Srila Prabhupada

A Lifetime in Preparation

Abhay Charan De was born on September 1, 1896, in Calcutta, India. His father, Gour Mohan De, was a pure Vaishnava who raised his son to be a devotee of Krishna. In 1922, Abhay met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who requested him to spread the message of Lord Chaitanya in the English language.

In 1933, Abhay was formally initiated, and in 1959 he took the vow of sannyasa (renunciation), becoming A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. He then began working on his life's masterpiece: a translation and commentary on the 18,000-verse Srimad-Bhagavatam.

The Journey West

At the age of 69, Srila Prabhupada traveled to New York City aboard a cargo ship, suffering two heart attacks on the way. He arrived in 1965 with just seven dollars in Indian rupees and a crate of his books.

In July 1966, he incorporated the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). In the eleven years that followed, he circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours, spreading the teachings of Lord Krishna to thousands of people.

Literary Legacy

Despite his rigorous travel schedule, Srila Prabhupada wrote over eighty volumes of authoritative translations, commentaries, and summary studies of the philosophical and religious classics of India. His writings have been translated into over eighty languages.