Bhakti Chaitanya Swami (; born 14 August 1951 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava swamiList of Sannyasis in ISKCON April 2008
ISKCON Sannyasa Ministry, Retrieved on 5 May 2008 and a religious leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (also known as the Hare Krishna movement or ISKCON). He is a member of its Governing Body Commission and is the leader of ISKCON in South Africa, the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

and Russia. He was born as Richard Naismith on 14 August 1951 in

, New Zealand. In 1972 he first met ISKCON founder

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a repr ...

in Auckland University. A year later he joined that society in London and received

initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

from Prabhupada, who gave him the

sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

name of Raghubhir Dasa. The swami is closely associated with the educational programs of ISKCON and teaches at the Vaisnava Institute for Higher Education in

Vrindavana Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

. In 1994, during the

Gaura Purnima Gaura Purnima is a Vaishnava festival that celebrates the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534), who founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism. It occurs on the Purnima (Full moon day) in the Hindu month Phalgun ...

Festival, he took the renounced order of

sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...

from Giriraja Swami and received the name Bhakti Caitanya Swami. Later he became a member of its Governing Body Commission and ISKCON Guru.

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References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swami, Bhakti Caitanya Living people Converts to Hinduism International Society for Krishna Consciousness religious figures New Zealand Hindus University of Auckland alumni 1951 births Devotees of Krishna Hare Krishnas

See also

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