SRILA PRABHUPADA'S LIFE STORY
Srila Prabhupada was born on September 1, 1896 in Calcutta. The previous day had been Janmastami, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, and so his father Gour Mohan De and mother Rajani Devi were inspired to name him Abhay Charan -"one who is fearless, having taken shelter of Lord Krishna's lotus feet". At that time an astrologer predicted that at the age of seventy, he would cross the ocean, become a great exponent of religion and open 108 temples. Although Gour Mohan De was not a wealthy man, he belonged to the aristocratic Suvarna-Vanik merchant community and the De family lineage or gotra could be traced back to the great sage Gautama. Gour Mohan was himself a pure devotee of Krishna and he encouraged his young son to follow in his footsteps. Hence Abhay never touched meat, fish or eggs or any kind of intoxicant including tea and coffee. From his very childhood he was involved in devotional activities. When only five he organized his first Ratha Yatra festival for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath and was an ardent worshiper of his personal Sri Sri Radha Govinda deities throughout his happy and carefree childhood.
COLLEGE DAYS AND THE GANDHI MOVEMENT
In 1916 Abhay entered the prestigious Scottish Churches' College. He studied many subjects including English poetry, Sanskrit, Philosophy, Economics and the Bible. An exceptional student, he graduated with a bachelor of Arts Degree. However, being a staunch supporter of Mahatma Gandhi's independence movement, he refused formal acceptance of the diploma. Soon after his college days Abhay married and commenced work in a pharmaceutical business for the famous doctor and pharmacist, Dr. Kartick Chandra Bose. His political views remained unchallenged until the early 1920's when he met the formidable Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati - the contemporary acarya of the disciplic succession coming from Sri Krishna Himself. A very scholarly and eloquent personality, this famous sadhu defeated Abhay's conviction that national independence could offer a permanent solution to the problems of India. He boldly declared that real freedom meant liberation from the miseries of material life - namely, birth, death, disease and old age. In colclusion, seriously requested Abhay to preach the teachings of Bhagavad- Gita throughout the Western World. Although he took the words of his spiritual mentor very seriously it was to be many years before he could realize them. A married man with five children and his own pharmaceutical business, his responsibilities were heavy Still, he began publishing a journal of spiritual science entitled 'Back to Godhead' and translated Bhagavad-gita into English most meticulously. Gradually, as his children grew up he became more estranged from his wife and felt a strong desire to become more distant from the entanglement of family and business affairs.
SANNYASA AND A FREE TICKET TO THE U.S.A.
At the age of sixty-two in Vrindavan, the holy place Lord Krishna's pastimes, Abhay Charan formally took to the renounced order of life accepting the title A. C, Bhaktivedanta Swami. He tried preaching in India at that time but found few enthusiastic to hear the message of Bhagavad Gita. The order of his spiritual master predominant in his heart, he decided to somehow or other travel to the West and preach. His petitioning of a steamship owner Mrs. Sumati Morarji proved successful and he soon found himself aboard the "Jaladutta" en route to America, 19th September, 1965 found him penniless and friendless in New York city. The only possessions of this sixty nine year old Swami were a few books written to educate others about Krishna, the Supreme Person, and a strong desire to free people from the misery of ignorance. One day, after some months of intense struggle, he went to Tomkins Square Park and sat beneath a tree. Not caring what people would think he began to chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Amazingly, some of the young people joined in the chanting and soon started clapping their hands and dancing. Soon they helped Srila Prabhupada acquire a small storefront where he lectured regularly on Bhagavad-Gita. Most of his followers were young people who weren't content to chase the American dream of blind materialism. They were more thoughtful and felt life had something deeper to offer them. These enthusiastic supporters helped him establish a temple in New York. He then went to San Francisco where he was acclaimed as a great spiritual teacher and inaugurated another temple. The worldwide fame of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, later known as Srila Prabhupada, was to come after 1965 - after he arrived in America. Before leaving India he had written three books - in the next twelve years he was to write sixty. Before he left India he had initiated one disciple - in the next twelve years, he would initiate more than four thousand. Before he left India few believed that he could fulfill his vision of an international society of Krishna devotees - but in the next decade he not only initiated and maintained the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) but opened over 108 temples, farming communities and gurukulas. Before sailing for America he had never been outside of India, but in the next twelve years he circled the globe over 14 times, propagating Krishna conscious philosophy and practice.
Such phenomenal achievements, especially at such an advanced age, certainly indicate an exceptionally great and powerful personality. Hence His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), is now more appropriately and popularly known in contemporary society simply as Srila Prabhupada - "one at whose feet the great masters sit
."
A WORLD WIDE MOVEMENT
LORD CAITANYA'S PREDICTION FULFILLED
By 1977, Srila Prabhupada had circled the globe over 14 times and established temples in every major city of the world. Exphasizing that religion is a spiritual science based on knowledge, he felt that his books were his greatest contribution to the world. Hence he took great care to translate many scriptures from the sanskrit into English and wrote elaborate commentaries. He also established over 108 temples,farming communities and gurukulas and inaugurated numerous other programmes to attract people to Krishna Consciousness. Lord Caitanya, the Yuga Avatar for this Age of Kali, predicted nearly 513 years ago that His name and teachings would be known and glorified in every town and village of the world. Srila Prabhupada dedicated his life to realizing, that prediction. He sacrificed everything to give Krishna Consciousness to others without discrimination. His intimate disciples knew him as the most selfless, humble and kind person imaginable. He just wanted every one to be happy. Actually, even today everyone has the opportunity to associate closely with Srila Prabhupada by reading his books and following his instructions, His ISKCON society is also a house in which the whole world can live" and its doors are always open to the sincere spiritual aspirant. The essence of his teachings, in its simplest form is :
"Please Chant 'HARE KRISHNA' and Be Happy."
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
An article by preaching division
ISKCON, Sri Mayapur
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