IDC Videos

– HH Bir Kirshna Goswami: ISKCON Discliple Course (2018)

– HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami: ISKCON Disciple Course (2023)

– HH Bhanu Swami: Importance of Siksa and Diksa

Born in October 1949, Bir Krishna Goswami spent his childhood in Long Island, New York. As an academically gifted student at North Western University, he began reading the Vedic literatures translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Impressed by Srila Prabhupada’s scholarship and saintliness, Bir Krishna Goswami became a member of the Krishna conscious community in Gainesville, Florida in 1971. Shortly thereafter, he was initiated as Srila Prabhupada’s disciple. In early 1978 Bir Krishna Goswami entered the renounced order of life (sannyasa) in Lima, Peru. In 1982 he came to North Carolina and opened its first permanent Krishna conscious center.

In 1985 or thereabout, he began to work as a GBC. At present his zone includes Fiji, the Southeastern United States, Serbia and Slovenia. He served as Chair of the North American GBC in the 1990s and was executive officer for the GBC EC from 2000 to 2005.A member of the Devotee Care Committee, Bir Krishna Goswami is most concerned about developing the culture of empathy within ISKCON through the medium of courses in relationships. Regarding the relationship of the GBC body with the ISKCON members at large, Maharaja thinks that the GBC needs to communicate more broadly and precisely what it is doing and what each of its members are doing on an ongoing basis.

Originally from New Zealand, Bhakti Caitanya Swami joined the Hare Krishna movement in London, early in 1973. Almost a year before, as a philosophy student at Auckland University, he had first seen his future spiritual master walking across the campus with his followers. Srila Prabhupada initiated Bhakti Caitanya Swami later in 1973, giving him the name Raghubir Dasa. Eleven years later in Mayapur, the order of sannyasa was awarded to Bhakti Caitanya Swami who is an initiating spiritual master for many devotees around the world.

Bhakti Caitanya Swami initially served in the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and also distributed Srila Prabhupada’s books from 1973 until 1980.Then Bhakti Caitanya Swami moved to South Africa, where, from 1980 to 1982, he served as temple president in the rural community of Cato Ridge. Thereafter he did fund raising for the building of the Temple of Understanding in Durban, which opened in 1985. This extraordinary temple combines modern design with traditional Vedic architecture and is one of South Africa’s landmarks. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists visit each year.

From 1985 until 1988 Bhakti Caitanya Swami served as regional secretary for South Africa, and he then participated in an outreach project in Johannesburg from 1988 until 1991. From that time until now, Bhakti Caitanya Swami is mostly engaged in traveling and spreading Krsna consciousness in an authoritative and accessible way. His permanent base is Durban, where his gentle and saintly presence provides stability.After joining the GBC in 1998, Bhakti Caitanya Swami’s assignments have included Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Estonia. Furthermore, he acts as co-GBC for Mauritius, Northwest Russia, Eastern Siberia, Western Siberia, Latvia, South Africa, and Lithuania. Bhakti Caitanya Swami has served as chairman of the GBC in 2002-2003 and as vice chairman in 2001-2003 and then again in 2010-2011. Within the strategic planning team effort, Bhakti Caitanya Swami is involved in the team building committee.

• Some quotations to show that both are equally important
• Well known quotations from scripture glorifying guru, who turns out to be siksa guru
• Difference between siksa and diksa gurus: why the distinction?
• Reasons why diksa became prominent in Vaisnava sampradayas
• Reasons why siksa became prominent in Gaudiya sampradaya
• Reasons why Srila Bhaktisiddhanta emphasized siksa parampara
• Reasons why diksa stays prominent in ISKCON
• Attempt to balance siksa and diksa in ISKCON
• The role of Srila Prabhupada as siksa guru in ISKCON
• Importance of respecting all gurus and giving prominent respect to the Founder

Bhanu Swami was born in Canada and holds a BA in Oriental fine arts history from the University of British Colombia. He joined the Hare Krishna movement in India in 1970. Initiated in 1971 by Srila Prabhupada, he took sannyasa vows in 1984. Bhanu Swami was personally instructed in the art of Deity worship by Srila Prabhupada, and within ISKCON he has become an authority on the topic.

Bhanu Swami has been a GBC member since 2003. His zonal assignments cover South India, and he is co-GBC for Japan. His history in management is as a regional secretary for South India since 1986. Having spent the last few decades in residence in Chennai, he has a clear understanding of the region. His GBC committee responsibilities include past chairmanship and, currently, participation in the Parallel Lines of Authority Committee for the Strategic Planning Initiative.A scholar in Sanskrit and Bengali, Bhanu Swami has translated fifteen significant works of the Gaudiya Vaishnava canon, with six more titles in progress. Many of these works are commentaries from primary members of the Gaudiya sampradaya on the Bhagavad-gita, Sri-Isopanishad, and Srimad Bhagavatam. Thus, Bhanu Swami’s contribution is a lasting one.