## Biographical Sketch His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda appeared in this world on September 1, 1896, in Calcutta, India. During his childhood, Prabhupāda was known as Abhay Caran De. He was the pet child of Gour Mohan De and his wife Rajani, both pious devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda's early life gave him a wealth of experience which he would draw on in later years while instructing his disciples in the both the shortcomings of modern social and economic organization, and the ideals of the *daiva-varṇāśrama* system created by Kṛṣṇa. Gour Mohan was a cloth merchant of moderate income, but he belonged to the aristocratic *suvarna-vanik* merchant community. Prabhupāda described his family as middle class, noting that there was never any shortage of food, shelter, or clothing for them. Gour Mohan was an indulgent father, but one who constantly planned for his son to become a great devotee of the Lord. Rajani was the example of the ideal affectionate Bengali mother. She was religious and an excellent cook as well. A pious devotee of the Lord, Gour Mohan was charitable to numerous *sadhus* or holy men who lived in Calcutta. But, even as a boy, Prabhupāda could see that while a few were genuine, most were simply charlatans and cheats. Although they claimed spiritual status, they were nothing more than social parasites. Calcutta was home, not only to Hindus, but also to many Muslims as well. According to Śrīla Prabhupāda's biographer, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, Hindus and Muslims lived peacefully together in Calcutta, so when the first Muslim-Hindu riot broke out when Abhay was thirteen years old, his family understood that it was due to political agitation by the British. In later years, Prabhupāda emphasized the non-sectarian nature of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, stressing that the important thing was not designations such as Muslim, Hindu or Christian, but that all people should dedicate their lives to serving the Supreme Lord. In that situation, different religious groups could easily get along with one another. In 1916, Abhay's father encouraged him to enroll at Scottish Churches' College, one of two prestigious colleges in Calcutta. There he got along well with the faculty, most of whom were Scottish priests, and was exposed to the works of many Western writers and thinkers. His college years gave Śrīla Prabhupāda an exceptional background in economics which he would draw from in later years when explaining the principles of spiritual social organization to his followers. In the classroom, he studied the work of Alfred Marshall, the foremost economist of his day. Marshall was the first to acknowledge the importance of both supply and demand as the determining factors in setting prices for commodities. Marshall had great faith that a self-regulating economy, free of government interference would lead to market equilibrium, a fair distribution of income, and full employment. His theories were an important factor contributing to Britain's ongoing industrialization and expansionist trade policies. Outside the classroom, Abhay attended nationalist meetings organized by Subhas Chandra Bose, a senior classmate and future leader in India's independence movement. Here he was exposed to Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy, which presented a social and economic analysis completely opposite of what had been presented in the classroom. Like many other Bengalis, Abhay was attracted by the spiritual overtones of the *svardja* or self-rule movement. Gandhi lived simply, like a sadhu, and seemed to have more integrity than many of the sadhus that Abhay had met. He constantly cited the *Bhagavad-gītā* and its emphasis on work as a way to spiritual realization. Contrary to Marshall's theories, Gandhi taught that industrialization and large scale international trade had led to unparalleled riches and indulgence for the upper classes, and impoverishment and unemployment for the lower classes. Instead of industrialism and international trade, Gandhi advocated simple living and village self-sufficiency or *swadeshi*. The symbol of Gandhi's movement was the charka or spinning wheel. Abhay joined the supporters of the nationalist movement, casting off his British mill cloth to wear home-spun khadi. Ultimately, Abhay was satisfied with neither Marshall nor Gandhi. His strongest drive was not economic or political, but spiritual, and even Gandhi could not fulfill his desires for a spiritually oriented society. For him, both the capitalist and the nationalist philosophies had shortcomings. Nevertheless, he did not completely reject the teachings of either thinker but retained the concepts that had practical application for spiritual goals. In later life, Śrīla Prabhupāda would refer to Marshall's concepts: economic impetus begins from family affection; the formula for successful business enterprise consists of land, labor, capital and organization. He praised Gandhi's ideals of self-sufficiency and village organization. But in his college years, something was still missing- that person who could provide the spiritual leadership he was searching for. Finally, in 1922, Abhay met his spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvami, in Calcutta. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatīi, a prominent religious scholar and the founder of sixty-four Gaudiya Mathas (Vedic institutes), liked this educated young man and convinced him to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge. Abhay became his student, and eleven years later (1933) at Allahabad he became his formally initiated disciple. At their first meeting, in 1922, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura requested Abhay to broadcast Vedic knowledge through the English language. Although Abhay was by now a married man and held a position as an agent for an Indian pharmaceutical company, he nevertheless committed himself to fulfilling the desires of his spiritual master. In the years that followed meeting his guru, Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote a commentary on the *Bhagavad-gītā*, assisted the Gaudiya Matha in its work and, in 1944, started Back to Godhead, an English fortnightly magazine. Maintaining the publication was a struggle. Single-handedly, Śrīla Prabhupāda edited it, typed the manuscripts, checked the galley proofs, and even distributed the individual copies. The magazine is now being continued by his disciples in the West and is published in over thirty languages. Recognizing Śrīla Prabhupāda's philosophical learning and devotion, the Gaudiya Vaisnava Society honored him in 1947 with the title "Bhaktivedanta." In 1950, at the age of fifty-four, Śrīla Prabhupāda retired from married life, adopting the *vānaprastha* (retired) order to devote more time to his studies and writing. Śrīla Prabhupāda traveled to the holy city of Vrndavana, where he lived in very humble circumstances in the historic medieval temple of Radha-Damodara. There he engaged for several years in deep study and writing. He accepted the renounced order of life (*sannyāsa*) in 1959. At Radha-Damodara, Śrīla Prabhupāda began working on his life's masterpiece: a multi-volume annotated translation of the eighteen-thousand-verse *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (*Bhagavata Purana*). He also wrote Easy Journey to Other Planets. After publishing three volumes of the *Bhāgavatam*, Śrīla Prabhupāda came to the United States, in September 1965, to fulfill the mission of his spiritual master. Subsequently, His Divine Grace wrote more than sixty volumes of authoritative annotated translations and summary studies of the philosophical and religious classics of India. When he first arrived by freighter in New York City, Śrīla Prabhupāda was practically penniless. Only after almost a year of great difficulty did he establish the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in July of 1966. Before his passing away on November 14, 1977, he guided the Society and saw it grow to a worldwide confederation of more than one hundred asramas, schools, temples, institutes and farm communities. Śrīla Prabhupāda's most significant contribution, however, is his books. Highly respected by the academic community for their authority, depth and clarity, they are used as standard textbooks in numerous college courses. His writings have been translated into over fifty languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, established in 1972 to publish the works of His Divine Grace, has thus become the world's largest publisher of books in the field of Indian religion and philosophy. In just twelve years, in spite of his advanced age, Śrīla Prabhupāda circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents. In spite of such a vigorous schedule, Śrīla Prabhupāda continued to write prolifically. His writings constitute a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture. NOTE: In 1977, the year Śrīla Prabhupāda passed away, ISKCON listed the following thirteen farm communities in Back to Godhead magazine: Mayapur, India (Mayapur); Hyderabad, India (Hare Kṛṣṇa Land); Indre, France (New Mayapur at Lucay le Mal); London, England (Bhaktivedanta Manor); San Pedro, Costa Rica (New Vraja); Petropolis, Brazil (an affiliate of ISKCON Rio de Janeiro); Murwillumbah, Australia (New Govardhana); U.S. farm communities: Buffalo, New York; Carriere, Mississippi (New Talavana); Dixon, Missouri (New Godruma); Moundsville, West Virginia (New Vrndavana); Mulberry, Tennessee (Murari Sevak); Port Royal, Pennsylvania (Gita-nagari, formerly New Varsana). As this volume goes to press in 1999, Back to Godhead Magazine lists forty-six rural ISKCON communities in twenty-nine countries. Additional devotee communities, which are not yet officially affiliated with ISKCON, are also being developed. For scholarly consistency, the conversations in this volume are listed as they are in previous Bhaktivedanta Archives publications—according to the nearest large city. Thus, Gita-nagari is listed as Philadelphia, New Talavana is listed as New Orleans, New Mayapur is listed as Paris, and so on. Conventions Used in This Volume