BIOGRAPHY

Śrīpāda Bhakti Svarūpa Śrīdhara Mahārāja is a disciple of His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāja, a disciple of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Thākura Prabhupāda and the Founder-Ācārya of the Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission. Bhakti Svarūpa Śrīdhara Mahārāja is an accomplished Sanskrit scholar and an exemplary practitioner and teacher of bhakti-yoga. Mahārāja gives the profound meaning of the sastras from the prominent ācāryas’ commentaries in a simple, straightforward and easy to understand way. His profound way of delivering the esoteric meaning of bhakti to the worldwide society of Vaiṣṇavas fulfills the meaning of his title ‘Bhakti Svarūpa’.

Born in Orissa near Jagannātha PurĪ, Mahārāja speaks fluent Oriyā, Hindi, Bengali and English. He is a Sanskrit scholar and has a diploma in Mechanical Engineering. At an early age he became a kṛṣṇa-bhakta after reading Bhagavada-gĪtā As It Is, by Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda. When he was 17 years of age he took Harināma initiation and four years later joined the mission of his Gurudeva. The very next day after joining he received dĪkṣā mantra initiation and fully dedicated his life to devotional service. A week after his initiation, on the order of his Gurudeva, he enrolled in 7 years of Sanskrit and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam studies in Vrindavan. In 1997 when he was only 24 years old, he received sannyāsa initiation from his Gurudeva and has strictly upheld all his vows and services for the last 30 years.

When Bhakti Svarūpa Śrīdhara Mahārāja met with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Mahārāja, Śrīla Nārāyana Mahārāja blessed him to teach all over the world. He also received profuse blessings from his Gurudeva and his god-brothers to preach worldwide the message of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and śuddha-bhakti. Mahārāja has regularly traveled to Europe since 1997, to Mexico since 2001, to USA since 2008 and once to Peru and Costa Rica. Wherever Mahārāja visits he charms the audiences with his wonderful animated lectures, personal warmth and humble mood of service. He is very respectful to all the Vaiṣṇavas, regardless what mission they are from, imbibing the mood of pure non-sectarian Gaudiya Vaiṣṇavaism.