The Bhaktivedanta Archives
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by Ranjit das
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The sacred truths of Vedanta were hidden from Western view in Sanskrit and the vernacular languages of India until the arrival of Srila Prabhupada in the USA in 1965. Although he was 70 years old when he arrived, he spread the teachings of Krishna Consciousness to every major city in the world, established 108 temples with magnificent estates spread across 6 continents, and circled the globe twelve times to personally guide the membership of his broadening mission.
As if this were not enough, His Divine Grace also translated, wrote, and published 51 volumes of books in 28 different languages, tens of millions of which have been distributed throughout the world. He delivered thousands of lectures, wrote thousands of letters, and took part in thousands of conversations with followers, admirers, and critics alike. He won the esteem of hundreds of prominent scholars and social figures, who had genuine appreciation's for his contributions to religion, philosophy, and culture.
His followers documented his travels and accomplishments thus creating a photo collection consisting of thousands of photo images including India's holy places and Deities. Thousands of recordings of his lectures, devotional songs and kirtans. This audio-visual record is a treasure of Vedic culture that must be preserved to keep the remembrance and importance of his works alive.
Founded in 1978, the Bhaktivedanta Archives is the official repository for the documents, manuscripts, correspondence, audio recordings, photographs, films, and other memorabilia of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
The Bhaktivedanta Archives is dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of the teachings and personal life of His Divine Grace.
The Bhaktivedanta Archives has created a record of solid achievements in the service to the Vaisnava community worldwide. In 1978, 27 years ago, just after the departure of His Divine Grace, the Bhaktivedanta Archives was established. Since that time, the accomplishments to perpetuate Prabhupada's teachings have included the publication of over 70 volumes of conversations, lectures, and other works, as well as the use of the most up-to-date technology in the service of Krishna and Srila Prabhupada. Not least among these achievements has been the creation of audio ministries for distribution world wide. The texts of the recordings all culminate in the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase, a text retrieval computer program that is our current flagship of perpetuation.
(Click here for more information on the Bhaktivedanta Archives.)
