ISKCON Chairman Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj passed away, was admitted in Dehradun hospital for three days
Tomorrow his body will be taken to Vrindavan
Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj was undergoing treatment at Synergy Hospital for three days. He breathed his last this morning.
Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj, one of the most senior monks of ISKCON and the President of the Governing Council of ISKCON India, passed away in Dehradun this morning. He breathed his last at around 9:30 in the morning. The news of his death has caused a wave of mourning among the devotees.
Let us tell you that Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj had reached the foundation stone laying program of the temple at Dudhli on May 2. Here he suddenly slipped and fell. Due to this, his lungs were punctured.
He was undergoing treatment at Synergy Hospital for three days. He breathed his last this morning. Hospital MD Kamal Garg has confirmed this. Devotees will be able to have his last darshan at ISKCON temple in Delhi at 3:30 in the afternoon. Tomorrow his body will be taken to Vrindavan. Its time has not been decided yet.
Born in 1944 in New Delhi, Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj was a brilliant student who was awarded two scholarships to study at Sorbonne University (France) and McGill University (Canada). He met his guru and ISKCON founder-acharya Srila Prabhupada in Canada in 1968 and since then has dedicated himself to sharing the teachings of Lord Krishna and Sanatana Dharma with the world for the peace and well-being of all. He met his guru and ISKCON founder-acharya Srila Prabhupada in Canada in 1968 and since then has dedicated himself to sharing the teachings of Lord Sri Krishna and Sanatana Dharma with the world for the peace and well-being of all.
Subsequently, in the years to come, he oversaw outreach and community-building efforts in India, Canada, Kenya, Pakistan, the Soviet Union, and other parts of the world.
He pioneered the construction of dozens of temples and cultural centers around the world, including the famous Glory of India Vedic Cultural Center in New Delhi, inaugurated by then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the ISKCON NVCC in Pune, inaugurated by President of India Pranab Mukherjee.
He also served as a trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, the world’s largest publisher of Indian culture and philosophy, which oversees the translation and publication of sacred texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam in over 70 world languages and has printed over 60 crore books to date. He also started the Annamrita Foundation, which today serves fresh and nutritious meals to over 12 lakh government school students in over 20,000 schools across India.
Through his years of dedicated service and devotion, he inspired countless people to embrace the path of spirituality and service, regardless of their social, economic or cultural background. Inspired by his teachings through thousands of his discourses, over 50,000 people from over 70 countries have been initiated into the process of Bhakti Yoga by His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami.
From heads of states to leading businessmen, students and the common people of society, he was equally accessible to all as a friend, philosopher and guide. Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi while remembering Param Pujya Gopal Krishna Goswami in 2019 wrote, “The life, ideals and teachings of Sri Goswami Maharaj are an inspiration for mankind to follow the path of spirituality.
Gopal Krishna Goswami ji body in vrindavan
On May 5 at 4 pm, the mortal remains will be kept for darshan at the temple in East of Kailash and on May 6, 2024, the mortal remains of Param Pujya Gopal Krishna Goswami will be placed in Samadhi in the holy land of Vrindavan.
Who is Gopal Krishna Goswami ji (Biography)
Born in New Delhi on the auspicious day of Annada Ekadasi, August 14, 1944, Maharaj’s original name, Gopal Krishna, was retained by Srila Prabhupada after his Harinam Diksha.
Maharaj spent his early years in India, graduating from Delhi University. He then pursued further studies abroad, winning a scholarship from the French government to study business management at Sorbonne University in Paris. Later, he earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from McGill University in Montreal.
Maharaj was always a keen student of spirituality. In his youth, he explored various paths, visited churches and gurudwaras, and listened to many spiritual discourses in India as well as in the West. Being a sincere student of spirituality, Maharaj immediately understood the unique Guru-disciple relationship when he first met Srila Prabhupada.
After graduating from Delhi University in 1964, Gopal Krishna Goswami studied business management in France under a French government scholarship. He also studied for a while at Sorbonne University in Paris. While studying business management at McGill University in Montreal, Gopal Krishna Goswami began contributing to ISKCON by giving financial support to the Montreal temple.
After visiting the ISKCON temple in Montreal, Canada in September 1967, Gopal Krishna Goswami was eager to meet a Vaishnava guru and got the opportunity to meet Srila Prabhupada in 1968. Gopal Krishna Goswami, originally a resident of Delhi, India, had a religious background with great respect for sadhus or saints. The combination of his family background and the pursuit of spiritual life led him to Srila Prabhupada and he accepted initiation from him in early 1969. Gopal Krishna Goswami has at times served as Srila Prabhupada’s personal secretary.
In December of 1974 he was made a GBC member by Srila Prabhupada and then transferred to India, where he initially led projects in Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Madras, Mayapur, and Kanpur. His GBC responsibilities also extended to other parts of Southeast Asia. Assigned by Srila Prabhupada to visit the former Soviet Union in 1976 and 1977, Gopal Krishna Goswami served as a representative of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust to promote the placement of Srila Prabhupada’s books at fairs and in libraries. He was very well received, as were the books he was presenting.
Gopal Krishna Goswami has worked extensively with the BBT in India (as President and Trustee), arranging for the translation of Srila Prabhupada’s books into various regional languages and their distribution far and wide. He continues to encourage BBT book distribution in his areas, especially in India.
In 1981 Gopal Krishna Goswami took sannyasa initiation and began increasing his travels to spread Krishna consciousness widely in the United States, Canada, and eventually parts of Africa. He is currently the GBC of over thirty temples around the world and serves as an initiating spiritual master with disciples in Russia, the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Gopal Krishna Goswami played a leading role in inspiring and completing several large ISKCON temples, such as the Glory of India Temple in New Delhi in 1998 (inaugurated by then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee), ISKCON Pune (inaugurated by President of India Pranab Mukherjee) and the Radha Bankebihari Temple in Nairobi.
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