Gour Govinda Swami

 
Gour Govinda Swami (; 2 September 1929 – 9 February 1996) was a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious leader. He was a leading ISKCON guru, sannyasi, governing body commissioner within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as the "Hare Krishnas" or ISKCON) and the main inspirational force behind Gopal Jiu Publications.
He was born in the village of Jagannathpur, District Jagatsinghpur Orissa, India as Braja-bandhu Manik. By the age of eight, Braja-bandhu had read the entire Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavata Purana and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and could also explain their meanings. On 8 April 1974, at the age of 45, he gave up home and relatives in quest of spiritual perfection and a worthy guide. Carrying only a Bhagavad-gita and a begging bowl he wandered around India for one year and visited many sacred places along the river Ganges. He was searching for that person who could help him develop a true understanding of the Maha Mantra. After many philosophical debates with mayavadi sannyasis and yogis in the Himalayas, he proceeded on foot to Vrindavana. He thought, "Surely I will find Lord Krishna here in this holiest of places.". He was searching after three things: guru, Bhagavat and Bhagavan. He was given a "Back to Godhead" magazine and found it contained all three things. He decided to see the founder of ISKCON then and there. Two weeks later, in 1975, at the opening of ISKCON's Krishna-Balaram Temple in Vrindavana, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami accepted him as a disciple, gave him the name Gour Govinda, and awarded him the sannyasa order, thus the name Srila Gour Govinda Swami. After Srila Prabhupada left the planet, Gour Govinda Maharaja was at the annual disciple gathering at Sridham Mayapura. He fell down in the temple unconscious. Devotees carried him to a room. Doctors were called. He was diagnosed as being in samadhi. Srila Prabhupada's Godbrother Akincana Krishna Dasa Babaji Maharaja confirmed Gour Govinda was in bhava. He was tended mainly by one devotee for four months, at the end of which time he woke up and asked, "How long have I been sleeping?". During his life, Gour Govinda Swami preached extensively for ISKCON in Orissa. He worked to establish an ISKCON temple in Bhubaneswar, as he was instructed to do by his guru in 1977. He also brought many disciples and other temples and a goshala to ISKCON. He was an author of many research papers and translated his guru's books into the Oriya language. Gour Govinda Maharaja has several sannyasa disciples in his line. Already at least one of them has become an initiating spiritual master himself, and others are said to be on the way. He had all of the potency of a pure devotee of the Lord. He worked steadily for guru, sadhu and sastra. Not only did he build one of the largest temples in the movement at the time by himself, he also brought other temples into the movement. He accepted hundreds of disciples, and thousands more wished to take initiation from him around the world. His classes are considered to be some of the highest and most realized within the movement, and devotees around the world still listen to them to this day.
He left his body in 1996 in Mayapur during a discussion on Lord Jagannath and is remembered in annual ISKCON festivals.