Swami

Asita Krishna Swami

His Holiness

Asita Krishna Swami

His Holiness Asita Krishna Swami is a Gaudiya Vaishnava sannyasi, initiating spiritual master and leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He was born in Puri district in 1972 and spent most of his early life surrounded by a Krishna conscious life where every day his family used to read Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Mahabharat.

After completion of his high school studies in 1989, he left his village and finished his graduate studies in Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. During those years in collage, he used to visit temples around but was when he visited ISKCON and performed Kirtan and associated with the devotees there that he became a regular visitor. Was on those visits when he first met H.H Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja.

Later, under the guidance of senior devotees from ISKCON Bhubaneswar, during his University years, he attended programs such as Bhaktivedanta youth service, and started to regularly chant the prescribed rounds and perform services in book distribution.

During and after the great opening of ISKCON Bhubaneswar Temple he was very instrumental in helping Sankirtan devotees in Book Fairs. From 1989 to 1993 he was involved in services for ISKCON Bhubaneswar and had the opportunity to Present Srila Prabhupada´s spiritual philosophy in multiple book fairs and debates. He was instructed by the temple president to be engage in reception office where he preached to many students and transformed their hearts to become devotees and join Bhubaneswar Temple.

In 1992 ISKCON Bhubaneswar sent him to a seminar in Mayapur Dham about the Origin of the Universe, conducted by Gauranga Prabhu a devotee from Italy a disciple of His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja. This seminar had a profound impression on him, clearing many  of his scientific doubts and helped him to develop full understanding in Vedic literature.

After the interactions in the seminars Gauranga Prabhu was very impress of him and invited maharaja to stay in Mayapur and deep his knowledge of scriptures. However, he returned to finish his studies in Utkal University Bhubaneswar, but the invitation to serve in the Holy Dham and dedicate his life full time to Sri Sri Radha and Krishna as vaishnava remained in his heart.

One day H.H Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja sang during class a bhajan of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura: ¨Ashok, Abhaya, Amrutara, Stala Tuman charan dwaya Tahate Ekhana visrama labhia chadil bhabera bhaya¨, means “Oh Krsna your lotus feet are reservoirs of immortal nectar where one may live free from sorrow and fear. I have found peace there now  I have given up the fear of worldly existence”.

After hearing the song, Maharaja decided to join ISKCON Vrindavan and finally joined Putrada Ekadasi in January of 1994. On the very next day on Dwadasi Day, the book distribution party group visited Govardhan for Parikrama and Maharaja cherished desire since childhood to go Vrindavan and Govardhan for Parikrama and take bath of Radhakunda and Syamakunda and take darshan of Sri Madhusudhan was at last fulfilled.

In those early days, ISKCON Vrindavan was led by Kadamba Kanana Prabhu (now Sanyassi) as temple president. Maharaja was assigned to serve in College Preaching in IIT Kanpur, Jaipur University and many others where he served for over six months. In the meantime Srila Tamal Krsna Goswami Maharaja and Giriraj Maharaja took the palace in Govardhan for fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s last desire.

By the end of 1994 Maharaja was transferred to serve at ISKCON Govardhan Bhaktivedhanta Ashram as Pujari, book distributor, construction leader, managing the court case and legal disputes and general preaching to pilgrims in the near area and under the guidance of His Holiness Srila Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja and His Holiness Kesava Bharati Goswami Maharaja.

In 1995 he visited Bhubaneswar, where he received harinama diksha from H.H Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja. After the sudden departure of his spiritual master from this world in 1996, Maharaja took shelter of Srila Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja’s lotus feet and took second initiation from him, doing service according to his instructions, one of his main instructions was to preach Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s message (vani) all over the world.

From 1995 to 2010 he led the TSKP Bus sankirtan party with 17 Brahmacharis and distributed books in different cities around India.

From 1995 until today he has been managing ISKCON Govardhan Bhaktivedanta Ashram in an extraordinary way serving many visiting devotees and preaching around the area. In 2010 ISKCON GBC named him officially the Temple president of ISKCON Govardhan Bhaktivedanta Ashram.

From his very childhood had the strong desire to take Sanyasa and live a life of Sadhu in Vrindavan and in 2013 inspired by H. H. Sivaram Swami Maharaja and H. H. Kesava Bharati Goswami Maharaja, applied for Sannyasa initiation to ISKCON sannyasa committee and from 2013 to 2017 he was assigned to different preaching areas:

In 2013 performed various services around India: Bhagavat katha at Damoh (Madhya Pradesh), Bharatapur (Raj), Jaipur, Agra and various places in Uttar Pradesh, Bangalore, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

 

In 2014 he visited ISKCON Hong Kong center for the first time and under the invitation of Chandrasekhar Prabhu (the GBC for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), he preached in Taipei & China. H.H Giridhari Maharaja and H.H Kesav Bharati Maharaja took him along to Hong Kong while they were preaching in those areas.

After his visit to Hong Kong, his preaching in India continue in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bangalore, UP, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Orissa to finally reach Govardhan in the month of Kartika.

From 2015 onwards  his preaching efforts continued in Hong Kong, Mainland China: Shenzhen, Nanning city, Liuzhou city, Foshan city, Guangzhou city, to finally return to India and continue preaching in Bangalore, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, South India, Orissa, Kolkata, Mayapur, Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and hosting a group of devotees from Hungary, taking them to Jaganatha Puri and then returning to Govardhan before Kartik.

On March 19th 2017, and after a very intense preaching years Maharaja Received Sannyasa initiation from H.H. Sivarama Swami Maharaja in ISKCON Govardhan Bhaktivedanta Asharam.  Just after his Sanyassa Initiation he continued with a preaching program in Hungary, Turkey, U.S.A and the U.K under the invitation of H.H Sivarama Swami Maharaja visiting cities like Valatone and Antalya.                     

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Maharaja maintained an active online community of devotees in China with regular Srimad Bhagavatam classes.

In Karthik 2022 he has officially become an initiating Spiritual Master within ISKCON.

Since the beginning of ISKCON Govardhan Bhaktivedanta Ashram, he has had the opportunity to serve many devotees from last 27 years, He always has welcome all groups of devotees that visits ISKCON Govardhan every year, organize classes and the facilities required for their Darshan of Govardhan.