A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The youngest of five children, Romapada was born as Brian Rumbaugh and raised in a middle-class Christian family in Utica, New York. He attended the State University of New York, Buffalo, where he was a pre-med student. It was here, in 1969, that Brian met A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Shortly after being accepted to Medical school, Brian joined ISKCON. He decided, that by dedicating himself to the spiritual life he would be more useful to the society. Brian became an initiated disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in July 1971, receiving the name Romapada Das (Das meaning the servant of the Lord). He accepted the renounced order of sannyasa in 1983 (whence he was given the title of "Swami").