Shyamasundar Das (Sam Speerstra), one of Srila Prabhupada’s first disciples and a friend of the Beatles, recently spoke to “The Fest for Beatle Fans” convention, the oldest and largest annual Beatles gathering of its kind. This year was their 50th anniversary.
The event, held in Chicago from August 8 to 10, featured an impressive lineup of famous figures connected to the Beatles and contemporary figures who continue to be inspired by the iconic band. Syamsundar, who joined the fest on August 10th via Zoom, spoke on the topic “The Beatles and the Krishnas: The Untold Story!”
In his remarks, Shyamasundar noted, “From late 1968 onwards, the London-based Krishna people lived in the Beatles’ orbit, feeding them spiritual information that subtly shaped their worldviews and many of their greatest songs.”
Remembering their first meeting, he recalled, “It’s December 1968; we’d been in London for a couple of months, trying to survive and spread a little Hare Krishna cheer around this vast and unfamiliar city. We lived in a derelict abandoned warehouse in Covent Garden. Suddenly, some of my San Francisco friends from the Haight-Ashbury came over as a group to London, guys like Ken Kesey and Peter Coyote and Rock Scully, manager of The Grateful Dead (who had been my college roommate), Sweet William from the Hell’s Angels–. They needed a place to stay, so we put them up at our place in Covent Garden.”
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/shyamasundar-das-speaks-on-the-beatles-and-krishna-consciousness-at-longest-running-festival-for-fans/
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