In his stunning paintings, Haridas Thakur das is able to capture life in his subjects in such a vivid way, they almost come across as photography. He captures realism in his paintings so true to life, one feels that they are in the presence of Srila Prabhupada himself.

Haridas Thakur das is a monk, artist, art teacher, and inspirational speaker. He is a disciple of Radhanath swami.  He had studied mechanical engineering at Karnataka University and after a short stint in the industry, he chose to live as a monk in a monastery at ISKCON Chowpatty in downtown Mumbai to fully immerse himself in spiritual life. He has a keen interest in the field of Fine Art and painting and conducts art seminars for youths and art enthusiasts.

Illustrations with illuminations

The following is a portion of the preface for the upcoming book; Illustrations with illuminations, An Artistic Glorification of Srila Prabhupada

Srila Prabhupada explained that on the spiritual platform both the painting of a person and the person himself are real, whereas on the material platform both the person and the painting are illusory. For Absolute beauty to be properly conveyed, one must actually be in touch with the source of this beauty: Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ultimately, He is the original artist. Srila Prabhupada elaborates on Krishna’s unique position as the premier artist: “Suppose you are an artist. To paint a picture of a very nice rose, you have to take your brush, mix your colours on the palate, and tax your brain to make the picture beautiful. But in a garden, you can see not only one rose but many thousands of roses blooming. They have been very artistically painted by nature…. Anyone who performs his work for the satisfaction of Krishna, who knows his relationship with Krishna, is a true artist, and he can depict genuine, absolute beauty as it exists in the spiritual world. For he is seeing the Truth.”

Thus, Srila Prabhupada said these Krishna paintings are ” WINDOWS TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD “

“So, the greatest art,” Srila Prabhupada explained, “Is to understand Krishna That is the greatest art”. If we actually want to be an artist, we should try to understand, or try to be intimately associated with, the greatest artist, Krishna. For this purpose, we have established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The members of this society are trained to see in everything the display of Krishna’s artistic sense. That is Krishna consciousness to see the artistic hand of Krishna everywhere.

As Lord Krishna says in Shrimad Bhagavatam that mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika (SB 11.19.21) meaning worship of my devotee is better than worshiping me. Srila Prabhupada is an Acharya who glorified Lord Krishna and made him famous with his teachings and holy names all over the globe. Since his departure devotees all over the world have gone the extra mile to glorify Srila Prabhupada and show their gratitude at every opportunity and the year 2022 is glorious because it marks the 125th appearance anniversary of Srila Prabhupada. Many programs and celebrations are organised all over the world.

Coming from the background of fine art I thought of depicting His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada with his spiritual emotions, moods, meditations, and ecstasies. Thanks to BBT and other devotees for capturing the illustrious photographs on all different occasions. which I have used for my artworks with creativity and innovation. Also, extra care has been taken to make sure to get the likeness of Srila Prabhupada

Now I am taking advantage of my turn to sing the glories of Srila Prabhupada with paint and brush on canvas, who painted the hearts of his followers, devotees, and masses with illustrations of Lord Krishna and his sweet pastimes. I beg for your prayers and blessings to have an art exhibition event that will be held from 15th March to 21st March 2022 at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. I extend my heartfelt invitation to you all for the same.

Art Exhibitions Available

As stated above you will be able to see Haridas Thakur das’ art at Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai in March 2022. This Art exhibition is dedicated to world peace, by glorifying Srila Prabhupada, a pure devotee of Lord Sri Krishna, in these difficult and uncertain times.

Currently, if you are in India and you would like to host an art exhibition at your art studio, gallery, temple, or preaching center, please contact Haridas Thakur das at; haridas.rns@gmail.com

There is hope for an international traveling exhibit in the future as well.