His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaj appeared on the auspicious day of Ekadasi, on August 14, 1944 in New Delhi, India.
After graduating from the Delhi University, His Holiness studied Business Management at the University of Paris in Sorbonne and later obtained his Master's degree in Business Administration from the McGill University of Montreal.
His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaj's life changed dramatically after he met His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on June 1, 1968. In two weeks he knew that he would accept Srila Prabhupada as his spiritual master.
After taking a formal initiation from Prabhupada on May 22, 1969, he got fully involved serving him. Srila Prabhupada sent him to India after he had served him as his personal secretary in 1975.
His Holiness was appointed the Governing Body Commissioner (GBC) of ISKCON, India, where he utilized his talents for promoting Srila Prabhupada's books all over the world. In 1982, His Holiness took sannayasa, the vedic order of renunciation.
His Holiness is now GBC of over 30 temples around the world with disciples in Russia, America, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. His Holiness is actively involved in many of ISKCON's current projects.
On the auspicious day of Ram Navami in 1998, His Holiness successfully opened the multi-crore temple in New Delhi, India, known as the GLORY OF INDIA which includes a multi-media visual display, a Vedic cultural museum and an open air theater. This was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
