A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada - ISKCON has its origins in
the Bengali saint Chaitanya's Gaudiya Vaishnava religious group, in which the
principal devotional deed was the continuous recital of Krishna's name,
frequently in public places.
During his undergraduate years, Prabhupada was initiated
into Krishna devotion, and his master directed him to spread Krishna worship to
the West.
After a successful career as a pharmacist, he boarded a boat
bound for America at the age of 58, arriving with a few books, a typewriter,
and $8 in his pocket.
He arrived during the countercultural movement in the second
half of the 1960s, and by the time of his death, he had thousands of followers.
His timing was exquisite—or, as he put it, reflected
Krishna's grace—for he came during the countercultural movement in the second
half of the 1960s; by the time of his death, he had thousands of followers.
He devoted his final years to translating and commenting on
key Vaishnava writings, especially the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana,
and this concentration on publishing has continued after his death.
See Satsvarupdas Dasa Goswami, Prabhupada, 1983, and Robert
D. Baird, "Swami Bhaktivedanta and Ultimacy," & Robert D. Baird
(ed.), Religion in Modern India, 1998, for an insider's view on his life.
