Founder of ISKCON
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The Meaning of Srila Prabh-upada's Name The "A.C." stands for "Abhay Charanaravinda," the name given to him at initiation by his spiritual master. It means "one who is fearless at the lotus feet of Krishna."
The title "Bhaktivedanta" was awarded to him later to denote his devotion ("bhakti") and his deep understanding of the conclusion of spiritual knowledge ("vedanta").
He received the title "Swami" (which means "controller of the senses") in 1959 when he accepted the traditional renounced order of sannyasa.
Finally, the title "Prabhupada" is a term of high honor that means "one who serves at the feet of God."
For brevity, scholars sometimes refer to him as "Bhaktivedanta Swami," and both scholars and devotees refer to him as "Srila Prabhupada," the term "Srila" being an honorific title that means "eminent."
Pronunciation: "Bh" is pronounced like the "b" in English but with an extra puff of breath.
Bhuck-tee-vay-DAHN-ta ... Prah-bhoo-PAHD. Founder-Acharya 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), 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, in 1922, 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 still being published by his disciples. To subscribe to Back to Godhead please visit www.backtogodhead.com
In 1950 Srila Prabhupada retired from married life, adopting the vanaprastha (retired) order of life to devote more time to his studies and writings. He traveled to the holy city of Vrindavan, where he lived in humble circumstances in the historic temple of Radha-Damodara. There he engaged for several years in deep study and writing. Soon he accepted the renounced order of life (sannyasa) in 1959. At Radha-Damodara, Srila Prabhupada began work on his life's masterpiece: a multivolume commented translation of the eighteen-thousand-verse Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). He also wrote the famous book 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 he established 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 sramas, schools, temples, institutes and farm communities.
Srila Prabhupada's most significant contribution 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, from his arrival in America in 1965 till his passing away in Vrindavan in 1977, despite his advanced age Srila Prabhupada circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents. Not withstanding such a vigorous schedule, Srila Prabhupada continued to write prolifically. His writings constitute a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature, and culture.
To learn more about Srila Prabhupada and to read his books, please visit us at ISKCON Noida.
The following collections are available from Krishna.com:
- Complete Prabhupada Video DVD Set
- Complete Lectures and Music MP3 Set
- His written and spoken words: searchable Folio VedaBase
- Srila Prabhupada's books on CD-ROM
- Srila Prabhupada's life work: Srimad-Bhagavatam
- Srila Prabhupada's Chaitanya-Charitamrita
- Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita As It Is
- Other books by and about His Divine Grace
- Photo Gallery of His Divine Grace
- Krishna.com Radio: Srila Prabhupada
