Srila Prabhupada – At various times people have called him a scholar, a philosopher, a cultural ambassador, a prolific author, a religious leader, a spiritual teacher and a social critic. In truth, he was all these things and more.
Over five hundred years ago, Lord Sri Krishna appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa, a village in West Bengal. The purpose of His appearance was to inaugurate the Sankirtana Movement, the Yuga Dharma for this age of Kali. He declared that the chanting of His holy names would spread beyond the shores of India to every town and village in the world. He predicted that His commander-in-chief would appear to accomplish this mission. Yes… Srila Prabhupada appeared to fulfill this prophecy.
On September 01, 1896, the day after Janmashtami (the auspicious appearance day of Lord Sri Krishna), in a little house in the Tollygunge suburb of Calcutta, a male child was born. His father, Gour Mohan De, and his mother Rajani, named him Abhay Charan (one who is fearless – having taken shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna).
An astrologer prepared the horoscope for the baby and revealed: When this child reaches the age of seventy, he will cross the ocean, become a great teacher of religion and establish 108 Krishna temples.
And this is exactly what happened.
Srila Prabhupada set out to America in 1965 and established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness at the age of sixty-nine. He travelled around the world fourteen times, established more than 100 temples of Krishna and initiated more than 10000 disciples into Krishna consciousness.
Within the final twenty years of his life Srila Prabhupada translated over sixty volumes of classic Vedic scriptures (such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam) into the English language. For their authority, depth, and clarity, his books have won praise from professors at universities like Harvard and Oxford, and his Bhagavad-Gita As It Is was published by Macmillan Publishers in 1968 and the unabridged edition in 1972, and is now available in over sixty languages around the world. Other books by Srila Prabhupada are available in over eighty different languages. Over 500 million books of his have been distributed to date.
Srila Prabhupada established The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) in 1972 to publish his works. The BBT has also published his multi-volume biography, Srila Prabhupada-Lilamrta, that, according to acclaimed scholar of religion Larry Shinn, will “certainly be one of the most complete records of the life and work of any modern religious figure”. Srila Prabhupada reminded his devotees before his passing that he would live forever in his books, and through them would remain present as a spiritual master or guru. He had instilled in his followers an understanding of the importance of writing and publishing not only with regard to his works, but also their own initiatives.