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official website of
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami
भक्ति रसामृत स्वामी
Teacher, Author, Environmentalist, and
Community Leader
Biography
Who is Bhakti Rasamrita Swami?
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami is a sannyasi (monk of the renounced order) of the Bhakti-yoga tradition and a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He is a disciple of Radhanath Swami and a grand-disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON's founder acharya.
He preaches the eternal message of Krishna Consciousness all over the world including India, Singapore, UK, USA, Australia and Russia.
He is presently one of the trustees of ISKCON India and the President of ISKCON Belagavi (Belgaum) and Gokuldham, and has served in many important projects of the movement.
The Beginning
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami was born in the year 1962 in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India and did his schooling in the cities of Kolkata and Mumbai.
He completed his B.E. from M.S University, Baroda and MBA from Bombay University and worked for some time in a multinational bank in a management position.
Being deeply inspired by the teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder Acharya of ISKCON, he decided to dedicate his life to propagate the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagvatam.
Over the years
As a brahmachari, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami was first known as Devamrita Dasa.
He served in many important projects and has preached the message of Bhagavad gita very widely, especially to the student community.
Commemorating the hundredth birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada in the year 1996, he travelled widely and conducted National level theistic debate competitions in various colleges and Universities across India and Nepal, covering 250 cities and over 5000 colleges. During this period, He inspired many people in different parts of India, to practice and preach the message of Srimad Bhagavad gita.
He served as Temple President in Mumbai (Chowpatty), Vrindavan and Belagavi (Belgaum).
Sannyasa
(The Renounced Order)
In the month of March 2010, honouring his dedication and devotion, He was awarded the order of Sannyasa in ISKCON by his guru (teacher) His Holiness Radhanath Swami.
With this, Devamrita Dasa became His Holiness
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami.
Present day
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami continues to inspire thousands of students and seekers through his lectures and presentations around the world. He also guides aspirants on the practical application of Vedic wisdom in day to day life.
As Temple President of ISKCON's Belagavi (Belgaum) centre, he is nurturing and growing a large community of practitioners of bhakti-yoga.
Rooted in the belief of 'simple living, high thinking' for the welfare of society and the environment, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami is overseeing the ongoing development of a self-sufficient and sustainable vedic eco-village, Gokuldham, spread across 450 acres of land near Belgaum.
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami is actively engaged in the development of educational courses and preparation of course material based on the principles of the Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic scriptures. He is the guiding force behind Belagavi's first traditional vedic school (gurukulam).
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami also leads various initiatives in the areas of rural development, agriculture, cottage industries, and cow protection.
Philosophy
Krishna Consciousness explained
through 5 simple questions
Who are we?
We are eternal spirit souls, not our bodies.
Who is God?
Krishna, the supremely attractive person and the source of everything, is God.
What is our relationship with God?
We have a relationship of eternal love with God.
What is our relationship with this world?
We are in this material world having forgotten that relationship with God, and are therefore caught in a cycle of birth and death, evolving through different species of life.
What is the goal of life?
To revive that love with God, primarily by the process of chanting the holy names of Krishna.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Bhakti-yoga | The yoga of love
Yoga is more than just a physical exercise. The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root Yuj which means to link up with, or combine. Bhakti is derived from the Sanskrit word bhaj, which means – loving service. Bhakti-yoga means to connect to the Supreme by means of loving devotional service.
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), otherwise known as the Hare Krishna movement, belongs to the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradāya, a monotheistic tradition within the Vedic or Hindu culture.
Founded by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON is philosophically based on the Sanskrit texts Bhagavad-gītā and the Bhagavat Purana, or Srimad Bhagavatam. These are the historic texts of the devotional bhakti yoga tradition, which teaches that the ultimate goal for all living beings is to reawaken their love for God, or Lord Krishna, the “all-attractive one”.
ISKCON includes five hundred major centers, temples and rural communities, nearly one hundred affilated vegetarian restaurants, thousands of namahattas or local meeting groups, a wide variety of community projects, and millions of congregational members worldwide.
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami is the grand-disciple of Srila Prabhupada, and the disciple of Radhanath Swami.
SRILA
prabhupada
For millennia the teachings and the rich culture of bhakti-yoga, or Krishna Consciousness, had been hidden within the borders of India. Today, millions around the globe express their gratitude to Srila Prabhupada for revealing the timeless wisdom of bhakti to a world.
Born as Abhay Charan De on September 1, 1896, in Calcutta, as a young man he joined Mahatma Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement. In 1922, a meeting with the prominent scholar and spiritual leader, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, proved to be most influential on young Abhay’s future calling.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was a leader in the Gaudiya Vaishnava community, a monotheistic tradition within the broader Hindu culture. At their very first meeting, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta asked Abhay to bring the teachings of Lord Krishna to the English-speaking world. Deeply moved by his devotion and wisdom, Abhay became a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta in 1933, and resolved to carry out his mentor’s request. Abhay, later known by the honorific A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, spent the next 32 years preparing for his journey west.
In 1965, at the age of sixty-nine, Srila Prabhupada begged a free passage and boarded a cargo ship, the Jaladhuta, to New York. The journey proved to be treacherous and he suffered two heart attacks aboard. After 35 days at sea, he first arrived at a lonely Brooklyn pier with just seven dollars in Indian rupees and a crate of his translations of sacred Sanskrit texts.
In New York, he faced great hardships and began his mission humbly by giving classes on the Bhagavad-gita in lofts on the Bowery and leading kirtan (traditional devotional chants) in Tompkins Square Park. His message of peace and goodwill resonated with many young people, some of whom came forward to become serious students of the Krishna-bhakti tradition. With the help of these students, Bhaktivedanta Swami rented a small storefront on New York’s Lower East Side to use as a temple.
In July of 1966, Bhaktivedanta Swami established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) for the purpose he stated of “checking the imbalance of values in the world and working for real unity and peace”.
In the eleven years that followed, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe 14 times on lecture tours spreading the teachings of Lord Krishna. Men and women from all backgrounds and walks of life came forward to accept his message. With their help, Srila Prabhupada established temples, farm communities, a publishing house, and educational institutions around the world. And, he began what has now become the world’s largest vegetarian food relief program, Hare Krishna Food for Life.
With the desire to nourish the roots of Krishna consciousness in its home, Srila Prabhupada returned to India several times, where he sparked a revival in the Vaishnava tradition. In India, he opened dozens of temples, including large centers in the holy towns of Vrindavana and Mayapura.
Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contributions, perhaps, are his books. He authored over 70 volumes on the Krishna tradition, which are highly respected by scholars for their authority, depth, fidelity to the tradition, and clarity. Several of his works are used as textbooks in numerous college courses. His writings have been translated into 76 languages. His most prominent works include: Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the 30-volume Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the 17-volume Sri Caitanya-caritamrita.
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada passed away on November 14, 1977, in the holy town of Vrindavana, surrounded by his loving disciples who carry on his mission today.
Learn more about Srila Prabhupada at FounderAcharya.com.
RADHANATH SWAMI
Born into a working-class family in Chicago, Radhanath Swami (born Richard Slavin) became an active participant in the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He soon discovered, however, that social transformation begins with personal change, and at the age of 19 he embarked on a remarkable quest for meaning in life.
This adventure, detailed in his memoir The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami (Mandala Publishing, 2010), took him hitch-hiking across Europe and the Middle East—through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and finally to India. There he lived as a wandering ascetic, first amongst the forest dwelling Himalayan yogis and later amongst a wide variety of gurus and spiritual practitioners throughout India and Nepal. Ultimately, he reached the inner sanctum of India’s mystic devotional tradition in the holy town of Vrindavan, where he found his spiritual teacher and his path amongst the Bhakti-yogis.
After encountering hundreds of spiritual and religious leaders, he found the teacher he was looking for in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In choosing Bhaktivedanta Swami as his guru, Radhanath Swami felt compelled to shave his matted locks and re-enter Western society with a mission to share the sacred wisdom he had received. This return exemplifies the form of devotional yoga which is at the heart of Radhanath Swami’s teachings, a spiritual practice expressed as tangible action meant to bring about personal fulfilment and benefit the world.
Radhanath Swami is the founder and co-ordinator of multiple spiritual communities throughout the world, the most prominent of which is the Radha-Gopinath Ashram located in Mumbai, India. Under his inspiration and guidance, the project has grown to include hospitals, orphanages, eco-friendly farms, schools, temples, emergency relief programs, and a food distribution program that feeds more than 1.2 million children in India every single day.
Radhanath Swami is one of today’s most beloved and respected spiritual teachers. He spent his youth wandering through disparate countries and cultures yearning for an experience of truth; after finally meeting his spiritual teacher in India he has spent the last 50 years internalising that spiritual practice and sharing it with others. He is not only a guide, but a community builder, activist, and a New York Times Best selling author. Rooted in his study of ancient India’s mystic devotional tradition, Radhanath Swami’s message is as profound as it is simple: by cultivating a rich inner life of self-awareness and a genuine practice of service, we can become instruments of compassion and agents of sustainable change in the world.
Learn more about Radhanath Swami on his official website.
ISKCON Belagavi (Belgaum)
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ISKCON Belagavi (Belgaum) is a branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, set upon the prime area of Belagavi (Belgaum) city and a stone's throw away from Belagavi Railway Station.
ISKCON Belagavi, Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda Temple is the home of the presiding deities of Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda, Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai and Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladeva, Subhadra.
Dedicated to the service of Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda, inspired by Srila Prabhupada and Radhanath Swami, and led by Bhakti Rasamrita Swami, ISKCON Belagavi serves as the headquarters of Gokuldham, Gokulananda Gurukulam and Nandagram Goshala, along with various other projects and initiatives in the areas of rural development and healthcare.
Visit ISKCON Belagavi's official website at www.belagavi.gokulananda.com
Gokuldham - Vedic Ecovillage
Gokuldham is a model Vedic village community project developed by ISKCON Belagavi (Belgaum) under the guidance of Bhakti Rasamrita Swami, spread over 450 acres of land nestled in the beautiful Sahyadri Hills at a distance of 40 kms from Belgaum.
The purpose for setting up Gokuldham was to recreate an ideal, self-sufficient Vedic village where a spirit of co-operation is nurtured, hard-work is encouraged and above all residents are taught to be sensitive to the environment around them.
Such a spirit of co-operation, harmony and sensitivity to local environment and culture is missing in today’s highly competitive and globalised world where people increasingly find themselves enslaved by consumerism and increasing material wants and desires.
Gokuldham is based on the economic principle of using only what is locally produced and producing only what is needed which was Srila Prabhupada’s simple principle of self-sufficiency. In such an environment, it is possible to understand and practice the higher goal of life by keeping the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna in the centre of all activities.
Propagating the principle of “simple living and high thinking”, Gokuldham is built on the lines of an ancient Vedic village using locally available natural materials including bamboo, straw, mud, stone, cow dung, etc.
The residents of Gokuldham are engaged in organic farming, protecting various indigenous breeds of cows, developing various medicines and other products from cow dung and urine, agro-based cottage industries, and so on.
Visit Gokuldham's official website at
His Holiness Radhanath Swami at Gokuldham
Rural Development
In today’s highly industrialised and mechanised world with more and more people migrating to urban areas to lead what they think is a better life, most of India’s rural communities are disintegrating due to lack of manpower and other resources.
This imbalance has led to various problems such as unemployment, poverty, development of slums in urban areas and lack of access to basic health, sanitation and nutrition.
To avoid these problems and to reinstate the self-sufficient rural communities of ancient India, the Venu Madhuri Trust was formed as an NGO under the leadership of Bhakti Rasamrita Swami to promote integrated and sustainable rural development that is in harmony with the environment. The Venu Madhuri Trust's key areas of work include watershed development, animal husbandry, cottage industries, organic farming, culture, education and health.
Learn more about Venu Madhuri at www.venumadhuri.org
Spiritual Education
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami is actively engaged in the development of educational courses and preparation of course material based on the principles of the Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic scriptures to guide newcomers to ISKCON, as well as devotees who are actively practising Krishna Consciousness.
He regularly conducts detailed seminars on various spiritual topics at leading educational institutions in India and abroad as well as professional associations.
More information and content is available in the Resources and Media section of this website.
Gokulananda Gurukulam
"The old system of gurukula should be revived as the perfect example of a system designed to produce great men, sober and responsible leaders, who know what is the real welfare of the citizens." — Srila Prabhupada in His Letter to Satsvarupa, 21 November, 1971
Gurukula means the place of the teacher. Literally, guru means teacher, and kula means family. So gurukula means more than just a school, but the place where a student comes to be part of the family of the guru for some time and learns the culture and etiquette of the Vedas, as well as the knowledge.
Under the leadership of Bhakti Rasamrita Swami, ISKCON Belagavi (Belgaum) is working to fulfil Srila Prabhupada's desire of reviving the authentic vedic style of schooling, by developing one of the first gurukulas of its kind in Belagavi (Belgaum), Karnataka, India — Gokulananda Gurukulam.
More information about Gokulananda Gurukulam is coming soon.
Cow Protection
According to Vedic and Vaishnava cultures, the cow is considered one of our mothers, as she gives us her milk and thus nutures our health and well being. Just as no civilised person would injure or kill their mother, the Vedas teach that to take milk from the cow and then kill her is the same as killing one’s mother. Similarly, the bull is considered like the father because the bull traditionally helps in the tilling of the fields, and thus is to be respected.
In ISKCON farms no cow, bull or calf is slaughtered. We look at innovative ways to work with the bull and engage their God-given strength in the service of others, under humane and loving conditions. Regardless of milk production, cows and bulls also produce dung and urine which is valuable as fertilizer, compost, some medicines, cleaning products and biogas fuel. In the ISKCON farms they are sheltered in barns (goshala), wherein they are left free to graze in the day and fed with healthy stapple, and are taken care of.
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami has established such a goshala at Gokuldham, as well as the Nandagram Goshala in Olamani, Karnataka, India.
More information about Bhakti Rasamrita Swami's cow protection initiatives is coming soon.
Resources and Media
The book "Basics of Bhagavad Gita", a thematic study of the Bhagavad Gita, compiled by Bhakti Rasamrita Swami and his team, is available online from Hare Krishna Books (India) and Sacred Boutique (UK).
Bhakti Rasamrita Swami has also prepared a suggested order of reading Srila Prabhupada's books in a systematic manner.
(Key: * Optional, # Can be read simultaneously)
01. On The Way to Krishna
02. Elevation to Krishna Consciousness
03. Krishna Consciousness the Matchless Gift
04. Krishna the Reservoir of Pleasure
05. Perfection of Yoga
06. Krishna Consciousness – The Topmost Yoga System
07. Beyond Birth and Death
08. Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers
09. Easy Journey to Other Planets
10. Raja Vidya: The King of Knowledge
11. Transcendental Teachings of Prahlad Maharaj
12. Coming Back
13. Message of Godhead*
14. Civilization and Transcendence*
15. Hare Krishna Challenge*
16. Scientific Basis of Krishna Consciousness*
17. Sword of Knowledge*
18. Nectar of Instruction
19. Path of Perfection
20. As many Issues of Back To Back to Godhead Magazine as possible
21. Prabhupada Lilamrita#
22. Introduction to Bhagavad Gita As It Is
These books are to be read after one has completed at least most of the books in Category 1
01. Science of Self-Realization
02. Journey of Self Discovery
03. Life comes from Life
04. Teachings of Queen Kunti
05. Teachings of Lord Kapila
06. Sri Isopanishad
07. Few Shlokas of Bhagvad Gita Everyday
08. Krishna Book#
09. A Second Chance#
These books can be read after the books in Category 2 have been read.
01. Bhagvad Gita As It Is
02. Nectar Of Devotion (Only Part I)
03. Teachings of Lord Chaitanya
04. Srimad Bhagavatam – Canto 1
These books are to be read after one has completed the books in the previous categories.
01. Srimad Bhagavatam (Canto By Canto)
02. Nectar Of Devotion (Part II And Part III)
03. Chaitanya Charitamrita
Media
More videos are available on YouTube and ISKCON Desire Tree
Audio archives are also available on SoundCloud and
ISKCON Desire Tree
View Bhakti Rasamrita Swami's latest photos and videos via Facebook
(Note: All external links, social profiles and other accounts associated with Bhakti Rasamrita Swami are independently owned and/or volunteer-run, and are not managed by this official website)
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