Srila Prabhupada's Mayapur vision focuses on inspiring devotees worldwide through education. For the last fifteen years, the Mayapur Institute (MI) has been developing as a powerful institute to fulfill his vision. Bhaktivinoda Thakura described Mayapur as the holy place with the most potency in this age to help one advance spiritually. With this understanding, Srila Prabhupada stressed the importance of coming to Mayapur, as he put it, "to recharge one's spiritual batteries," and then going back to one's temple to preach with heightened enthusiasm and effectiveness.

Since it began in 2000, the MI has been doing lots of this recharging. The MI has awarded its students, over 1,800 devotees, their sastric degrees (over 1/3 of such degrees offered within ISKCON) and over 1,500 have received devotional life-skill certificates in areas such as teacher-training or leadership-training (over 1/2 of such certificates offered within ISKCON), all in pursuance of a foundational instruction Srila Prabhupada gave back in 1971:

"Throughout the whole world there is no institution to impart education in the matter of spiritual understanding. So we are going to open a big center in Mayapur where this education will be internationally imparted. Students from all parts of the world will go there to take education in this important subject" (Letter to Atreya Rsi, 20 August 1971). This is what the MI is all about.

When our Bhakti-sastri students begin studying The Nectar of Devotion,they are intrigued and inspired to learn Rupa Gosvami's analysis of the qualification for advancing in Krishna consciousness: faith in and knowledge of sastra. When they really understand this principle, the "lights start to go on" as to why Srila Prabhupada made writing, publishing and studying Vaisnava literature the No. 1 Priority.

Sastric knowledge is not merely theoretical knowledge but the realized knowledge one naturally acquires by hearing and inquiring with the support of serious and sincere devotees.

"In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.25)

Self-study is important, of course. But ask any of our graduates about the transformations in consciousness and increased capacity to serve which they've experienced as a result of studying Prabhupada's books in one of our systematic sastric courses, and you will understand why we are so enthusiastic in encouraging your participation.

Visvambara Caitanya Dasa (2008 Bhakti-sastri graduate from Belgium): "To me MI (Mayapur Institute) stands for (M)ost (I)ntimate, because the satisfaction I felt while studying Prabhupada's books was not ordinary but profound and soul-touching. And like a most intimate relationship, I have not forgotten those MI times, which still provide me with much insight for my daily life."

Incidentally, quite a few of our sastric graduates take MI's teacher-training courses and upon returning to their temples become sastric teachers themselves, thus uniquely pleasing the Lord.

"For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear." (Bhagavad-gita, 18.68-69)

Here's MI's powerful lineup of courses and facilitators to help you access the abundant mercy available in Srila Prabhupada's books and increase your service potency:

Bhakti-sastri Course Separate Sections for Men and Women (Nov 1, 2015 to Feb 17, 2016)

B.B. Bhagavat Swami B.V.V. Narasimha Swami Kadamba Kanana Swami Bhakti Caitanya Swami Vamsivadan dasa Atul Krsna dasa Padmanayana dasa Laxmimoni-devi dasi Shyamala Sakhi-devi dasi Su-gita Vani-devi dasi Anuradha-devi dasi Divyalila-devi dasi Subhasini-devi dasi

Bhaktivaibhava Course - Module 1 (Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 1 - 3)

Bhaktivaibhava Course - Module 2 (Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 4 - 6)

Bhaktivedanta Course - Module 1 (Newly Launched!) (Srimad Bhagavatam, Cantos 7 - 9) (Nov 16, 2015 to Feb 17, 2016)

The following Vaisnavas will facilitate in both the Bhaktivaibhava and Bhaktivedanta Courses:

Kadamba Kanana Swami Adipurusa dasa Bhanu Swami Atul Krsna dasa B.V.V. Narasimha Swami Carucandra dasa Candramauli Swami Harilila dasa Padmanayana dasa Srivas dasa Radhika Nagara dasa Vamsivadan dasa Vidvan Gauranga dasa

Graduation Ceremonies for the Bhakti-sastri & Bhaktivaibhava Courses (Mar 5, 2016)

Please please visit www.mayapurinstitute.org or write to us at info@mayapurinstitute.org to acquire your required preliminary self-study materials, and prepare yourself for what will likely be the most productive and blissful experience yet in your devotional career.

After finishing your sastric course, we also encourage you to participate in the Gaura Purnima Courses, which will help you deepen the devotional life skills needed to be an effective representative of the guru-parampara.

Gaura Purnima Courses (Feb 18 to Mar 25, 2016)

Feb 18 - 22 ISKCON Disciple Course (Women Separate) Laxmimoni-devi dasi

Feb 18 -21 ISKCON Disciple Course (Men Separate) Radhika Nagara dasa

Feb 18 - 23 Teacher Training Course One Atul Krishna dasa

Mar 1 - 5 Book Distribution & Leadership Seminar Navina Nirada dasa

Mar 3 - 6 ISKCON Disciple Course To be confirmed

Mar 3 - 8 Teacher Training Course One Atul Krishna dasa

Mar 7 - 10 Krishna Conscious Grhastha Ashrama Harilila dasa / Divya Lila-devi dasi

Mar 7 - 12 Leadership and Management Course Anuttama dasa

Mar 11 - 15 Spiritual Leadership Course Prahladananda Swami

Mar 13 - 18 Teacher Training Course Two Atul Krishna dasa

Mar 24 - 25 Bhakti-sastri Teacher Training Course Harilila dasa

Important dates:

Oct 28 - Nov 25 Kartika

Feb 24 - Mar 2 ISKCON ILS

Mar 2 - 5 Sravan Utsava

Mar 6 - 10 Kirtan Mela

Mar 12 - 18 Navadwip Mandal Parikrama

Mar 23 Gaura Purnima

We are looking forward to your association and to the opportunity to serve you soon in Sridhama Mayapur.

The final days of our summer festival tour on the Baltic Sea coast in Poland were bittersweet. While tasting the nectar of sharing our good fortune with others, we knew it would only last a few days more. Now the drums, accordians and kartalas have gone silent. The loud chanting of Krsna's sweet holy names are no longer resounding along the beaches. Nowhere do we see the large crowds that assembled each evening in front of our stage. And gone are the many people eager to purchase our books on the absolute truth. O Lord Caitanya! Savior of the fallen! We are all weeping in separation from the glorious service You entrusted to us. Please engage us again!

Entire album at below link https://goo.gl/EKWr05

By Mina Sharma

Devotees from across the UK came together today in Leicester for the first ever ISKCON UK National Convention, organised as part of the celebrations for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary.

Taking place in ISKCON Leicester’s magnificent Grade II listed building in the city centre, hundreds of devotees took part in a day of collaboration and learning, and celebrated the successes and new developments taking place in the UK today. This was the first time in the history of ISKCON UK that a maha sanga was organised on this scale.

Inspiring presentations were delivered by many senior devotees, including HH Bhakti Charu Swami, who spoke about unity in diversity in ISKCON. In addition, devotees heard from GBC HG Praghosa Das, who spoke about HDG Srila Prabhupada and celebrating the successes of ISKCON UK, and from GBC Minister for Communications HG Anuttama Das, who delivered a talk on ISKCON being 50 years young and roaring on.

There were also a number of exciting workshops delivered by devotees from across the UK; HG Jahnavi Harrison discussed kirtan yoga, HG Visnu Murti Das ran a deity worship workshop, HG Visvambhara Das spoke about the art and science of book distribution and HG Sutapa Das discussed sankirtan and outreach.

It was an inspiring day that really fostered a sense of unity and positive communication, and celebrated the wonderful achievements made by ISKCON temples from across the UK.

Mina Sharma
ISKCON UK National Head of Media and Communications
ISKCON 50 UK Media Coordinator

By Ravindra Svarupa dasa

We conditioned souls are originally Krishna conscious living entities, but owing to a desire to be independent of God and to be the Supreme ourselves, we have fallen from our original position and become covered by maya (illusion), who provides us with false identities of gross and subtle matter. By the grace of Krishna and His pure devotees we fallen souls can regain our original Krishna consciousness and in so doing go back to Godhead.

This simple dramatic narrative tells the story of who we are, where we came from, how we fell, and how we can be restored. Srila Prabhupada tells us this story, and so do the previous acharyas and the scriptures. This story is the profoundest truth about ourselves, and there is no fault in it.

Yet the story becomes complicated when we discover (from the identical infallible sources) that the souls in the spiritual world are nitya-siddha, eternally or perpetually liberated souls, and that no one falls from the spiritual world. Further, the souls in the material world are nitya-baddha, eternally or perpetually conditioned, and we learn that their conditioned state is anadi, or without any beginning. These statements, also, are true without a doubt.

How can these facts be reconciled with the story of fall and redemption?

It is necessary to recognize that the seemingly straightforward linear narrative is more complicated than it appears because the narrative’s scope of action spans two “worlds,” one eternal and the other temporal.

We can get some sense of the relation between these two worlds if we recollect the temporal structure of the material universe as presented in Srimad-Bhagavatam. As one ascends from Martya-loka (our level or plane), through Svarga-loka (the plane of the enjoying and administrating demigods, or devas), and further through Mahar-loka and so on (the planes of the austere sages) to Satya-loka (the plane of Lord Brahma), time progressively dilates. Thus, as 360 years go by here in Martya-loka, only a year passes for the devas in Svarga-loka. And 300 billion years have to come and go down here for a single year to transpire in Satya-loka for Lord Brahma.

Srimad-Bhagavatam mentions that when Brahma, on earth, kidnapped the cowherd boys and calves from Krishna, the victims were gone a complete year by human experience, but for Brahma, operating on Satya-loka time, only a moment (a truti) had passed. A truṭi lasts exactly 8/13,500 of a second.

On another occasion Maharaja Kakudmi, seeking a husband for his daughter Revati, took her to Satya-loka to ask Lord Brahma to arrange the match. Brahma kept them waiting until he had finished hearing a recital by Gandharva musicians. When Kakudmi finally presented his request, Brahma burst out laughing. Everyone Kakudmi would have wanted for his daughter was long gone, for twenty-seven yuga cycles had passed (about 160 million years) while the supplicant and his daughter cooled their heels in the anteroom.

A live television broadcast on Satya-loka of events on Martya-loka would disclose everything moving with dizzying speed, a blur of mountains rising up and dissolving away, oceans swelling and shrinking, peoples and civilizations rushing on and off the earth. By the same token, a live broadcast on Martya-loka of current events on Satya-loka would transmit motion so slow as to be undetectable by normal human vision. Only time-lapse photography, snapping the shutter every thousand years or so, would disclose activity.
Keeping all this in mind, imagine the temporal structure of the universe depicted in the form of an equilateral triangle, with the base representing Martya-loka. Its width at the base stands for the duration of the universe in our years—that is, 311 trillion 40 billion years. As we go up, the triangle narrows, so that at the level of Brahma the duration of the universe (still depicted as the width of the triangle) is 100 of his years.

Now continue up the universe, past Satya-loka. The unit-measure of duration continues to dilate, time slows more and more, and finally, at the point where the material realm borders the spiritual, time has its stop. Here, at the apex of the triangle, we reach the point of translation between material and spiritual worlds, between time and eternity.

This is the “now moment of eternity,” an everlasting instant without past or future. We have seen how, when we go up the universe, a unit-measure of time includes more and more of our years. What then happens when we take that process to the limit, as we do when we reach the apex? That single climactic moment embodies time without beginning and end. From this point of view, the lifetimes of a trillion, trillion Brahmas are over as soon as they begin. Who can even express such inconceivable things?

It remains to be mentioned, for the sake of thoroughness, that the apex of our triangle marks the limit of the ascent to the Absolute by mystical speculation. According to mystic speculators, the everlasting moment of eternity is necessarily spent in stasis, immobility. Vaishnavas, however, pure devotees of the Lord, know of transcendental variegatedness and activities. Although eternity is described as having no past or future, there is still sequence (for there are lilas, pastimes); and knowledge, bliss, and beauty eternally increase.

If we were to continue with our figure of a triangle, we would have to envision the two lines of its sides extending through the apex to form a second, inverted triangle. Let this triangle, with its base up and its apex down, signify the spiritual realm of transcendental variegatedness as it expands beyond the zero point of nirvana. The figure of the two triangles, apex to apex, is simply another representation of what the Bhagavad-gita signifies by the metaphor of an inverted tree, a reflection of the original tree standing on the water’s bank.

Our minds boggle even at the “now moment of eternity” of the impersonal speculators. Even further from our conceptions is a realm in which transcendental time, which has neither past nor future, allows for activities—pastimes—and ever-increasing qualities of beauty, joy, and knowledge.

Now to consider the issue before us, we must not only contemplate that inconceivable eternal realm, but we must think about it in relationship with our world of past, passing, and to come. Let us proceed to do so.

As we have seen, the transcendental realm is eternal present, an everlasting instant. Every soul in that realm must accordingly be characterized as nitya-mukta, eternally liberated. This includes the souls that come from the material world. For if a soul enters that realm from the material world, can we ask, “When did that soul arrive?” The question does not apply. Once the soul gets there, that soul can only be nitya-mukta. He has, necessarily, always been there. This is the logic of eternity.

Now let us go to a matter equally inconceivable. Let us say, for the purposes of discussion, that a soul “falls” from eternity and sojourns in the material world. When did he enter the material world? We can only say that the fall is a non-temporal act that renders the conditioned soul bound from all time. The history of his incarceration in time has no beginning. The conditioned soul has always been conditioned. Strictly speaking, the question of when does not apply. Although bondage is not the soul’s original condition, the state of bondage is necessarily described as anadi, or beginningless, and the conditioned soul himself is characterized as nitya-baddha—eternally bound or conditioned. There was no time when he was not bound.

Yet such souls can attain release and enter the spiritual realm. Let us say that the soul who has fallen from that realm into beginningless bondage now returns. The duration of that bondage spans time without limit, as we have seen. Yet now, if we inquire, from the perspective of eternity, “How long has that fallen and restored soul been absent?” the answer is “He never left.” Or, alternatively, “The question does not apply.” For the logic of eternity dictates that no one falls from eternity—even if he does so.

The logic of eternity also dictates that no conditioned soul can begin his eternal life—even though he does so. In considering both falling from and returning to transcendence, we must accept the logic of eternity to be true to what is real.

Thus we see that while it is true that no one falls from the spiritual world, we in fact have done so, and yet there is no contradiction.

The dramatic narration of a life with God, a fall from that life, a sojourn in the alien world of illusion, and a final restoration to God is not a fiction. It is a profound truth. It need not be rejected on the mistaken notion that it conflicts with other, equally true, statements of authorities.

For our better understanding, however, we need to be aware of one simplification that takes place—quite naturally—in the telling of the narrative of fall and redemption. This is the representation of all the events in the story as though they take place on a single temporal continuum. For example, we habitually characterize our entry into time as though it were itself a temporal occasion, a dateable event. However, as we have seen, once we become conditioned, we have always been conditioned.

Similarly, we think of our rebellion against God as a distant, aboriginal event, one that took place long ago and far away, in that world. In truth, that single act of rebellion is perpetual; that very same aboriginal event is taking place right now. We have only to look into our hearts to confirm this.

Furthermore, when we “return” to the spiritual world, it will only be to discover that indeed we never left, and “there” has always been right “here.” We are right now with Krishna, for Krishna consciousness is our svarupa, our eternal identity. We need only wake up and see where we are.

All this is known to Srila Prabhupada and to the acharyas, previous teachers. They know how one can fall from a place no one falls from, enter into an ignorance that has always been, and return to a place one never actually left. Because such matters are inconceivable to mundane minds, when teachers speak of such things their words may seem contradictory. But in one way or another they all tell the whole truth.

By Satyaraja Dasa

The kindness of strangers played a pivotal role in ISKCON’s pre-history.

Last year I had the good fortune to meet Gopal and Sally Agarwal, an elderly couple who played a significant role in ISKCON’s origins. They are forever etched in the devotees’ collective memory as two of the Western world’s earliest recipients of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy. It was the Agarwals who hosted him in the fall of 1965, before ISKCON was even nominally born, giving him shelter, hospitality, friendship, and love. Indeed, for one month their home served as Prabhupada’s earliest refuge outside India.

As Prabhupada acquainted himself with the Agarwal home in Butler, in western Pennsylvania, he saw a typically quiet American town nestled in the hills, a town that has changed little since his brief visit those many years ago.

Last year, Nitai Dasa, a grand-disciple of Srila Prabhupada’s, organized a celebration in Butler to commemorate Prabhupada’s time there. Appropriately, the event was convened at the Butler Cubs Club, at 113 South McKean Street, the YMCA that served as Prabhupada’s sleeping quarters during his days with the Agarwals. In fact, the Agarwals were the guests of honor at the event. Sally addressed the audience of largely ISKCON devotees, including Radhanatha Swami, Varshana Swami, and Candrashekhara Swami. Dr. Allen Larson gave the keynote speech. Now a retired professor of philosophy at Slippery Rock College, in Butler, in 1965 he invited Prabhupada for his first college lecture in the West.

One of the lasting fruits of the Butler event, at least for me, was making contact with Sally and Gopal, charming and good-hearted people with unique and profound memories of Srila Prabhupada. For several months afterward, we kept in touch by phone and email, and they shared many wonderful stories about their time with my spiritual master. Although they never became devotees in the usual sense of the word, Prabhupada engulfed their consciousness, changing their lives and perceptions in innumerable ways. A detailed account of their interaction with Krishna’s pure devotee appears in Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, and this short article might serve as an addendum to that story.

The Mission Begins

A small occurrence can lead to a monumental event. A dry seed in hand may look insignificant, but inside is a plant-to-be. So it was when a businessman from Agra—Mathura Prasad Agarwal—offered a venerable and exceptional monk, whom the world would eventually know as His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, sponsorship in the Western world. As Srila Prabhupada undoubtedly told Mathura Prasad at the time, he had been instructed by his spiritual master to spread the timeless message of Krishna consciousness—the science of God realization—worldwide. The pious businessman could thus surmise that helping this particular sadhu would mean assisting him on his journey to the West; it would be the only assistance Prabhupada would need or want from him. Prabhupada would soon travel abroad and change religious history by founding the Hare Krishna movement.

ISKCON members know the story well: After an arduous journey by ship, landing first in Boston harbor and then in New York, Prabhupada emerged in the Western world, bringing centuries of tradition and the precious gem of Vedic knowledge for all who would have it. He was required by law to meet and stay with his sponsors, Mathura Prasad’s son Gopal and daughter-in-law Sally. The Agarwals held the legal documents enabling Prabhupada to enter America. They offered him their home in Butler, Pennsylvania, as his first foreign sanctuary.

It was 1965, and the couple was in their mid-30s, married only six years earlier. Sally, a Caucasian Methodist born in Pittsburgh, was just getting to know her husband’s Indian culture. She was excited that a real-life swami would be staying in their home.

As Sally tells it, the Agarwals received Prabhupada’s initial letter in early September, and he included a picture so that they might recognize him when he arrived.

“Using this picture,” relates Sally, “my husband met him in Pittsburgh, since he was coming in on the Greyhound bus from New York City. Gopal had worked it out with Traveler’s Aid to get him to Pennsylvania. So we met him. It was about midnight when they reached Bulter, and, poor fellow, he was tired from his constant journeying, and the only place we could set up for him was our couch.”

There wasn’t much of an alternative. The Agarwal residence, a small townhouse apartment, consisted of few rooms, with two upstairs bedrooms occupied by the two children, Kamla Kumari (their three-year-old daughter) and Brij Kumar (their newborn son). After Prabhupada left, the couple had two more children, Indu and Maya, born in 1969 and in 1971, respectively.

Since the Agarwal apartment had so little space—and because they didn’t want Prabhupada confined to their couch, night after night—they decided it would be better if he stayed at the YMCA, spending morning, noon, and evening with them until he was ready to call it a day. This was the Butler Cubs Club on South McKean Street, just a few blocks from the Agarwal home.

In a recent conversation with Sally, she told me about those first few weeks with Prabhupada:

He was so gentle, accommodating, and kind. I felt like he was Gopal’s father—a grandfather around the house, if you know what I mean. He played with Kamla and Brij. He just loved children, even when Brij teethed on his sandals! He just laughed and had a good sense of humor about everything. Sometimes he would tell us of his mission, but he always respected my Methodist background, never trying to convert me or to push his beliefs on us. He wasn’t talking about starting a movement or anything like that. But he was serious about distributing his books. He had brought them from India, and he saw his life’s mission as bringing this profound knowledge to the West, to reveal what he knew in the English language. We came to love his sincerity, his knowledge, and his warmth. I cried when he had to leave Butler.

Sally loves to mention, too, that her baby daughter may have been the first in the West to detect Prabhupada’s holiness: “Once, my three-year-old, Kamla, seeing Swamiji in the robes of a holy man, called him ‘Swami Jesus.’ He merely smiled and said, ‘And a child shall lead them.’”

A Swami in Butler

Soon after Prabhupada arrived, Sally hurried off to all the local newspapers, and shortly thereafter a feature article appeared in the Butler Eagle: “In fluent English, Devotee of Hindu Cult Explains Commission to Visit the West.” A photographer had come to the Agarwals’ apartment and had taken a picture of Srila Prabhupada standing in the living room, holding an open volume of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The caption read, “Ambassador of Bhakti-yoga.”

The article began:

A slight brown man in faded orange drapes and wearing white bathing shoes stepped out of a compact car yesterday and into the Butler YMCA to attend a meeting. He is A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swamiji, a messenger from India to the peoples of the West.

The article quoted Prabhupada as follows:

“My mission is to revive a people’s God consciousness,” says the Swamiji. “God is the Father of all living beings, in thousands of different forms,” he explains. “Human life is a stage of perfection in evolution; if we miss the message, back we go through the process again. …” If Americans would give more attention to their spiritual life, they would be much happier, he says.

At Prabhupada’s request, Gopal held a kind of open house in his apartment every night from six to nine. The family would invite friends and neighbors to hear “the Swami” talk about exotic India, and about Vedic philosophy and mysticism. The Agarwals knew many intellectuals, and people came from neighboring towns just to hear him speak.

Lecturing to large groups was clearly among his many talents. But this was only his formal persona. The Agarwals saw another side, too, one that was quaint and friendly, down-home and endearing. For example, Gopal tells the story of how Prabhupada would cook lunch for them daily, demonstrating how to prepare meals in authentic Vaishnava style.

He had the curiosity and wonder of a child, too, says Sally: “He was fascinated by laundry machines, by washers and dryers, and the frozen vegetables in the freezer. Apparently, these were not common things in India, and he talked about them for hours and hours. He always talked about modern developments and how they could be used in God’s service.”

At times, Prabhupada’s presence in the Agarwal home led to minor challenges. Sally tells the story of when he washed his clothes in their upstairs bathroom:

“Oh man! I didn’t know it at the time, but he washed his two simple cloths every night. You see, he only owned two monk garments at the time, and every day he’d wash them. He would be busy in the bathroom sink upstairs, drenching the bathroom floor for the longest time—slop, slop, slop. Gopal had to go up there one day and explain to him that you can’t do that in America, you have to be careful with water. In India the floors are cement, mud, or clay, and so it doesn’t matter if you slop it up. But in our country, when the bathroom is on the second floor, it definitely matters! And then he spread his outfit, his two pieces of cloth, on the grass just outside our apartment complex, which was quite a sight in our local neighborhood.”

Still, Sally and Gopal deeply appreciated his presence in their home, and, increasingly, so did many others in the Butler community.

Sally reminisces in the Lilamrita about her own pleasant interactions with him:

He was the easiest guest I have had in my life, because when I couldn’t spend time with him he chanted, and I knew he was perfectly happy. When I couldn’t talk to him, he chanted. He was so easy, though, because I knew he was never bored. I never felt any pressure or tension about having him. He was so easy that when I had to take care of the children he would just chant. It was so great. When I had to do things, he would just be happy chanting. He was a very good guest. When the people would come, they were always smoking cigarettes, but he would say, “Pay no attention. Think nothing of it.” That’s what he said. “Think nothing of it.” Because he knew we were different. I didn’t smoke in front of him. I knew I wasn’t supposed to smoke in front of Gopal’s father, so I sort of considered him the same. He didn’t make any problems for anybody.

The First Preaching in the West

Prabhupada spoke to various groups in the Butler community, including the Lions Club, where he received a formal document proclaiming “Be it known that A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami was a guest at the Lions Club of Butler, Pa., and as an expression of appreciation for services rendered, the Club tenders this acknowledgment.”

He also gave a talk at the YMCA and at St. Fidelis Seminary College in nearby Herman.

Professor Allen Larsen, then chairman of the philosophy department at Slippery Rock State College, also invited Prabhupada to lecture. A hundred students from three of his classes came to hear. Prabhupada appeared before them with his distinct otherworldly glow and full sannyasi garb—an uncommon sight in the West, and even more uncommon in Butler. He sat down and chanted the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Then he stood and spoke—a formal but basic lecture on Krishna consciousness—and answered questions from the audience.

Professor Larsen remembers that the program lasted about an hour and forty-five minutes. At the celebration in Butler last year, he recalled:

When I first met him, he told me he had come to the U.S.A. to translate the Vedic scriptures, and as far as I knew that was his only aim of being here. We had tried to talk on the campus. It was a nice day, and he drew up his legs under him and sat in what you call a lotus position. He remarked that trees should be nut and fruit trees. They weren’t—they were just flowering trees, just for show, and I certainly agreed with that.

During our lapses in conversation he would use his prayer beads and recite a Krishna prayer which was hardly audible to me. Although I’ve forgotten many of the details of his talk, it was clear to me that he was a holy man. This just radiated out of his being. It was primarily his composure, his peacefulness, that led me to that conclusion. I had no idea that this quiet man would become a leader of a significant religious movement here and abroad. After all these years, that impression of a holy man has stayed with me.

The lectures in Pennsylvania were a testing ground, Prabhupada’s first indications of how his message would be received in America. The reception was promising. Sally and her husband encouraged him to repeat this formula elsewhere, and Professor Larsen expressed deep satisfaction with having hosted a genuine Indian sadhu.

The Movement Expands

After a month, Prabhupada left Sally and Gopal’s little hamlet, and the seeds of his mission had been sown. While there, he gained experience with American audiences. He saw that people were interested in his books and message, and also that he could endear himself to foreign people. Sally, especially, “came to love the Swami,” as she puts it.

In New York he struggled for almost six months, subjected to a bitterly cold New York winter, the theft of his simple belongings, and the abuse of a drug-crazed roommate. Yet his determination to bring about a spiritual revolution would soon bear fruit.

All the while he kept in touch with Sally and Gopal by letter. Especially Sally, since she was the more gregarious of the two, always ready to engage in conversation and personal exchange. Prabhupada’s correspondence with Sally is a matter of public record, and it is heartening to see his concern for her in those letters.

In May of 1966, Srila Prabhupada, with the help of just two followers, rented a storefront in New York’s Lower East Side, previously a novelty shop with the name “Matchless Gifts.” Early visitors to Srila Prabhupada’s new center were struck by the prophetic name. In July of 1966, he incorporated his institution, ISKCON.

Prabhupada always kept in touch with Sally. In fact, Sally notes that the “celebrity” of being one of Prabhupada’s first contacts in the West is downright fun.

“Our time with Swami broadened my mind a lot,” she says, “because I’m open to that kind of thing. I mean, it’s been a lot of fun. Maya, my daughter, was in the Dallas airport a couple of years ago when she was approached by a Hare Krishna selling the books, asking for a donation. And of course she said that she was Sally Agarwal’s daughter—you could imagine that devotee’s response. There was another occasion: One day Maya and I were in Madrid and there was a Hare Krishna group chanting right near us. But this time, we didn’t tell them who we were—we didn’t want all the commotion. But it’s been fun; it’s been a lot of fun.”

As influential advertising mogul Bruce Barton famously said, “Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think that there are no little things.” Mathura Prasad’s pious gesture to Krishna’s most important representative, and the kindness that both Gopal and Sally subsequently showed him in Butler, are certainly not “little things.” Indeed, the consequences of these gracious acts proved to be monumental.

Audio file of Sally Agarwal giving her memories of Srila Prabhupada’s first steps on American soil.Listen, Download

Gopal and Sally discuss Srila Prabhupada’s fascination with frozen foods and other sweet memories.Listen, Download

Hare Krishna, John Herbison embarks on a year long pilgrimage around New Zealand.

By John Bisset

When John Herbison said goodbye to his wife before setting off on a walk, he didn’t say “I’ll see you later”, it was “I’ll be back in about a year”.

The devout Hare Krishna of 30 years has set out on a pilgrimage to mark the 50th anniversary of the Hare Krishna Society’s arrival in the western world.

He left Christchurch 10 days ago with a stroppy horse named Samson and a restored 100-year-old wagon, intent on travelling the length of New Zealand.

Yasoda Dulal with his horse Samson.

The first leg of his spiritual journey will see him walk from Christchurch to Bluff via Queenstown, and then from Bluff to Cape Reinga. His journey will end in Auckland next July as a finale of the 50-year celebrations.

Also known by his religious name of Yasoda Dulal , Herbison visited Timaru 25 years ago during a three-year expedition around New Zealand, walking with oxen. The trip was co-ordinated with followers throughout 100 countries and has inspired him to celebrate that feat as part of next year’s festivities.

Waitaki Valley born and bred, Herbison has always enjoyed a challenge. He has worked as a mountain guide and was involved with search and rescue at Mt Cook in the 1980s before getting married and joining the Krishna group.

Travelling with just the bare essentials, Herbison believes in living a simple, but ‘high-thinking’ life.

He relies on the generosity of others for food and shelter while on his journey. The vegetarian spent the last two nights camped in a paddock at Fairlie. He cooks on an open fire and uses a camp oven to make bread.

“I sleep wherever I can. Sometimes it might be under a tree, sometimes it may be in a hay barn,” he said. “I also use a roll-out Australian swag made of canvas that keeps the frost off me.”

Samson has a bit of an attitude and has been known to wreck wagons. The trip was nearly thwarted when he pulled the two hardwood shafts from the cart soon after leaving Christchurch.

Herbison’s wander involves meeting Kiwi people in remote places, rekindling the simpler and slower way of life that our pioneers shared.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/71350906/hare-krishna-yasoda-dulal-embarks-on-a-years-pilgrimage