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PRABHUPADA

Autobiography in 5 minutes
1896
Srila Prabhupada was born on September 1 in Calcutta into a religious family of Bengali Vaisnavas. His father was a textile merchant, his name was Gour Mohan De, and his mother was Rajani. At birth he was given the name Abhay - the one who gained fearlessness at the feet of Krishna.
1916
Srila Prabhupada entered the prestigious Christian College of the Scottish Churches. In college, he studied English, Sanskrit, philosophy, economics, Western culture and literature, the Bible and Christian theology.
1918
His father arranged for him to marry a girl named Radharani Datta, who came from an aristocratic Bengali family. They had five children: three sons (Prayag Raj, Mathura Mohan and Vrindavan Chandra) and two daughters (Sulakshmana and Bhaktilata).
1920
Abhay graduated from college, passed all exams successfully, but decided to give up his diploma because he joined the Indian national liberation movement, which was founded by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi's policy was to give up everything British.
1921
Srila Prabhupada began his career in the pharmaceutical business. At first, he got a job as a manager in the chemical laboratory of his father’s friend. Two years later, Abhay and his family moved to Allahabad, where he opened his own pharmacy.
1922
At the age of 26, Abhay first met his spiritual teacher Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. The first words of the spiritual teacher to him were: “You, educated young people, should also preach the teachings of Lord Caitanya in the West.”
1928
Disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati came to Abhaya's pharmacy. He agreed to help open a branch in his city and it was from that time that he began to communicate with his spiritual brothers.
1933
Abhay received initiation from Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and the spiritual name - Abhay Charanaravinda Das.
1944
Abhay began publishing a periodical in English, on the pages of which he commented on modern world events through the prism of the sacred texts of Vaishnavism. He called this magazine "Back to godhead".
1953
Abhay tried to create a society called the League of Devotees, which would train 40 Vaisnavas who could go preaching the teachings of Lord Chaitanya throughout the world, but after a year he had to curtail his activities in this direction.
1954
Abhay Charanaravinda accepts the vanaprastha way of life - this is an intermediate status between family life and complete renunciation, and begins to live separately from the family. For the next 10 years he lives in different temples. He continues to publish Vaishnava literature and engage in missionary activities.
1959
On September 17, Abhay was initiated into sannyasa (renounced order of life) by his godbrother Bhakti Pragyana Kesava Goswami, who gave Abhay the monastic name “Bhaktivedanta Swami.”
1965
On Friday, August 13, 1965, at the age of 69, Srila Prabhupada boarded the ship Jaladuta and set sail for the shores of America. He had with him 200 three-volume translation sets of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 500 leaflets describing these books and missionary goals in the West, a pair of karatalas (hand cymbals), several sets of saffron clothes, a pair of shoes, 40 Indian rupees (about 7 dollars) , a diary, an umbrella and a letter of introduction to the Indian family living in Pennsylvania with whom he stayed for the first time.

This journey lasted 40 days. During this time, Srila Prabhupada suffered from seasickness and two heart attacks.

At 5:30 a.m. on September 17, Jaladuta docked in Boston Harbor. Then the ship went to New York. From New York, Srila Prabhupada went to Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was received by the family of Indian engineer Gopal Agarwal
1966

In the spring, Srila Prabhupada moved to New York City into a small attic room on the Bowery and began preaching to young people, regularly giving evening lectures. There his first followers appeared.


In June, Srila Prabhupada moved to the more bohemian part of New York - the Lower East Side, where he opened the first temple, which was located at 26 Second Avenue. It was a former antique store, which still had the sign "Priceless Gifts", they did not rename it.


His followers included hippies, creative bohemians, leaders of the LSD crowd and active participants in the sexual revolution.

On July 13, Srila Prabhupada registered his non-profit religious organization ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness).


On September 9, Srila Prabhupada performed the first initiation rite for Western disciples, receiving 11 of his followers. Those who took initiation took vows to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on beads and follow the four regulative principles:


– Do not eat meat, fish, eggs;

– Do not take intoxicants (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs);

– Do not gamble;

– Do not engage in illicit sexual relations outside of marriage.


Also, since September of this year, Srila Prabhupada, along with his followers, began holding kirtans (shared chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra) in New York parks.

1968
Srila Prabhupada sent three married couples of his disciples to London, where, thanks to their participation, the first temple on another continent was opened. They achieved great success in preaching there, largely due to their acquaintance with the members of The Beatles, who were imbued with the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and strongly supported him, especially George Harrison, who later became a disciple of Srila Prabhupada.

This year saw the release of an abridged edition of the Bhagavad Gita, published by Macmillan.
1970

In the fall, Srila Prabhupada went to India with plans to build monumental temple complexes there: in Bombay, Vrindavan and Mayapur. He arrived there with a group of his American students. It was sensational that Western men and women accepted Indian culture and not the other way around. Srila Prabhupada's success was recognized throughout India.


Then Srila Prabhupada continued to open temples. There were more and more of them. He realized that he needed to step away from management, so on July 28, he established ISKCON's governing body, the Governing Body Commission (GBC).

1971
On June 20, Srila Prabhupada arrived in Moscow. He stayed in the capital of the USSR for 5 days. There he managed to personally meet only one young Soviet guy who was sincerely interested in the spiritual science of bhakti yoga. Srila Prabhupada imparted all knowledge to him. And this was enough for ISKCON centers to now be in all major cities of the countries of the former Soviet Union.

1972

The complete edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is was published by Macmillan, and on May 29 the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, which published Srila Prabhupada's books and continues to publish books, was founded.

1977

On November 14, after a six-month illness, he left his body in the Krishna Balaram Mandir temple, which is located in Vrindavan, surrounded by his disciples.

The prediction described

in Brahma-Vaivarta Purana

At the end of the Brahma-Vaivarta Purana (4.129.49-51) a dialogue between Mother Ganga and Lord Sri Krishna is described. The fourth part of the Brahma-Vaivarta Purana is called Krishna-janma-khanda. Chapter 129 is titled "Golokarokhanam". When Sri Krishna's transcendental pastimes on earth came to an end, Ganga Devi appeared in Dwaraka, and on behalf of all the sacred rivers, she expressed her fears about the Lord's imminent departure to the spiritual world.
1

Tекст 49

bhagarathy uvaca he natha ramanashreshtha

yasi golokamuttamam asmakam ka gatishcatra

bhavishyati kalau yuge

Ganga said: O protector, Supreme enjoyer, after your departure to the beautiful place of life, Goloka, what will be our situation in the age of Kali?

2

Tекст 50

sri-bhagavan uvaca kaleh pancasahasrani

varshani tishtha bhutale papani papino yani

tubhyam dasyanti snanatah

Smiling, the Lord replied: On earth, 5,000 years of Kali Yuga will be sinful, and sinners will bring their sins into You by bathing.
3

Tекст 51

man-mantropasakasparshad bhasmibhutani tatkshanat

bhavishyanti darsanacca snanadeva hi jahnavi

Oh Jahnavi. My mantra-upasaka (one who worships the Holy Name) will appear by his sight, touch and bath in you, all those sins will be burnt away.

4

Tекст 52

harernamani yatraiva puranani bhavanti hi

tatra gatva savadhanam abhih sarddham ca shroshyasi

There the names of Hari will be chanted and the Purana (Bhagavata) will be read. When you reach this point, listen carefully.
5

Tекст 53

purana shravanaccaiva harernamanukirtanat

bhasmibhutani papani brahma-hatyadikani ca

Sinful reactions including killing a brahmana can be annulled by hearing the Bhagavata Purana and chanting the names of Hari in the mood of devotees.

6

Tекст 54

bhasmibhutani tanyeva vaishnavalinganena ca

trinani shushkakashthani dahanti pavako yatha

Just as dry grass is burned by fire, by the touch of My devotees, all sins are burned away.
7

Tекст 55

tathapi vaishnava loke papani papinamapi

prithivyam yani tirthani punyanyapi ca jahnavi

O Ganga, the entire planet will become a place of pilgrimage by the presence of My devotees, even though the place was sinful.

8

Tекст 56

madbhaktanam sharireshu santi puteshu samtatam

madbhaktapadarajasa sadyah puta vasundhara

The bodies of My devotees are always cleansed. Mother earth becomes the pure dust of the feet of My devotees.
9

Tекст 57

sadyah putani tirthani sadyah putam jagattatha

manmantropasaka vipra ye maducchishtabhojinah

It will be the same in the case of places of pilgrimage and the whole world. Those intelligent mantra-upasakas who eat the remnants of My food will purify everything.

(Like the first candle, Srila Prabhupada mantra upasaka lit many new mantra upasakas, and there will be more and more in the future.)

10

Tекст 58

mameva nityam dhyayante te mat pranadhikah priyah

tadupasparshamatrena puto vayushca pavakah

They are more precious to Me than My life; they think only about Me every day. Air and fire become pure simply by their indirect touch.
11

Tекст 59

kaler dasha-sahasrani madbhaktah santi bhu-tale

ekavarna bhavishyanti madbhakteshu gateshu ca

During the 10,000 years of Kali Yuga, such devotees of My will fill the entire planet. By the presence of My devotees, the world will become eka-varna, one (people will become devotees of the Lord).

12

Tекст 60

madbhaktashunya prithivi kaligrasta bhavishyati

etasminnantare tatra krishnadehadvinirgatah

Deprived of My devotees, the earth will again be bound by Kali. Having said this, Krishna left.