Srila Prabhupada

Srila Prabhupada

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was born into a family of Krishna devotees in Calcutta, India, in 1896. From childhood, he showed signs of pure devotion to God, engaging in Krishna conscious activities at school and at play.

In 1922, Srila Prabhupada met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati (1874-1936), a great exponent of Krishna Consciousness in India. At their first meeting, Prabhupada received the instructions that would later bring about a spiritual renaissance: "Go to the West and spread Krishna Consciouness in the English language." Although the followers of the Vedas have worshipped Lord Krishna since time immemorial, their philosophy and transcendental methods have been unknown outside of India.

By following his spiritual master's instructions, Srila Prabhupada would become an important link in the transmission of the original teachings enunciated by Lord Krishna Himself.


In 1944, Prabhupada founded Back to Godhead, a magazine dealing with the science of Krishna Consciousness. Using his own money and working with no assistance, he wrote, edited, printed, and distributed the magazine on a modest basis in and around New Delhi. During the years that followed, he dreamt several times that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was telling him to give up household life and take up the spiritual order of sannyasa (renunciation). When he had the dream again in Vrindaban, India, he resolved to take the challenge. In September, 1959, he took the vows of renunciation and was named A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. As a sannyasi, he was in an ideal position to fulfill his spiritual master's order, but first he needed books, and passage to America.

Depending fully on Lord Krishna's mercy, Srila Prabhupada began his life's literary work: an English translation, with commentaries of the Srimad Bhagavatam. He struggled alone, writing and collecting money to print the first three volumes. In 1965, the way was finally cleared for his now historic journey to the West. The Scindia Steamship Line gave him free passage aboard the freighter Jaladhuta; and in August, Srila Prabhupada left India with a crate of his Srimad-Bhagavatams, a pair of kartals (small hand cymbals) and seven dollars.

The forty-day journey was arduous. A few days out at sea, the Jaladhuta passed through heavy storms, and Prabhupada suffered from seasickness and heart attacks. For two consecutive nights, the attacks came, and at age sixty-nine, Prabhupada knew that they could prove fatal. On the third night, he dreamt that Lord Krishna Himself was rowing the ship to America, urging him on, and offering him all protection. The next day, the storms and heart attacks subsided.

When the ship finally docked in New York City, he wrote: "My dear Lord Krishna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me. How will I make them understand the message of Krishna Consciouness?

I am very unfortunate, unqualified, and most fallen. Therefore, I am seeking Your benediction so I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own." Then, with his books, his cymbals, and seven dollars, Prabhupada entered the anonymity of the world's largest metropolis. Throughout the winter of 1965-1966, he struggled for subsistence in cold Manhattan apartments, selling a few copies of Srimad Bhagavatam to curious strangers. Despite hardships, he continued writing. After his room was ransacked by thieves, he moved to Manhattan's Lower East Side, renting an apartment and a small storefront at 26 Second Avenue.

Word soon spread among young seekers of spiritual truth that an Indian swami had come with a "far -out yoga method": chanting Hare Krishna. In July 1966 he formed the International Society for Krishna Consciouness (ISKCON) with a few disciples. In the autumn, he took his following to the nearby Tompkins Square Park for the first public chanting of Hare Krishna in the Western world, and gained quick notice on the Lower East Side. Though he had only a few disciples - his strict regimen allowed no meat eating, illicit sex, intoxication, or gambling - Prabhupada was well on his way yo realizing his mission.

Within months, he opened centers in San Francisco, Montreal, Boston, Los Angeles, and Buffalo. In 1969 he visited New Vrindaban, where he stayed for two months in a simple wooden shack "Eventually you must construct seven temples on seven hills," he told his disciples. At the time, this seemed an impossible dream.

Srila Prabhupada then went to Europe to visit the newly-opened centers in London and Hamburg. In the following years the Hare Krishna movement swept around the world, with centers in all the major citiesof the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Even though constantly travelling, he never stopped writing on the science of Krishna Consciouness. Over eighty volumes of his works have been published and over a hundred million distributed. These include Bhagavad-gita As It Is (1968), Teachings of Lord Chaitanya (1968), Krishna The Supreme Personality of Godhead (1970), Nectar of Devotion (1970), Chaitanya-caritamrita (1970-1975, seventeen volumes), and thirty volumes of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada left this mortal world in 1977. Wherever Srila Prabhupada stayed, whether in a London manor, or a simple Indian hut, he translated the Vedic literatures into English during the early morning hours and nurtured his infant society by day.

                          A Home For Prabhupada

In 1968, The New Vrindaban Community was founded in West Virginia to fulfill Prabhupada's dream of an ideal society based on Krishna Consciousness, or love of God. When Prabhupada set down the first guidelines for such a community, the idea seemed out of reach to the small band of devotees struggling through a hard winter on a small, rundown farm. There was no electricity, no running water in their only building, a battered pioneer shack. But when Srila Prabhupada had a vision of "seven temples on the seven hills," suddenly all obstacles seemed insignificant to his followers.

Srila Prabhupada traveled extensively and in 1972 returned to New Vrindavan. By then the community had expanded from the original 100 acres to 500 acres. In 1973, the devotees decided to build a home for Srila Prabhupada, where he could write all his books and enjoy the clean country air. The location was chosen for its potential beauty, hardly apparent at the time because the land was being used as a dump. The debris was removed, the land was cleared, and construction was started on a simple house. The plan was a rough sketch drawn on a scrap of paper.

But Lord Krishna had his own plan. Somehow or other, at each step, the trial-and-error construction produced something grander than what the devotees had imagined. Bit by bit, cemented, forged, and chiseled with loving labor, Prabhupada's Palace of Gold emerged. How it came about may seem hard to understand: after all, how could these inexperienced devotees build something that surpassed their own expectations? A spiritual force was certainly involved, and those who worked on it were but instruments in the Lord's hands. That spiritual force is inexplicable, beyond words, but is evident in the love that is infused in the Palace.

                 Samadhi Mandir

One of Srila Prabhupada's most cherished desires was to establish the New Vrindaban Community in America. He spoke at great length about building a replica of Vrindaban India, where there are seven main temples. Devotees in New Vrindaban built Prabhupada's Palace as the first of the seven temples here. It immediately became the most famous Hare Krsna temple in North America. The Palace attracts millions of visitors and is an incredible place of pilgrimage in North America. Its transcental beauty, built of love and devotion of his disciples, delivers special mercy to all that come into contact with Srila Prabhupada.

Somewhat forgotten, obscured perhaps by the arrangement of the Lord and His inconceivable loving dealings with His devotees, was the fact that the most sacred flowers that adorned Prabhupada when he left this mortal world, were placed under the altar at the Palace before it opened in 1979, establishing the Palace as Srila Prabhupada's divine samadhi.

When this fact was revealed to the devotees, Srila Prabhupada's eternal words spoken in 1976, while visiting the Palace, were remembered, "I'm already living here and always will be."

In India, especially Vrindaban, where Krishna displayed his eternal pastimes of love, the great saints are not cremated but placed in their samadhis. These most blessed of places are full of special potency because the great souls reside there in their spiritual forms, increasing the mercy for pilgrims who visit and receive their blessings.

In India, Srila Prabhupada's main samadhi is in Vrindaban, and the second most spiritually-charged samadhi is in Mayapur. In the Western world, the Palace of Gold is his special samadhi mandir attracting millions of followers to receive his full blessings of love of Krishna.

Located in a sacred area of the samadhi is the Prabhupada Smaranam, a testimonial book of miracles. It contains true stories from people of all religious backgrounds and all walks of life who have experienced unusual and enlightening insights, even miracles in their lives, after visiting Srila Prabhupada's Samadhi.

Place Construction

For seven years, through cold, bitter winters, tedious months on scaffolds, and long grueling hours in the craft shops, the devotees pitched in with whatever talents and energy they had. Truly, the Palace is a gift of love from the devotees to Srila Prabhupada.

The following are a few of the devotees who assisted in the building of the Palace.

KULADRI DASA: (Arthur Villa) met devotees while attending the University of Pittsburgh. In 1970, he came to New Vrindaban and soon became community president. He was involved in almost every aspect of the work, from desgin to the final touches of gold leaf. He organized the entire community into working teams and coordinated the different departments."New Vrindaban has grown so much, and we've learned that the seemingly impossible is made possible by divine inspiration."

NITYODITA DASA: In 1973, Carlos Ordonez had a dream of "an ideal life in the country and doing good for people." Leaving his job at an Ann Arbor co-op, he came to New Vrindaban. Like most of the devotees, he learned his skills on the job, mixing and laying cement by hand. Later, he learned marble-cutting and polishing. His skill can be seen in the finely-cut inlaid marble work throughout the Palace. "I found the teamwork amazing, " he said. "We all had the feeling that we weren't building the Palace as much as the Palace was building us, making us into better devotees."

SUDHANU DASA: Sudhanu (George Weisner) has always had a practical bent. In 1975, he was sent to India to learn carving. Returning, he helped set up the casting shop. He would carve models, build models, and cast ornaments - like the 4,200 piece ornamentation inside the main Palace dome - that would take months to assemble.

ISANI DEVI DASI: The beautiful chandeliers seen throughout the Palace were designed and hand crafted by Isani Devi Dasi (Ellen Schramm). She also crafted the jewelry decorating the murti of Srila Prabhupada on the altar. Suprisingly, she had no formal training. "I had to learn by trial and error," she said. "If you want to make something beautiful, why not do it for the most beautiful person - GOD, or his representative." A Tiffany jewelry admitted that her work surpasses his own, and even displays photos of it in his showcases.

KASYAPA DASA: Arriving in 1973, Kasyapa (Jack Mowen) headed the massive land clearing job for the Palace. At first, he worked alone with a team of Belgian work horses, hauling logs and pulling tree stumps out of the ground. He then managed the blasting crews and other heavy equipment for over eighteen hours a day. "I could never think of a better way to offer something to Prabhupada."

MURALIDHARA DASA: Since 1969, Muralidhara Dasa (Mark Missman) has executed dozens of exquisite paintings of Krishna's pastimes. Many of these are found in Prabhupada's books and temples around the world. In 1978, he began contributing his art to the Palace. His works include the paintings on the vaulted ceiling of the temple room: Krishna and his expansions dancing with the gopis, and Lord Chaitanya dancing with his disciples. He also painted the large portrait of Srila Prabhupada on the temple wall.

BHAGAVATANANDA DASA: Bhagavatananda (Joseph Cappelletti) came to New Vrindaban in 1970 and helped construct the first houses in the fledgling community. Serving as a structural engineer and scupltor for the Palace, he supervised the construction of the massive 300-ton dome and scuplted the peacocks, elephants, oranments, and the walls and columns. "The Palace is a monument to the Lord's pure devotee," he said. "It is not a mere memorial to someone no longer present. It is a place of daily worship, and proof that that Prabhupada's mission is being fulfilled."

NARENDRA DASA: Narendra (Don McAdams) worked on the windows of the Palace. Assisted by apprentices, he served long hours engaged in cutting and fashioning the thousands of pieces of fine glass into intricately framed windows. "Stained glass used to play a very important role in the teachings of the Christian Church." he said. "The same can be done at the Palace and future temples here."