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. Bhaktivedānta Swami 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.
In 1989 he was granted the order of sannyāsa, receiving the name Bhakti Vikāsa Swami, and again made his base in India.He has since travelled widely throughout the subcontinent, lecturing in English, Hindi, and Bengali. His Holiness also travels to and preaches Kṛṣṇa consciousness in other parts of the world.
He continues to write books and magazine articles. His books have been translated into more than fifteen languages.
