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Śivarāma Swami (born March 30, 1949, Budapest, Hungary) is a Vaishnava guru and a religious leader for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He is a member of the Governing Body Commission who is responsible for leading ISKCON's mission in Hungary, Romania and Turkey. Within ISKCON, Sivarama Swami is also well known for his deep knowledge of Vaishnava literature, and has written several books about Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He has been conducting courses at Bhaktivedanta Manor on his own commentaries to Venu Gita in Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology. Sivarama Swami was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1949. His family emigrated to Canada during the failed 1956 Hungarian revolution. In 1970 he first came in contact with the books of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON. He became an initiated disciple of Prabhupada in 1973 and accepted the renounced order of life sannyasa in 1979. After that he was serving ISKCON in Canada and the USA, opening and managing temples. In 1980 Sivarama Swami moved to the UK and became the president of the Caitanya College, and the UK national sankirtana leader. He was requested to accept the responsibility of a GBC member in 1986. In 1988 he became leader of ISKCON in Hungary. In June 2003, Sivarama Swami resigned as UK & Ireland GBC representative as from Gaura Purnima 2004. During a Diwali celebration on October 20, 2009, Sivarama Swami received the Gold Cross of Merit of the Hungarian Republic, the second highest award in the state. The Diwali Dinner was organized by the Hungarian Society for Krishna Consciousness at the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest. Károly Manherz, the State Secretary for Higher Education and Science, awarded Sivarama Swami with the Gold Cross at the event, saying it was in appreciation of his “charitable, humanitarian and value-creating work.” |
