As one of the most senior and respected spiritual leaders of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Hridayananda das Goswami (Howard J. Resnick, Ph.D.) is an early pioneer and renowned teacher of bhakti yoga in the Western world. At the forefront of contemporary religious dialogue, he is celebrated for his unique ability to adapt the wisdom of ancient Indian philosophy into teachings that are comprehensible for Western audiences.
Affectionately known as “Acharyadeva” by his students, H.D. Goswami (born November 5, 1948) grew up in Los Angeles, California and began his studies at the University of California, Berkeley where he participated in the political and cultural movements of the late sixties. In 1969, after attending a lecture delivered by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, he began visiting the Berkeley ISKCON temple where he would later enroll as a full-time ashram student engaged in monastic service and theological training. In 1970, H.D. Goswami was formally initiated into the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of bhakti yoga under the guidance of Prabhupada.
Throughout his early career, H.D. Goswami distinguished himself by his devotion to his teacher’s message and his eloquence in presenting Prabhupada’s teachings to others. In 1972, with a relentless desire to better serve the world, he accepted a vow of lifelong celibacy. H.D. Goswami spent the following 20 years establishing over 40 ISKCON centers and supervising the translation, publication, and distribution of millions of Prabhupada’s books throughout Central and South America, Italy and Greece. During this time, he earned the distinction as the first westerner in history to translate and comment upon the canonical Bhagavata-purana from within the tradition.
With the conviction to complete his academic education and better connect with the West, H.D. Goswami returned to the University of California in 1991 as a student of World Religions. After graduating, he continued his studies at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in Sanskrit & Indian Studies in 1996. While completing his Harvard education, he set historical precedence with a perfect mark on the Sanskrit comprehensive exam.
Since 2000, H.D. Goswami has traveled the world lecturing at prominent universities and speaking with various social, religious, and political leaders, eager to deepen their understanding of Prabhupada’s teachings. Having published articles with Harvard University Press, University of California Press, and Columbia University Press, he has also held visiting professorships at the Graduate Theological Union, UCLA, and the University of Florida.
Fluent in seven languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, and Sanskrit), H.D. Goswami has fulfilled his spiritual master’s wish of seeing his work on the Srimad-Bhagavatam completed, by translating the 10th, 11th, and 12th Cantos along side with his godbrother Gopi-paranadhana Das. It is Hridayananda Das Goswami who gives the new purports their ultimate shape. From the wealth of Sanskrit comments, he carefully chooses the most important ideas, to help the readers best understand the rich meaning of the text.
H.D.Goswami has recently completed the translation of the Bhagavad-gita and published two new books: A Comprehensive Guide to Bhagavad-gita with Literal Translation, and Quest for Justice, Select Tales with Modern Illuminations from the Mahabharata. Both books were widely praised by both the Vaishnava and Academic communities. He is now working on a three-part historical novel based on the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. Having completed over 30 years of research for the project, he hopes to render the narrative of the Mahabharata in a style both appealing and intelligible to a modern audience.
As a dedicated teacher and scholar of religious history, H.D. Goswami continues to seek out effective ways in which to preserve yet adapt ancient wisdom to contemporary circumstances. In 2013, he launched a project called Krishna West. Because people in the West need and deserve the chance to practice genuine bhakti yoga within an external culture that is comfortable and natural for them, H.D. Goswami established Krishna West to help facilitate ISKCON’s outreach to Western audiences. | | (Dr. Howard J. Resnick) es uno de los más destacados lideres espirituales de la Sociedad Internacional para la Conciencia de Krishna. En los tiempos modernos, la tarea esencial de los maestros espirituales conscientes de Krishna, ha sido la de traducir las escrituras védicas de la India a las lenguas modernas y distribuirlas profusamente en todo el mundo. SS Hridayananda Dasa Goswami, como se le conoce entre sus seguidores, aceptó esta misión como su alma y vida.
SS Hridayananda Dasa Goswami apareció en este mundo el 5 de noviembre de 1948 en Los Angeles, California. Debido a su gran erudición obtuvo una beca de estudios en la Universidad de California donde presenció una conferencia dada por Su Divina Gracia A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, maestro-fundador del movimiento para la Conciencia de Krishna. Impresionado por la erudición y santidad de Srila Prabhupada, se tornó miembro del movimiento Hare Krishna en Berkeley y, poco tiempo después, el día 8 de febrero de 1970, fue iniciado como discípulo de Srila Prabhupada.
Desde el comienzo, SS Hridayananda Dasa Goswami se destacó por su elocuencia, devoción y dedicación en el estudio de los escritos de su maestro espiritual; a través de los mismos adquirió un profundo conocimiento del sánscrito. En 1972 aceptó la orden de vida renunciada, sannyasa, para dedicarse totalmente a cumplir la misión de su maestro espiritual: divulgar la conciencia de Krishna en todo el mundo. En los dos años siguientes viajó ampliamente dando conferencias en facultades y universidades de los Estados Unidos.
En 1974 fue nombrado miembro del Cuerpo Administrativo de ISKCON, siendo encargado del desenvolvimiento de la conciencia de Krishna en América Latina. En sólo tres años, estableció veinticinco centros de ISKCON y atrajo a millares de latinos a la conciencia de Krishna. En sus viajes por América Latina, se encontró con diversas autoridades políticas y religiosas, dialogando en portugués y español fluidos. Él, además, fundó las divisiones en portugués y español de Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, las cuales al momento distribuyeron más de veinticinco millones de libros en toda América Latina.
Poco antes de su partida de este mundo, en noviembre de 1977, Su Divina Gracia A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada pidió a SS Hridayananda Dasa Goswami, así como a otros diez prominentes discípulos, que aceptase la función de maestro espiritual para dar continuidad a la sucesión discipular originaria del Señor Supremo, Krishna. El mayor desafío de su carrera como líder espiritual, sin embargo, advino cuando los líderes de ISKCON, reconociendo su gran erudición devocional, le encomendaron completar la traducción y comentario de Srila Prabhupada al Srimad-Bhagavatam, el más importante clásico de la literatura védica.
Por miles de años en la India, grandes maestros espirituales presentaron sus comentarios sobre el Bhagavatam para esclarecer su importante mensaje a las personas de todas las épocas. SS Hridayananda Dasa Goswami es el primer occidental a quién le es confiada tan laboriosa tarea, y su éxito en comunicar la esencia de la herencia espiritual de la India a los lectores modernos ya ha sido advertido por eruditos y religiosos de todo el mundo. Habiendo completado esta gran obra hace ya muchos años, su proyecto literario desde entonces, ha sido la traducción del famoso texto épico "El Mahabharata", cuyo primer volumen será publicado a mediados del 2001.
SS Hridayananda Dasa Goswami actualmente vive en San Luis Obispo, CA. Viajando frecuentemente por todo el mundo, predicando y supervisando los trabajos de sus muchos discípulos.
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