He once said. ‘We must go there and build it in a new way with Krishna consciousness.’ With supreme faith in the orders of his Gurudeva, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Prabhupada began his building of the world in a new way” by introducing the harinama sankirtan of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in what he thought to be the most important city in the world, New York City. In October of 1965 Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York City. He began preaching to the well-to-do in the Upper West Side of Manhattan but was not very satisfied with the response.

There seemed to be some intellectual interest among those attending his classes but they would not dramatically change their lives in pursuit of the absolute truth. It was almost exactly one year after this, that Srila Prabhupada took his first harinama sankirtan to Washington Square Park and then to Tompkins Square Park on the Lower East Side of Manhattan after securing a store front at 26 Second Avenue in August of the same year. Here he began to meet with great success preaching mostly to young hippies and radical, anti-establishment youths. These young men and women were sincere seekers of the truth and were willing to throw off their old lives and devote themselves to a life of Krishna consciousness.

This was like a new beginning for Srila Prabhupada’s preaching and it was so well received that within eleven years he opened over a hundred temples all over the world. We often hear devotees speak of Srila Prabhupada’s preaching work as if it were an overnight success. As if one day he decided to go to America and then, joined by thousands upon thousands of disciples, opened temples all over the world. This idea is often followed by the subtle or not so subtle implication that this is the sole qualification of an acharya and anyone falling short of performing such a miracle may be a venerable Vaishnava, but is tainted in some way. Both ideas betray a shallow understanding of Krishna consciousness. The first idea would have us think that the real devotees of Krishna, the pure devotees, do not undergo any difficulties. Like the proverbial rich child born with a silver spoon in his mouth who floats through life with no cares or responsibilities.

There may be some instance of this, but generally we find the lives of great devotees defined by their unswerving faith and devotion in the face of great adversity. Shall we think of Srila Raghunatha das, Srila Hari das Thakura, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta or our own Srila Prabhupada as men of leisure who walked on flower petals thrown from the sky? Or, shall we see their lives for what they were, great examples of renunciation, tolerance, sacrifice, and dedication to the service of Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga? It is true that a wondrous miracle occurred during the eleven years of Srila Prabhupada’s preaching from 1966, when he established his first temple on 26 Second Avenue in New York City, to his disappearance in 1977 after opening temples in almost every important city in the world. However, Srila Prabhupada’s life was not lived in eleven years. He appeared in this world in 1896, first met Srila Bhakti Siddhanta in 1922, took initiation in 1932, started the League of Devotees in 1953, took sannyasa in 1959 and left for America in 1965. During Srila Prabhupada’s 81 years in this world 69 were spent doing something other than preaching in the West. Sripad Satsvarupa Maharaja in the title to one of his books on Srila Prabhupada’s life referred to those years as a Lifetime in Preparation Such a description is a far cry from a life of leisure.

Certainly from the time of his initiation, if not before, Srila Prabhupada’s life might best be characterized as a struggle. He struggled to serve the mission of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta while maintaining a precarious business and a difficult family life. In 1935 he wrote to one of his servants, "I have lost about 10,000 rupees and the good will has also been affected and my enemies have increased. That is why I am fighting, practically staking my whole life. I am staying here all alone in the middle of so many difficulties". He struggled to publish and translate Back to Godhead, Bhagavad Gita, and Srimad Bhagavatam. He struggled to get to America. Even after arriving in America he faced tremendous disappointments. So much so that he would sometimes walk to the docks and wonder if he should book passage on the next ship back to India. After opening many temples and initiating hundreds of disciples Srila Prabhupada struggled to maintain and expand the society he had created.

He had to personally intervene when his disciples, in contradiction to his instructions, jeopardized deposit money meant for purchasing a new building in New York. He had to intervene when some of his Godbrothers tried to steal his disciples. In Bombay one of his most important projects in India was almost lost when the previous owner of the land tried to take it back both by treachery and by force. Srila Prabhupada himself said preaching means "a fight". This was not a theory but a personal experience. To an outsider his preaching life may have looked easy, but that is only because he was so expert that he made it appear that way. Srila Prabhupada’s success in spreading Krishna consciousness was a miracle of faith and devotion, but it would be a mistake to think that such preaching success is the only means of determining a Vaishnava’s qualification. Srila Prabhupada’s preaching success did not become manifest until after the age of 69.

When Srila Prabhupada left India it was practically on the heels of failure. He had initiated one disciple, started and abandoned the League of Devotees, had no temples, and although he had translated and printed some books, practically none of them had been distributed. If we should then conclude that he must have been a devotee of lower standard it would not only be wrong, it would be an offense. Vaishnavera kriya mudra, it is very difficult to understand the activities and symptoms of a Vaishnava. yanra citte krihsna-prema karaye udaya, tanra vakya, kriya, mudra vijneha na bujhaya Even the most learned man cannot understand the words, activities and symptoms of a person situated in love of Godhead. (CcM.23.39) In the Upadeshamrta Srila Prabhupada writes, "One is forbidden to observe the activities of a pure Vaishnava from a material point of view". For the neophyte especially, considering a pure devotee from a material point of view is very injurious. One should therefore avoid observing a pure devotee externally, but should try to see the internal features and understand how he is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. This is the criteria by which we have come to understand the exalted position of such devotees as Srila Haridas Thakura our namacharya, Srila Gaurakishora Das Babaji Maharaja, the guru of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, and all the great devotees of the Lord.

This same criteria should be applied in understanding any pure devotee. We are cautioned not to look too closely at the previous life of a devotee as we may be misled by our tendency to see it with a mundane view leading us into the minefield of Vaishnava aparadha where any step may bring disaster. The pure devotees of the Lord should always be seen as nitya siddha bhaktas, that is they are eternally perfect devotees. Although their external appearance may show something of ordinary character, even of lower character such as being born in a low class family, we should never see a devotee in terms of his birth or other material distinctions. Srila Haridas Thakur was born in a family of Mohammadans and as such he always considered himself as abominable, so much so that he would not even go near the temple of Lord Jagganatha, what to speak of entering the temple. As for his preaching we hear very little of it discussed and therefore might conclude it was not very extensive.

We do not hear that he established many temples, printed or distributed many books or even made many disciples. Still he was considered a devotee of such exalted qualities and characteristics that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu praised him extensively. Srila Haridas Thakura has given us the definitive treatise on the glories of the holy name, offenses to the holy name and nama bhasa. Referring to Srila Haridas Thakura Srila Sanatana Goswami said, "apane acare keha, na kare pracara, pracara karena keha, na karena acara, Some behave very well but do not preach the cult of Krishna consciousness, whereas others preach but do not behave properly. acara, ‘pracara’,namera karaha ‘dui’ karya. You simultaneously perform both duties in relation to the holy name by your personal behavior and by your preaching. And tumisarva-guru, tumi jagatera arya Therefore you are the spiritual master of the entire world, for you are the most advanced devotee in the world". Srila Haridas Thakura certainly was a great preacher as evidenced by his potency to convert the two women who came to entice him into pure devotees. In another instance while visiting the home of Balarama Acharya in Chandapura, Haridas Thakura was asked to speak about the glories of the Holy Name in an assembly of learned scholars. There he defeated the learned brahman Gopala Cakravarti who could not accept that just a glimpse of the holy name (nama bhasa) could grant liberation. While these incidents are well known, we have not heard of Haridas Thakura organizing a massive preaching campaign.

Yet, Srila Sanatana Goswami referred to him as sarva guru the guru of everyone and jagatera arya the most advanced devotee within this world We should therefore try to understand a devotee’s position according to his shradha or faith in Krishna. Furthermore, in looking on the lives of great devotees we should be very careful not to make the mistake of analyzing them as higher and lower. In Chaitanya Charitamrta Srila Krishna das Kaviraj writes "caitanya-gosanira yata parishada-caya Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had many many associates. guru-laghu-bhava tanra na haya nishcaya But, none of them should be considered as higher or lower". This cannot be ascertained. Even the great devotees in the line of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu could not distinguish between the greater and the lesser. yata yata mahanta kaila tan-sabara ganana keha karibare nare jyeshtha-laghu-krama. Then what to speak of ourselves, we should be extremely cautious about forming opinions or making statements regarding the superiority of one devotee over another, especially if they are amongst the rank of our Gurudeva. Although Srila Prabhupada spoke very critically of many of his own Godbrothers he warned us that we should regard the Godbrothers of the spiritual master almost equally with our own spiritual master. If our own preaching is to be successful we must be particularly careful to avoid offenses to the holy name.

The first and most dangerous is Vaishnava ninda or offending the devotees of the Lord. The devotees are the carriers and guardians of the Lord’s holy name. If we offend them the holy name will be displeased and He will not come to us or He may leave us. To understand how Srila Prabhupada went about giving the world a new shape through Krsna consciousness may not be possible for us. He is a pure devotee of the Lord and, more than that, specially empowered for his preaching role as a shaktya-avesha avatara.

He was chosen by Mahaprabhu, or Sri Nityananda Prabhu, for this purpose, as Arjuna was chosen for his role in fighting with the Kurus and inspiring Krishna to speak the Bhagavad Gita. We cannot begin to understand the mind or activities of such a great soul, however, acknowledging our own shortcomings, we can look at his instructions and activities with a view to try and follow them. If we look at the steps Srila Prabhupada took in creating, establishing and expanding his mission we see that it began the first time he met Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati in 1922. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta then asked Srila Prabhupada "Why don’t you preach Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s message throughout the whole world?" He associated with the disciples of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta and helped them as much as possible. Around 1933 he moved to Bombay and, after a chance meeting with Srila Sridhara Maharaja and Sripad Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaja, began helping them to establish a Bombay Gaudiya Math.

Srila Sridhara Maharaja was in charge of the math and was being assisted by his Godbrother Goswami Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada would introduce them to his business acquaintances and arrange programs for them. Srila Prabhupada would introduce his Godbrothers to the guests. Srila Sridhara Maharaja would speak and Sripad Goswami Maharaja who was very expert at collecting funds would canvass the guests. Celebrating Srila Bhakti Siddhanta's appearance at the Bombay Gaudiya Math in 1935, Srila Prabhupada wrote a poem and delivered a speech in English glorifying his Gurudeva. The poem titled Shree Vyasa Puja Homage became his first published work and appeared in the Gaudiya Math’s magazine "The Harmonist". One stanza of the poem in particular impressed Srila Bhakti Siddhanta. "Absolute is sentient Thou hast proved, Impersonal calamity Thou hast moved". Srila Bhakti Siddhanta saw this as evidence that Srila Prabhupada understood his thinking perfectly and was so pleased with it that he began showing it to all of his guests.

One of Srila Prabhupada’s Godbrothers compared this verse to the verse of Srila Rupa Goswami "priyah so yam krishna" that caused Mahaprabhu to express His wonderment that Sri Rupa could know his innermost thoughts. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta was so impressed with Srila Prabhupada’s speech that he showed it to some of his most confidential devotees and instructed the editor of The Harmonist, "Whatever he writes, publish it". Srila Bhakti Siddhanta disappeared in 1937 and turmoil broke out in the Gaudiya Math. Not long afterward, around 1938, Srila Prabhupada returned to Calcutta. At about the same time Srila Sridhara Maharaja went to Navadwip after living for some time in Vrndavan. At first he lived in a rented house and sometimes stayed with his Godbrothers. By 1942 Srila Sridhara Maharaja, with the Govardhana Shila he brought from Vrndavan, moved into a thatched cottage he had constructed on the property where the current math is located. This was the beginning of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and it was around this time that he composed the verse "srimac-caitanya-sarasvata-mathavara, On the banks of the Ganges in Koladwipa, Navadwipa, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math stands resplendent. The flag flies high, singing its glories around the world. There the residents chant the glories of Lord Gauranga and aspire to serve Sri Sri Radha Govinda in the line of Sri Rupa".

Soon after this Srila Govinda Maharaja, at that time Sri Gaurendu Brahmacari, joined Srila Sridhara Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada had two buildings next to each other in Calcutta, one that he used for his family house and office, and the other for his chemical factory. Srila Sridhara Maharaja wanted to preach in Calcutta and, after hearing that Srila Prabhupada was there it was arranged that he would use the rooms above the chemical factory as an ashram. Srila Sridhara Maharaja used this ashram as a base for his preaching in Calcutta for many years and even hung a sign out front: Devananda Saraswati Math. Srila Prabhupada continued to help Srila Sridhara Maharaja by arranging for meetings and programs as he had done in Bombay. At times when Srila Sridhara Maharaja was ill Srila Prabhupada would lead the programs.

In 1944 Srila Prabhupada began publishing Back to Godhead magazine in English and would go out himself to distribute it but, due to lack of funds, there were many times he would not be able to print an issue. Srila Govinda Maharaja best describes the times when Srila Prabhupada was living at 6 Sita Kanta Bannerjee Lane in Calcutta: “He was always trying to preach to others in order to break their egoistic mentalities and bring them to Krishna consciousness. At that time I was surprised that a householder with little money was doing what the sannyasis and brahmacaris were not...Whenever he would write something, a letter, a pamphlet, a book, he would show it to Srila Guru Maharaja and myself. In 1944 he published a magazine called Back to Godhead but their was no one there to distribute it. So all the copies remained in his office. At that time, Srila Guru Maharaja and I were living in the same house with him. I had just joined the movement, so he asked me, ‘Gaurendu, can you distribute these magazines?’: And I replied, ‘Yes, I can distribute them.’

Srila Guru Maharaja gave me the order that I should learn Srimad Bhagavad Gita in the mornings from Srila Swami Maharaja. So I studied Bhagavad Gita with Srila Swami Maharaja. At that time I was only distributing three books. One was Srila Guru Maharaja’s Sri Prappanajivanamrtam. But when I got the Back to Godheads, which were published in English, I felt very proud that I, an illiterate village boy, should get the opportunity to distribute an English magazine. When I went door to door, if anyone would give me four paisa, then I would give them a Back to Godhead. In this way, the first Back to Godhead distribution program started.... I have gotten the inspiration to preach from Srila Swami Maharaja. His enthusiasm and dedication in the preaching field I have seen. Nobody could understand that when he was a householder his future was to be a grand guru of the whole world. Only Srila Guru Maharaja was encouraging him in this way.... [for his business] He invented and marketed many different medicines. But when the customers came, he would preach Krishna consciousness instead of doing business. Many of the customers left thinking. ‘What business does he really want to do?’ He was always preaching Krishna consciousness. His nature was very strong and he was very fearless. People like Gandhi and Nehru were at the very top of society in India but he did not care. He is teaching them. They are not accepting his teaching, but he doesn’t care. Again and again he is pushing Krishna consciousness, hammering Krishna consciousness into them. Thus, he became a failure in every way in his business life. Seeing this, his sister, Pishima, told him. ‘Brother, it is not your life, this business life. You go and preach Krishna consciousness . That is your life.’... When Srila Guru Maharaja and I were living in Srila Swami Maharaja’s house in Calcutta, I remember them staying up every night until 2:00 in the morning. Srila Swami Maharaja always wanted to discuss the wrongness of mayavada and sahajiyavada. The talks between Srila Swami Maharaja and Srila Guru Maharaja were very high and always many scriptural references were cited. For the 12 years we lived with Srila Swami Maharaja these discussions occurred every day. He would leave his business, he would leave his family, he would leave everything just to sit with Srila Guru Maharaja from 9:00 in the evening until the wee hours of the morning".

As time and money allowed Srila Prabhupada continued to publish Back to Godhead and translated Bhagavad Gita into English. He was always preaching even in defiance of his wife’s wishes and the interest of his business. In 1954 he left his family giving him full opportunity to carry out his ambition for preaching. He did a great deal of writing even though much of it would not be published. In 1959 he accepted sannyasa and in 1962 began working on his English translation of Srimad Bhagavatam. By 1965 he managed to translate and print the first three volumes of Srimad Bhagavatam and, after securing passage on the cargo ship Jaladuta, was ready to leave for America. After visiting the samadhi mandir of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur he made his departure.

After arriving in America Srila Prabhupada tried to establish a temple but could not acquire the funds to obtain a building. While making this attempt he preached to whomever he met and gave classes and led kirtan at programs he conducted from the apartments where he lived. Finally when there was enough support, he moved to 26 Second Avenue where he had his own apartment and a storefront that could be devoted solely to his preaching programs. Now he had a real base from which to operate, he had initiated disciples, and he incorporated the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Now his mission, although still somewhat tenuous, was established in the West. It was from here that he began taking his kirtan parties out to the public. Sometimes we hear a type of criticism from some gentlemen who seem to think that we may not be a proper preaching mission or, that they cannot be enthusiastic to serve our mission because we do not have a proper temple, large Deities, many books, or many devotees. I hope that the histories presented here may help them to understand how a preaching mission begins. Srila Sridhara Maharaja’s mission began with him and perhaps one other devotee in a one room thatched cottage worshipping Govardhana Shila. Srila Prabhupada began alone in a one room office with no bathroom or kitchen, only a trunk and three volumes of his Srimad Bhagavatam. Anyone so shortsighted as to maintain the above criticisms would have been unable to join the early missions of Srila Prabhupada or Srila Sridhara Maharaja seeing their supposed shortcomings.

It is ironic, however that these same persons think themselves to be devout followers of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Sridhara Maharaja. Srila Sridhara Maharaja once said we did not join for the grandeur of the math but for the ideal. We should always remember these words. Of course we cannot deny that we have our shortcomings but they are different from those pointed out above by the erroneous fault finding arrogant egoism of certain gentleman. We may be lacking as individuals in our dedication or our genuineness but it should always be remembered that we are operating with the full faith and credit of our divine guardians who are the ultimate proprietors and guides of our mission. It is they whom we are serving and those that choose not to serve commit the grave error that Srila Sridhara Maharaja once described as "suspicion leading to suspension". In other words Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math is itself an arm of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s preaching mission. Any doubt or suspicion that hinders our service to this mission will certainly interrupt our spiritual progress. This matter may be best explained by the Bhagavatam verse "tad vag visargo janatagha viplavo" (We may have many shortcomings in our presentation of the Absolute Truth yet those who are honest and pure of heart cannot help but appreciate our attempt). In reviewing Srila Prabhupada’s preaching activities I am encouraged, seeing that our attempts bear some likeness to his. We have begun in a very small and humble way, as he did, but gradually we are introducing all the same elements and in more or less the same order.

By the mercy of many devotees we have books and magazines for broadcasting the message of our mission. By the goodwill of our members we are holding programs regularly in their apartments in New York City. By the grace of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga we have our own math, although small, as a shelter for the devotees and regular worship of our Deities Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharvika Giridharijiu. Now almost exactly thirty years after Srila Prabhupada’s first kirtan sorties to Thompkins Square Park, we have added a weekly program of harinama sankirtan to our other preaching activities in New York. This simple program inaugurated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is known as the yuga dharma or the religious practice specified for this age of kali yuga. We are told in Srimad Bhagavatam “krishna-varnam tvishakrishnam, sangopangastra-parshadam, yajnaih sankirtana-prayair, yajanti hi su-medhasa”. This is a famous verse and all of us know its meaning “In this age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of the Lord who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions".

We are accustomed to following this injunction by having regular sankirtan in our temples and at our preaching programs and this is no doubt pleasing the Lord and his devotees. Usually we think of sankirtan simply as congregational chanting, but Srila Sridhara Maharaja has given us a more extensive explanation of the derivation of sankirtan as samyak and kirtan. Samyak means full and kirtan of course means to chant, but samyak means full in both quality and quantity. In this instance we should not just be concerned with increasing the quality of our chanting, pure glorification free from nama aparadha and nama bhasa, but also the quantity of those who chant. In other words we should not just think of congregational chanting like the members of a church joining together in song, but full congregational chanting, meaning everyone chanting, the whole world chanting. This is the real goal of our preaching effort, and what is preaching? It is the second component of sankirtan. Srila Sridhara Maharaja told us kirtan means preaching, shravanam, kirtanam. Kirtan does not simply mean loudly chanting, but preaching. And preaching means there must be a fight with the opposition party. Kirtan means a fight. Kirtan creates the divine vibration which will fight with all the ordinary vibrations that are floating in this world in subtle and gross waves. Later he stressed the point even further So, preaching (sankirtan), and not counting beads (japa), is the real service of Krishna.

And what should be the core principle underlying our preaching effort? That is given in Srimad Bhagavatam. "dharmah projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam" (Completely rejecting all dharma (religion) which is tainted with some selfish interest, we must present only the parama dharma, the highest spiritual truth). Srila Bhakti Siddhanta characterized this preaching spirit in this way Gaudiya Math has declared totalitarian war against maya, illusion, and even all other existing conceptions of religion. So, our preaching must be with full faith that nothing short of the absolute truth will bring relief from material life.

The third component of sankirtan is book distribution. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur stressed the publication and distribution of Vaishnava literature so much that he named it brhad mrdanga, the greater mrdanga. When this mrdanga is beaten it may be heard not just for a few feet or so, but it’s sound may be heard around the world. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta established his own press to print books, magazines, and newspapers, and encouraged all his disciples to contribute to this effort. We know how much Srila Prabhupada stressed book distribution and how joyous Srila Sridhara Maharaja was to see his books printed and distributed. Srila Govinda Maharaja is also pushing us to print and distribute books and other literature as one of the most important elements of our relief work.

When a book is given to someone it may then go to another person, and another. It may be given to someone in one city and carried to another, even state to state, and country to country thereby increasing our preaching capacity many fold. We often receive phone calls, letters, and visits from people who have received a book and, after reading it, become inquisitive about devotional life. We feel excitement and joy seeing their hearts awakened to Krishna consciousness. This, in turn, enlivens us to print and distribute more books and the cycle continues. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta’s idea for spreading Krishna consciousness was that it should be so thorough and complete that there should be nowhere where maya should be allowed to stand. Srila Sridhara Maharaja expressed the idea, This world-wide grand mission that will thrive like anything. It will touch the heaven and cover the world and other planets also. And, on another occasion he spoke, the numbers of soldiers should be increased. Just as now they are doing. The military expenses are increasing day after day, year after year. They are increasing the military expense to fight with the opposition. So the need of spiritual soldiers are wanted, so that from village to village everyone, in every place should be hunted and approached. ‘Take the name of Krishna! And come under the flag of Mahaprabhu and Swami Maharaja!’ So let us go to every man in every village and approach them.

This is life and this will show the vitality of the mission. This is our understanding of the meaning of sankirtan. Srila Prabhupada gave a new shape to the earth and new hope to the conditioned souls by spreading the sankirtan movement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. At first by his own preaching, then enlisting his disciples to preach and take his sankirtan party to the public, and finally by distributing books and magazines on a scale never before seen. It began in New York City and then enveloped the globe. Change occurred, but the transformation is far from complete. Now our Gurudeva is looking to us. It is the duty, right, and privilege of each of us to continue the work which has already begun. In a letter to the devotees of Santa Cruz Sripad Janardan Maharaja expressed the point in an extraordinary way:

"Our mission is vital and necessary for everyone. It is especially my personal vision that Srila Prabhupada himself is looking towards this mission, because it is our personal realization that both Srila Prabhupada’s preaching, as well as the line of Srila Guru Maharaja, find their living presence in the missionary work of Srila Govinda Maharaja. That is not to say that nobody else is preaching. But we look towards the mission of Srila Govinda Maharaja with singular hope, and want to dedicate our life force there with the feeling that it is a small and necessary contribution on our part. Following in the footsteps of our great guru varga let us pray that we may assist them in their mission to build the world in a new way. To give it a new shape in the form of Krishna bhakti".