Context:
The Prime Minister addressed the 150th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada ji at Bharat Mandapam.
About Srila Prabhupada:
- He founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
- ISKCON has translated Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta and other Vedic literature into 89 languages, playing a crucial role in the distribution of Vedic literature worldwide.
- He established over a hundred temples and wrote several books, which spread the teachings of Bhakti Yoga worldwide.
- He was also respected as the world’s prominent authority on Bhakti-Yoga viz. a devotional service to Lord Krishna.
- In his later years, he became an influential communicator of Gudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya’s theology.
- He launched the Gaudiya Mission in 1918 to maintain and spread Vaishnavism.
About Gaudiya Vaishnavism:
- Gaudiya Vaishnavism derives its inspiration from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
- It is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement.
- The term ‘Gaudiya’ refers to the Gaura region in Bengal which is deeply connected with Vaishnavism viz. the worship of Vishnu.
- It centers around the devotional worship of Radha and Krishna (known as bhakti-yoga) and their incarnations of the supreme God i.e., Svayam Bhagavan.
- This devotion primarily manifests in the act of singing the holy names of Radha and Krishna, notably ‘Hare’, ‘Krishna’ and ‘Rama’, usually accompanied by the Hare Krishna mantra, also known as kirtan and the accompanying dance.