Born in
India, he joined the Ramakrishna Order after graduating from
Calcutta university in 1914. He was initiated by
Swami Brahmananda, the spiritual son of
Sri Ramakrishna, and the first president of the
Ramakrishna Order, headquartered in Belur, West Bengal. In 1923, he was sent to the United States of America. Initially, he worked as an assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of San Francisco. After two years, he established the Vedanta Society of Portland. In December 1929, he moved to Los Angeles, where he founded the
Vedanta Society of Southern California in 1930. Under his administration, the Vedanta Society of Southern California grew over the years to become the largest Vedanta Society in the West, with monasteries in
Hollywood and
Trabuco Canyon and convents in Hollywood and
Santa Barbara. Prabhavananda was a scholar who wrote a number of books on Vedanta and Indian religious scriptures and commentary. He was assisted on several of the projects by
Christopher Isherwood and Frederick Manchester. His comprehensive knowledge of philosophy and religion attracted such disciples as
Aldous Huxley and
Gerald Heard. Prabhavananda died on the bicentennial of America's independence, 4 July 1976, and on the 74th anniversary of the death, or mahasamadhi, of
Swami Vivekananda, the founder of the
Ramakrishna Order in India and many of the Vedanta centers in America and Europe. ==Influence==