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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was born in Calcutta in 1896, receiving from his parents the name Abhay Charan De, which translates to "one who having taken shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna is fearless."
After completing his studies at the University of Calcutta and actively participating in Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent movement, he attended a lecture given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, one of the greatest masters and scholars of Vedic knowledge. After the speech, Abhay Charan De was introduced to the master, who enthusiastically asked him to spread the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita to the West. As the head of several medical laboratories, Abhay Charan De could not immediately fulfill Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's request. However, he never forgot their conversation, and twelve years later, he officially accepted him as his spiritual master.
Just before leaving this world in 1936, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta expressed the same desire to see Abhay Charan De transmit the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita to Western countries. While still living in India, his spiritual master appeared to him frequently in dreams, repeating the same request. In 1959, encouraged by one of his fellow spiritual brothers, he decided to take the order of renunciation (the sannyasa), receiving the name A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Giving up all family and social life, he retired to Vrndavana, where he translated the Bhagavad-gita and other Sanskrit texts into English.
In 1966, he boarded a ship bound for the United States with only 40 rupees to his name. Alone in New York City, he went to a park each day and sang the Hare Krishna mantra. Many young people were drawn to his personality and began singing along to the Vedic mantras and attending regular classes on bhakti-yoga. Shortly after, he founded his first Krishna temple in a small abandoned storefront. The Back to Godhead magazine made its debut there.