Swami Prabhavananda (December 26, 1893 – July 4, 1976) was an Indian

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

of the

Ramakrishna Order The Ramakrishna Order (Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ সংঘ) is the monastic lineage that was founded by Sri Ramakrishna, when he gave the ochre cloth of renunciation to twelve of his close disciples, in January 1886 at the Cossipore Hous ...

, and religious teacher. He moved to America in 1923 to take up the role of assistant minister in the San Francisco Vedanta Society. In 1928 he was the minister of a small group in Portland, OR, but in 1930 he founded the

Vedanta Society of Southern California ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

. The Swami spent the rest of his life there, writing and collaborating with some of the most distinguished authors and intellectuals of the time, including

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...

Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...

, and

Gerald Heard Henry FitzGerald Heard (6 October 1889 – 14 August 1971), commonly called Gerald Heard, was a British-born American historian, science writer, public lecturer, educator, and philosopher. He wrote many articles and over 35 books. Heard was a g ...

Biography

Born in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, he joined the Ramakrishna Order after graduating from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

university in 1914. He was initiated by

Swami Brahmananda Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...

, the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, and the first president of the

, headquartered in Belur, West Bengal.About Prabhavananda
In 1923, he was sent to the United States of America. Initially, he worked as an assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of San Francisco. After two years, he established the Vedanta Society of Portland. In December 1929, he moved to Los Angeles, where he founded the

in 1930. Under his administration, the Vedanta Society of Southern California grew over the years to become the largest Vedanta Society in the West, with monasteries in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

and

Trabuco Canyon Trabuco Canyon (''Trabuco'', Spanish for " Blunderbuss") is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest. Trabuco ...

and convents in Hollywood and Santa Barbara. Prabhavananda was a scholar who wrote a number of books on Vedanta and Indian religious scriptures and commentary. He was assisted on several of the projects by

and Frederick Manchester. His comprehensive knowledge of philosophy and religion attracted such disciples as

and

. Prabhavananda died on the bicentennial of America's independence, July 4, 1976, and on the 74th anniversary of the death, or mahasamadhi, of

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

, the founder of the

in India and many of the Vedanta centers in America and Europe.

Influence

Prabhavananda's book '' The Spiritual Heritage of India'' was reviewed in the academic journal ''

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

''. The review stated that "Swami Prabhavananda has written a charming and authoritative book on the spiritual heritage of India, by which he means that heritage in consonance with the Vedic tradition and its culmination in Vedanta" (p. 376).Dale Riepe (1963)
[Untitled - review of Prabhavananda's The Spiritual Heritage of India]
''

'', v38 n146, pp376-377. DO
S0031819100058411
/ref> The reviewer stated that "throughout the book breathes an air of relaxed simplicity and conviction.... I was particularly refreshed by the absence of attacks on science, materialism, naturalism, and other such means to spiritual fulfilment" (pp. 376–377). Prabhavananda and Isherwood's translation of the ''

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

'' was reviewed by ''Time Magazine'' in 1945. ''Time Magazine, Time'' described the translation as "a distinguished literary work" that was "simpler and freer than other English translations (three of which have been published in the past year).... It may help U.S. readers to understand not only the ''Gita'' itself, but also its influence on American letters through one of its greatest U.S. admirers,

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

" (pp. 98, 100).

Written works

Original works

* Dynamic Religion (1927) * Wisdom of God (Srimad Bhagavatam) (1943) *'' The Spiritual Heritage of India'' (1963). **Editions: Doubleday, 1962 (original); Anchor, 1964; Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1977, ;

Vedanta Press Vedanta Press is the publishing wing of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, founded in 1930 by Swami Prabhavananda. It publishes a number of important books in Indian philosophy and the Vedanta tradition, both original works and translati ...

, 1979, ;

, 1980; Cosmos, 2003, *'' Vedic Religion and Philosophy'' *''The Eternal Companion'' (Life and teachings of

) *''The

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is ...

according to

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

'' *''Religion in Practice'' *''

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and

Mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

Translations

*''The Wisdom of God'' ( Srimat Bhagavatam), *''Shankara's Crest-jewel of discrimination'' ( Viveka Choodamani) - with

, *''The Upanishads'' - with Frederick Manchester, *''The Song of God:

'' - with

, *''How to know God, the Yoga aphorisms of

Patanjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...

'' ( Patanjala Yogasutra) - with

, *''Memories of a Loving Soul: Swami Premananda, Teachings and Reminiscences'' *''Narada's Way of Divine Love (Narada Bhakti Sutras)''

Audio and video works

*''What is Religion?'' - CDReleased through mondayMEDIA on the GemsTone Label *''Eight Limbs of Yoga'' - DVD *''Blessed Are the Pure In Heart'' and ''Be Still'' - DVDTwo lectures released through mondayMEDIA on the GemsTone Label

References

External links

Audio recording of talk by Swami Prabhavananda, "Talks on Silence" (26 June 1966)Vedanta Society of Southern California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prabhavananda 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission 1893 births 1976 deaths University of Calcutta alumni Indian emigrants to the United States People from Bankura district Neo-Vedanta