Murali Mohan Maharaj (Mamu Thakur) was named Mikhail Nikolaevich Shilov at his birth on May 11, 1949 in the city of Perm, Russia. He was interested in art most of his life and graduated in 1966 from high school with an art certificate. After leaving school, he worked as a store window designer and later as a decorator at the Young Spectator Theater. He then served in the army from 1968 to 1970 in the capacity of an artist. In 1970 he began working at the Tchaikovsky Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Perm. In 1972 he applied and was accepted into interior design program at Mukhinskiy (Stieglitz) college in St. Petersburg, and later finished his art education at the Herzen Institute in the studio of M.A. Kaneyev. Mikhail collaborated with the largest record company in the USSR MELODY. He worked in various cultural centers, was the main artist in the regional directorate of theater sports and entertainment stores in Leningrad. In 1978 he became the chairman of the Leningrad Committee of Artists specializing in books, graphics and posters. He also took part in the restoration of many icons and was influential in the avant-garde movement. He painted portraits of famous writers, artists and scientists.
In the spring of 1980 he became acquainted with the teachings of Hare Krishna. In the year 1981, he received initiation in Iskcon and the name “Mamu Thakur”. During that time and until 1993 he traveled to over one hundred cities in Russia and its neighboring countries, preaching Krishna consciousness, which caused him to be arrested several times, but only jailed for short terms. Despite the dangers, he continued the mission work, conducted the first harinam and sankirtan parties, organized Vedic festivals, radhayatras and padayatras, as well as registered more than 20 preaching centers "Sankirtana" in different cities all over Russia. He went on to publish first periodicals "Sankirtana News", "Without illusion", "Sankirtana" and "Sankirtana inform".
In 1986-87, Mamu Thakur organized the first Hare Krishna ashram in Leningrad, and the following year opened the first vegetarian cafe there. In addition to his preaching work, Mamu Thakur continued painting, using his artistic gift in the service of Krishna. He painted vaisnava themes, as well as portraits of acharyas, often adding Maha Mantra to his works. He painted the walls of the cultural centers and cafes with scenes from the life of Chaitanya and Krishna. In Minsk, Izhevsk, Alma-Ata, Yekaterinburg and other Russian cities, he organized several traveling exhibitions that inspired many people to follow his example.
In Yekaterinburg, Mamu Thakur registered his “Sankirtana-art", a cooperative of artists who devote their works to scenes from vaishnava canonical scriptures. Later, St. Petersburg’s museum of "Religion and Atheism" acquired one of his paintings for their collection. In 1992, leadership of Iskcon, after recognizing the merits of Mamu Thakur, sent him to Mayapur, India. Next year he began publishing books. Now there are over 30 books. As a talented artisan, Mamu Thakur decorates his books with colorful and dynamic pictures to help uncover the deeper meaning of his literary works. These books are pointed and easily understood, containing the very essence of Vedic philosophy, truthful historical facts and artwork depicting devotional service. Some of his work includes: ”Bhagavad Gita, Book of Devotion", "Hare Krishna Yesterday and Today" (five editions), "ABC of Meditation Art", "Transcendental Mosaic" (five editions), "Temple in Every Home - Art of Arcana", "Temple of Sri Sri Kishore Kishori”, "Harinama, Diksha, Vaishnava Sadachara", "Psychoanalysis of the Inconceivable", "Tattva Siddhanta in Prayer and Songs of Gaudiya Vaishnavism", essay "Notes of a Vegetarian" (in Russian and English), "In Search of Happiness", "Anatomy of Love", "Nectar of Sankirtana-lila", "Krishna's Kitchen", "Giver's Hand Will Not Remain Empty", "Tree Which Does Not Bear Fruit", "Culture and Religion of the Demons", "If You Want to be Happy, Then Be So!", "Hinduism and Bhagavata Dharma", and a few practical guidelines for rendering devotional service.
On new year's eve 1994 Mamu Thakur arrived in America by GBC invitation, and started preaching to the Russian-speaking community in Chicago and New York. In the same year, he painted part of the wall in the Hare Krishna temple in Brooklyn: a panel "Sankirtana Lila". In the spring of 1994, his first art exhibition in New York was held. In 1995 he painted several monumental panels for the ISKCON temple in Chicago. In 1997, he registered a non-profit company, "Sankirtana Corporation,” which acts to enlighten the fellow followers. In 2001, Mamu Thakur accepted Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaj as his teacher and he received a new name, “Murali Mohan”. In 2003 he began accepting his own students. In 2005, The World Vaishnava Association (WVA) appointed him as the secretary for the Russian region.
Currently, Murali Mohan leads an active life of an acharya, giving lectures in America and Russia, and arranging kirtans and harinams. He writes and publishes books, as well as columns in Russian-American periodicals. In the last few years, his art work has been exhibited in Minsk and St. Petersburg. The colorful and inspiring works of Murali Mohan, leave people’s hearts yearning for more, opening for the eternal souls windows to the spiritual world. Leading the life of a renounced monk, he spends all of his income for the service of Krishna. He does not own anything, nor does he depend on anything. Living only by preaching and chanting the holy name, he devotes himself entirely to the Lotus-eyed Lord. Firmly leading an army of devotees, he brings them back home, back to Godhead.
Artist - Swami
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