In Memoriam - Brahmananda Dasa

July 14, 1943 – June 7, 2015

Brahmananda Dasa met Srila Prabhupada in New York City in the summer of 1966, and his brother Greg (Gargamuni Dasa) met Prabhupada about a month later. Brahmananda was among the first of Prabhupada's disciples to get up and dance during the first outdoor kirtana in the western world, in Tompkins Square Park.

Professor Thomas J. Hopkins, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Franklin & Marshall College, succinctly summed up Brahmananda's contribution to early ISKCON: "He was one of [Prabhupada's] first disciples in the temple at 26 Second Avenue in New York, and, as ISKCON's first president, was involved in almost all of the activities that [Prabhupada] set in motion: dancing and chanting in the City parks, producing the first editions of Back to Godhead magazine, arranging meetings and talks, overseeing ISKCON's first book publications, and–as one of the few disciples with a salaried job–providing a small but steady flow of cash for the operation of the temple."

Later he was a pioneer for Prabhupada in bringing Krsna consciousness to Pakistan and Africa, and in developing the movement in various parts of India and throughout the world. He passed away while residing in Vrindavan, the sacred land of Lord Krsna. His inspirational talks on Prabhupada and his vivid memory of his time with his perfect master will be remembered for as long as devotees chant Hare Krsna.

Satyaraja Dasa, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, is a BTG associate editor and founding editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies. Swamiji is the latest of his more than thirty books on Krsna consciousness. He lives near New York City.