Hansadutta Swami
| Hansadutta das | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | May 27, 1941 Brunswick, Germany |
Hansadutta Swami until 1984, when he gave up sannyasa and became known simply as Hansadutta Dasa (sometimes spelled Hamsaduta, also known as Hans Kary, alias Jack London, was born in Brunswick, Germany on May 27, 1941), is one of the senior disciples of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and formerly a guru within the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as 'the Hare Krishnas' or ISKCON).
Hansadutta became an initiated disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami in March 1967.
He assisted with the pioneering of the Hare Krishna movement, opening centers and preaching in Canada: Montreal and Vancouver; Europe: Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Russia; in USA: Boston, Berkeley; and in Asia: Turkey, Cairo, Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.
He was one of the leaders in publication (printing and distribution) of Bhaktivedanta Swami's books, particularly in European languages, heading up the sales of books in Germany and North Europe, and in 1974 was appointed by Bhaktivedanta Swami to serve as lifetime trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. He was also appointed as a member of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission, and took turns serving as Bhaktivedanta Swami's personal secretary. In 1976 Hansadutta took up the order of sannyasa.
While preaching in Sri Lanka in the year 1977, Hansadutta created a public sensation with his answer to a challenge by Dr. Abraham T. Kovoor, president of the Sri Lanka branch of the Rationalist Association, which exchange was published in the Colombo (Sri Lanka) Sunday Times. Bhaktivedanta Swami approved Hamsadutta's proposal that the exchange be included in the BBT publication titled "Life Comes from Life".
In July 1977, Hansadutta was one of eleven disciples named by Bhaktivedanta Swami to act as ritvik representatives in the matter of initiating new disciples. Four months after the death of Bhaktivedanta Swami on November 14, 1977, it was announced that the eleven disciples had been designated as gurus, and as part of ISKCON's Zonal Acharya system, Hansadutta initiated disciples primarily within zones assigned to him, namely North America, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Philippines.
...
Wikipedia