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viii About Çréla Prabhupäda

to spiritual pursuits). At Rädhä-Dämodara, he began
work on a multivolume commentated translation of the
eighteen-thousand-verse Çrémad-Bhägavatam. He also
wrote Easy Journey to Other Planets.
In August 1965, after publishing three volumes
of the Bhägavatam, Çréla Prabhupäda set out to the
United States to fulfil the mission of his guru. When he
first arrived, by freighter, he was practically penniless.
After almost a year of great difficulty, in July of 1966
he established the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness.
Before his passing away, on 14 November 1977,
Çréla Prabhupäda had guided the Society and seen it
grow to a worldwide confederation of more than one
hundred ashrams, schools, temples, institutes, and farm
communities. He had also inspired the construction
of several major temples in India, including the
international headquarters of iskcon, at Mäyäpur,
West Bengal, the site of a developing Vedic city. In
Våndävana, Uttar Pradesh, is the magnificent Kåñëa-
Balaräma Temple. iskcon also has established several
other major temples throughout the world.

Yet Çréla Prabhupäda’s most significant
contribution was his books. He wrote more than fifty
volumes of authoritative commentated translations
and summary studies of the philosophical and religious
classics of India. Highly respected by scholars for
their authority, depth, and clarity, over five hundred