The Life and Works of HDG Sripada Bhaktisvarupa Damodara

Swami

BirthSripada Maharaja was born in the ancient Vaishnava kingdom of Manipur, in northeast India, on December 9, 1937. It was the holy day known as Odana-shashthi, when Lord Jagannatha is given new clothes.

Birth

His parents were Sri Yogendra Singh and Srimati KanyahanbiDevi. Sri YogendraSingh was a devotional singer in the NataSankirtana tradition.

Childhood

Around the age of eight he lost his father, and just a couple of years later he and his sister were living on their own in poverty. By the time Sripada Maharaja was twelve, he was forced to live alone and fend for himself by growing rice. Sometime later his primary school teacher noticed his plight and along with a village elder arranged for a proper home and his further education.

YouthAt fourteen, Sripada Maharaja became seriously ill with typhoid. The village physicians unanimously declared that he would soon die. But his guardian prayed daily for his recovery by reciting the Dashavatara-stotra, a prayer to Lord Sri Krishna’s ten incarnations. After fasting for forty days and drinking only whey, Sripada Maharaja miraculously recovered.

Student lifeIn 1957, Srila Sripada joined the prestigious D.M. College of Imphal, Manipur. He obtained his Intermediate Science Degree in 1959 and graduated with First Class Honors in Chemistry in 1961. He later acquired his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology in 1963 and further obtained his Master of Technology degree with First Class in Pharmaceutical Science from Calcutta University in 1964.

Student Life

In the US

In 1969, Srila Sripada was a student at the University of California, Irvine, USA, doing his PhD. research work in Physical Organic Chemistry.

In the US

In April 1970 Srila Sripada’s mother had passed away. He wanted to return to India to perform her shraddha but he got a letter from his guardian and teacher, Sri Kerani Singh advising him not to return to India from the shraddha ceremony. Sripada began to lose interest in his studies. He spent the succeeding nights meditating on the flickering nature of this material world.

Dr. Ramananda Rao

Dr. Rao requested Sripada several times to go with him to see Srila Prabhupada .

Meeting Srila PrabhupadaPrabhupada asked Sripada that being born in a vaishnava family why did he come to USA, crossing the ocean. He added, “You young scholars and students have come here as beggars to beg scientific knowledge and dollars. But I have not come here to beg. I have come here to give the Americans something very valuable, which they do not have - Bhagavataculture. Whey don’t you do the same as I am doing? Why are you simply taking? Why don’t you also give something?”

Prabhupada’s instructions

For the next eight years, beginning with Sripada Maharaja’s morning walks with SrilaPrabhupada in the early 1970s on Venice Beach in California, to the last hours of SrilaPrabhupada’s manifest pastimes in this world, in Vrindavana, 1977, Srila Prabhupadagave numerous instructions to SripadaMaharaja on how to properly introduce Bhagavata culture to the world’s intellectuals and leaders.

Bhagavata Sevarpanam

Bhaktivedanta Institute

Srila Prabhupada told him he wanted to start an institute to present Krishna consciousness scientifically to intellectuals. He told Sripada Maharaja he wanted him to be the director of the institute.

A Special RelationshipSrilaPrabhupadaonce said, “SvarupaDamodara is such a nice devotee; he has the quality of always making friends, not enemies. No one speaks against him.”

A Special Relationship

Conferences

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada, Sripada Maharaja organized five major international conferences, in Vrindavana(1977), Mumbai (1986), San Francisco (1990), Kolkata(1997), and Rome (2004).

Conferences

Conferences

Conferences

Publications

Publications

Publications

BI on wheels

To distribute the books of Srila Prabhupada and the Bhaktivedanta Institute to colleges and universities throughout India, Sripada Maharaja started the Bhaktivedanta Institute on Wheels

Schools

In northeast India Sripada Maharaja started a network of primary and secondary schools to promote the goals of the BhaktivedantaInstitute. Over four thousand students attend these schools and receive a scientific education centered on the spiritual values of the Bhagavata tradition.

Schools

Sharing Vaisnava CultureThroughout his life, SripadaMaharaja introduced the divine principle of Vaishnava culture in the numerous festivals and conferences he attended all over the world.

Sharing Vaisnava Culture

Inter-faith dialogues

In Sripada Maharaja’s work to introduce the Bhagavata culture to society’s intellectuals, he interacted with many spiritual leaders of the world’s great faiths.

Intra-faith dialogue

In the spirit of peace and harmony Srila Prabhupada told SripadaMaharaja, attending him in his last days, that he wanted to start the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust to bring unity among all Gaudiya Vaishnavas and to aid in the renovation of the ancient Gaudiya temples and holy sites.

University of Bhagavat CultureSrila Prabhupada instructed Sripada Maharaja to make Manipur a scientific Vaishnava state. In this regard, Sripada Maharaja began building The University of BhagavataCulture in Imphal, Manipur.

Establishing Temples

Sripada Maharaja inaugurated the construction of temples all over India including Manipur, Siliguri, Tirupati, Vijayawada, and Agartala.

Devotional Songs

A Spiritual Master and Friend

A legacy