Vrindavan 1975

ruts i t rajabandhu Manik was bom in a Vaisnava ot “a family, surrounded by the chanting of sae a holy name and educated in the Srimad Bhaga- ‘ =r vad-gita, the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamwta . ’_ and Sanskrit from very early in life. In his later years, pe severed all ties to his family, changed his name to Gour aw Gopalananda dasa and travelled the length and breadth Bharata (India) in search of a self realized soul (tativa-darsi I guru) who could give him sannydsa. His life’s aspiration Bs _ from childhood had been to take sannydsa and preach By > the mission of Sriman Gauranga Mahaprabhu. His search a” came to fruition in Vrndavana 1974 when he finally met

. spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who awarded him the sannyasa order Wea life in 1975 in Vrndavana.