Vishnujana Swami (; June 2, 1948 - March 16, 1976), born Mark Stephen D'Atillo, was a disciple of
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 ...
, and a
sannyasi
''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 ...
within the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known Colloquialism, colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava Hinduism, Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was found ...
(commonly known as the 'Hare Krishnas' or ISKCON) who disappeared in 1976. He made recordings of himself singing the
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna may refer to:
* International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known Colloquialism, colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnav ...
mantra.
Life
He was born as Mark Stephen Datillo on June 2, 1948, in San Jose,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to parents Maureen (née Desmet) (1924-2017) and Joseph D'Attilo (1923-2006). At the age of seventeen, he moved to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
along with his girlfriend, whom he then married. In 1966–1967 Vishnujana first came into contact with the Hare Krishnas, and by 1968 he had 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 Srila Prabhupada and became a full-time member of the movement. On July 20, 1970, he was ordained a sannyasa.
Career
Vishnujana played the harmonium and
mridanga
The khol is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music (''bhakti''). It is also known as a mridanga (<
murtis
In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. Thu ...
'' (deities) carried on the bus), in a proselytizing bus trip across the USA.
In March 16, 1976, 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 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 ...
, Vishnujana Swami disappeared. "Disappear" is a word used in the Vaishnava/Hare Krishna movement that means "to die."https://btg.krishna.com/novdec2012-dying-to-disappear
In 1999, a biography of Vishnujana Swami entitled ''Radha-Damodara Vilasa'' was published by Vaiyasaki das Adhikari.