Srila Prabhupada

Religious Figure

Srila Prabhupada, also known as A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, was the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), an offshoot of Hinduism that rejects materialism and teaches devotion to Krishna. Born and raised in India, Srila Prabhupada began a career of preaching and publishing in the 1940s, with his magazine Back to Godhead. In 1965 he went to New York City and a year later founded the Hare Krishna movement. By the time of his death in 1977, he had translated and commented on dozens of sacred texts and written several books, including Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and the Hare Krishnas had grown to include thousands of members across the world. In the late 1990s the discovery of tapes made while Srila Prabhupada was on his deathbed raised suspicions of a plot to poison him, but so far there seems to be no conclusive answer to the charge.

Extra credit: Hare Krishna members are recognized by their bare heads and orange robes, and can often be heard chanting the holy names of Krishna as a form of devotion... Over the years members have had several legal battles with American airports, where they solicit donations and distribute copies of Back to Godhead.

Prabhupada joins Napoleon in our loop titled Possibly Poisoned.