Visnujana Swami

Vishnujana Swami (IAST: Viṣṇujana Svāmī; June 2, 1948 - March 16, 1976),[1] born Mark Stephen D'Atillo, was a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and a sannyasi within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as the 'Hare Krishnas' or ISKCON) who disappeared in 1976. He made recordings[2] of himself singing the Hare Krishna mantra.

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Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
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Life

He was born as Mark Stephen Datillo on June 2, 1948, in San Jose, California to parents Maureen (née Desmet) (1924-2017) and Joseph D'Attilo (1923-2006). At the age of seventeen, he moved to San Francisco along with his girlfriend, whom he then married. In 1966–1967 Vishnujana first came into contact with the Hare Krishnas, and by 1968 he had received initiation from Srila Prabhupada and became a full-time member of the movement. On July 20, 1970, he was ordained a sannyasa.

Career

Vishnujana played the harmonium and mridanga. Musical recordings of Vishnujana would later be released in 1995[3]

By 1973, he led a group of Hare Krishnas, the Radha-Damodara Traveling Sankirtan Party (named after the particular murtis (deities) carried on the bus), in a proselytizing bus trip across the USA.[4]

In March 16, 1976,[5][6] during the Gaura Purnima festival in India, Vishnujana Swami disappeared.[7] "Disappear" is a word used in the Vaishnava/Hare Krishna movement that means "to die."[8]

In 1999, a biography of Vishnujana Swami entitled Radha-Damodara Vilasa was published by Vaiyasaki das Adhikari.

Discography
YearTitleLabel
1995Vishnujana Swami - BhajansBhaktivedanta Book Trust
1995Vishnujana Swami - KirtansBhaktivedanta Book Trust
2005Vishnujana Swami Vintage-RecordingSecretJeevas

References
  1. iskcon.net memoriam Archived January 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Vishnujana Swami Bhajans & Kirtans". www.bvml.org. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  3. "Timeline - 1995 - BBT releases Vishnujana recordings" Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Vishnujana.com.
  4. Goswami, Satsvarupa dasa (1995). Prabhupada: Your Ever Well-Wisher. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. p. 271. ISBN 9789171494696. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  5. Śrīla Prabhupāda's class on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.9.38), March 16, 1976 (Śrī Gaura-Pūrṇimā) at Māyāpur.
  6. ISKCON Calendar. In 1976, Gaura-Pūrṇimā fell on March 16.
  7. "The Legend of Vishnujana Maharaja | Suhotra Maharaja Archives". Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  8. https://btg.krishna.com/novdec2012-dying-to-disappear

Sources
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