Bhaktivedanta Institute was founded under inspiration of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in Vrindavan in August 1974 and formally registered in 1981 in Mumbai. Srila Prabhupada was one of the greatest exponents of Vedic culture in the 20th Century. He strongly felt that modern civilization is completely misdirected by scientific materialism and there is an urgent need to introduce the spiritual knowledge and wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-bhagavatam, the cream of all the Vedic literatures,
to the scientists, philosophers, scholars and students of the
world. He noticed that all the prestigious academic institutions and universities of the world were teaching many different subjects but they had left out the most important branch of knowledge—the science of the soul. He envisioned that this spiritual knowledge of life would help restore an ethical culture for modern society. Thus, there would be hope for bringing lasting happiness and world peace. He felt that introducing this spiritual culture should be the contribution of India for the welfare of humanity. Srila Prabhupäda appointed his disciple Dr. T. D. Singh (His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami) as the Director of the Institute from its very inception and left several instructions to him to carry forward his vision.
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