Bhakti Chaitanya Swami | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1951-08-14)14 August 1951 (age 74) |
| Other names | Richard Naismith[2] |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Initiation | Diksa–1973,Sannyasa–1994 |
| Religious career | |
| Post | ISKCON Guru,[1]Sannyasi,[3] Member of the Governing Body Commission[3] |
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami (IAST:Bhakti Caitanya Svāmī; born 14 August 1951 inAuckland, New Zealand) is aGaudiya Vaishnavaswami[4] and a religious leader of theInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness (also known as the Hare Krishna movement or ISKCON).[1][3][5] He is a member of itsGoverning Body Commission and is the leader of ISKCON in South Africa, theBaltic states and Russia.[3]
He was born as Richard Naismith[2] on 14 August 1951 inAuckland, New Zealand.[1][3] In 1972 he first met ISKCON founderA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada inAuckland University.[2] A year later he joined that society in London and receivedinitiation from Prabhupada, who gave him thesanskrit name of Raghubhir Dasa.[2]
The swami is closely associated with the educational programs of ISKCON and teaches at theVaisnava Institute for Higher Education inVrindavana. In 1994, during theGaura Purnima Festival, he took the renounced order ofsannyasa fromGiriraja Swami and received the name Bhakti Caitanya Swami. Later he became a member of itsGoverning Body Commission[3][5] andISKCON Guru.[1][3]
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