THE BHAKTIVEDANTA INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER STUDIES
“[The Bhaktivedanta Institute] is our most important preaching arm.”
- Srila Prabhupada
(letter to Dravida, April 2, 1977)
HELP US FULFILL
SRILA PRABHUPADA'S
PROPHECY
Why the BI?
2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's inception of the Bhaktivedanta Institute!
In 1974, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada expressed a desire to form a Vaisnava Research Institute to present the science of Krishna consciousness among intellectuals. In August 1975, Prabhupada directed a small group of his scholarly disciples to start an institute in the United States. He instructed them on how to organize what would become known as the Bhaktivedanta Institute, which was intended to interact with an educated audience. In 1976, Srila Prabhupada signed the incorporation papers that legally established the Institute. Over the years, chapters of the BI established branches in several cities within the United States and India. Also, it has organized a number of conferences and published many works. The BI branches continue to collaborate while independently exploring research and outreach interests. In 2015, Brahmatirtha dasa re-established the Gainesville chapter as the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies, a name used in the Institute’s pioneering literature.
Our Urgent Need
Of our $170,000 annual budget, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) funds $50,000. This means that 70% must come from individual and corporate donors. We aim to raise $10,000 in monthly donations to further Srila Prabhupada’s mission. This will require 500 donors from around the world to contribute each month.
The money raised will go directly towards engaging Vaisnava scholars, producing literature, covering travel expenses for attending conferences, and support for research. Additionally, with the recent acquisition and renovation of our new historic center, there are various expenses related to its preservation, maintenance, staffing, and programs.
How You Can Help
Please join us in the goal of raising $10,000 per month to expand the facility and increase our impact. This is an ambitious goal, but we know we can get there through our donors and the generosity of the global devotee community. Every dollar we raise will expand our capacity to serve Srila Prabhupada.
Monthly donations provide stability and the ability to plan for the future. Please consider giving a recurring monthly pledge of $20 (or more).
Mission
The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) is a center for the research and dissemination of a non-mechanistic scientific view of reality. The main purpose of the Institute is to explore the implications of Bhagavat Vedanta philosophy as it bears upon human culture, and to present its findings in courses, lectures, conferences, monographs, digital media, and books. Our work contributes a non-mechanistic view of matter and consciousness to scientific discourse with a goal of exploring consciousness as an irreducible aspect of reality.
What We Do
In pursuance of our mission, the BIHS seeks to build intellectual bridges and create joint research paths between the empirical approach of modern science and the knowledge contained within Srimad Bhagavatam. We engage devotee scholars (especially scientists and philosophers) in continuing these bridges begun by Srila Prabhupada in his books Easy Journey to Other Planets and Life Comes from Life. We disseminate research outcomes through articles, monographs, and books and hold open discussion and presentation forums through an ongoing series of courses, lectures, and conferences.
Our work also contributes to the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium’s mission as the official science advisors, and to ISKCON’s sustainability efforts as technical advisors.
Our Center Today
The acquisition of the BIHS’s new headquarters marks a revival of its Gainesville chapter and provides fresh and increased opportunities to serve.
In October 2020, Hridayananda Goswami purchased the property through his family’s foundation, continuing its renovation work. He has made available his extensive 8000-volume book collection as a research library for the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies, as well as for use by local scholars and residents of the Duckpond neighborhood. Furthermore, the BIHS has strong ties to the University of Florida. The center’s proximity to the campus and central location create an incredible opportunity to be a dynamic interdisciplinary hub of activity in Gainesville. In addition to being the BIHS’s headquarters, it regularly hosts meetings, programs, and events in furtherance of its mission.
History of Our New Headquarters
The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies recently secured as its research library headquarters the Tigert-Barrow House, a seventeen-room Gainesville mansion constructed in 1928. Situated in the prestigious Duck Pond neighborhood, it is not far from the University of Florida campus. The premises previously served as home to the university’s longest-serving president, John J. Tigert, who guided Florida through the challenges of the Great Depression and Second World War, as well as to Dr. Mark Barrow, a local cardiologist with a Ph.D. in history, who along with his wife, Mary, proved instrumental in preserving Gainesville’s rich architectural history during the latter part of the twentieth century.
Download the complete history of the Tigert-Barrow house
