Prabhupada ( Messenger Of The Supreme Lord )

Prabhupada Messenger Of The Supreme Lord

Srila Prabhupada was born Abhay Charan De on September1, 1896, in Calcutta India. His father was Gour Mohan De, a cloth merchant, and His mother was Rajani. They employed an astrologer who made a specific prediction: when this child reached the age of seventy, He would cross the ocean, become a great exponent of religion, and open 108 temples. Gour Mohan regularly received sadhus in his home and He would always ask them,” Please bless my son so that Srimati Radharani will grant Him Her blessings”. Prabhupada held Ratha-yatra in cities all over India, and even at Jagannath puri attended each year by millions of pilgrims. In the late 1960’s Srila Prabhupada began introducing large Ratha-yatra festivals in U.S cities and began installing Deities of Radha krishna in his ISKCON temples. He first met his spiritual master in 1922 Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and in the first meeting Bhaktisiddhanta told Srila Prabhupada to preach Lord Chaitanya’s message throughout the world and expressed His desire to print some books. 

In Calcutta, Abhay conceived, wrote, edited and typed the manuscript for a magazine named Back To Godhead. He also preached Lord Chaitanya’s message through letters. Later He went to Jhansi and  His lecture was well received by the Jhansi audience, which was made up largely of young medical students and professionals. Srila Prabhupada in a mood of sheer determination left his family and business when He was shocked to see His wife traded the copy of Srimad bhagavatam for tea biscuits. Through his articles and editorials, Abhay criticized the materialistic and atheistic tendencies of modern civilization. His goal was to print transcendental literature and to establish a powerful movement for spreading Krishna consciousness. While keeping up his effort  of printing and selling Back To Godhead in Delhi, Srila prabhupada decided to take up residence in Vrindavan which is considered to be the most sacred spot in the universe, because of Lord Krsna’s childhood pastimes there during His incarnation five thousand years ago. With forty rupees in his pocket he traveled to the U.S in a ship cargo called Jaladutta and preached Krishna consciousness throughout many countries.

One night Abhay had a striking dream in which He had asked to take sanyasa by His spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta sarasvati thakur. After the formal sannyasa ceremony in Vrindavan, Abhay’s name became Abhay Caranarvinda Bhaktivedanta Swami. Bhaktivedanta Swami accepted sanyasa, His idea to write and publish Srimad-bhagavatam and his desire to preach in the west all were interrelated. But when Srila Prabhupada departed from the world and left his disciples to carry on his mission, they immediately realized union with him in separation. He tried to give human society the opportunity for a life of happiness, good health, peace of mind and all good qualities through God consciousness.