Srila Prabhupada’s Journey

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
He came with the message of the Absolute World

The following is just a very short glimpse in to the achievement of the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada’s Journey

One candle may light many other candles, yet each candle has the same intensity as the first. Yet the first still remains the original candle. In the same way the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands himself in unlimited forms. He yet remains the cause of all causes.
In the Vedic scriptures the supreme original cause is known as Krsna because he posses unlimited transcendental qualities which attracts all living beings.

Five hundred years ago that same supreme cause Lord Sri Krsna appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and declared that the chanting of the Lords holy names of;

'Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna

Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama

Rama Rama, Hare Hare'

is the only way of liberation in this age. He also declared that these names would be spread beyond India to every town and village in the world. After hundreds of years, the faithful followers of Lord Caitanya endeavoured to expand his mission. All of the time they were wondering how Lord Caitanya’s prediction of every town and village would come true.

On August 13th 1965 days before his sixty ninth birthday A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, philosopher, scholar, saint and Swami, set out for America to see what could be done. With a free passage from a local steamship company, he travelled as the only passenger on board a small weathered cargo ship, named Jaladuta. In possession he had an umbrella, a supply of dry cereal about seven dollars worth of Indian rupees, and several boxes of books.

When the Jaladuta arrived in New York thirty-seven years later Swami Bhaktivedanta was totally alone. He had come to America knowing no one, with any clear means of support; he carried on boards the ship only a handful of possessions. He had no friends, money, followers and not his youthful age and good health. He didn’t even have a clear idea of how he could accomplish his mission – to present the spiritual knowledge of the Vedas to the western world and in turn to the entire world.

Bhaktivedanta Swami expressed the faith he had in his spiritual master and Krsna, in a Bengali poem he wrote shortly after his arrival: "My dear Lord Krsna…How will I make them understand this message of Krsna consciousness? I am very unfortunate, unqualified, and the most fallen. Therefore I am seeking Your benediction so that I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own…I am sure that when this transcendental message penetrates their hearts, they will certainly feel engladdened and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life…"

This poem is dated 18th September 1965. Twelve years later, on 14th November 1977, Swami Bhaktivedanta passed away in Vridavana, India at the age of eighty-one. In twelve years Swami Bhaktivedanta had amazingly accomplished his huge mission.

The Society He Created

After arriving in New York City in September 1965, Srila Prabhupada struggled alone to establish his God consciousness movement. He lived simply and talked and lectured about Krsna whenever and wherever he got the opportunity to do so and gradually there was some small interest in what he was teaching.

In July of 1966, while still working alone from an obscure storefront in the Lower East Side of New York City, Srila Prabhupada founded the society intended for the entire world’s participation. He named it the INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY for KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS or ISKCON for short.

At the time of the creation of his society, Srila Prabhupada had not even got one committed follower. Undeterred he enlisted volunteers from some of the regular attendees at his evenings lectures to act as ISKCON’s first trustees. That was during the very begging of ISKCON history. Today the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has more than 300 temples, farms, schools and special projects through out the world and has a strong congregation numbering in millions.

The Purpose of ISKCON

Krsna consciousness is more than another sectarian faith. It is a technical science of spiritual values that is described and recommended in the ancient Vedic scriptures from ancient India. The aim of the Krsna consciousness movement is to reveal to the people of the world, the principles of God and in turn Self- realization so that they may derive the highest benefits of spiritual understanding, unity and peace.

The Vedas recommend that in the present age the most effective means of achieving self-realization is to constantly hear about, glorify and remember the all-good supreme Lord, who is known by numerous names. The most important names in this age ‘Krsna’, which means ‘he who is all attractive’, another is ‘Rama’ which means ‘He who is the reservoir of all pleasure’, and ‘Hare’ indicates the inconceivable energy of the Lord.

The members of ISKCON follow the recommendation in the Vedic scriptures and are seen constantly seen chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. This sublime chanting puts us in direct contact with the Supreme Lord through the transcendental sound vibration, of his holy names and gradually awakens us to our original and eternal relationship with God.

The primary mission of ISKCON is to encourage all of the members of the human society, to devote at least some portion of their time and energies to this process of hearing and chanting about God. In this way they will eventually come to the realization that all living beings are spirit souls, eternally related to the Supreme Lord in service and in Love.

The Distribution of Spiritual Food

Along with teaching the Vedic knowledge and spreading the Lords holy names, ISKCON also very freely distributes spiritual food through out the world. In the same way that the philosophy and canting is done for Krsna, Vegetarian food has first been offered to the Lord, this purifies the heart and the mind.

This helps us in the gradual process of uncovering one’s original awareness of God. ISKCON’s distribution of spirtualized food (Prasadam) though out the world is therefore known as
‘Food for Life’, which is beneficial for the body as well the soul of each and every recipient.

The Teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Srila Prabhupada considered his books to be the most valuable contribution he had made in spreading the Vedic knowledge through out the world. Actually Srila Prabhupada would say that translating and explaining the ancient Vedic scriptures was his very life and soul. IN the year of 1970, Srila Prabhupada founded the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, and now it has become the largest publisher of Vedic literature. Over the last twenty-five years, millions of people have read at least one of Srila Prabhupada’s books, and have genuinely felt their lives enriched.

Scholarly Appreciation of Srila Prabhupada’s Teachings

Srila Prabhupada noted often that, although universities and colleges of the modern day had many departments for understanding may things, there was no department that taught scientific knowledge of the self and God. By presenting the original Vedic science of God realization through his valuable books, Srila Prabhupada filled this large gap and met this vital educational need. Over the years, scholars who had met Srila Prabhupada or had read his works, have expressed their appreciation for both his personal quality ands the contribution his teachings have made to humanity.

Harvey Cox one such world renowned professor of religion at Harvard University, tells us how he recognized the value of Srila Prabhupada’s works ands what a contribution he had made:
‘When I first met the Hare Krishna’s, I can remember thinking how surprised I was, and I wondered what this meant. The costumes, the chanting, and the shaved heads appeared a little strange to me. But as I came to know the movement, I came to find that there was a striking similarity in the essence of what they were teaching and in the original core of Christianity-that is, living simply, not trying to accumulate worldly goods, living with compassion towards all creatures, sharing, loving, and living joyfully. I am impressed with how much the teachings of one man and the spiritual tradition he brought impacted themselves into the lives of so many people. In my view Srila Prabhupada’s contribution is a very important one and will be a lasting one.’

The Temples He Built

Srila Prabhupada built 108 temples before leaving for the spiritual world in 1977. Now ISKCON has well over three hundred temples, farms, schools and special projects and weekly gatherings through out the world. At each center members give classes, perform chanting and ceremonies, and provide valuable instruction on the science of Krsna consciousness. Each center holds a weekly festival and vegetarian feast, as well as festive occasions throughout the year. All programs are open to the public.

Gita Jayanti commemorates the day that the Srimad Bhagavad Gita was spoken by Lord Sri Krishna to His dear most devotee Arjuna at the place now known as Jyotisar Tirtha amid the warring families of the Kurus and the Pandavas at Kurukshetra. The Bhagavad-gita is universally renowned as the jewel of India's spiritual wisdom. Spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead to His intimate disciple Arjuna, the Gita's seven hundred concise verses provide a definitive guide to the science of self realization. No other philosophical or religious work reveals, in such a lucid and profound way, the nature of consciousness, the self, the universe and the Supreme.

Gita Jayanti, also referred as Bhagawad Geetha Jayanthi, is the day when the Bhagvad Gita was rendered by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the Kurukshetra on the first day of the famous 18-day battle in the Mahabharata. Gita Jayanthi falls on the Ekadashi day of Shukla Paksha (the bright half) of the Margashirsha month (November-December) in traditional Hindi calendar. In 2009, the date of Gita Jayanti is November 28.

The greatest quality of Bhagavad Gita is that it prompts you to think, it prompts you to take decision, and it prompts you to look at life differently and refreshingly and all this without surrendering your individuality.

Hare Krishna!

A Brief Biography of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada appeared in this world in 1896 in Calcutta, India. He first met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, in Calcutta in 1922. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, 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 Sarasvati requested Srila Prabhupada to broadcast Vedic knowledge in English. In the years that followed, Srila 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 vanaprasta (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 (sannyasa) in 1959. At Radha-Damodara, Srila Prabhupada began work on his life's masterpiece: a multivolume commentated translation of the eighteen thousand verse Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata 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 than 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 the 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 come. In Vrndavana are the magnificent Krsna-Balarama Temple and International Guesthouse, gurukula school, and Srila Prabhupada Memorial and Museum. There is also a major cultural and educational center in Bombay. Major centers are planned in Delhi and in a dozen other important locations on the Indian subcontinent.

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 writings have been translated into over fifty languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, established in 1972 to publish the works of His Divine Grace, has 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.