Swami Prabhavananda (December 26, 1893 – July 4, 1976) was an Indian

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

of the Ramakrishna Order, and religious teacher. He moved to America in 1923 to take up the role of assistant minister in the San Francisco Vedanta Society. In 1928 he was the minister of a small group in Portland, OR, but in 1930 he founded the Vedanta Society of Southern California. The Swami spent the rest of his life there, writing and collaborating with some of the most distinguished authors and intellectuals of the time, including

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...

, Christopher Isherwood, and Gerald Heard.

Biography

Born in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, he joined the Ramakrishna Order after graduating from

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

university in 1914. He was initiated by Swami Brahmananda, the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, and the first president of the Ramakrishna Order, headquartered in Belur, West Bengal.About Prabhavananda
In 1923, he was sent to the United States of America. Initially, he worked as an assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of San Francisco. After two years, he established the Vedanta Society of Portland. In December 1929, he moved to Los Angeles, where he founded the Vedanta Society of Southern California in 1930. Under his administration, the Vedanta Society of Southern California grew over the years to become the largest Vedanta Society in the West, with monasteries in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

and Trabuco Canyon and convents in Hollywood and Santa Barbara. Prabhavananda was a scholar who wrote a number of books on Vedanta and Indian religious scriptures and commentary. He was assisted on several of the projects by Christopher Isherwood and Frederick Manchester. His comprehensive knowledge of philosophy and religion attracted such disciples as

and Gerald Heard. Prabhavananda died on the bicentennial of America's independence, July 4, 1976, and on the 74th anniversary of the death, or mahasamadhi, of

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...

, the founder of the Ramakrishna Order in India and many of the Vedanta centers in America and Europe.

Influence

Prabhavananda's book '' The Spiritual Heritage of India'' was reviewed in the academic journal ''

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

''. The review stated that "Swami Prabhavananda has written a charming and authoritative book on the spiritual heritage of India, by which he means that heritage in consonance with the Vedic tradition and its culmination in Vedanta" (p. 376).Dale Riepe (1963)
[Untitled - review of Prabhavananda's The Spiritual Heritage of India]
''

'', v38 n146, pp376-377. DO
S0031819100058411
/ref> The reviewer stated that "throughout the book breathes an air of relaxed simplicity and conviction.... I was particularly refreshed by the absence of attacks on science, materialism, naturalism, and other such means to spiritual fulfilment" (pp. 376–377). Prabhavananda and Isherwood's translation of the Bhagavad_Gita_-_Song_of_God">’’Bhagavad Gita – The Song of God’’ was reviewed by ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'' in 1945. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' described the translation as "a distinguished literary work" that was "simpler and freer than other English translations (three of which have been published in the past year).... It may help U.S. readers to understand not only the ''Gita'' itself, but also its influence on American letters through one of its greatest U.S. admirers,

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

" (pp. 98, 100).

Written works

Original works

* Dynamic Religion (1927) * Wisdom of God (Srimad Bhagavatam) (1943) *'' The Spiritual Heritage of India'' (1963). **Editions: Doubleday, 1962 (original); Anchor, 1964; Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1977, ;

Vedanta Press Vedanta Press is the publishing wing of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, founded in 1930 by Swami Prabhavananda. It publishes a number of important books in Indian philosophy and the Vedanta tradition, both original works and translati ...

, 1979, ;

, 1980; Cosmos, 2003, *'' Vedic Religion and Philosophy'' *''The Eternal Companion'' (Life and teachings of Swami Brahmananda) *''The

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount ( anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is th ...

according to

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...

'' *''Religion in Practice'' *''

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

and

Mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

Translations

*''The Wisdom of God'' ( Srimat Bhagavatam), *''Shankara's Crest-jewel of discrimination'' ( Viveka Choodamani) - with Christopher Isherwood, *''The Upanishads'' - with Frederick Manchester, * ''Bhagavad Gita – The Song of God'' - with Christopher Isherwood, *''How to know God, the Yoga aphorisms of

Patanjali Patanjali (, , ; also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra) was the name of one or more author(s), mystic(s) and philosopher(s) in ancient India. His name is recorded as an author and compiler of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these a ...

'' ( Patanjala Yogasutra) - with Christopher Isherwood, *''Memories of a Loving Soul: Swami Premananda, Teachings and Reminiscences'' *''Narada's Way of Divine Love (Narada Bhakti Sutras)''

Audio and video works

*''What is Religion?'' - CDReleased through mondayMEDIA on the GemsTone Label *''Eight Limbs of Yoga'' - DVD *''Blessed Are the Pure In Heart'' and ''Be Still'' - DVDTwo lectures released through mondayMEDIA on the GemsTone Label

References

External links

Audio recording of talk by Swami Prabhavananda, "Talks on Silence" (26 June 1966)Vedanta Society of Southern California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prabhavananda 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission 1893 births 1976 deaths University of Calcutta alumni Indian emigrants to the United States People from Bankura district Neo-Vedanta