His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was born in 1896 in Calcutta, India.
In 1966, he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). With great effort and determination, at the age of 69 (when most people are retired), he journeyed from Kolkata to New York by cargo ship hoping to help the people of the Western world reconnect with their spiritual essence. He sought to pass on the ancient teachings of bhakti-yoga and demonstrated how to practically apply this knowledge to live a happy and fulfilling life.
He was on a self-less mission to introduce the ancient teachings of Vedic India to the world through mainstream America. Before Srila Prabhupada passed away on November 14, 1977 at the age of 81, his mission successfully created 108 temples throughout the world along with many world-wide centres for propagating Krishna Consciousness including farming communities and gurukulas.
His most important tool was books. He spent so much time and effort into translating Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrita, Upanisads and many, many more smaller books based on His lectures and discussions. All done to pass on the ancient Vedic knowledge as it is, with any adulteration or speculation. Srila Prabhupada often said "Krishna Consciousness is not an arm-chair philosophy or a part-time religion; it is a way of life". He presented this philosophy of Krishna Consciousness very extensively in his books and we request you to make it a habit to read Srila Prabhupada’s books and be benefited by them.