OUR FOUNDER, SRILA PRABHUPADA

Srila Prabhupada was an Indian spiritual teacher and the founder of the popular international Bhakti Yoga Movement known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as “the Hare Krishna movement.”

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He was a rare personality who appeared on the earth and dedicated his life to spreading God consciousness, bringing a spiritual dimension to the lives of thousands of followers all over the world.

Born and raised in Kolkata, he met his spiritual inspiration and guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, there. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami was married and raised several children before becoming a renunciate monk in his later years. He traveled to America in 1965 (at the age of 69) and established ISKCON in 1966.

One of the world’s most prominent teachers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a school of Vaishnavite Hinduism based on the teachings of 16th-century Saint Sri Krishna Caitanya, he is especially noted for his determination to share the message of Bhakti Yoga outside of India. He is renowned for his prolific translation of sacred texts and his significant role in the Western counterculture of the 1960s and 70s. Before his death in 1977, at age 81, he circled the globe 14 times on lecture tours, accepting thousands of people on six continents as his disciples.

Followers of ISKCON today look to him as their prominent spiritual guide and inspiration, and his many books serve as a philosophical foundation for understanding and practicing Bhakti Yoga.

You will often see a statue of Him in most Krishna temples, decorated with colorful flowers in seasonal themes, as we also honor him in the Denver Temple (pictured below).