Kripasindhu Dasa (Rick Holtzman), a disciple of ISKCON Founder-Acharya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and an early pioneer of Krishna consciousness in Canada, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at approximately 2 a.m. EDT. He was 76. Over more than five decades, his devotional service included distributing books, leading temples, establishing Krishna consciousness centers, and cooking for devotees in both Canada and the United States. Much of his early history is preserved in an autobiographical account he prepared for Bhaktimarga Swami’s forthcoming project, Krishna in the Maple Leaf – The Pioneers of ISKCON Canada from ’67–’77, which provides a personal record of his experiences during ISKCON’s formative years.
Born December 17, 1949, in Brooklyn, New York, Holtzman grew up in a working-class family. His father was a longshoreman, and although his parents were not particularly religious, he remembered them as kind and hardworking. Growing up in Brooklyn, he became increasingly aware of the suffering around him, an observation that would later shape his spiritual search. In the late 1960s, amid the Vietnam War, he moved to Canada to avoid the draft. Like many young people of his generation, he began exploring Eastern philosophy, Buddhism, and alternative spiritual traditions, searching for answers to questions about suffering and the purpose of life.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/kripasindhu-dasa-early-pioneer-of-iskcon-canada-passes-away-at-76/
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