Abhaya Caranāravinda Bhaktivedānta Svāmi (born Abhay Charan De; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian spiritual teacher and the founder-preceptor of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness[1] (ISKCON), commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement". Members of the ISKCON movement view Bhaktivedānta Swāmi as a representative and messenger of Krsna Caitanya.
Born Abhay Charan De in Calcutta, he was educated at the Scottish Church College in Calcutta.[6] Before adopting the life of a novice renunciate (vanaprastha) in 1950, he was married with children and owned a small pharmaceutical business. In 1959 he took a vow of renunciation (sannyasa) and started writing commentaries on Vaishnava scriptures. In his later years, as a traveling Vaishnava monk, he became an influential communicator of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology to India and specifically to the West through his leadership of ISKCON, founded in 1966. As the founder of ISKCON, he "emerged as a major figure of the Western counterculture, initiating thousands of young Americans." He received criticism from anti-cult groups, as well as a favorable welcome from religious scholars such as J. Stillson Judah, Harvey Cox, Larry Shinn and Thomas Hopkins, who praised Bhaktivedānta Swāmi's translations and defended the group against distorted media images and misinterpretations.[14] In respect to his achievements, religious leaders from other Gaudiya Vaishnava movements have also given him credit.
He has been described as a charismatic leader, in the sense used by sociologist Max Weber, as he was successful in acquiring followers in the United States, Europe, India and elsewhere.[16][17][18] His mission was to propagate, throughout the world, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a school of Vaishnavite Hinduism that had been taught to him by his guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.[11] After his death in 1977, ISKCON, the society he founded based on a type of Hindu Krishnaism using the Bhagavata Purana as a central scripture, continued to grow. In February 2014, ISKCON's news agency reported reaching a milestone of distributing over half a billion of his books since 1965. His translation of and commentary on the Bhagavad Gītā, titled Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, is considered by adherents of the ISKCON movement and many Vedic scholars as one of the finest literary works of Vaishnavism translated into the English Language.
LifeStory.
Early life:-
Born on 4 September 1896, the day after Janmastami, one of the most important Vaishnava holidays, in a humble house in the Tollygunge suburb of Calcutta in a Bengali Suvarna Banik family,[20] he was named Abhay Charan, "one who is fearless, having taken shelter at Lord Krishna's feet." Since he was born on the day of Nandotsava ("the celebration of Nanda," Krishna's father, a traditional festival in honor of Krishna's birth) he was also called Nandulāl. His parents, "Sriman" Gour Mohan De and "Srimati" Rajani De, were devout Vaishnavas (devotees of Vishnu). In accordance with Bengali tradition, his mother had gone to the home of her parents for the delivery, and only a few days later Abhay returned with parents to his home at 6 Sitakanta Banerjee Lane, Kolkata 700005.
He received a European-led education in the Scottish Church College, which was well reputed among Bengalis; many Vaishnava families sent their sons there. The professors, most of whom were Europeans, were known as sober, moral men, and it is believed that the students received a good education. The college was located in north Calcutta, near the De's family home on Harrison Road. During his years in the college, Abhay Charan De (অভয়চরণ দে) was a member of the English Society as well as that of the SanskritSociety, and it has been suggested that his education provided him a foundation for his future leadership.[8][21] He graduated in 1920 with majors in English, philosophy and economics. He rejected his diploma in response to Gandhi's independence movement.
At 22 years of age he married Radharani Devi, who was then 11 years old, in a marriage arranged by their parents. At 14, she gave birth to Abhay's first son.
Religious journey:-
In 1922, when he first met his spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he was requested to spread the message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the English language. In 1933 he became a formally initiated disciple of Bhaktisiddhānta. In 1944, (from his front room at Sita Kanta Banerjee, Calcutta), he started the publication called Back to Godhead, for which he acted as writer, designer, publisher, editor, copy editor and distributor. He personally designed the logo, an effulgent figure of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the upper left corner, with the motto: "Godhead is Light, Nescience is darkness" greeting the readers.[28] In his first magazine he wrote:
Under the circumstances since 1936 up to now, I was simply speculating whether I shall venture this difficult task and that without any means and capacity; but as none have discouraged me, I have now taken courage to take up the work. — A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Back to Godhead magazine.(Vol. 1, 1–4, 1944)
In 1947, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Society recognised his scholarship with the title Bhaktivedanta, (bhakti-vedānta) meaning "one who has realised that devotional service to the Supreme Lord is the end of all knowledge" (with the words Bhakti, indicating devotion and Vedanta indicating conclusive knowledge).
His later well known name, Prabhupāda, is a Sanskrit title, literally meaning "he who has taken the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord" where prabhu denotes "Lord", and pāda means "taking shelter."[31] Also, "at whose feet masters sit". This name was used as a respectful form of address by his disciples from late 1967 early 1968 onwards. Previous to this, as with his early disciples, followers used to call him "Swamiji".
From 1950 onwards, he lived at the medieval Radha-Damodar mandir in the holy town of Vrindavan, where he began his commentary and translation work of the Sanskrit work Bhagavata Purana. Of all notable Vrindavana's temples, the Radha-Damodara mandir had at the time the largest collection of various copies of the original writings of the Six Gosvamis and their followers – more than two thousand separate manuscripts, many of them three hundred, some even four hundred years old.His guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, had always encouraged him to print books, and beholding his spiritual master, Abhay felt the words deeply enter his own life – "If you ever get money, print books." referring to the need of literary presentation of the Vaishnava culture.
Mission to the West
When he sailed to the United States in 1965, his trip was not sponsored by any religious organization, nor was he met upon arrival by a group of loyal followers. As the Indian freighter Jaladuta neared his destination, the magnitude of his intended task weighed on him. On 13 September he wrote in his diary, "Today I have disclosed my mind to my companion, Lord Sri Krishna."On this occasion and on a number of others, he called on Krishna for help in his native Bengali. Examining these compositions, academics regard them as "intimate records of his prayerful preparation for what lay ahead" and a view on "how Bhaktivedanta Swami understood his own identity and mission."
I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me. But I guess You have some business here, otherwise why would You bring me to this terrible place? How will I make them understand this message of Krishna consciousness? I am very unfortunate, unqualified and most fallen. Therefore I am seeking Your benediction so that I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own.
By journeying to the United States, he was attempting to fulfil the wish of his guru, possible only by the grace of "his dear Lord Krishna". It was in July 1966 that he brought "global missionary Vaishnavism" to the Western world, founding the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York City. He spent much of the last decade of his life setting up the institution. Since he was the Society's leader, his personality and management were responsible for much of ISKCON's growth and the reach of his mission.
When it was suggested to him at the time of founding the ISKCON in 1966 that a broader term "God Consciousness" would be preferable to "Krishna Consciousness" in the title, he rejected this recommendation, suggesting that the name Krishna includes all other forms and concepts of God.
After a group of devotees and a temple had been established in New York another centre was started in San Francisco in 1967. From there he travelled throughout America with his disciples, popularizing the movement through street chanting (sankirtana), book distribution and public speeches.
Once ISKCON was more established in there, a small number of devotees from the San Francisco temple were sent to London, England where they came into contact with The Beatles. George Harrison took the greatest interest, spending a significant time speaking with him and producing a record with members of the later London Radha Krishna Temple.
Over the following years his continuing leadership role took him around the world some several times setting up temples and communities on other continents. By the time of his death in Vrindavan in 1977, ISKCON had become an internationally known expression of Vaishnavism.
In the twelve years from his arrival in New York until his final days, he:
circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continentsinitiated many disciples, awarding sannyasa initiations.introduced Vedic gurukul education to a Western audiencedirected the founding of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, which claims to be the world's largest publisher of ancient and classical Vaishnava religious textsfounded the religious colony New Vrindavan in West Virginia,authored more than eighty books (with many available online) on Vedantic philosophy, religion, literature and culture (including four published originally in Bengali)introduced international celebrations such as Jagannatha processions watched ISKCON grow to more than 108 temples, various institutes, and farm communities
Through his mission, he followed and communicated the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and introduced bhakti yoga to an international audience.[44][49] Within Gaudiya Vaishnavism this was viewed as the fulfilment of a long time mission to introduce Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings to the world.
In his discussion with historian Arnold J. Toynbee in London, he is quoted as saying: "I have started this Krishna Conscious Movement among the Indians and Americans and for the next ten thousand years it will increase. Bhaktivedanta Swami died on 14 November 1977 in Vrindavan, India; his burial remains in Krishna Balaram Mandir in Vrindavan India.
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