Jayapataka Swami (); born on April 9, 1949) is a

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

swami Swami (; ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to an Asceticism#Hinduism, ascetic who has chosen the Sannyasa, path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas ...

and a religious leader for the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 in New York City by ...

(ISKCON).Eternal odyssey through people’s hearts
The Telegraph, Calcutta, 16 February 2004 He is a senior disciple of

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (; ) (1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was a spiritual, philosophical, and religious teacher from India who spread the Hare Krishna mantra and the teachings of "Krishna consciousness" ...

. In 2004 he was one of the initiating spiritual masters, ( ISKCON Gurus), a member of the Governing Body Commission (GBC),Police chief flags off Jagannath rath yatra
"

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

", Saturday, 14 January 2006 and a divisional trustee for the

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 in New York City by ...

(BBT). He is one of the senior-most sannyasis in the Hare Krishna movement.

Honorifics

* His Holiness * Maharaja * Guru Maharaj * Gurudeva

Early years

Jayapataka Swami was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

as Gordon John Erdman II to Gordon John Erdman and Lorraine Erdman (Golich). He attended

St. John's Northwestern Military Academy St. John's Northwestern Military Academy (SJNMA) was founded in 1884 as St. John's Military Academy (SJMA) in Delafield, Wisconsin, by the Rev. Sidney T. Smythe as a private, college preparatory school. In 1995, Northwestern Military and Naval Ac ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. There, as a fresh enrollee, he was influenced by a guest lecture on the life of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

that he lost all interest in his studies and began searching for a spiritual teacher. After some time of searching he concluded he would have to go to India to find his teacher. Before leaving for India, Gordon came across some

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna may refer to: * International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a group commonly known as "Hare Krishnas" or the "Hare Krishna movement" * Hare Krishna (mantra), a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra also known as the "Maha Mantra" (Great ...

devotees, doing

kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

and distributing '' Back To Godhead'' magazine. Shortly after he visited the San Francisco

ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 ...

center, where he met Jayananda das who introduced him to the Ratha Yatra festival. His first service in ISKCON was to help build the Ratha Cart. From there he travelled to Montreal, Quebec, Canada where he met

Srila Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (; ) (1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was a spiritual, philosophical, and religious teacher from India who spread the Hare Krishna mantra and the teachings of "Krishna consciousness" ...

. John took first

initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and was given the name 'Jayapataka dasa'. Soon after he was awarded 2nd initiation in New York. While in Montreal, Jayapataka dasa was engaged in the service of printing books and dispatching them to other ISKCON temples around the world. Later, on the instruction of

, Jayapataka went to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to open a temple there. When Jayapataka dasa took over the Toronto center as president he wrote to Srila Prabhupada enquiring about his service and was told by him to go to India.

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

Jayapataka Swami's Official Website
{{Authority control Converts to Hinduism International Society for Krishna Consciousness religious figures 1949 births Living people Indian Hare Krishnas Indian Hindu monks Brown University alumni Religious leaders from Milwaukee 20th-century Hindu religious leaders 21st-century Hindu religious leaders