H.G. Ravanari Prabhu at Sri Dham Mayapur, July 2016.
Born in
Palestine, Ravanari prabhu joined ISKCON in 1973 in Germany.
As a
young devotee, he heard that it was Srila Prabhupad’s desire to have Bhagavad
Gita translated into Arabic, so he began that service immediately. A couple of
years later, he met Srila Prabhupada personally in Vrindavan during the opening
of the Krishna Balaram Temple in 1975.
“I couldn’t
believe Prabhupada wanted to meet me,” he said. “The effulgence coming from him
made me speechless. I had no way to converse with him. I was completely
awestruck.”
“Why are
you sitting so far away?” Prabhupada asked him when he entered his room for
darshan. “Come closer. Sit next to me.”
When
Ravanari prabhu saw that Srila Prabhupada had a copy of his translation in his
hands, he was overwhelmed.
“Read me
the translations,” Prabhupada asked.
“But
Prabhupada, it is in Arabic,” he responded.
According
to Ravanari Prabhu, Srila Prabhupad then began to recite the entire Arabic
alphabet and started to read some of his translation work. Ravanari prabhu
spent the entire morning in Prabhupada’s quarters reading out loud his
translations while he listened attentively.
At the
conclusion of the reading, Prabhupada announced, “Print it. Learn how to
transliterate the Sanskrit verses as well. Print it as soon as possible”.
The
Bhagavad-Gita as it is in arabic language, translated many years ago by H.G.
Ravanari Prabhu, the first arab Vaisnava, from Palestine. Pioneer of
Krishna Consciousness in Middle-east...
After this
time, he ran a preaching center in Beirut, “in the middle of a military
zone” where he was tortured and imprisoned along with Tribhuvanath Prabhu
(Ireland,) Omkar Prabhu (Mexico,) and Padmapani Prabhu (Canada.) They were not
fed for weeks and almost starved to death in a small cell.
Tribhuvannatha
Prabhu with Padmapani das holding
Arabic translation of Bhagavad-gita. Bombay,
1978 [All heros]
“The
soldiers beat me only because they considered me a local and suspected me to be
the leader of a spy mission,” he explained. “They kicked my head with their
boots on and beat their guns into my skull. There was blood coming out of my
eyes”.
Later,
while translating Prabhupada’s books in Cairo, his only son, Shyamasundar,
contracted meningitis and left this world at the age of 3.
“Somehow I
had previously been inspired to bring him to Mayapur at a very young age. He
went on parikram with me, took prasadam, and got a lot of blessings.”
After this,
he moved to Canada and spent his time translating every book of Srila
Prabhupada into Arabic.
“I took
seasonal jobs. I’d work for a few months at a time and then live off that
money. I sat and translated for months and then I’d get work again for another
few months,” he explained.
Ravanari
Prabhu currently maintains a website where all of his Arabic translations of
Srila Prabhpada’s books and lectures may be accessed: www.ravanari.com.
H.G.
Ravanari Prabhu at BRC Library.
He is holding Arabic Bhagavad Gita
He now
spends most of his time in Mayapur.
Available in Portuguese, Disponível em Portuguê: Herói Vaishnava: Ravanari Prabhu (ACBSP)
Available in Portuguese, Disponível em Portuguê: Herói Vaishnava: Ravanari Prabhu (ACBSP)
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