Udupi: Dasa - A Russian Deeply Devoted to Indian Philosophy

Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Dec 14: Gadadhara Pandita Dasa, who was born in Russia, has over the time, been enchanted by the Indian philosophy. Dasa, who has been associated with International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) since long, has been an avid devotee of Lord Krishna at heart, and Indian way of life has been deeply embedded in him.

Dasa is not an ordinary devotee of Lord Krishna. He has studied the principles preached by Lord Krishna deeply, and has written five books on this subject.

Dasa was born in a place located nearly 1,000 km off Moscow. He came into contact with ISKCON even before he attained 20 years of age, and presently he is around 40. Before arriving at Brindavan in North India, he had worked in Russia as soldier for a few years. He took interest in Sanskrit works, and studied Vedas and other ancient Indian scriptures. Dasa has translated ‘Dwadasha Stotra’, a work written by Madhwacharya, into English and Russian. The other books translated by him into Russian language are, Madhwacharya’s ‘Krishnamrita Maharnava’, Sri Narayana Panditacharya’s ‘Sumadhwa Vijaya’, and Sri Vadiraja’s ‘Roupyapeetha Krishna Sthuti’. He also has translated a number of Sanskrit hymns written by Vadiraja into Russian. His recent achievements include studying of all the 18 Puranas authored by Vedavyasya, pooling together the glory of Lord Ganapati from these works, and bringing out a book on them in English and Russian languages.

Gadadhara Pandita Dasa, who was in Mangalore centre of ISKCON for some time, is presently settled in Russia. About eight years ago, he married a blind lady, who had lost her sight when young in an accident, and continues to pursue his passion of writing books. He has renamed his wife, ‘Krishnapriya’ after marriage. Krishnapriya is a healer, who heals ailments through the therapy of rubbing different parts of the body, which Dasa dubs as a gift given by the Almighty.

Questioned about how he got interested in Indian culture, he said that he leaned towards Indian philosophy after becoming a member of ISKCON, and confessed that he personally appreciates the principles and policies preached by Madhwacharya.

The book written Dasa on Lord Ganapati was released at a function held on Tuesday December 13  at Srikrishna Mutt here by Sri Lakshmivarateertha Swamiji of Shirur Mutt.