Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Satsvarupa das Goswami (, Sanskrit:, Devanagari: सत्स्वरूप दास गोस्वामी) (born Stephen Guarino on December 6, 1939) is a senior disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), better known in the West as the Hare Krishna movement.

Serving as a writer, poet, and artist, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami is the author of Bhaktivedanta Swami's authorized biography, Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta.

After Prabhupada's death, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami was one of the eleven disciples selected to initiate future disciples.

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami is one of the first few Westerners ordained by Bhaktivedanta Swami in September 1966.

He is a Vaishnava writer, poet, and lecturer, who published over a hundred books including poems, memoirs, essays, novels, and studies based on the Vaishnava scriptures.

He was born Stephen Guarino, the elder of two children, to Italian Roman Catholic parents in Staten Island, New York and attended Brooklyn College.

In July 1966 he met A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami who registered the ISKCON a month later.

Bhaktivedanta Swami soon began assigning him typing tasks which Satsvarupa understood "to be yoga".

On September 23, 1966 he was ordained in the new Gaudiya Vaishnava movement.

After Swami Bhaktivedanta died, he was one of eleven disciples selected to become an initiating guru in ISKCON.

His writings were translated to over forty languages by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and Gita Nagari Press.

He was also asked by Bhaktivedanta Book Trust to complete a number of works, started by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.

In his writings, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami advocates a lacto-vegetarian diet.

After ISKCON's incorporation in July 1966 at 26 Second Avenue, Satsvarupa dasa was engaged as A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami's personal typist and ISKCON secretary for the first year.

He was one of the few devotees who maintained outside jobs to support the ISKCON temple at the beginning.

Later he managed ISKCON Boston, and ISKCON Press which was later registered as Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

He was also one of the original members appointed as (GBC) Governing Body Commission created by Bhaktivedanta Swami in 1970 to gradually take over the management of ISKCON and was a trustee in the Bhaktivedanta's will for the management of ISKCON.

After assuming duties of a GBC (Governing Body Commissioner) in 1970, Satsvarupa was asked by Bhaktivedanta Swami to accept the order of sannyasa in 1972.

He accepted sannyasa along with other GBC members, all of whom were originally married men, such as Tamala Krishna Goswami and Hridayananda dasa Goswami.

At the time A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami awarded him and other followers the title "Goswami" with the single line instruction: "Preach, preach, preach!"

He has been listed among active promoters of ahimsa and vegetarianism among other Eastern religious teachers.

Main preaching activities by the means of traveling sankirtana parties were centered in United States.

BBT (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust) Library Party headed by him in the mid-1970s was active in establishing distribution network mainly to the Universities of the United States, with some members of the team such as Bhakti Tirtha Swami and Suhotra Dasa traveling as far as Eastern Europe.

In 1974, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami was requested by Bhaktivedanta Swami to join him as traveling GBC servant, replacing previous servant Srutakirti Dasa and travelled as a menial servant around the globe.

From the early days of ISKCON, the Back to Godhead was project required a lot of both contribution and supervision.

His books include Srila Prabhupada-Lilamrta, a biography of Prabhupada., He Lives Forever (1978) (lectures on the significance of Bhaktivedanta Swami) and five volumes of Prabhupada Nectar (1983–86) and a number of other titles.

In accordance with ISKCON GBC Governing Body Commission resolutions March 1978 Satsvarupa dasa Goswami along with other eleven Governing Body Commissioners assumed duties and services of initiating disciples in assigned zones after the death of Bhaktivedanta Swami.

In years 1978–1985 he took part in a controversial zonal acarya system in a position of an Acharya while initiating reform of a high standard of worship.

Initial preaching areas in the United States and Caribbean were expanded with an addition of Ireland in 1982 where he became a zonal acharya.

The assumption of equal status to Bhaktivedanta Swami and the title of "Guru-Acarya" are still surrounded in a controversy.

While following the direction of Governing Body Commission, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami was one of the pioneers who attempted to reform the system, by assuming more humble and appropriate role of a guru as per recorded instructions of the "Founder-Acarya."

While imitation of Bhaktivedanta Swami was criticised, despite these warnings, specifically by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, such imitation sometimes resulted in curious side-effects and many devotees adopted Bhaktivedanta Swami's mannerisms.

This remained evident especially among the older American devotees who even now speak with an Indian accent and display many of Bhaktivedanta Swami's gestures like turning one's head or moving one's hand in a certain way.

In 1986–1987 a number of senior members and newly appointed GBC members with the support of Satsvarupa dasa Goswami reformed ISKCON guru system, lowering unprecedented level of worship reserved to initiating gurus in ISKCON.

He was called as the "most vocal in the cause of reform" in ISKCON.

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami recorded this period in his book Guru Reform Notebook (1987).

His memoir With Srila Prabhupada in the Early Days (1991) covers the early years of 1966–1969, his book Life With the Perfect Master (1983) describes the seven-month period in 1974, when he served as Bhaktivedanta's personal servant.

He became the most senior member of the movement.

He was appointed as a ritvik (representative) by his preceptor.

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami was editor in chief and one of the main contributors to this magazine till 1991, when assisted editor Jayadvaita Swami took over as the editor in chief.