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wSrila
Prabhupada took birth in this world on the day after Krishna's
appearance day, in Calcutta, 1896. His life history from
his earliest days to his passing away in 1977 is vividly
described in his authorized biography, the Srila Prabhupada
Lilamrta.
In
Calcutta, 1922, Srila Prabhupada first met his spiritual
master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, who immediately
asked him, "You are an intelligent young man. Why
don't you preach the message of Lord Caitanya in English?"
This request was to be the driving force in Srila Prabhupada's
life.
Although
Srila Prabhupada then accepted his spiritual master within
his heart, it was in 1932 that he became Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's
officially initiated disciple. Meanwhile, Srila Prabhupada
had started a successful pharmaceutical business to maintain
his family.
In
1936, Srila Prabhupada wrote to his spiritual master,
who was then passing his last days on the planet. In the
letter Prabhupada asked, "Is there any particular
service I can do?" Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said in
his reply, "I am fully confident that you can explain
in English our thoughts and arguments. ...I have every
hope that you can turn yourself into a very good English
preacher." Srila Prabhupada knew this was to be his
life's mission, and he began to prepare himself.
In
1944, during the Second World War, when paper was scarce
and people were not very wealthy materially or spiritually,
Srila Prabhupada began his magazine, Back to Godhead,
which is still being published today. To pay for the printing,
he would collect donations. To publish the issues (then
in newspaper format), he would write, edit, and do the
layout. To sell them, he would go out himself.
In
1950, he left his home and family and dedicated his life
to preaching. In 1959, he took the order of sannyasa --
full renunciation from material life. Soon afterward he
wrote three volumes of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, finishing
the first of twelve cantos. Again he wrote, edited, proofread,
bought the paper, and got the books printed and bound.
After delivery, he sold the books through bookstores and
agents in the larger cities of India.
Now
he had these three books in English. Feeling the weight
of his spiritual master's order and knowing Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's assurance that His holy name would be heard
in every town and village throughout the world, Srila
Prabhupada was determined to go to America somehow or
other and preach. He was convinced that if the Americans
would take up Krishna consciousness, all the other countries
in the world would follow.
Begging
passage on the Jaladuta, a cargo carrier of the Scindia
Steamship Corporation, and traveling 35 painful days across
the ocean (he had two heart attacks on the journey), Srila
Prabhupada arrived in New York City. He later related,
"I didn't know where to turn, left or right."
After a difficult six months, living here and there, he
rented a small storefront on 26 Second Avenue in New York's
Lower East Side, not the best neighborhood by any estimation.
It was here that some sincere searchers for spiritual
knowledge gathered and gradually found shelter at the
lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada, whom they affectionately
called, "Swamiji."
Soon
Srila Prabhupada gathered the most interested of these searchers
and brought them to Tompkins Square Park, where they held
the first outdoor chanting session (sankirtan) outside India.
Onlookers were amazed, and the boys who had gone with him
were feeling the ecstasy of chanting. Soon there were regular
chanting parties, and the first devotees became initiated
by Srila Prabhupada. In July of 1966, Srila Prabhupada officially
incorporated The International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON) and began to develop his infrastructure for spreading
the message of Krishna throughout the world. Srila Prabhupada
revived his Back to Godhead magazine, which the newly-initiated
devotees distributed on the streets.
Regularly
Srila Prabhupada would hold chanting sessions and give
lectures to the eager groups of people who would come
to his storefront. Always he would distribute prasadam,
and soon he started the first Sunday feasts.
After
the New York devotees became more steady in their spiritual
practice, Srila Prabhupada went to San Francisco to establish
ISKCON on the West Coast of the USA. Many hippies joined
his movement and spread spiritual love and peace throughout
the community. Srila Prabhupada sent his disciples to
preach in other parts of the world and establish Krishna
Conscious centers. They first started preaching in London,
then later in Berlin, India, and many cities throughout
the USA.
Srila
Prabhupada passed away from this world in 1977. After
preaching for 11 years in the West, he had created 108
centers worldwide, written 51 volumes of transcendental
literature (described below), traveled around the world
eight times and initiated 5,000 disciples. He had created
the world's largest publisher of Vedic literature .The
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, a scientific preaching
academy The
Bhaktivedanta Institute), and many
other trusts to insure the continuity of ISKCON.
The
Books of Srila Prabhupada
Srila
Prabhupada wrote over 50 volumes of transcendental literature.
From original Sanskrit or Bengali texts, he would write
word-for-word and complete translations for each verse
and comment on the text in his famous Bhaktivedanta purports.
He called these purports "My emotional ecstasies."
In clear and lucid language, he exposed the foolishness
of the modern materialistic society, which often acts
no different than polished animals. But merely exposing
the modern society was not his main purpose. He sincerely
wished the best for all living entities. Therefore he
presented the vast science of spiritual knowledge in such
a manner that even any slightly intelligent person could
understand the truth: We are eternally parts of Krishna;
we are His eternal servants.
Srila
Prabhupada's works include the Bhagavad-gita As It Is,
Srimad Bhagavatam (12 Cantos), Caitanya-caritamrta (17
volumes), The Nectar of Devotion, Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, The
Teachings of Lord Kapila, The Teaching of Queen Kunti,
Sri Isopanisad, The Nectar of Instruction, and dozens
of smaller books.
| Srila
Prabhupada produced these books (excepting the
original First Canto Bhagavatam) within
a short span of 11 years, a superhuman feat unmatched
in recorded history. Every day he would dictate
the text, and later his devoted followers would
type his recorded voice and edit the copies. Prabhupada
slept only 3 hours a day and ate only a handful
of food. The early morning hours, between 1:30
and 4:30 a.m., he would spend writing, and later
in the day he would preach to all classes of people
in public and in private. Even up to the day before
his death, when his physical body was at its end,
he was writing the final purports to his last
book. By any calculation, he was an extraordinary
person.
Here
is what some scholars say about the Books of Srila
Prabhupada
"In
this beautiful translation, Srila Prabhupada has
caught the deep devotional spirit of the Gita
and has supplied the text with an elaborate commentary
in the truly authentic tradition of Sri Krishna
Caitanya, one India's most important and influential
saints."
Dr.
J. Stillson Judah
Emeritus Professor of the History of Religions
and
Director of the Library Graduate Theological Union,
Berkeley
"Bhagavad-gita
As It Is is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived
and beautifully explained work... I have never
seen any other work on the Gita with such
an important voice and style. It is a work of
undoubted integrity... It will occupy a significant
place in the intellectual ethical life of modern
man for a long time to come."
Dr.
S. Shukla
Assistant Professor of Linguistics
Georgetown University
"This
definitive edition of the Gita is, due
to the extensive purports, a storehouse of ancient
Vedic wisdom, poetry, politics and history. It
should serve as a useful textbook for students
and reference book for scholars of religion, as
well as a general introduction to Vedic culture
in general, not only from a scholar's point of
view, but from that of a lifelong practitioner.
It is this sense of devotion which Srila Prabhupada
has captured in his discussion of the verses and
which other commentators have failed to reveal.
For this reason, Bhagavad-gita As It Is
is an essential work for understanding the Indian
religious tradition."
Dr.
David Herron
Department of Religion
Manhattan College
These
are only a small sampling of the hundreds of favorable
reviews the BBT has received from scholars all
over the world. |
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