Founder of ISKCON Sri AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad was born on Nandostav in September 1896 in a Vaishnav family in Kolkata. His social name was Abhay Ch Dey. His father name was Gour Mohan Dey.
His mother name was Rajani Devi and his wife was Radharani Dutta. Prabhupada was a graduate from Kolkata University but he had refused to receive his degree certificate from the university. After graduation he was appointed as manager in Dr Bose Chemical Institute. Svila Bhakti Siddhanta. He met his Guru Saraswati Thakur in 1922. The Founder of Goudiya Math, Maha Bhagabat, great scholar Bhakti Siddhanla Saraswati Thakur identified a dynamic spirit, who has the capacity and power to spread the Hare Krishna movement all over the world and preach Mahaprabhu’s Bani. Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur discussed about Bhagabat Tatwa and Atma Tatwa on his first meeting with Srila Prabhupad. Gurudev advised him to spread the Bhagabat Tatwa in English medium across the world.
Srila Prabhupad followed his Gurudev's advice and prepared himself by reading Bhagabat, Gita and various religious books for around 11 years. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave him initiation in the year 1933 and his name became AC Bhaktivedanta Swami from Abhaya. Prabhupad started a weekly spiritual magazine named "Back to God head” in the year 1944 as per advice of his Guru. He had no money, no followers. He had strong faith on the word of his Guru and Lord Krishna. He started the magazine. It was a big hit. Nowadays, ‘Back to Godhead' magazine sells more than 1 lakh copies every month all over the world which is published in a number of languages. The magazine's Odia publication name is 'Bhagabat Darshan'.
The Goudiya Baishnab Samaj in the year 1947 gave a Upadhi "Bhaktivedanta" to Abhay Ch. Dey by looking at his spiritual activities and deep spiritual knowledge on Sashtras. In the age of 54 in 1950 he left his Gruhasta Ashram and entered into Banaprasta life.
After 4 years at Lord Krishna's land, Vrindaban, he engaged himself on Bhagabat seva at Radha Damodar Temple. There he discovered so many 'Sashtras', deeply read them and made analysis of them. He translated the Gita, Bhagabat, Chaitanya Charitamrita. etc in English language to take them to global readers. In this time he had translated 700 slokas of Bhagabat Gita and 18,000 slokas Bhagabat in English language with analysis. He reached Boston city of USA to preach the Hare Krishna movement in the west.
In the Buston city near Dumpkin square park he perform Kirtan with help of Kartal. In 1966 he established Krishna Consciousness Society Centre in the USA. During next 10 years, the Hare Krishna movement covered all over the world with his intellectual administrative capacity. During this period he had established 100 Ashrams, Gurukuls, temples and farm houses in the western countries. In the year 1968 in hill of west America at Verginia Prabhupad established New Vrindaban Temple, whose area is 3,000 acres. He established a spiritual Indian Vedic civilization institution for the people of America. This institution attract so many people of America and the west. These people became followers of Srila Prabhupad.
He established Gurukul on the Vedic culture at Dais area of Texsas. Thousands of students are imparting Bhagabat culture there. Like wise there is a Gurukul institution at India, Vrindaban, Iskcon. There is a international Krishna Consciousness centre at Mahaprabhu’s birth place Sridham Mayapur, West Bengal. The most valuable gift of Prabhupad to the people of world is his books and Sashtras. He established Bhaktivedanta Institute in the year 1972 to publish his writing, where he appointed his disciple Srila Bhakti Swarup Damodar Swami Maharaj as chief of the publication institution.
The institution is biggest Indian spiritual publication organisation all over the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a Rs 125-coin with the photograph of Srila Prabhupada on September 1 on the 125th birth anniversary of Prabhupada.
(Das is State PRO, Iskcon, Bhubaneswar Mob: 9132090199)
