A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, was born in 1896, in Calcutta, in a Vaishnava family. His father, Gour Mohan De, named him Abhay Charan. His father's only wish was that, Abhay should become a devotee of Srimati Radharani.
Abhay studied under British colonial rule, finally going to university to read chemistry. At university, he became a supporter of Gandhi's movement to gain independence for India. In support of this, he would only dress in white handloom cloth, woven in India and furthermore, he declined to accept his degree from the university.
Abhay married and went into business with a small pharmaceutical unit to support his wife and family. He met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami, for the first time in Calcutta in 1922. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, took a liking to Abhay and told him to devote his life to teaching Vedic knowledge; more specifically to preach Lord Chaitanya's message to the English speaking world. Although, Abhay accepted Srila Bhaktisiddhanta within his heart as his spiritual master, it was not until 1932 that he became initiated. He then received both Harinama and mantra diksa at his initiation.
In 1936 Srila Prabhupada wrote to his spiritual master requesting if there was any particular service that he could render. Srila Prabhupada received a reply to that letter containing the same instruction that he had received in 1922: 'Preach Krishna consciousness to the English speaking world.’ His spiritual master passed away from this world two weeks later; thus leaving these final instructions engraved on Srila Prabhupada's heart. These instructions were to form the focus of Srila Prabhupada's life.
Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-gita and assisted the Gaudiya Matha in its work. In 1944, during the Second World War, when paper was scarce and people had little money to spend, Srila Prabhupada began a magazine called Back to Godhead. Single-handedly, he would write, edit, oversee the layout, proof-read and sell the copies himself. This magazine is still being published today.
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