156 THE PATH OF PERFECTION | The Author 157
Prabhupada came to the United States, in 1965, to fulfill the mis- translated into over thirty languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book
sion of his spiritual master. Subsequently, His Divine Grace wrote Trust, established in 1972 exclusively to publish the works of His
more than sixty volumes of authoritative translations, commen- | Divine Grace, has thus become the world’s largest publisher of
taries, and summary studies of the philosophical and religious books in the field of Indian religion and philosophy.
classics of India. In just twelve years, in spite of his advanced age, Srila Prabhu-
In 1965, when he first arrived by freighter in New York City, pada circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took
Srila Prabhupada was practically penniless. It was after almost a him to six continents. In spite of such a vigorous schedule, Srila
year of great difficulty that he established the International Society Prabhupada continued to write prolifically. His writings constitute
for Krishna Consciousness in July of 1966. Before his passing a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature, and
away on November 14, 1977, he guided the Society and saw it culture.
grow to a worldwide confederation of more than one hundred
asramas, schools, temples, institutes, and farm communities.
In 1968, Srila Prabhupada created New Vrindaban, an experi-
mental Vedic community in the hills of West Virginia. Inspired by
the success of New Vrindaban, now a thriving farm community of
more than one thousand acres, his students have since founded
several similar communities in the United States and abroad.
. In 1972, His Divine Grace introduced the Vedic system of pri-
mary and secondary education in the West by founding the ,
| Gurukula school in Dallas, Texas. Since then, under his supervi-
sion, his disciples have established children’s schools throughout
. the United States and the rest of the world. As of 1980, there are
fourteen Gurukula schools worldwide, with the principal educa-
tional center now located in Vrndavana, India.
| Srila Prabhupada also inspired the construction of several large
international cultural centers in India. The center at Sridhama
Mayapur in West Bengal is the site for a planned spiritual city, an .
ambitious project for which construction will extend over the next
decade. In Vrndavana, India, is the magnificent Krsna-Balarama
Temple and International Guesthouse. There is also a major .
cultural and educational center in Bombay. Other centers are
, planned in a dozen other important locations on the Indian
| subcontinent.
Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contribution, however, is
| his books. Highly respected by the academic community for their
authoritativeness, depth, and clarity, they are used as standard
textbooks in numerous college courses. His writings have been
t
