Disciples of ISKCON guru Jayapataka Swami plan to distribute 61,000 copies of Bhagavad-gita As It Is to honor his 61st birthday, to be celebrated on May 28th in Mayapur, India.

The effort builds upon the Mayapur Sankirtana Department’s regular commitment to distribute 10,000 Bhagavad-gitas and other large-size books per month, an instruction that Jayapataka Swami’s own guru Srila Prabhupada once gave him. Srila Prabhupada is, of course, also ISKCON’s founder and the author of Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

“This year is a very special one,” says Jayapataka Swami disciple Tusti Mohan Krishna Dasa. “It is my guru’s 61st birthday and 40th anniversary of taking sannyasa, the renounced order of life. But it is also the 114th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s birth, and the 500th sannyasa anniversary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the avatar of Krishna Himself who founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism. So we are requesting devotees to sponsor 40, 61, 114, or 500 Bhagavad-Gitas to celebrate these occasions.”

The sponsored Gitas will be distributed to those who cannot afford or easily avail of the sacred book, including students, hospital patients, inmates, and villagers in very poor areas.

Jayapataka Swami’s disciples feel that this is the most unique and special way to celebrate the birthday of their guru, who continues to teach Krishna consciousness wherever he can despite still experiencing the effects of a brain hemorrhage he suffered in October 2008.

“As disciples and well-wishers of Jayapataka Swami, it is our foremost duty to assist our guru in service to his guru, Srila Prabhupada,” Tusti Mohan says.

He adds, “Srila Prabhupada conquered the hearts and minds of people all over the world by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and distributing the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. It is hard to calculate the benefit of reading and distributing the Bhagavad gita, and so we want to take full advantage of this opportunity to help others.”




To receive a form to sponsor Bhagavad-gitas, please contact Mayapur.Sankirtan@pamho.net or venudharidas.jps@pamho.net