Ranchor Prime

Ranchor Prime is a British author, and a Hindu religious scholar. Prime has translated the Bhagavad Gita into English. It was published with illustrations by B. G. Sharma as The Illustrated Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation with Commentary.

Prime is an advisor on religion and conservation to the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, and he is co-founder and director of Friends of Vrindavan,

Biography

Early years Ranchor was born as Richard Prime in the 1950s in Leeds. He was brought up within the Roman Catholic tradition. From a very early age he was "saturated with Catholic devotion". which means "servant of Krishna". Funding was granted for three years, to run from 1991 through 1994, some $40,000 per year. He conceived a plan with Sevak Sharan, a longtime resident of the area, to plant trees along the eleven-kilometer parikrama path that encircles the holy town. The importance of the parikrama path is indicated by the fact that it is traveled by over two million pilgrims per year. In succeeding months, ISKCON donated the use of one and a half acres beside the pilgrimage path for a nursery to plant and raise 10,000 trees of local origin. The project was formally initiated on 21 November 1991, the festival day of Vrinda Devi, the goddess representing the local flora and regarded as a queen of Vrindavan. All present at the ceremony took the following pledge:

The first stage of the project was to encourage community involvement so that the planted trees would be protected and would survive. Some two thousand trees and shrubs were planted along a two kilometer segment of the parikrama path. Stage two included further planting along the entire pathway, and continued outreach efforts to involve local population. Several environmental problem have been dealt with along the way.

After the funding came to an end, Ranchor started his own charity to continue the work, which is called Friends of Vrindavan. Presently, it is engaged in raising money in the West to continue supporting work in India. Ranchor Prime:

Selected bibliography Books

Prime, Ranchor (2009), When the Sun Shines, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Prime, Ranchor (2009), Cows and the Earth, Fitzrovia Press, Prime, Ranchor (2010), Bhagavad Gita: Talks Between the Soul and God, Fitzrovia Press, Prime, Ranchor (2012), Birth of Kirtan, Mandala Publishing, Prime, Ranchor (2017), The Eight Elements, Fitzrovia Press,

Articles

Footnotes