Srila Prabhupada was born in the Indian city of Calcutta in the year 1896. He was named Abhay Charan, meaning ‘fearless at the lotus feet of the Lord’. He was spontaneously devoted to God and engaged in various devotional activities since his childhood. At the age of 26, Abhay Charan met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, a great saint in the Vaishnava tradition and the illustrious founder of the Gaudiya Matha, a spiritual mission with over sixty branches spread across India. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta told Abhay Charan, that because he was a highly educated young man, he should preach the message of Lord Chaitanya (the golden avatar of Lord Krishna in this iron age) to the western world, as it would not only bring great benefit to himself—but also to the whole world.

In the year 1933, Abhay Charan was formally accepted by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami as his disciple and was given the name Abhaya Caranaravinda Dasa. He took the instruction of his spiritual master seriously and started writing books to bring about a spiritual revolution. Abhaya Caranaravinda Dasa was an erudite scholar who wrote an English commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita and published an English magazine titled ‘Back to Godhead’. He also translated Srimad Bhagavatam into English. In the year 1947, due to his outstanding Vedic scholarship and philosophical learning, he was awarded the title of ‘Bhaktivedanta’ by the Gaudiya Vaishnava Society, a constituent of the Gaudiya Matha and he eventually came to be known as Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

At the advanced age of 69, he undertook an arduous journey on a steamship to the West to execute his spiritual master’s order and propagate the teachings of Lord Krishna across the globe. He had just 40 Indian Rupees with him but the Bhagavad Gita and his translations of the Srimad Bhagavatam were his greatest possessions. His absolute faith on Lord Krishna gave him the strength and determination to accomplish his mission.

In July 1966, Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York City. During the next 10 years, he relentlessly worked towards his mission. He travelled around the globe 14 times and established 108 Krishna temples, authored over 70 books and guided a worldwide movement of over 10,000 Krishna devotees from all continents of the world.

One of the most significant lessons taught by Srila Prabhupada is about the position of guru or acharya. According to the Vedic tradition this subject is of vital concern to anyone who desires to pursue the spiritual path. To emphasize the importance of the guru or acharya, he quoted various scriptures and comprehensively explained this science in his books, lectures, letters and recorded room conversations.

When Srila Prabhupada departed from this material world on November 14, 1977, the world lost a glorious soul, a genuine spiritual leader of modern days. Before his departure from this world, Srila Prabhupada laid out his succession plans. He had already formed a Governing Body Commission to manage the affairs of the society and directed eleven senior disciples to act as ritviks or his representatives for the purpose of initiating new devotees.