His Journey
Between the years 1965 and 1977, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami had spread the teachings of Krishna consciousness to every major city in the world, and had formed an international society comprising thousands of dedicated members. He had established 108 temples, with magnificent estates spread across six continents, and had circled the globe twelve times to personally guide the membership of his broadening mission.

SRILA PRABHUPADA

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was born in 1896, in Calcutta, India.

His father Gour Mohan De and mother Rajani De raised him lovingly as a devotee of Lord Krishna. At the age of 26 he met his spiritual master; Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami who solidified the spiritual culture he had imbibed from his parents and instructed him to spread it in the English speaking world.

So it was that after a lifetime of preparation at the age of 70 Srila Prabhupada travelled to America to establish the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Between 1966 and 1977 he performed extraordinary feats as a pure representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krsna, in spreading Krsna Consciousness worldwide.

On 14th November 1977 he departed this world yet continues to live here in his teachings, his society and in the hearts of his followers, where we can find him today

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The Meaning of Srila Prabhupada's Name

The "A.C." stands for "Abhay Charanaravinda", the name given to him at initiation by his spiritual master. It means "one who is fearless at the lotus feet of Krishna."

The title "Bhaktivedanta" was awarded to him later to denote his devotion (bhakti) and his deep understanding of the conclusion of spiritual knowledge (vedanta).

He received the title "Swami" (which means controller of the senses') in 1959 when he accepted the traditional order of renunciation.

The title "Prabhupada" is a term of high honor that means "one who serves at the feet of God."

For brevity, scholars sometimes refer to him as "Bhaktivedanta Swami", and both scholars and devotees refer to him as "Srila Prabhupada," the term "Srila" being an honorific title that means "eminent".

His Books
As a person proceeding from his 70th to his 82nd year, Srila Prabhupada had translated, written, and published 51 volumes of books in 28 different languages, tens of millions of which had been distributed throughout the world. He had delivered thousands of lectures, written thousands of letters, and taken part in thousands of conversations with followers, admirers, as well as critics. And he had won the esteem of hundreds of prominent scholars and social figures, who had genuine appreciation for Srila Prabhupada's contributions to religion, philosophy, and culture.