Bhakti Prabhava Swami, born in Belgium, in 1960, met devotees in Ghent in the summer of 1992. From 1992 to 1996 he was active in Nama Hatta preaching in Ghent, and joined the Radhadesh temple in 1996. In 1994 he met His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami who accepted him as his disciple and gave him first initiation on 12 March 1998 and second initiation on 25 August 1999. On the 31st May 2015 he was Awarded sannyas initiation by Bhakti Charu Swami.
Right after his second initiation he became the first secretary for the newly formed European RGB. He organized the first European Leaders Meetings (ELM) and went on several missions for the European RGB. In 2002 His Holiness Bhakti Prabhava Swami was requested to become to Secretary for the Global GBC Body and the Secretary for the GBC Executive Committee. He fulfilled that role until September 2009. From 2011 to 2016 he served as Secretary for the GBC Sannyasa Ministry and helped with the development of the ministry. During that period he attended all GBC meetings and all GBC mid‐year meetings. He organised the first GBC midyear meeting held at Prabhupadesh in Italy in October 6‐9, 2006.
From 1996 to 2007 he engaged in management of the Radhadesh projects, mainly taking care of supervising the administration, tax defence and legal matters. He also served as legal director, trustee, teacher and student in the Bhaktivedanta College. In 2011 he shifted his home base to Leicester (UK) where he introduced the Bhakti Sastri course. Since 2015, Bhakti Prabhava Swami is offering bhakti-sastri and bhaktivaibhava on-line courses.
His Holiness Bhakti Prabhava Swami travels and teaches Srimad Bhagavatam and other bhakti scriptures in ISKCON centres and institutions around Europe since early 2000s, especially in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Ukraine and Bulgaria. He studied Bhaktivaibhava (2001-2005) and Bhaktivedanta (2006-2011) at the VIHE in Vrindavana, earned a PhD in the Study of Religion at the University of Wales (2016) and published a number of academic articles. He currently serves as a member for Sannyasa Ministry and as a member for the ISKCON Board for Examination. Since early 2018 Bhakti Prabhava Swami is serving as Temple President for ISKCON Belfast.
Educational Qualifications
2011 – 2016: PhD Research, Trinity Saint David – University of Wales. Earned a PhD on June 21, 2016.
2008 – 2010: M.A. in the Study of Religion: Indian Religions; Trinity Saint David – University of Wales, Lampeter.
2005 – 2008: B.A. in Theology, University of Wales, Lampeter.
2001 – 2008: Vocational Courses:
– VTE Teacher Training Course, Level I (36 hours).
– VTE Teacher Training Course, Level II (36 hours).
– VTE Bhakti-Shastri Teacher Training Course (24 hours).
– VTE Communications Course (21 hours).
– Counseling and Life Skills Courses, 2 Levels (65 hours)
– Mediation and Conflict Resolution Course level I, II and III (65 hours)
– Congregational Development Course (15 hours)
2005 – present: Bhakti-shastri grader approved by the ISKCON Board of Examinations.
1994 – present: Participation in numerous International Conventions, where seminars on Vaisnava culture are taught, such as ISKCON European Convention in Radhadesh (Belgium) and the Mayapur-Vrindavan Festival in India.
1992 – present: systematic personal study of some of the main Vaisnava texts in the Caitanya Vaisnava tradition, such as Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, to quote a few.
2001: Bhakti-Sastri course (6 months) at the MIHE in Mayapura (West-Bengal).
2002 – 2005: Bhaktivaibhava course – study of the first six books of the Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) at the VIHE in Vrindavana (Uttar Pradesh – India).
2006 – 2011: Bhaktivedanta course – study of the last six books of the Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) at VIHE in Vrindavana (Uttar Pradesh – India).
1996 – present: trained as a Vaisnava celibate monk by Vaisnava teachers and mentors.
2001 – 2011: development of seminars on the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). Some of the seminar titles:
- The Nature of Spiritual Compassion (Bhaktivedanta thesis)
- Six Gates Leading to Bhakti
- Sweet Love of Krishna, The Topmost, from Conditioned to Liberated Consciousness
- Twenty-four Spiritual Masters
- Turning Suffering into Bliss
2014: ISKCON Disiciple Course – student/teacher
Languages: Dutch, French, English, German (basic).
Academic Publications:
https://independentresearcher.academia.edu/LucDeBacker
http://rerc-journal.tsd.ac.uk/index.php/religiousexp/article/view/18
Professional Experience:
Teaching and Educational experience
2013 – 2017: Tutor for Bhakti-Shastri and Bhaktivaibhava students at the College for Vedic Studies (Leicester/London).
2011: Presentation “Emotion in Religionen. Negative Emotionen” at the University of Heidelberg (Germany).
2004: Presentation on Bhagavad-gita at the University of Montreal (Canada).
2002 – 2008: Tutor for Bhakti-Shastri and Bhaktivaibhava students in the Caitanya Vaisnava community at Radhadesh and the Bhaktivedanta College in Belgium.
1998 – 2004: Part-time pujari priest in the Caitanya Vaisnava community at Radhadesh in Belgium.
2001 – 2015: Presenting discourses on Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam in assistance of Prahladananda Swami in the Balkan States (Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Romania) since 2001 during 2 months each year.
1998 – present: Presenting discourses and seminars, mainly on Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam in English, French, and Dutch in Canada, USA, Ukraine, India, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland, England, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Russia, Bulgaria, Moldova, etc.
Organizational Education and Experience
1975 – 1977: Socio-economic High school: Sint-Jorisinstituut, Brussels.
1978 – 1981: B.A. in Accountancy and Taxes: Willemsfonds, Brussels.
1982: Specialised study in Taxes: Fiscale Hogeschool, Brussels.
1984 – 1985: Education as Cobol programmer, computer system-analyst.
1998: Inscription as registered chartered bookkeeper – tax expert.
1978 – 1979: Technical inspector at the City of Brussels.
1979 – 1981: Employee at the travel agency L’ Epervier (Europabus) in Brussels.
1982 – 1988: Administrative employee in the accountancy office ‘Algemeen Fiduciair Instituut’ in Ghent.
1988 – 1991: Director of the software company CHIPS CV in Ghent.
1992 – 1997: Employee responsible for internal organization, accountancy and salary administration in the home ‘Rusthuis Toevlucht van Maria’ in Ghent.
1997 – 2008: Self-employed Chartered Accountant and Tax Expert cooperating with BV Adfisco Accountants in Antwerp.
1998 – 2008: Acting as legal advisor, tax expert, and administrator for the ISKCON legal entities in Belgium.
1998 – 2004: Legal director of the SCI Printemps (New Mayapura), Lucay-le-Male, France.
2003 – 2011: Trustee, teacher, and legal advisor for the Bhaktivedanta College in Radhadesh
2004 Co-temple President for ISKCON New Mayapura (France).
1998 – 2004: Secretary for the ISKCON Euro GBC.
2004 – 2009: Training as Mediator (3 level courses)
2004 – 2009: Secretary for the ISKCON GBC Body and the GBC Executive Committee.
2004 – 2008: Opening and running of an ISKCON Centre in Brussels
2004 – Mediator working with ISKCON Resolve
2008 – present: A member of the ISKCON Board of Examinations, and the GBC Finance Committee.
2010 – 2016: Secretary for the ISKCON Sannyasa Ministry
2014 : Secretary for the GBC Executive Committee and the ISKCON GBC Body
2014 : Member of the Standing Committee for the ISKCON Ministry for Education
2014 : Founder member of the ISKCON Leicester for Vaishnava Training and Education (presently: College of Vedic Studies)
2014 – 2015: Member of the ISKCON Law Book Committee
2018: TP for Belfast in Northern Ireland