Visnujana Swami

Vishnujana Swami (; June 2, 1948 - March 16, 1976), born Mark Stephen D'Atillo, was a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and a sannyasi within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as the 'Hare Krishnas' or ISKCON) who disappeared in 1976. He made recordings of himself singing the Hare Krishna mantra.

Life He was born as Mark Stephen Datillo on June 2, 1948, in San Jose, California to parents Maureen (née Desmet) (1924-2017) and Joseph D'Attilo (1923-2006). At the age of seventeen, he moved to San Francisco along with his girlfriend, whom he then married. In 1966–1967 Vishnujana first came into contact with the Hare Krishnas, and by 1968 he had received initiation from Srila Prabhupada and became a full-time member of the movement. On July 20, 1970, he was ordained a sannyasa.

Career Vishnujana played the harmonium and mridanga. Musical recordings of Vishnujana would later be released in 1995

By 1973, he led a group of Hare Krishnas, the Radha-Damodara Traveling Sankirtan Party (named after the particular murtis (deities) carried on the bus), in a proselytizing bus trip across the USA.

In March 16, 1976, during the Gaura Purnima festival in India, Vishnujana Swami disappeared. "Disappear" is a word used in the Vaishnava/Hare Krishna movement that means "to die."

In 1999, a biography of Vishnujana Swami entitled Radha-Damodara Vilasa was published by Vaiyasaki das Adhikari.

Discography