Bhakti Shastri Teacher's Training Course

Bhakti Prabhava Swami, born in Brussels in Belgium, in 1960, met devotees in Ghent in the summer of 1992. From 1992 to 1996 he was active in Nama Hatta preaching in Ghent (Flanders) and joined the Radhadesh temple in 1996. In 1994 he met His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami who accepted him as his disciple and gave him first initiation on 12 March 1998 and second initiation on 25 August 1999. On the 31st of May 2015 he was awarded sannyasa initiation by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami. Right after his first initiation he became the first secretary for the newly formed European RGB. He organized the first European Leaders Meetings (ELM) and went on several missions for the European RGB. In 2004 His Holiness Bhakti Prabhava Swami was requested to become to Secretary for the Global GBC Body and the Secretary for the GBC Executive Committee. He fulfilled that role until September 2009.  During that period, he attended all GBC meetings and all GBC mid‐year meetings as GBC Corresponding Secretary. He organized the first GBC midyear meeting held at Prabhupadesh in Italy in October 6‐9, 2006.

Since 2004, he travelled each year for a few months with His Holiness Prahladananda Swami as his assistant in the Ukraine, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Nearly every year between 2004 and 2021, Bhakti Prabhava Swami visited the Ukraine, first only for presenting a seminar at the yearly Bhakti Sangam festival and from 2015 onwards as a regular preacher for two months every year visiting mainly centers in West Ukraine.

In 2004, he opened a new ISKCON centre in Brussels, and from 1999 to 2004 he served as legal director for New Mayapura in France. In March 2006 he received a Global Excellence Aware for “Acting in the Interest of ISKCON”.

From 1996 to 2007 he engaged in management of the Radhadesh projects, mainly taking care of supervising the administration, tax defense and legal matters as Chartered Accountant. He also served as chartered accountant, legal director, trustee, teacher and student in the Bhaktivedanta College.

In 2008, he followed the Spiritual Leadership seminar in Ujjain facilitated by His Grace Anuttama Prabhu.

Studied at the University of Wales from 2004 to 2016 and earned an MA (2010) and a PhD in the Study of Religion in June 2016.

He also graduated for studies in Bhakti Sastri (MI) , Bhaktivaibhava (VIHE) and Bhaktivedanta (VIHE) engaged in from 2001 to 2011.

Is since 2012 serving as Bhakti Sastri and Bhaktivaibhava teacher, conducting (on-site and on-line teaching) programmes for the College of Vedic Studies. Since 2019, he also serves as Bhaktivaibhava / Bhaktivedanta teacher for the Mayapura Institute and the Vrindavana Institute for Higher Education (VIHE).

Bhakti Prabhava Swami is also a member of the ISKCON Board for Examination, a member of the Sastric Advisory Council (SAC) and a member of the Ministry for Sannyasa.

He has been preaching internationally since 1996, presenting seminars and lectures. His preaching areas since 2019 are Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany and Canada. He visits also occasionally other areas in Europe, North America and India if invited, but these are not regular destinations.

After having served as TP for Belfast for one year, he moved in 2018 his home-base to the Vitarama project in Emona Bulgaria. In 2019 and 2020 he spent at least five months each year in Bulgaria. However, due to closure of the project at the end of 2021 he moved his homebase from Bulgaria to Brussels in Belgium. Since 2017, Bhakti Prabhava Swami preaches regularly in Canada (1 month/year), the Ukraine (2 month/year), Germany (1 month/year), Czech Republic (1 month/year). Since 2022, he also assists in supporting the projects of his Guru Maharaja, His Holines Bhakti Charu Swami, in Ujjain (India) and in Deland (Florida, USA). In Belgium, since 2021, he supports the center in Brussels. With the help of His Grace Vrindaranya Priya Prabhu, the TP of Brussels, he preaches in the Flemish area of Belgium. His preaching in Canada is focused on the Quebec French-speaking area, but also includes yearly visits to the provinces Ontario, New Brunswick and Novia Scotia. Since the start of the pandemic and later because of the war in Ukraine, he continued presenting weekly Srimad Bhagavatam lectures via zoom for the devotees in Lviv and Odessa, simultaneously translated by His Grace Damodara Govinda Prabhu from Kiev.