Bhakti Shastri (Onsite)

Pran Govinda prabhu, was born in Comilla/Ampinagara in East Pakistan in the year 1962. 

In 1971, he went with his father to visit his aunt’s family in Jadavpur Calcutta, where Srila Prabhupada was giving a lecture and where he saw for the first time “western devotees” in Deshapriya Park. Being just a small boy, he only saw Srila Prabhupada from afar and felt a strong desire to become a devotee.

In 1978 he went to Vrindavan, and lived there for many months with the BABAJIS in the Cakaleswar Temple at Govardhan. Later he met H H Bhakticaru Swami at the end of 1979 in the Krishna Balarama Temple in Vrindavan he went back to Calcutta with him and, a year later, he took initiation from Bhavananda Maharaja.

From 1981-1986, he was working in Mayapur as a guest house manager. In 1986, during the 500th anniversary of Lord Chaitanya, the new management allowed him to serve as the first general manager in Mayapur–managing the Gaura Purnima festival.

From 1980-1989, he served as a facilitator of prasadam and accommodations for GBC, sannyasis, devotees, and life members. He also served as a life membership director and fundraiser for the Mayapur temple. During monsoon, when Mayapur would become flooded; he would distribute kitchori prasadam to all the neighboring villages.

For many years he has been serving the devotees in the Alachua Temple every day from 4 am until 9 am. He serve the devotees 5 days a week in the evening with Krishna Katha in a study group, under his present siksa-guru, HH Radhanatha Swami. Almost every day he is counseling devotees to overcome their challenges on the spiritual path. He is always enthusiastic about looking to make new devotees and bringing them to the platform of becoming sincere, serious followers of Srila Prabhupada.

Currently he is dedicating his full time as a sannyasi while encouraging other devotees to cooperate with the GBC in pushing on the Krishna Consciousness movement and pleasing Srila Prabhupada.