According to the lunar calendar, today is the most auspicious 54th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s departure for the United States of America.
On the 13th of August, 1965, just a few days before Janmastami and a few days before his sixty-ninth birthday, Srila Prabhupada boarded the cargo ship Jaladuta with only a small suitcase, an umbrella, a bag of dry cereal, some boxes of books, and a few rupees in his possession. He was about to embark on the mission that his spiritual master had given h
I will begin by reading a couple of exchanges with Srila Prabhupada about his coming to America. Once, Srila Prabhupada was asked, “Your godbrothers who came to the West went to England and Germany. Why did you choose to come to America?” And he replied, “They went and came back to India without accomplishing anything. So I thought, ‘If I am going to fail, at least let me fail in a different place.’ ”
And on a morning walk in Los Angeles, a disciple said to Prabhupada, “When you came to the Wes
Srila Prabhupada: I planned that I must go to America. Generally they go to London, but I did not want to go to London. I was simply thinking how to go to New York. I was scheming, “Whether I shall go this way, through Tokyo, Japan, or that way? Which way is cheaper?” That was my proposal. And I was targeting to New York always. Sometimes I was dreaming that I have come to New York.
Then Bhaktivedanta Swami met Mr. Agarwal, a Mathura businessman, and mentioned to him in passing, as he did to alm
By Giriraj Swami and Sri Prahlada dasa
To commemorate the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America, we shall sing and discuss the second poem that he wrote on the ship Jaladuta when he arrived in the Boston harbor on September 17, 1965.
Poem [translation]:
1: My dear Lord Krishna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me.
2: But I guess You have some business here. Otherwise, why would You brin
Yesterday on inauguration day, I thought of Srila Prabhupada’s appreciation of America. Tamal Krishna Goswami came in with Prabhupada’s green card and said, “Prabhupada, America is waiting for you. Customs is ready; immigration is ready. Everything is cleared.” Prabhupada began to cry. “I am so indebted to America,” he said. “America has given me so much. It’s given me men, money. I am so indebted.”
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Source: https://girirajswami.com/blog/?p=16880
Let us hear from HG Jagattarini Devi Dasi as she reaffirms the Purpose # 5 of ISKCON (To erect for the members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Krishna).
About Jagattarini Devi
Her Grace Jagattarini Mataji joined ISKCON and first met Srila Prabhupada in America in 1970 (many of you may have heard of this famous story of a successful actress becoming a devotee). Through her connections with the Movement, Jagattarini met her husband
Culture are subtle forces or activities which condition or influence how individuals think and behave in every facet of their life; culture largely depends on a country’s or group’s conviction and purpose for existence (belief system); ones convictions are largely formed by knowledge or education (ideas or wisdom); therefore, we can conclude that knowledge and education changes culture, which then ultimately translates to changing individuals behavior and thus their destiny. In Bhārata-varṣa, I
