Who is Swami Prakashanand Saraswati?

Answer 1

Swami Prakashanand Saraswati is a convicted fugitive child molester wanted by US Marshals.

He established Barsana Dham as a devotional representation of Braj, India with the intention that devotees in the west may experience a similar atmosphere as if in Braj in India.

He was born into a respectable brahmin family in 1929 in Ayodhya, India. He completed his studies and at age of 21, renounced the world and took the order of sanyas. In 1952, he was offered to become the Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath but he declined because he was drawn towards the love of Radha Krishn.

He spent the next 20 years as a wandering ascetic in the Himalayas and in the forests of central India, ending in Braj. In 1975, he emerged from his solitary life, and on the instructions of his Spiritual Master he began his mission of teaching the path of raganuga bhakti. He founded the International Society of Divine Love in India in 1975. The society was established in New Zealand in 1978. Later on he traveled to America and founded an ashram for his devotees and disciples. By 1981 Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, who had begun to be thought of as a distinguished sage and a saint conceived of creating a global mission. He established religious centers in India, England, Ireland, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia and has written 10 books on Hinduism.

Swami is the founder of Barsana Dham Ashram, Austin, TX; Rangeeli Mahal, Barsana, India and Jagadguru Dham, Vrindaban, India.

In April 2008 he was indicted in Texas for child molestation but successfully avoided the trial for three years. The trial finally took place in March of 2011. A Jury of 8 men and 4 women took just 50 minutes to find Swami guilty of 20 counts of child molestation. Each charge carries 2-20 years. Swami was scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2011, at 9.00 AM but failed to show up at the court and has since gone into hiding, refusing to take any responsibility for his crimes. He was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison and $10,000 fine for each crime. His eleven million dollar bail was revoked and a warrant was issued for his arrest.