Krishnakripamurthy Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada appeared in 1896 AD. was born in Calcutta, India. His Guru Maharaja Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati He first met Goswami in 1922 in Calcutta. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, a renowned religious philosopher, incomparable preacher, scholar-devotee, acharya and founder of sixty-four Gaudiya monasteries, liked this well-educated young man and inspired him to devote his life to the propagation of Vedic knowledge. Srila Prabhupada became his student and eleven years later (1933 AD) became his formally initiated disciple in Prayag (Allahabad).
In their very first meeting Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur requested Srila Prabhupada to spread Vedic knowledge through the medium of the English language. In the following years Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavadgita, assisted in the work of the Gaudiya Matha and in 1944 started an English fortnightly magazine without any help. He did all the work of editing it, typing the manuscript and proof reading the printed material himself. Now it is run by his disciples and is being published in more than thirty languages.
Recognizing the importance of Srila Prabhupada's philosophical knowledge and devotion, the Gaudiya Vaishnava community honored him with the title of Bhaktivedanta in 1947. In 1950, Srila Prabhupada retired from his household life and took up Vanaprastha so that he could spend more time for his studies and writing.Thereafter Srila Prabhupada travelled to Sri Vrindavan Dham, where he lived in the medieval historical Sri Radha-Damodara temple in very simple circumstances. There he remained engaged in serious study and writing for many years. In 1959 AD he took sannyasa. It was in the Sri Radha-Damodara temple that Srila Prabhupada started the greatest and most important work of his life. This work was the translation and explanation of the Srimad Bhagavatam Purana, which has eighteen thousand verses, in several volumes in English. There he also wrote a booklet called Easy Journey to Other Worlds.
After publishing the first three volumes of Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada went to the United States in September 1965 to follow the orders of his Gurudev. Thereafter, Srila Prabhupada presented more than sixty gems of literature in the form of authentic translations, commentaries and brief study summaries of the best philosophical and religious texts of India.
When Srila Prabhupada first came to New York City by a cargo ship, he did not have a single penny. After almost a year of great difficulty, in July 1966, he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. On November 14, 1977, before disappearing, Srila Prabhupada appeared at the Krishna-Balarama Mandira, Sri Vrindavan Dham.७२
Through his able guidance, the Sangha has grown into a large organization of more than a hundred ashrams, schools, temples, institutions and agricultural communities around the world. Srila Prabhupada established a Sri Dham in Mayapur, West Bengal.
Gave the inspiration to build a huge international centre. There is a plan to set up a well-planned institute for the study of Vedic literature here, which will be completed in the next ten years. Similarly, a grand Krishna-Balram temple and international guest house and Srila Prabhupad Smriti Sangrahalaya have been built in Srivrindavan Dham. These are the centres where Western people can get a direct experience of the original form of Vedic culture. A huge cultural and educational centre has been developed in the form of Sri Radharas Bihariji Temple in Mumbai too. Apart from this, there are beautiful temples in Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Baroda and other places in India.
However, Srila Prabhupada's greatest contribution is his books. These books are highly regarded by scholars for their authenticity, depth and clarity and are used as high-level textbooks in many colleges. Srila Prabhupada's works have been translated into more than 50 languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, established in 1972 solely to publish Srila Prabhupada's works, has become the world's largest publisher in the field of Indian religion and philosophy. The Trust One of the most fascinating publications of is Srila Prabhupada's innovative work, a seventeen-volume translation and commentary of the Bengali religious classic, Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, completed in just eighteen months.
In twelve years, Srila Prabhupada, not worrying about his old age, made fourteen pilgrimages to the six continents of the world. Despite such a busy schedule, Srila Prabhupada's fertile pen continued to flow incessantly. His writings form a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.
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