founded by him, is publishing these books on Vedic philosophy. Srila Prabhupada completed the translation of the seventeenth volume of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita in eighteen months. Through his books on Vedic philosophy, literature, religion and culture people of this world are exploring a blissful divine world.

Prabhupada And Vedic Education

Srila Prabhupada introduced the Vedic education system at the primary and secondary levels in 1962 with the establishment of the Gurukul School in Dallas, USA. This Gurukul was started in 1982 with only three students and today there are about fifteen hundred students in 15 Gurukul schools all over the world.

Prabhupada And Sridham Mayapur

Srila Prabhupada established the main center of the organization in 1982 at Sridham Mayapur in Nadia district of West Bengal. He also gave a plan to set up a Varnashrama College here for Vedic education and culture. Another such ashram, founded on the Vedic ideology under the direction of Srila Prabhupada, has sprung up at the Krishna-Balaram temple in Vrindavan, where many devotees from all over the world are practicing Vedic culture today.

Conclusion

Before he disappeared from this material world in 1986, Srila Prabhupada traveled the world fourteen times in his old age to preach the words of God to the whole world. He has been described as a charismatic spiritual leader who was successful in acquiring followers in many countries including the United States, Europe,

A Special Commemorative Coin of Rs 125

Africa and India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a special commemorative coin of Rs 125 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Prabhupada.

By Krishna Das