Talk:Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa Blesses his Bhakta Puṇḍalika:Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda (1896–1977 CE)
By Vishal Agarwal
In recent times, the one person who has done the most in taking the message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and of Hindu dharm in general to various parts of the world is Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda. He was born in 1896 to a very religious father, who taught him the art of singing bhajana-s, leading satsanga-s and also introduced him to his Guru, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Svāmī Prabhupāda’s childhood name was Abhaya Caraṇa De. His Guru was very impressed with Abhaya’s dedication to Kṛṣṇa and skills in the English language, and often told him, “If you ever have money, use it for publishing books in English for spreading the message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world.”
However, Abhaya married and lived with his wife and children till the age of 54. He ran a business and worked several jobs for over 30 years to support his family. Whenever he got time, he would invite other bhakta-s of Kṛṣṇa for spiritual discussions and bhajana-s. But his wife never participated and preferred to sip tea in another room. Under her influence, his children too did not get very interested in their father’s activities. One day, at the age of 54, Abhaya returned home to find that his wife had sold his holy book, a copy of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, to buy herself a packet of tea biscuits. He was very disappointed and thought, “I have tried for 32 years to make her a bhakta of Kṛṣṇa. I have fulfilled my duties as a father and a husband. But now, I will spend the rest of my life for the sake of Kṛṣṇa.”
He left his home, and in 1959, he became a sannyāsī and was given a new name – Abhaya Caraṇa Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda. He had no place to live and no source of income. He begged for food and depended on the generosity of others to live in Delhi and Vṛndāvana. Remembering his Guru’s words, he started writing in English and completed the first three large-sized volumes containing the translation and explanation of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.
In 1965, when he was already 69 years old, he boarded a ship and travelled to New York. At that time, he had no followers, no money, and no clear idea of what exactly he could do to spread the message of dharm in the West. It was the first time he had stepped out of Bhārata.
He was hosted by a gentleman named Gopāla Agarvāla of Philadelphia for around two months. With his assistance, he travelled back to New York and other places of the United States. Soon, he founded the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. His followers began to grow, and they attracted a lot of attention by chanting Kṛṣṇa bhajans at public places and distributing their literature. Soon, many other branches in San Francisco and other cities opened as well. In the next twelve years since his first journey outside of Bhārata, his American followers opened branches in many other countries.
He himself travelled fourteen times across the globe, giving lectures, leading public chanting, opening temples, and distributing copies of the Gītā and other books on dharm. Today, ISKCON centers are found all over the world, although the movement had started just a few decades ago. Thousands of non-Hindus and even Hindus have become members of ISKCON since then. They are popularly known as Hare Kṛṣṇas. In 1977, Svāmī Prabhupāda passed away at Vṛndāvana at the age of eighty-one. It is remarkable how a sixty-nine-year-old man could accomplish so much for dharm at an age when most people retire and spend life in leisurely pursuits.
The Hare Kṛṣṇas are a very visible group in virtually all countries of the world due to their distinct Vaiṣṇava robes, music, chanting, and singing that they exhibit in the streets. The Hare Kṛṣṇas utilize all modern means of spreading their beliefs such as printing books, creating internet resources, and distributing pamphlets. The extensive publishing apparatus of this sect is now said to be the largest producer of Hindu texts like the Bhagavad Gītā and Bhāgavata Purāṇa in the whole world. An illustrated English translation of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata is also under preparation.
The Hare Kṛṣṇas have also established semi-monastic live-in communities all over the world. Members of these communities spend their time in Vaiṣṇava devotional practices like kīrtana, bhajan, and japa. ISKCON actively propagates the cause of vegetarianism and is spending large sums of money in the reconstruction of Vaiṣṇava centers of worship in Bhārata that were desecrated during the Islamic rule, such as Navadvīpa in Bengal and Vṛndāvana in Europe.