His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja appeared on this planet on the most auspicious day of Annada Ekadashi, on August 14, 1944, in New Delhi, India. Having been named Gopal Krishna at the time of his appearance, his spiritual master had not changed his name at the time of harinama initiation.
H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, after graduating from the University of Delhi, studied Business Management at the Sorbonne University of Paris on a scholarship from the French Government and later obtained a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the McGill University at Montreal.
Meeting With His Spiritual Preceptor – His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Prabhupada
Having received an intimation from His grace Mahapurusa das, the then President, ISKCON, Montreal, that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acarya, ISKCON shall be arriving in Montreal on June 1, 1968, H. H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja arrived there on May 30. After the kirtana, H. H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja enquired if he could render some service, and he was immediately sent to clean Srila Prabhupada’s apartment.
“I was fortunate to receive this as my first assignment in devotional service,” Maharaja said. He cleaned Srila Prabhupada’s apartment’s doors, shelves, and windows. In this way, Gopal Krishna’s service attitude for Srila Prabhupada was manifested even before he met him.
1968 H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja first met Srila Prabhupada on the evening of June 1, 1968. Within the first two weeks of meeting Srila Prabhupada, he decided to accept him as his spiritual master. In the words of H. H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, “When I first met Srila Prabhupada, the motivation to surrender to God was already there in me, and two weeks after meeting him, I knew that Lord Krishna wanted me to surrender to Srila Prabhupada.”
In fact, around December 1967, H. H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja had started visiting many Hindu temples, gurudwaras, and churches in his search for the Absolute Truth or God. Every Sunday, he would seek out a different church, temple, or gurudwara and spend the whole day there.
ISKCON is a non-profit organization that works for social welfare. It is located in the heart of a cosmopolitan city. This center is determinedly trying to build up society’s spiritual and ethical fabric with the help of different cultural and spiritual educational programs.