| The Books of Srila Prabhupada
As if this were not enough accomplishment for a person proceeding from his seventieth to his eighty second year, Srila Prabhupada had also translated, written, and published fifty-one volumes of books in twenty-eight different languages, tens of millions of which had been distributed throughout the world. He had delivered thousands of lectures, written thousands of letters, and taken part in thousands of conversations with followers, admirers, and critics alike. And he had won the esteem of hundreds of prominent scholars and social figures, who had genuine appreciation for Srila Prabhupada’s contributions to religion, philosophy, and culture.
Srila Prabhupada attained the lotus feet of Sri Krishna in November 1977. After preaching for 11 years in the West, he had created 108 centers worldwide, written 51 volumes of transcendental literature , traveled around the world eight times and initiated 5,000 disciples. He had created the world's largest publisher of Vedic literature (The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust), a scientific preaching academy (The Bhaktivedanta Institute), and many other trusts to insure the continuity.
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"Srila Prabhupada speaks to a crowd of
onlookers after his first public chanting in Tompkins Square Park, New York City"
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Srila Prabhupada wrote over 51 volumes of transcendental literature. From original Sanskrit or Bengali texts, he would write word-for-word and complete translations for each verse and comment on the text in his famous Bhaktivedanta purports. He called these purports "My emotional ecstasies." In clear and lucid language, he exposed the foolishness of the modern materialistic society, which often acts no different than polished animals. But merely exposing the modern society was not his main purpose. He sincerely wished the best for all living entities.Therefore he |
| presented the vast science of spiritual knowledge in such a manner that even any slightly intelligent person could understand the truth: We are eternally parts of Krishna; we are His eternal servants. |
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Srila Prabhupada's works include the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad Bhagavatam (18 volumes),
Caitanya-caritamrta (17 volumes),The Nectar of Devotion, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, The Teachings of Lord Kapila,The Teaching of Queen Kunti, Sri Isopanisad, The Nectar of Instruction, and dozens of smaller books.Srila Prabhupada produced these books within a short span of 11 years,a superhuman feat
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Srila Prabhupada accepts new disciples at an initiation ceremony in the Los Angeles temple in May 1972
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| unmatched in recorded history. Every day he would dictate the text, and later his devoted followers would type his recorded voice and edit the copies. Prabhupada slept only 3 hours a day and ate only a handful of food. The early morning hours, between 1:30 and 4:30 a.m., he would spend writing, and later in the day he would preach to all classes of people in public and in private. Even up to the day before his death, when his physical body was at its end, he was writing the final purports to his last book. By any calculation, he was an extraordinary person.
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