Mukunda Goswami

Mukunda Goswami
In Devanagari	मुकुन्द गोस्वामी
Religion	Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Hinduism
Other name(s)	Michael Grant
Personal
Born	April 10, 1942 Portland, Oregon
Religious career
Initiation	Diksa–1966, Sannyasa–1982
Post	ISKCON Guru, Sannyasi, Member of the Governing Body Commission (1984-1999)
Website	http://www.mukundagoswami.org/

Mukunda Goswami (Sanskrit: मुकुन्द गोस्वामी, born April 10, 1942, Portland, Oregon) is a spiritual leader (guru) within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as ISKCON or the Hare Krishnas).^[1]

Mukunda Goswami was born as Michael Grant in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from Reed College he became a professional jazz musician and moved to New York in order to pursue his music career. In 1966 Michael met the Hare Krishna founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and the same year became one of his first initiated disciples, receiving the sanskrit name Mukunda Dasa.^[1][2]

Mukunda was a pioneer in the early days of the Hare Krishna movement.^[3] In 1967 he founded the first Hare Krishna temple in San Francisco and organized a major music event, called the Mantra-Rock Dance. In 1968 A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada sent Mukunda to London where he, with the help of other ISKCON devotees, opened the first ISKCON temple in England.^[3] In London he met George Harrison, who agreed to produce and release on Apple Records two singles (Hare Krishna Mantra and Govinda), performed by the Hare Krishna devotees from the Radha Krishna Temple in London. The Hare Krishna Mantra eventually reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart and proved to be a significant event in the development of ISKCON, with the Hare Krishna devotees appearing on Top of the Pops.^[3] Mukunda became a friend of George Harrison, who had an interest in Gaudiya Vaishnava (Hare Krishna) philosophy.^[3] They remained close friends up until the former Beatles' death.

In the 1960s Mukunda married Janaki, and they were sent to London together, but she left, and Mukunda remained single.^[4] In 1982 he accepted Sannyasa (the renounced order of life) from Jayapataka Swami. From 1984 to 1999, Mukunda Goswami served on the Governing Body Commission as the ISKCON Minister of Communication.^[1][5] In the 1980s Mukunda established the ISKCON Communications Office in Los Angeles, and published the ISKCON World Review and ISKCON Communications Journal (ICJ).^[6][7] Mukunda Goswami is still an ICJ Advisory Board Member.^[8] When the ISKCON organization was mired in legal troubles^[9] Mukunda worked at damage control, but finally grew tired of the pressure and left the position in hands of his assistants.

Since 2005 he stays at ISKCON New Govardhana community, near Murwillumbah, NSW, Australia.

Published books

• Mukunda Goswami & Drutakarma Dasa Chant and be Happy... The Story of the Hare Krishna Mantra. — 1st ed. — Los Angeles, CA: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1982. — xvi, 108 p. — (Contemporary Vedic Library Series). — ISBN 0892131187
• Mukunda Goswami Coming Back: The Science of Reincarnation. — 1st ed. — Los Angeles, CA: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1982. — xvii, 134 p. — (Contemporary Vedic Library Series). — ISBN 0892131144
• Mukunda Goswami & Drutakarma Dasa The Higher Taste: A Guide to Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking and a Karma-Free Diet. — 1st ed. — Los Angeles, CA: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1983. — xi, 156 p. — (Contemporary Vedic Library Series). — ISBN 0892131284
• Mukunda Goswami & Michael A. Cremo Divine Nature: A Spiritual Perspective on the Environmental Crisis / Foreword by William McDonough. — 1st ed. — Los Angeles, CA: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1995. — xx, 108 p. — ISBN 0892132973 (hc). — ISBN 0892132965 (pbk)
• Mukunda Goswami Inside the Hare Krishna Movement: An Ancient Eastern Religious Tradition Comes of Age in the Western World / Foreword by Malory Nye. — 1st ed. — Badger, CA: Torchlight Publishing, 2001. — xxv, 278 p. — ISBN 1887089284
• Mukunda Goswami Miracle on Second Avenue: Hare Krishna Arrives in the West: New York, San Francisco, and London, 1966-1969 — 1st ed. — Badger, CA: Torchlight Publishing, 2011. — 440 p. — ISBN 9780981727349

Disciples in the media

• Krishna Dharma has translated the Vedic epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, and has written articles for The Guardian

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Bryant, Edwin; Maria Ekstrand (2004) (in en). The Hare Krishna movement: the postcharismatic fate of a religious transplant. Columbia University Press. pp. xi. ISBN 023112256X. http://books.google.com/books?id=mBMxPdgrBhoC. 
2. ^ Rosen, Steven J. (2004). Holy cow: the Hare Krishna contribution to vegetarianism and animal rights. Lantern Books. pp. xv. ISBN 1590560663. http://books.google.com/books?id=Z-WKuYt0MogC&pg=PR15. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Muster, Nori Jean (1997). Betrayal of the spirit: my life behind the headlines of the Hare Krishna movement. University of Illinois Press. pp. 26. ISBN 0252065662. http://books.google.com/books?id=Dw3-xD05wnoC. 
4. ^ Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, BBT (1980). Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta. 
5. ^ Rochford, E. Burke (2007). Hare Krishna transformed. NYU Press. pp. 144. ISBN 0814775799. http://books.google.com/books?id=HiD5Enrerv0C&pg=PA144. 
6. ^ Muster, Nori Jean (1997). Betrayal of the spirit: my life behind the headlines of the Hare Krishna movement. University of Illinois Press. pp. 103. ISBN 0252065662. http://books.google.com/books?id=Dw3-xD05wnoC. 
7. ^ "Mukunda Goswami's Assistant". http://surrealist.org/writing/postcharismatic.html. Retrieved 2007-03-17. 
8. ^ "Mukunda Goswami's ICJ Advisory Board Member Weblink". Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20070205232803/http://www.iskcon.com/icj/info.html. Retrieved 2007-03-17. 
9. ^ "Mukunda Goswami - Defendant Weblink". Archived from the original on 2007-01-01. http://web.archive.org/web/20070101022416/http://www.wturley.com/PDF/complaint0606.pdf. Retrieved 2007-03-17. 

External links

• Interview with George Harrison

Persondata
Name	Mukunda, Goswami
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1942-04-10
Place of birth	Portland, Oregon
Date of death
Place of death