Swami Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha was born in 1924 in Assam, India. After completing his MA in philosophy at Calcutta University in 1947, he came in contact with his spiritual master, Sri Srimad Bhakti Dayita Madava Gosvami Maharaja. He was then initiated into the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of bhakti yoga propafated by Sri Chaitanya, the 15th century master of devotional ecsatsy. Since then he has been a full-time monk. In 1979 he became the president of Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Matha, which has over 20 ashrams in India alone. Since 1997, Swami has traveled the world extensively, lecturing on the essence of divine love as experienced through bhakti yoga.

Writer, teacher, and Hindu monastic, Swami B.V. Tripurari has become one of today's most respected spiritual writers. A columnist for Beliefnet.com, he also served as Vice President of the World Vaishnava Association and was nominated for the prestigious Louisville Grawemeyer book award. He lives at his monastery, Audarya, in northern California.