The honorific title Prabhupāda is properly used for designating those very great spiritual masters who have made an outstanding contribution of literature or preaching to the world. Examples are Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, and Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Gosvāmī Prabhupāda.

When members of ISKCON speak of “Śrīla Prabhupāda,” they refer to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami is correctly addressed as Śrīla Prabhupāda because he occupies a unique position in the religious history of the world.

His Holiness Bhakti Vikāsa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilāpati dāsa by ISKCON’s founder-ācārya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swamī Prabhupāda.

From 1977 to 1979 His Holiness was based in India, mostly traveling in West Bengal preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness and distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. He then spent the following ten years helping to pioneer ISKCON’s preaching in Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, and Malaysia.