The program commemorating the 150th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada ji at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, was attended by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
- The Prime Minister paid tribute to Acharya Srila Prabhupada by laying a wreath at his statue and unveiling a commemorative stamp and coin.
About Srila Prabhupada
- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, also known as Srila Prabhupada, was a spiritual leader who founded the Gaudiya Matha, a Vaishnava religious organization.
- He was born on February 6, 1874, in Puri, India, and is considered one of the most influential spiritual masters of the 20th century.
- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is renowned for his dedication to spreading Gaudiya Vaishnavism's teachings and his commitment to preserving the ancient Vedic traditions.
- In 1913, he established a printing press in Calcutta named it Bhagavat-yantra, which means "God's machine."
- He wrote Chaitanya Charitamrita in Bengali and printed Sajjana-toshani magazine.
Views on Untouchables
- Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati defined untouchables as those who were hostile to serving God rather than those from the lowest social or hereditary background.
Founder of the Gaudiya Mission,
- The Gaudiya Mission is a monastic and missionary organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. Its founder, acharya, is Srila Prabhupada, who played a pivotal role in preserving and spreading the fundamental tenets of the Vaishnava faith.
- The Gaudiya Mission is the government-registered name of Sri Gaudiya Math, a famous organisation from 1920 to 1937.
Founder of ISKCON
- Srila Prabhupada was an Indian spiritual teacher who founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the "Hare Krishna movement".
- ISKCON is a monotheistic tradition within the Vedic or Hindu culture, belonging to the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradāya.
- Its teachings are based on the Bhagavad-gītā and the Bhagavata Purana, or Srimad Bhagavatam, the historical texts of the devotional bhakti yoga tradition.
- The philosophy of ISKCON states that the ultimate goal of all living beings is to reawaken their love for God, or Lord Krishna, also known as the "all-attractive one".