Radhanath Swami was born in Chicago in 1950. Radhanath Swami's childhood name was Richard Slavin; Radhanath Swami was given the name Radhanath Swami after he entered the renounced order. In his teenage years, the longing for knowledge about God lead Radhanath Swami on a journey throughout Europe and the Middle East, during which he undertook a careful study of the scriptures of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. This journey ultimately led him to India, where Radhanath Swami lived for several years, met Srila Prabhupada, and came to reside in Vrindavan. Radhanath Swami has recently documented the details of his travels in his autobiography, The Journey Home(Autobiography of an American Swami by Radhanath Swami.) For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada, Radhanatha Swami moved from Vrindavan to New Vrindavan, where he served for eight years with astounding devotion and austerity. He then began college preaching in America, and in 1987, began to assist in the development of preaching projects in India, a service which he is doing to the present day. His dedicated efforts in congregation preaching developed the Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir at Chowpatty, Bombay and the ISKCON Belgaum temple. Under his auspices, preaching programmes are developing in Kolhapur, Nasik, and Nigidi. Each year, Radhanatha Swami takes thousands of devotees on pilgrimage to holy places of the Vaishnava tradition.