Indradyumna Swami

Indradyumna Swami (IAST: Indra-dyumna Svāmī) is an ISKCON Guru[1] and a sannyasi for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as ISKCON or the Hare Krishnas).[2] He is a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada[2][3] and is known for his traveling and preaching activities around the world,[3] especially in Poland.[3] Indradyumna Swami shares his experiences and realizations as a traveling monk in his journal The Diary of a Traveling Monk.[4]

Indradyumna Swami
Other namesBrian Tibbitts
Personal
BornMay 20, 1949
Palo Alto, California
ReligionGaudiya Vaishnavism, Hinduism
Other namesBrian Tibbitts
Senior posting
InitiationDiksa–1971, Sannyasa–1979
PostISKCON Guru, Sannyasi
Websitehttp://www.indradyumnaswami.com

Biography

Born as Brian Tibbitts on May 20, 1949, in Palo Alto, California.[4][5] He eventually joined the US Marines to stop the spread of communism in Vietnam; but a year later he was discharged as a conscientious objector.[4] In December 1971 he was initiated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and given the name Indradyumna Dasa.[6]

Indradyumna left the United States in 1972, journeying to Europe where he helped open new centers in France.[7] In 1979, when he was 29, he took a vow of lifelong dedication to missionary activities as a celibate monk, entering the renounced order of sannyasa as Indradyumna Swami.[4] In the early 1980s he served as the temple president at the New Mayapur château temple and farm near Châteauroux in France.

Among other international destinations in 2001 he headed up Food for Life's international relief effort to provide hot meals to 250,000[8] tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka.[9]

Indradyumna Swami has been involved in coordinating the annual Festival of India tour in Poland since 1990. The festivals seek to introduce people to India's ancient cultural traditions through a feast of entertainment and education involving:[10] classical Indian dance performances, theatre with larger-than-life puppets, presentations on Vedic texts such as Bhagavad-gita, musical performances, graphic exhibits, stalls with books and handicrafts, vegetarian food. The events are attended by between 5,000 and 10,000 people at a time.

Since 1996, Indradyumna Swami and the Polish Festival of India team have participated in the Przystanek Woodstock free music festival organized over the first weekend in August each year by Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. Dubbed Europe's largest annual open-air event, Przystanek Woodstock is attended by over 600,000 people each year. Within the mayhem of this setting Indradyumna Swami and the Festival of India team of more than 500 volunteers set up a spiritual sanctuary called "Krishna's Village of Peace".[11]


The old man looked up, stared at me, and then looked down again at the paper. “One thousand years ago,” he said, “you were a king in Karnataka. You were very wealthy and distributed much of your wealth to hospitals, schools, and temples. At end of that life you retired to the forest.

“In your previous birth you had two wives. At the end of that life you prayed, ‘If I take birth again I don’t want to be a grhastha. I want to be a sannyasi and devote all my life to God.’ So in this birth you took sannyasa at the age of 29. Correct?”

“Yes sir,” I replied. “Correct.”

“It is the result of your previous actions and desires,” he said. “In this birth you’ll get immense blessings from your spiritual master. Because your chosen path is bhakti you won’t take birth again. You’ll be liberated at the end of this life. You’ll live into old age, and you’ll die a natural death. You won’t die from a prolonged illness.”[12]

(Extract from Diary of A Traveling Preacher, Volume 6)

Bibliography
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Vaishnavism
 Hinduism portal
  • Indradyumna Swami Vraja Lila. — Torchlight Publishing, 1994. — 96 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Daso 'Smi - I Am Your Servant. — 1994.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Vol. I & II (May 1995 - November 1996). — Torchlight Publishing. — 296 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Vol. III (January 2001 - September 2001). — Torchlight Publishing. — 251 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Vol. IV (September 16, 2001 - April 19, 2003). — Torchlight Publishing. — 183 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Vol. V (May 2003 - November 2004). — Torchlight Publishing. — 210 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Vol. VI (November 2004 - December 2005). — Torchlight Publishing. — 221 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Vol. VII (January 2006 - November 2006). — Torchlight Publishing. — 204 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Vol. VIII (January 2007- January 2008). — Torchlight Publishing. — 158 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Vol. IX (January 2008 - November 2008). — Torchlight Publishing. — 149 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Monk, Vol. X (November 2008 - October 2009). — Torchlight Publishing. — 152 p.
  • Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Monk, Vol. XI (November 2009 - March 2012). — Torchlight Publishing. — 161 p.

Footnotes
  1. List of Sannyasis in ISKCON April 2008 Archived July 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine ISKCON Sannyasa Ministry, Retrieved on 2008-05-05
  2. Pałubicki 1998, p. 95
  3. Dwyer & Cole 2007, p. 25
  4. Biography of Indradyumna Swami
  5. Swami, I. (1993). Shelter beyond duality. Back to Godhead, 27(5).
  6. Prabhupada, A. C. B. S. (2003). 1971 Correspondence. In Bhaktivedanta VedaBase. Los Angeles, Ca: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
  7. Swami, I. (1997). Vysa-puja homages from Sannyasis - Indradyumna Swami. In Sri Vyasa-puja 1997. Los Angeles, California: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
  8. ISKCON serves 250,000 freshly cooked meals to survivors. (2005, February 14). Colombo Daily News.
  9. Packree, S., & Sookha, B. (2005, January 12). Opening hearts, wallets for disaster relief funds. Daily News.
  10. Prahlada, S. (2000). Bharata culture on the Baltic coast. Back To Godhead, 34(4).
  11. Das, K.-k. (2003). Krishna's village of peace. Back To Godhead, 37(1).
  12. Swami, Indradyumna (2006). Diary of A Traveling Preacher, Volume 6. USA: Torchlight Publishing. p. 201-202. ISBN 1-887089-42-X.
gollark: Cheese + marmite → suffering.
gollark: ++delete this conversation again
gollark: ++delete this entire conversation
gollark: Linear something generator.
gollark: Not asđæßđæøßđĸæßđłlly.

References
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