Life History

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was born in Calcutta, India, in 1896, where he was raised in a loving Vaishnava family and learned to worship Krishna from an early age. He attended Scottish Churches college and went on to run a pharmaceutical business during his household years. He later met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, who instructed him to print books in English and spread the message of Krishna consciousness, love of God, to the western world.

In 1944, taking the instructions of his guru to heart, Srila Prabhupada singlehandedly started Back to Godhead magazine, which is continued to this day by his disciples. In 1950, he moved to Vrindavan, India, the birth place of Lord Krishna, and devoted several years to studies and writing. It is there that he began on a multi-volume translation with commentary of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, along with many other books. He accepted the renounced order of sannyasa in 1959 and not long thereafter, set out on a cargo ship to the West to fulfill the order of his guru.

In July 1966, after a year of hardships alone in a poor neighborhood of New York City and still without a single dedicated follower, Srila Prabhupada incorporated the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). On his business card at the time he had printed "centers around the world." Before his passing in 1977, only 11 years later, Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON had grown to a following of some 10,000 disciples, and a worldwide confederation of 108 ashrams, schools, temples, and farm communities.

Despite his advanced age, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours, and without fail, would rise early each morning and continue translating and commenting on Srimad Bhagavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Srila Prabhupada has left behind a veritable library of Vedic philosophy and culture for our benefit. Highly respected by scholars for their authority, depth, and clarity, his books are used at colleges and universities around the world. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust publishes his works in over 50 languages.

This article was taken from www.krishna.com