His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
Founder-Ācārya Of The International Society For Krishna Consciousness.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada appeared in this world in 1896 in Calcutta, India. In 1922, he met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, a prominent religious scholar and founder of sixty-four Gaudiya Mathas. Impressed by the young man's education and dedication, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati convinced him to devote his life to spreading Vedic knowledge.
Srila Prabhupada became his student and was formally initiated in 1933. Following his guru's instruction to broadcast Vedic wisdom in English, Srila Prabhupada wrote extensively, including a commentary on the Bhagavad-gita and launched the English fortnightly magazine Back to Godhead in 1944.
In 1950, Srila Prabhupada retired from married life and moved to Vrndavana to focus on his studies and writing. He accepted the renounced order of life (sannyasa) in 1959 and began his life's masterpiece: a multivolume commentated translation of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. After publishing three volumes, he traveled to the United States in 1965 to fulfill his spiritual master's mission. Despite facing great difficulties, he established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in 1966.
Under his guidance, ISKCON grew into a worldwide confederation of over one hundred ashrams, schools, temples, and farm communities. His prolific writings, translated into over fifty languages, continue to serve as authoritative texts on Indian religion and philosophy, making Srila Prabhupada a central figure in the global dissemination of Vedic knowledge.