Jayapataka Swami was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. His scholastic
achievements led to an offer of a full scholarship by Brown University
after his completion of high school. As a new student at Brown,
Jayapataka Swami heard a guest lecturer speak on the life of Buddha.
This inspired in him the desire to search for his spiritual teacher.
Having lost all interest in his studies,
Jayapataka Swami deemed India to be the best destination to find this
teacher. Before departing he came across a group of Hare Krishna
devotees and became interested in sharing their practices. Shortly
thereafter he visited the San Francisco ISKCON center where he helped to
build a cart for the now world famous Ratha Yatra Festival. He joined
ISKCON’s San Francisco center on Ratha Yatra day then traveled to
Montreal to meet Srila Prabhupada immediately afterward. Srila
Prabhupada welcomed him and spontaneously invited Jayapataka Swami to
join him for lunch. He was so moved by his newly found teacher that he
vigorously participated in the pioneering activities of the fledgling
movement.
He received initiation from Srila
Prabhuapda in Montreal, Canada in 1968 and two weeks later took over the
post of president of ISKCON Montreal center. He helped open an ISKCON
center in Toronto, then with Bhagavan Dasa helped open ISKCON’s center
in Chicago. In 1970, Srila Prabhupada sent him to India where he served
as president of the ISKCON Kolkata center. About a year and half later
Srila Prabhupada sent him to Mayapur where he received sannyasa
initiation. He and the other foundational team members were entrusted
with the responsibility of developing Mayapur with Srila Prabhupada’s
words “I have given you the kingdom of God. Now develop it and enjoy
it.” Mayapur’s current state of development stands testimony to
Jayapataka Swami’s untiring efforts over the last four decades, along
with the able assistance of other dedicated followers of Srila
Prabhupada.
At the time of his departure from this
mortal world in 1977, Srila Prabhupada requested Jayapataka Swami to
take up the responsibility of being an initiating spiritual master and
to act as one of ISKCON’s governing body commissioners. Since then
Jayapataka Swami has been executing these responsibilities.
During his initial time in Mayapur, West
Bengal, Jayapataka Swami learned the Bengali language and was one of the
few Western devotees to obtain Indian citizenship. His activities have
included distribution of BBT books, temple construction, agricultural
development, cultivating new members in the cities and villages, schools
and colleges and organizing large events to share Krishna
consciousness, which have included thousands of participants in
attendance. Other notable achievements are the establishment of the Food
For Life program in rural Bengal, the organization of large-scale
pilgrimages for Western devotees and his service as chairman of
Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust, which was established by Srila
Prabhupada to renovate Gaudiya Vaishnava temples and maintain ancient
sites in the holy lands. Jayapataka Swami has found time for book
translation amidst his multifarious activities. He has translated
Vaishnava Ke, Vrindavan Bhajan and Godruma Kalpatavi.
Jayapataka Swami continues to contribute to
Mayapur’s development as the International Headquarters of ISKCON by
serving as a co-director. His service in Mayapur includes: Mayapur
Development Committee member, Exhibits and Theme park Department Head of
TOVP, and promotion of Sri Mayapur worldwide. He is currently a GBC
representative, zonal secretary and co-secretary for: Comoros,
Seychelles, Jordan, Yemen, the State of Orissa and Puri; Assam, Andaman
and Nicobar Islands; Bhutan, the State of West Bengal, Meghalaya,
Tripura, Kerala, the State of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Bangalore, Lakshadweep, Maldives, Pondicherry, Sri Lanka, Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore,
Thailand, Bolivia, Peru, Bangladesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Nepal, Sikkim,
Brunei, Malaysia, Belgaum, Ecuador and Chile. He is also a member of
ISKCON India Bureau.
Jayapataka Swami serves on the following
GBC committees: Organizational Development, Devotee Care, Outreach,
Mayapur Festival, Deity worship handbook and Puri Development Committee.
He is the co-minister of Congregational Development Ministry along with Kaunteya Dasa.
