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Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, Founder-acharya of ISKCON
Śrīla Prabhupāda
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In Devanagari अभय चरणारविन्द भक्तिवेदान्त स्वामी प्रभुपाद
Religion Hinduism
Lineage Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya
Sect Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Temple ISKCON
Other names Abhay Caranaravinda, Abhay Charan De, Prabhupada
Personal
Nationality Indian
Born Abhay Charan De
(1896-09-01)1 September 1896
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died 14 November 1977(1977-11-14) (aged 81)
Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Resting place Bhaktivedanta Swami's Samadhi, Vrindavan
Religious career
Based in Vrindavan, India
Title Founder-Acharya of ISKCON
Period in office 1966–1977
Predecessor Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Teacher Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Works Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam
Initiation Diksa–1933, Sannyasa–1959
Post Guru, Sannyasi, Samsthapaka-Acharya
Website Official Website of ISKCON Official website of Prabhupada

Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Bengali: অভয়চরণারবিন্দ ভক্তিবেদান্ত স্বামী প্রভুপাদ; Abhoy Charonarobindo Bhoktibedanto Swamy Probhupad; Sanskrit: अभय चरणारविन्द भक्तिवेदान्त स्वामी प्रभुपाद, IAST: abhaya-caraṇāravinda bhakti-vedānta svāmī prabhupāda; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was a Gaudiya Vaishnava spiritual teacher (guru) and the founder preceptor (acharya) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement". His mission was to propagate Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a school of Vaishnavite Hinduism that had been taught to him by his guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, throughout the world. Born Abhay Charan De in Calcutta, he was educated at the prestigious local Scottish Church College. Before adopting the life of a pious renunciant (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." Despite attacks from anti-cult groups, he received a favorable welcome from many religious scholars, such as J. Stillson Judah, Harvey Cox, Larry Shinn and Thomas Hopkins, who praised Bhaktivedanta Swami's translations and defended the group against distorted media images and misinterpretations. In respect to his achievements, religious leaders from other Gaudiya Vaishnava movements have also given him credit.


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