Balabhadra (William E. Dove)

William E. Dove (Balabhadara das) met  A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in 1969. The same year, Srila Prabhupada initiated him at the Honolulu temple on the island of Oahu, Hawai.  William was the first to be initiated by Srila Prabhupada in Hawaii. He was a local boy who had grown up in Hawaii since he was five years old and, from an early age, had an interest in agriculture. Due to Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, he has dedicated his life to cow protection and diet change.

He and his wife co-founded the International Society for Cow Protection, ISCOWP, in 1990. In addition, he served as the ISKCON Global Minister of Cow Protection and Agriculture from 1998 – 2012, when he resigned due to health issues. He is currently the president of ISCOWP and is personally involved in the everyday care of the cows and land at the ISCOWP center in Florida.