Bhaktivaibhava Swami finished his studies and joined the Hare Krishna movement in 1970. The following year guest Bhakti Vaibhava Swami was initiated by Srila Prabhupada. He has been an initiating spiritual master in ISKCON since 1987, and was awarded sannyasa initiation in 1991.
When Bhakti Vaibhava Swami joined, there was only a fledgling group of devotees in Germany. Together they recruited eighty members within four years. He began the Berlin chapter of ISKCON during the 1970s. This became a doorway to sharing Krishna consciousness in communist countries. He spent time in the Soviet Union, the Middle and Far East. Shared Krishna consciousness with risk to his personal safety and oftentimes in trying circumstances. Bhakti Vaibhava Swami established a thriving ISKCON center in Mongolia, and has been awarded an honorary degree by the local university.
His responsibilities in the GBC include his role as zonal secretary for Mongolia, Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Macedonia, Poland, and Slovakia.
Our guest Bhakti Vaibhava Swami serves as co-zonal secretary for Eastern and Western Siberia, Latvia, Belarus, Kaliningrad CIS, Ukraine, Far East CIS, and Romania. He served on the GBC executive committee from 2006-2008, first as the GBC chairman and then as a committee member. He is very interested in securing the future of the GBC in the next generation. Bhakti Vaibhava Swami worked to support the strategic planning effort towards this goal.
Bhakti Vaibhava Swami’s interest in filmmaking and spreading the culture of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. It has resulted in two documentaries, “Mother Ganga” and “Lost Village.” Earlier in his spiritual career, he produced films on Indian culture for German audiences. It helped to promote Food For Life (ISKCON’s sacred food distribution initiative).
