Srila Prabhupada’s Books | The Hare Krishna Movement

The other day I was talking with a devotee about AI (Artificial Intelligence), something I know nothing about. But when that person said that AI read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books, I became curious. So I did a Google search, just typed in “AI” and at the top of the list was this link https://openai.com/. So I asked a question, “Who is Srila Prabhupada?”. I was surprised when it came back with a detailed description:

Srila Prabhupada refers to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896–1977), a renowned spiritual teacher and founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement.

He was born Abhay Charan De in Calcutta, India, and was a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, a prominent leader in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition (a devotional branch of Hinduism focused on the worship of Krishna).

Some key points about him:

Mission: Srila Prabhupada’s main mission was to spread the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam around the world, emphasizing bhakti-yoga (devotional service to Krishna).
Global Impact: In 1965, at the age of 69, he traveled from India to the United States with little money and no institutional backing. Within 12 years, he established over 100 temples worldwide.
Books: He translated and wrote extensive commentaries on many sacred texts, including the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
Philosophy: His teachings focused on chanting the Hare Krishna mantra as a means to achieve spiritual realization.
Legacy: Millions of people still follow his teachings today, and ISKCON continues to grow worldwide.

If you’d like, I can give you a short, inspiring biography of his life’s journey that reads more like a story than a fact sheet. Would you like that?

So I replied ‘Yes’.

Alright, here’s Srila Prabhupada’s story in a more flowing, inspiring way:

Beautiful Reunion

My wife shared this with me, it was a post on Facebook, put up by Govinda dasi. Although I have never personally met Hayagriva Prabhu, I have enjoyed reading his books and articles in Back to Godhead Magizine.

…Srila Prabhupada named him Hayagriva, and used to jokingly say that Hayagriva is like the horse incarnation, and is sent by Krishna to make my books very beautiful and eloquent in English language.

Hari Sauri: There was an emotional reunion this afternoon between Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva Prabhu. Although he was one of Srila Prabhupada’s first disciples, he has been away from devotional service for some years. He has come now to finish the philosophy book project and to be with Prabhupada for some time. He walked slowly into Prabhupada’s room, his face flushed and his deep voice trembling. “It’s your old Hayagriva, Prabhupada,” he choked out, and fell sobbing to the floor in full length dandavats. Prabhupada sat behind his desk, silent, but clearly moved by the sight of his sometimes – wayward son.

When Hayagriva got up Prabhupada gave him a garland, and remarked to Radhaballabha Dasa and me how Hayagriva had been sent by Krishna to help him spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. In reply, Hayagriva said that he had never forgotten Prabhupada, not even for a day. Prabhupada was deeply affected by this and said that he also had never forgotten Hayagriva. “I was thinking, has Hayagriva gone away? I was thinking like that.” His voice broke and he was unable to speak for a few seconds. Although he tried to check his tears, still some trickled from the corners of his eyes. Then he tipped his head from side to side. “All right,” he said, and we all left.

Prabhupada has so much affection for his disciples – no one can estimate how much. It was very apparent that he never forgets any devotional service that has been rendered to him.

Reference: A Transcendental Diary Volume 2 – Hari Sauri Dasa