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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (September 1, 1896 - November 14, 1977) was the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as the "Hare Krishnas"). Born as Abhay Charan De, in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He studied at the Scottish Churches College, Calcutta, which was then administered by the British. Before adopting the life of a vanaprastha, or pious renunciant, in 1950, he was married with children and owned a small pharmaceutical business. He later took sannyasa (a vow of renunciation) in 1959. In his later years, as a Vaishnava sadhu, he became an influential communicator of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology to India and specifically to the West through his leadership of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), founded in 1966. In respects to this achievement, religious leaders from other Gaudiya Vaishnava movements have given the praise:
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