srila prabhupada's life story

8/14/2019 Srila Prabhupada's Life Story

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oday is the auspicious disappearanceday of our revered spiritual master,

Sri Srimad A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada, Founder-acharya of ISKCON, the International Society forKrishna Consciousness. He is not a

mortal being like we of this material world.He is a most dear and intimate associateof Krishna from Goloka Vrindavan. Outof mercy he descended here on 1September 1896 in Calcutta.

He first met his revered spiritual master,Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta SaraswatiPrabhupada Maharaja, in 1922. At their firstdaranaSrila Prabhupada accepted him in hisheart as guru. It was also at that meeting thathe received the instruction to go to the Western

world and preach the science of Krishnaconsciousness in English. He took that orderto heart with much seriousness. After elevenyears, in 1933, he took formal initiation fromhis spiritual master in Allahabad.

Prior to Srimad BhaktisiddhantaSaraswati Goswami Prabhupada Maharajasdisappearance in 1936, SrimadBhaktivedanta Swami wrote a letter to hisspiritual master asking, What service can Irender to you? He was given the same order

again, Go to the Western world and preachin English. Then it was just a question of how to prepare himself. He started hisservice to his spiritual master withoutanyone elses help in 1944, publishing amagazine in English Back to Godhead.His disciples have continued to publish it.Then he began his translations of rmadBhagavad-gtand rmad Bhgavatam.Before going to America he published threevolumes of rmad Bhgavatam.

Seeing his great learning, hisenthusiasm for preaching, and hiscapabilities, the Gauya Vaiava saghaawarded him the honorable titleBhaktivedanta in 1947. He was a

INTRODUCTION


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M Y R E V E R E D S P I R I T U A L M A S T E R

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ghasthauntil 1954, when he left thatashram at the age of fifty-eight to become

a vnaprasth. He traveled alone to manyplaces in India until 1958. At last he cameto Vrindavan and stayed in the RadhaDamodar temple for a few years. Heentered a period of intense preparationthere, becoming fully absorbed in hissdhana, bhajana, studying, andtranslating. In 1959 he took sannyasafrom his godbrother Keshava Maharaja.To carry out the order of his reveredspiritual master, he set out for the Westat the advanced age of 69. On 17September 1965 he arrived in America.In 1966 he es tabl ished theInternat ional Socie ty for KrishnaConsciousness, ISKCON. In 1968 hebegan his New Vrindavan Project. In1972 he opened ISKCONs first gurukulain Texas. At that time there were onlythree students. In just three years therewere one hundred and thirty-fiveenrolled. Then, he started the VaishnavaCity project in Mayapur Dham, theappearance place of Sriman ChaitanyaMahaprabhu. He spent more than onehundred crores * of rupees to keep thatwork going. He established theBhaktivedanta Book Trust in 1972. On14 November 1977 he disappeared fromthis world. During this period he traveledtwelve times around the world andpreached the science of Krishna

consciousness. This is a precise lifehistory. Still, his pastimes are unlimitedand unending.

I first met him in 1974 in VrindavanDham. Immediately he told me that he

would give me sannysa. So I receivedharinma initiation and then became asannysavery quickly. He was so mercifulto accept me, a most fallen, degraded soul,as one of his disciples. He came toBhubaneswar for sixteen days until theappearance day of Lord Nityananda whichfell on 2 February 1977. He arrived on 19

January and left on 3 February. He toldme, Gour Govinda, I will lay thefoundation stone on the appearance dayof Lord Nityananda. Actually, he is amanifestation of Lord Nityananda. LordNityananda is so wonderfully merciful,even more so than Gauranga Mahaprabhu.nitiyer karu habe braje rdh-ka pbe If you receive the mercy of Nitaithen you will be able to attain RadhaKrishna in Vrajabhumi. Otherwise how isit possible? He poured all his mercy,karu, into his last founded project Bhubaneswars Krishna Balaram Mandir.It is all nitiyer karu.

* One hundred crores is one billion.

www.gopaljiu.org

srila prabhupada's life story

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