Looking Back

The creative side of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami's (SDG) is clearly visible in the expression of his poetry, writings and art. But his journey wasn't always imbued with artistic freeform expression and the lighthearted indulging of his creative impulse. Rather, his young adulthood and middle-aged years were marked by a heavily regimented life, one that carried the weight of both spiritual discipline and organizational responsibility. His was a severe if also blissful path, full of dutiful action and devotional delight. As a serious student under Prabhupada's tutelage in bhakti since as early as 1966, he temporarily left the spontaneous world of improvisation of self-expression for the more structured life of a monk. Yet he did manage ISKCON Press in Boston for some time and became editor-in-chief for Prabhupada's Back to Godhead magazine, which gave him an outlet for his creative writing. By 1972, in recognition of his serious commitment to ISKCON, he was awarded sannyasa, which is a formal stage of life in the Vedic social order, indicating learning and renunciation. As a sannyasi, he would travel the world, sharing knowledge of Krishna Consciousness with others and helping his teacher manage the movement. Along these lines, he had two years earlier in 1970 become a Governing Body Commissioner (GBC), that is, a managerial authority in the movement, and for a brief period between January and July of 1974, he served as personal servant and secretary to Prabhupada himself. His first two books were Readings in Vedic Literature, which was a scholarly overview of the Vedic tradition with special attention to Vaishnavism, and, soon after his guru's departure, Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta, an exhaustive multivolume work on the life and times of his spiritual master. Numerous books would follow, even as he continued to help manage Prabhupada's movement and, eventually, he would initiate many disciples of his own. But in due course, exhaustion and poor health caused him to pull back from management and formal involvement as a leader of the movement. His books started to engage free-writing techniques, almost Kerouac-ian in nature, but, as always, he continued to keep Prabhupada and Lord Krishna as the main foci. His contribution is valued and well-read with Spanish, Italian, Russian and another 40 languages in translation both by GN Press and BBT publishers. Being the senior most disciple of Srila Prabhupada he continues to inspire his followers over the years.