By Taraka Dasa
It is with deep sadness that we share the news that our dear Godbrother and friend Ekanātha dāsa, long-time servant of the Bhaktivedanta Archives, has suddenly departed from this world due to heart failure. His passing is a great loss for ISKCON and for all devotees who study and rely upon the teachings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. I was just about to write to him when I learned that he passed away on Ekādaśī afternoon.
Many younger devotees may not know Ekanātha Prabhu’s name. His immense service was performed largely behind the scenes, yet it is no exaggeration to say that devotees throughout the world benefit from his work every single day.
I first met Ekanātha Prabhu in Bombay during the winter of 1975–76, when Śrīla Prabhupāda was personally guiding the development of the Bombay project. In the years that followed, he became a dear friend. Over time I came to rely upon him heavily for help with the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase and for answers to many questions that arose in the course of studying and working with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and teachings. He was always extremely helpful, generous with his time, and unfailingly kind. He had a wonderful sense of humor, combined with a deep sense of duty to Śrīla Prabhupāda and to preserving his words accurately for future generations.
Ekanātha Prabhu joined ISKCON in Amsterdam around 1971 and, soon after Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance, joined the Bhaktivedanta Archives in 1978. At that time, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s recorded legacy existed largely on fragile tapes, manuscripts, photographs, and correspondence scattered across the world. The work of collecting, organizing, cataloguing, and preserving these materials was urgent and enormous. Ekanātha Prabhu became one of the principal servants engaged in that effort.
Through decades of steady and largely unseen service, he helped develop the systems by which Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lectures, conversations, letters, and archival materials were preserved and made accessible. The cataloguing and preservation work undertaken during those early years made possible what devotees now take for granted — the ability to hear Śrīla Prabhupāda’s voice, read his correspondence, and study his teachings with confidence in their authenticity.
One of Ekanātha Prabhu’s most remarkable contributions was his work on the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase, which many devotees consider one of the greatest treasures in ISKCON. For many of us, it is the single most valuable possession we have, because it gives direct and immediate access to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings.
Among his many improvements, one in particular stands out. With extraordinary patience and attention to detail, he painstakingly added hyperlinks to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s citations throughout the purports and lectures. With a single click, a reader can now go directly from a quotation to the original verse in śāstra. This was a mammoth undertaking, but it transformed the experience of studying Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, allowing devotees to see how his teachings are always grounded in and illuminated by the broader body of Vedic literature. It greatly strengthened serious study and made it far easier for devotees to understand scripture in context.
What many devotees do not realize is that the importance of this work extends even further. In the modern publishing process, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust relies upon the Vedabase as the authoritative digital text repository for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. The texts used for printing are maintained and verified against this digital foundation to ensure accuracy, consistency, and fidelity to the established editions. In this way, the careful work performed within the Archives and Vedabase does not only assist personal study — it also helps ensure that the very books devotees hold in their hands remain faithful to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words. Thus, Ekanātha Prabhu’s service quietly supports both the study and the ongoing publication of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings worldwide.
Whenever I spoke with Ekanātha Prabhu about the Vedabase, he would often ask what I thought of improvements he had made. He took genuine pleasure in knowing that his work helped devotees in their study and service. His satisfaction came not from recognition, but from seeing devotees benefit from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings becoming more accessible and easier to understand. His kindness extended beyond his formal service; over the years he would often send me books or reproductions of rare archival materials simply out of generosity and friendship. It was also Ekanātha Prabhu who recommended the specific hardware I rely upon for my work in the Vedabase — a small but very personal reminder of how practically helpful he always was.
Those who knew him understood that he was not merely performing technical work. He was engaged in preserving the living presence of our Founder Ācārya, His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda. Because of his efforts, and the efforts of those who served with him, Śrīla Prabhupāda continues to speak clearly to new generations of devotees.
Śrīla Prabhupāda taught that a devotee lives forever through his service. In this sense, Ekanātha Prabhu’s service continues every day. Each time a devotee searches the Vedabase, follows a citation to its source, or hears Śrīla Prabhupāda’s recorded voice, the results of his lifelong labor are still serving the mission.
For those of us who knew him personally, his passing feels like the loss of a pillar of ISKCON — someone whose steady, faithful service quietly supported so much of what we rely upon today. He will be deeply missed.
May we honor his memory by using these gifts seriously — by studying Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books carefully, preserving his teachings faithfully, and continuing the service he dedicated his life to.
All glories to Ekanātha Prabhu and his lifelong service to His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117353
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