Suhotra Dasa
Encyclopedia
Suhotra Swami or Suhotra Dasa, (born Roger Terrence Crowley, December 11, 1950, Holyoke, Massachusetts
- April 8, 2007, Mayapur
, India
) was a Hindu
Vaishnava author, philosopher and a leading guru
in the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He was a governing body commissioner
(GBC), an initiating spiritual master (diksa guru) and a sannyasi in ISKCON. He also served as a chairman of the GBC. Since joining ISKCON Suhotra Swami has spent much of his time lecturing and teaching in Europe, especially in Germany
and Eastern Europe
an countries. Suhotra Swami authored several books on Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy and Vedanta
.
. In his youth, he joined the Hippie movement in Detroit and later the Hare Krishna movement. In 1972 he became a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
, receiving the name Suhotra Dasa. In the 1970s he was a part of a travelling troupe of Hare Krishnas, who were preaching all over the United States
, performing kirtan
s on the streets and distributing spiritual literature. In 1974 Suhotra Dasa was interviewed in Houston by a reporter of the Texas Monthly
magazine, who visited the local ISKCON Radha Krishna
temple. When asked about an Indian guru Maharaj Ji
, who was visiting Houston at the time, Suhotra Dasa said that Maharaj Ji's methods were not authorized in the Bhagavad Gita
, the basic Hindu
spiritual text,
In 1983 Suhotra Dasa accepted the order of sannyasa
. In 1991 he became a member of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission
(GBC). For the next decade, he was a leader of ISKCON in several European countries: Norway
, Finland
, Belgium
, the Netherlands
, Luxembourg
, Poland
, Czech Republic
, Slovakia
, Romania
, Bulgaria
and Greece
. In 1996 he was elected GBC Chairman. Since March 2003 he was also a member of Shastric Advisory Council (SAC), formed by GBC.
In 1991 Suhotra Swami wrote his first book Apasampradayas - Deviant Vaisnava Sects. It was about Gaudiya Vaishnava Apasampradayas that developed in between the time of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
and Bhaktivinoda Thakur
. In the book he also explained how Bhaktivinoda was preaching against them. Suhotra Swami was also a contributor to the ISKCON Communications Journal
.
Suhotra Swami died on April 7, 2007, in Mayapur
, West Bengal
. Kimmo Ketola, one of the most prominent scholars in Finland
in the field of comparative religion, said of him:
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...
- April 8, 2007, Mayapur
Mayapur
Mayapur is located on the banks of the Ganges river, at the point of its confluence with the Jalangi, near Navadvip, West Bengal, India, 130 km north of Kolkata...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) was a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Vaishnava author, philosopher and a leading guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
in the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He was a governing body commissioner
Governing Body Commission
The Governing Body Commission is the managerial authority of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness . ISKCON's founder, A.C...
(GBC), an initiating spiritual master (diksa guru) and a sannyasi in ISKCON. He also served as a chairman of the GBC. Since joining ISKCON Suhotra Swami has spent much of his time lecturing and teaching in Europe, especially in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an countries. Suhotra Swami authored several books on Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy and Vedanta
Vedanta
Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
.
Biography
Suhotra Swami was born as Roger Terrence Crowley in Holyoke, MassachusettsHolyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...
. In his youth, he joined the Hippie movement in Detroit and later the Hare Krishna movement. In 1972 he became a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
, receiving the name Suhotra Dasa. In the 1970s he was a part of a travelling troupe of Hare Krishnas, who were preaching all over the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, performing kirtan
Kirtan
Kirtan or Kirtana is call-and-response chanting or "responsory" performed in India's devotional traditions. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed...
s on the streets and distributing spiritual literature. In 1974 Suhotra Dasa was interviewed in Houston by a reporter of the Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
magazine, who visited the local ISKCON Radha Krishna
Radha Krishna
Radha Krishna is a Hindu deity. Krishna is often referred as svayam bhagavan in Gaudiya Vaishnavism theology and Radha is a young woman, a gopi who is Krishna's supreme beloved. With Krishna, Radha is acknowledged as the Supreme Goddess, for it is said that she controls Krishna with Her love...
temple. When asked about an Indian guru Maharaj Ji
Prem Rawat
Prem Pal Singh Rawat , also known as Maharaji and formerly known as Guru Maharaj Ji and Balyogeshwar, teaches a meditation practice he calls Knowledge....
, who was visiting Houston at the time, Suhotra Dasa said that Maharaj Ji's methods were not authorized in the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
, the basic Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
spiritual text,
In 1983 Suhotra Dasa accepted the order of sannyasa
Sannyasa
Sannyasa is the order of life of the renouncer within the Hindu scheme of āśramas, or life stages. It is considered the topmost and final stage of the ashram systems and is traditionally taken by men or women at or beyond the age of fifty years old or by young monks who wish to renounce worldly...
. In 1991 he became a member of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission
Governing Body Commission
The Governing Body Commission is the managerial authority of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness . ISKCON's founder, A.C...
(GBC). For the next decade, he was a leader of ISKCON in several European countries: Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. In 1996 he was elected GBC Chairman. Since March 2003 he was also a member of Shastric Advisory Council (SAC), formed by GBC.
In 1991 Suhotra Swami wrote his first book Apasampradayas - Deviant Vaisnava Sects. It was about Gaudiya Vaishnava Apasampradayas that developed in between the time of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
and Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur , a prominent figure among the Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Bengal, was born Kedarnath Datta in the town of Birnagar, Bengal, India. He was the son of Raja Krsnananda Datta and Jagat Mohini Devi...
. In the book he also explained how Bhaktivinoda was preaching against them. Suhotra Swami was also a contributor to the ISKCON Communications Journal
ISKCON Communications Journal
The ISKCON Communications Journal was a biannual journal established in 1993 as an academic journal of dialogue, focussing on issues related to missionary development in ISKCON and with issues of communication, administration, social development and education which affected mission in ISKCON...
.
Suhotra Swami died on April 7, 2007, in Mayapur
Mayapur
Mayapur is located on the banks of the Ganges river, at the point of its confluence with the Jalangi, near Navadvip, West Bengal, India, 130 km north of Kolkata...
, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. Kimmo Ketola, one of the most prominent scholars in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
in the field of comparative religion, said of him: