Bhakti Caitanya Swami

Bhakti Chaitanya Swami (IAST: Bhakti Caitanya Svāmī; born 14 August 1951 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava swami^[4] and a religious leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (also known as the Hare Krishna movement or ISKCON).^[1][3][5] He is a member of its Governing Body Commission and is the leader of ISKCON in South Africa, the Baltic states and Russia.^[3]

Bhakti Chaitanya Swami
Personal
Born	14 August 1951 Auckland, New Zealand^[1]
Religion	Hinduism
Other names	Richard Naismith^[2]
Religious career
Initiation	Diksa–1973, Sannyasa–1994
Post	ISKCON Guru,^[1] Sannyasi,^[3] Member of the Governing Body Commission^[3]

He was born as Richard Naismith^[2] on 14 August 1951 in Auckland, New Zealand.^[1][3] In 1972 he first met ISKCON founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in Auckland University.^[2] A year later he joined that society in London and received initiation from Prabhupada, who gave him the sanskrit name of Raghubhir Dasa.^[2]

The swami is closely associated with the educational programs of ISKCON and teaches at the Vaisnava Institute for Higher Education in Vrindavana. In 1994, during the Gaura Purnima Festival, he took the renounced order of sannyasa from Giriraja Swami and received the name Bhakti Caitanya Swami. Later he became a member of its Governing Body Commission^[3][5] and ISKCON Guru.^[1][3]

See also

• List of ISKCON members and patrons

Footnotes

1. Petrova 2009
2. Kūrma Dāsa 1999
3. Verba 2004
4. List of Sannyasis in ISKCON April 2008 21 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine ISKCON Sannyasa Ministry, Retrieved on 5 May 2008
5. Khan 2005

References

• Ramson, S. M. (2006), The Enduring Self: Exploring the Identity of the Hare Krishna Devotees Beyond Race, Language and Culture (PDF), University of KwaZulu-Natal^{[permanent dead link]}
• Kūrma Dāsa (1999), The Great Transcendental Adventure: Pastimes of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda in Australia and New Zealand, Chakra Press, ISBN 0-947259-22-8
• Lokanath Swami (2001), Festivals: Śrīla Prabhupāda at the Māyāpur-Vr̥ndāvana festivals, Padayātrā Press, ISBN 81-901132-1-6
• Robinson, Kim; Cooke, Robert (2002), "Religious groups accept pig organs", Independent Online
• Khan, Farook (2005), "American hailed a hero at event", The Daily News
• Indradyumna Swami (2008), , Diary of a Traveling Preacher, IX (12), archived from the original on 18 February 2010, retrieved 4 December 2009
• Post (29 October 2008), "PMB events", The Post
• Verba, Anna (2004), "Кришна, секс и рок-н-ролл, или За что один из "битлов" получил от друга хорошую затрещину?", «Молодёж Якутии», no. 24, archived from the original on 16 July 2007
• Pnz.ru (2007), , ТРК «Наш Дом», archived from the original on 12 October 2007, retrieved 4 December 2009
• Гончарук, Тимофей (2009), "В Сыктывкар прибыл Шрила Бхакти Чайтанья Свами Махарадж", «Красное знамя»^{[permanent dead link]}
• Семёнов, Виктор (2009), , «Трибуна», archived from the original on 8 October 2011
• tv21.ru (2009), "В Мурманск приехал духовный лидер движения "Харе Кришна"", Телекомпания «ТВ-21»
• Petrova, Oksana (2009), ""Битлз" пели индуистские мантры 22 часа кряду", Komsomolskaya Pravda