The Inspiration

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a saint like no other.

At the age of 69, homeless, penniless and alone, he arrived in the Lower East Side of New York in search of ‘better opportunities’ to share his message. This was Skid row; the lowest of the low. Here he lived, worshiped, studied and taught. Every evening, his latest residence, the rat-ridden 94 Bowery, would fill up with buzzing acidheads, bearded bohemians, ruined alcoholics and disillusioned dropouts. Sex, music, LSD, and consciousness expansion; that’s what made them tick. The Swami would nonchalantly step into the makeshift ‘temple’ and take his seat at the front, face-to-face with these confused souls who were looking for real love, real happiness and real spiritual experience. The Swami, however, was unfazed; his face exuding bottomless depth and boundless compassion. In short, straight, simple philosophical discourses, he taught them eternal truths with resounding impact. When he sang in unsophisticated tunes with a bongo drum, their heads would spin, and their hearts were conquered. His tremendous devotion empowered his urgent message to penetrate the depths of their consciousness. He effortlessly smashed layers of illusion, unrelentingly exposing the fallacy of all materialistic ideology.

From these humble beginnings, Prabhupada went on to found the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and in a few short years made “Hare Krishna” a household name. No amount of social commentary, historical analysis or academic conjecture can account for his incredible achievements. Prabhupada’s life is tangible proof of a spiritual miracle.

Thank you to Srila Prabhupada. From morning to night, day after day, in every imaginable forum, he was teaching, writing, leading, managing, encouraging, problem-solving; using every last bit of energy to spark a spiritual revolution through Srimad-Bhagavatam. His life is a constant challenge to delve deeper, think bigger and extend further.