Bhakti Charu Swami

Samkhya	Kapila;
Yoga	Patanjali;
Vaisheshika	Kanada, Prashastapada;
Secular	Valluvar;

His Holiness
Bhakti Charu Swami
His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami
	Sannyasi, Member of the Governing Body Commission
Website	http://www.bhakticharuswami.com/

Bhakti Charu Swami (

IAST: Bhakti Cāru Svāmī, 17 September 1945 – 4 July 2020) was an Indian spiritual leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He was also a disciple of ISKCON's founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.^{[citation needed}

]

Early life

He was born in 1945, into an aristocratic Bengali family and spent the rest of his early childhood in urban Kolkata. Leaving India in 1970 for his further education, he attended university in Germany to study Chemistry. There, he searched out the ancient Vedic scriptures.

Career

After reading The Nectar of Devotion written by

Srila Prabhupada, Swami joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Mayapur, West Bengal, India. His first meeting with Srila Prabhupada took place in January 1977 during the 'Maha' Kumbha Mela at Prayagraj. Srila Prabhupada instructed him to translate all of his books into Bengali and become his Secretary for Indian Affairs. He was given his first and second initiation in Sridham Mayapur during the Gaura Purnima festival in March 1977. Shortly thereafter, during the Snana Yatra festival in Vrindavan, Prabhupada awarded him the renounced order of sannyasa. He later became the GBC (Governing Body Commissioner) Chairman in 1989 and then again in 2017. Maharaja continued to translate many of Srila Prabhupada's books into Bengali until their completion in 1996, which was the centennial anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's appearance.^[2]

Thereafter, he was involved in writing, producing, and directing the biographical video series, 'Abhay Charan'. With over 100 episodes and broadcasts on Indian National Television, reaching more than 4 million viewers in just a few months, the series chronologically portrayed Srila Prabhupada's life and achievements.^[3]

He further went on to develop the ISKCON^[4] project in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India, where Lord Sri Krishna, along with his brother Balarama and friend Sudama received their education from Maharishi Sandipani. Under Maharaj's leadership, a marble temple was inaugurated in less than 10 months in February 2006. As the resident GBC of that area, he continued to oversee the development of the project and the preaching programmes in Madhya Pradesh as well as its surrounding areas.^[5]

The Ujjain ISKCON temple under the direction of Bhakti Charu Swami feeds more than 23,000 school children per day. To facilitate this feeding project, Bhakti Charu Swami built a 6,000 sq. ft. (560 m2) industrial kitchen. He was the Chairman of Annamrita Foundation, ISKCON's midday meals programme, which fed 1.7 million children across India.

He has also established a department in Ujjain which produces decorated altars, murtis and deity dresses for devotees and ISKCON temples all over the world.^{[citation needed]}

In 2013, he oversaw the development of a new ISKCON temple in Panihati (West Bengal) – a holy place in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, the home of Raghava Pandit and the place of Lord Nityananda's Flattened Rice (Chida Dahi) Festival.^[6]

In 2014, he established Arogya Niketan, a traditional Ayurvedic health clinic in Ujjain.

In the same year, he joined Artha Forum and began delivering keynote speeches globally on spirituality to business leaders.

He found and established

Hindu charity organisation in the United Kingdom.^[7]

In 2016, Bhakti Charu Swami wrote a memoir, "Ocean of Mercy – A Search Fulfilled", which is a recollection of his interactions with Srila Prabhupada. This book describes how he developed his love and dedication for Srila Prabhupada.^[8]

On 17 November 2016, the Institute of International Social Development – New York, an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations awarded an accolade to Bhakti Charu Swami, for his work with ISKCON.^[9]

He had recently started a new project called 'Veda Foundation and Cow Sanctuary' which is situated in Deland, Florida, and stretches across an expanse of 120 acres. His mission there is to propagate the Vedic culture and wisdom more simply in the West through setting in motion farm communities and visual media.

Death

Bhakti Charu Swami tested positive for

the 4th of July 2020, at the age of 74.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Following his departure, various leaders in ISKCON expressed heartfelt condolences. HH Jayapataka Maharaj stated the departure of HH Bhakti Charu Swami to be a great loss for ISKCON, and the Executive Committee of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission published a long statement describing Bhakti Charu Swami's contribution to ISKCON and his service in Srila Prabhupada's mission.^[13]

Footnotes

^ Singh & Bandyopadhyay 2001, p. 619
^ "Brief History".
^ Abhay Charan (Adventure, Biography, Drama), Veda Foundation, 7 September 1996, retrieved 12 December 2022
^ "International Society for Krishna Consciousness", Wikipedia, 12 December 2022, retrieved 12 December 2022
^ "HH Bhakti Charu Swami had the temple erected from rough rocky ground to a breathtakingly beautiful marble temple, in an unbelievable and historical 10 months and 20 days!". Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^ "Beloved ISKCON Guru and GBC Member Bhakti Charu Swami Passes Away". Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^ "I Foundation". Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^ "HH Bhakti Charu Swami's book (autobiography) "OCEAN OF MERCY"". 8 July 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^ "Bhakti Charu Swami | Institute of International Social Development, United Nations (NY) Awards Bhakti Charu Swami". Retrieved 12 December 2022.
^ "Bhakti Charu Swami Last Rites Held As Offerings of Love Continue From Around the World". 10 July 2020. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^ "ISKCON Guru Bhakticharu Swami dies of coronavirus in Florida". Jagran English. 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
^ "Bhakti Charu Swami, head of ISKCON governing body dies from Covid-19 in the US". Uttarakhand News Network. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
^ Voice, Team Mayapur (4 July 2020). "His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami departs - A great loss to ISKCON and the world". Mayapur Voice. Retrieved 18 September 2023.

References

Rosen, Steven J. (2008), The Yoga of Kirtan: Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting, Folk Books,
ISBN 978-0-615-20510-6

Singh, Thoudam Damodara; Bandyopadhyay, Samaresh (2001), Thoughts on Synthesis of Science And Religion: Srila Prabhupada Birth Centenary Volume,
ISBN 81-901369-0-9

Shivadas, P.C. (11 August 1997), "Labour of love for spiritual guru", The New Straits Times
Kuppan, Irene (18 October 2006), "'Lack of spirituality making world evil'", The Daily News
, p. 2
Gupta, Suchandana (17 August 2007), "MP madrassas boycott Iskcon's mid-day meals", The Times of India, archived from the original on 24 October 2012
Burke, Daniel (20 January 2008), "For 'Dharma Indexes,' Firms' Conduct Matters", The Washington Post, p. F03
White, Charles S. J. (2009), The Yoga of Kirtan: Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting Book Review, archived from the original on 22 April 2009, retrieved 13 August 2009
ISKCON News Staff (1 April 2008), "Bhakti Charu Swami Hospitalized for Heart Condition", ISKCON News Weekly, archived from the original on 26 July 2011, retrieved 13 August 2009
Das, Rasananda (5 May 2012), Bhakti Charu Swami doing Sankirtan at Waikiki

External links

Official website
Official Quotation Website Archived 31 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine

[Singh619-1] Singh & Bandyopadhyay 2001, p. 619

[2] "Brief History".

[3] Abhay Charan (Adventure, Biography, Drama), Veda Foundation, 7 September 1996, retrieved 12 December 2022

[:0-4] "International Society for Krishna Consciousness", Wikipedia, 12 December 2022, retrieved 12 December 2022

[5] "HH Bhakti Charu Swami had the temple erected from rough rocky ground to a breathtakingly beautiful marble temple, in an unbelievable and historical 10 months and 20 days!". Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

[6] "Beloved ISKCON Guru and GBC Member Bhakti Charu Swami Passes Away". Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

[7] "I Foundation". Retrieved 2 November 2020.

[8] "HH Bhakti Charu Swami's book (autobiography) "OCEAN OF MERCY"". 8 July 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

[9] "Bhakti Charu Swami | Institute of International Social Development, United Nations (NY) Awards Bhakti Charu Swami". Retrieved 12 December 2022.

[10] "Bhakti Charu Swami Last Rites Held As Offerings of Love Continue From Around the World". 10 July 2020. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

[11] "ISKCON Guru Bhakticharu Swami dies of coronavirus in Florida". Jagran English. 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.

[12] "Bhakti Charu Swami, head of ISKCON governing body dies from Covid-19 in the US". Uttarakhand News Network. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.

[13] Voice, Team Mayapur (4 July 2020). "His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami departs - A great loss to ISKCON and the world". Mayapur Voice. Retrieved 18 September 2023.

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v t e Modern Gaudiya Vaishnavas (1800s to date)
The 19th – early 20th century	Bhaktivinoda Thakur Bijoy Krishna Goswami Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji Sri Krishna Prem
Gaudiya Math	Bhakti Hridaya Bon Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Sadananda Dasa Vamana Dasa
Governing Body Commission, and other ISKCON Gurus	A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada^ⁱ Bhakti Caitanya Swami^ Bhakti Charu Swami^* Bhaktisvarupa Damodar Swami^* Bhakti Tirtha Swami^* Bhakti Vijnana Goswami Chaitanya Chandra Charan Das Giriraja Swami^* Indradyumna Swami^* Jayadvaita Swami^* Jayapataka Swami^* Kadamba Kanana Swami^* Mukunda Goswami^* Radhanath Swami^* Ravindra Svarupa Dasa^* Romapada Swami^* Sacinandana Swami^* Satsvarupa dasa Goswami^* Tamal Krishna Goswami^*
Other ISKCON Vaishnavas (1966 to date)	Richard Shaw Brown Michael Cremo Alfred Ford Geoffrey Giuliano Hansadutta Swami Harikesa Swami^*ⁱⁱ Jayananda Dasa Jayatirtha Dasa Kirtanananda Swami Malati Dasi Radhika Ramana Dasa Ramesh Kallidai Ramesvara Das Ranchor Prime Sadhu Priya Das Steven J. Rosen Graham Schweig Shaunaka Rishi Das Richard L. Thompson Visnujana Swami Yadunandana Swami
Gaudiya Math lineage	Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Bhakti Prajnan Keshavaⁱ Bhakti Rakshak Sridharⁱ Kailasa Candra Dasaⁱⁱ
Other lineages	Haridas Shastri Satyanarayana Dasaⁱⁱ Shrivatsa Goswami
Modern offshoots	Kripalu Maharaj Mahanambrata Brahmachari Prabhu Jagadbandhu Prakashanand Saraswati
*ISKCON guru ⁱFormer Gaudiya Math member ⁱⁱFormer ISKCON member