Official Press Release

The Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi would be inaugurating the year-long 125^th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Srila Prabhupada (Founder-Acharya of ISKCON) and release a Commemorative Silver Coin of Rs 125 in his honor on 1^st September 2021.

Keeping in mind the Covid protocol, the program would be organized virtually wherein thousands of ISKCON members, dignitaries, and the general public from more than 60 countries are expected to take part in this historic event.

The Prime Minister would be welcomed with Sanskrit prayers recited by a group of national and international students of the Bhaktivedanta Gurukul located at ISKCON’s world headquarters in Mayapur, West Bengal. Following the remarks of Union Tourism and Culture Minister Shri G. Kishan Reddy, the Prime Minister would unveil the Commemorative Coin minted by the Government of India Mint at Alipore in Kolkata. This would be followed by Prime Minister Modi’s address to the global audience.

“We are thankful to Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India for this recognition of Srila Prabhupada and the unparallel contributions he made in taking the teachings of Lord Krishna and India’s message of peace and good-will all over the world in a short span of 11 years. We have been organizing some events in the run-up to this inauguration and now on, to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and his legacy, several events, and activities have been planned all over the world” said Yudhistir Govinda Das. 

One of India’s most recognizable spiritual leaders A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami famously known as Srila Prabhupada was born on 1^st September 1896 in Calcutta, India. Later on, after meeting his spiritual teacher in 1922 who instructed him to spread the teachings of Lord Krishna in the English-speaking world. In 1965, at the age of seventy, he set sail to the United States aboard a cargo ship, suffering two heart attacks along the way, and landed in Boston harbor with $7 worth of Indian rupees. In the next 12 years, he created a spiritual revolution around the world by establishing 108 temples, opening dozens of farm communities, Vedic gurukul, vegetarian restaurants, and authored over 70 books along with establishing the world’s largest food relief program. 

The event is open to the public here:

Broadcast in English – https://pmindiawebcast.nic.in [with interpreter]

Broadcast in Hindi – https://pmindiawebcast.nic.in/hindi

Worldwide events organized (so far) by ISKCON in commemoration of Srila Prabhupada’s 125^th Birth Anniversary 

1. International e-conference on the theme of Environment and Sustainability with over 500 participants and 20 scholars and subject matter experts. (May 2021)

2. The world’s largest live webinar in collaboration with Dr. Vivek Bindra on the theme of Bhagavad Gita and Leadership. Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest event of its kind with 1.55 lakh live participants. (June 2021)

3. International e-conference on the theme of ‘Law and Spirituality’ organized in association with Delhi University with Union Ministers, Governor of Kerala, Former Judges of Supreme Court of India, and international law experts. (August 2021)

4. Bathing Srila Prabhupada’s Deities on his birth anniversary with water collected from 125 sacred rivers and kunds in India. (August 2021)

5. Opening of a new center ‘Prabhupada Ashram’ in New Delhi (August 2021)

6. Handing over of the Srila Prabhupada’s Birth Place to ISKCON. (August 2021)

7. International Value Education Contest in partnership with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reaching out to 2,50,000 students. (September 2021)

8. One-week Sankirtan (street chanting) in 125 major cities of the world. (September 2021)

9. Release of Srila Prabhupada’s translation of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita (biography of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) in Malayalam. (October 2021)