INTRODUCTION
oday is the auspicious disappearance
day of our revered spiritual master,
Sri Srimad A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, Founder-acharya of
ISKCON, the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness. He is not a
mortal being like we of this material world.
He is a most dear and intimate associate
of Krishna from Goloka Vrindavan. Out
of mercy he descended here on 1
September 1896 in Calcutta.
He first met his revered spiritual master,
Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Prabhupada Maharaja, in 1922. At their first
darçana Srila Prabhupada accepted him in his
heart as guru. It was also at that meeting that
he received the instruction to go to the Western
world and preach the science of Krishna
consciousness in English. He took that order
to heart with much seriousness. After eleven
years, in 1933, he took formal initiation from
his spiritual master in Allahabad.
Prior to Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada Maharaja’s
disappearance in 1936, Srimad
Bhaktivedanta Swami wrote a letter to his
spiritual master asking, “What service can I
render to you?” He was given the same order
again, “Go to the Western world and preach
in English.” Then it was just a question of
how to prepare himself. He started his
service to his spiritual master without
anyone else’s help in 1944, publishing a
magazine in English — Back to Godhead.
His disciples have continued to publish it.
Then he began his translations of Çrémad
Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad Bhägavatam.
Before going to America he published three
volumes of Çrémad Bhägavatam.
Seeing his great learning, his
enthusiasm for preaching, and his
capabilities, the Gauòéya Vaiñëava saìgha
awarded him the honorable title
“Bhaktivedanta” in 1947. He was a
 MY REVERED SPIRITUAL MASTER
gåhastha until 1954, when he left that
ashram at the age of fifty-eight to become
a vänaprasthé. He traveled alone to many
places in India until 1958. At last he came
to Vrindavan and stayed in the Radha
Damodar temple for a few years. He
entered a period of intense preparation
there, becoming fully absorbed in his
sädhana, bhajana, studying, and
translating. In 1959 he took sannyasa
from his godbrother Keshava Maharaja.
To carry out the order of his revered
spiritual master, he set out for the West
at the advance d age o f 69. O n 17
September 1965 he arrived in America.
In 1966 he established the
International S o ciety for Krishna
Consciousness, ISKCON. In 1968 he
began his New Vrindavan Project. In
1972 he opened ISKCON’s first gurukula
in Texas. At that time there were only
three students. In just three years there
were one hundred and thirty-five
enrolled. Then, he started the Vaishnava
City project in Mayapur Dham, the
appearance place of Sriman Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu. He spent more than one
hundred crores * of rupees to keep that
work going. He established the
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust in 1972. On
14 November 1977 he disappeared from
this world. During this period he traveled
twelve times around the world and
preached the science of Krishna
consciousness. This is a precise life
history. Still, his pastimes are unlimited
and unending.
* One hundred crores is one billion.
2
www.gopaljiu.org
I first met him in 1974 in Vrindavan
Dham. Immediately he told me that he
would give me sannyäsa. So I received
harinäma initiation and then became a
sannyäsa very quickly. He was so merciful
to accept me, a most fallen, degraded soul,
as one of his disciples. He came to
Bhubaneswar for sixteen days until the
appearance day of Lord Nityananda which
fell on 2 February 1977. He arrived on 19
January and left on 3 February. He told
me, “Gour Govinda, I will lay the
foundation stone on the appearance day
of Lord Nityananda.” Actually, he is a
manifestation of Lord Nityananda. Lord
Nityananda is so wonderfully merciful,
even more so than Gauranga Mahaprabhu.
nitäiyer karuëä habe braje rädhä-kåñëa
päbe — If you receive the mercy of Nitai
then you will be able to attain Radha
Krishna in Vrajabhumi. Otherwise how is
it possible? He poured all his mercy,
karuëä, into his last founded project —
Bhubaneswar’s Krishna Balaram Mandir.
It is all nitäiyer karuëä.