If Only the Busses Were Still Running…
We were dancing so much Sukadeva, the temple president was worried about the floor caving in. What a way to go! I’d never stayed at the temple before but since it was so late I decided to do so…
My association with the Hare Krishna movement started in Seattle in 1973, in a parking lot. I was going towards my car when I was approached by a person who handed me a big Krishna Book. I was impressed by the pictures a bit but wasn’t going to ‘buy’ the book until the devotee showed me the “Words from George Harrison”. He said this is what The Beatles were into now. Since I was into the Beatles I had to have the book. I gave him $20 and he smiled broadly and handed me another book, the Sri Isopanisad.
I took the book home and later that night opened it up and checked it out. When I saw big words like ‘transcendental’ etc. I determined that it was ‘over my head’. I sat the book down by my bed where it stayed unopened for three months. I was in to the whole drug scene at the time and came home one night high on mescaline. (organic LSD) Since I was ‘high’ and couldn’t sleep I began to look at the cover of the Krsna Book. After staring for some time Krishna seemed to come alive and smile at me. I was ecstatic. I read about a third of the book that night.
The next night I was beginning to do the usual ‘partying’ with my friends when I looked around and felt unsatisfied. I couldn’t stop thinking about that Krsna Book and left to go home and read it. My friends thought I lost it. After reading the whole book I wanted to get more so I went to the temple listed and bought every book they had, about $275 worth.
I started visiting the Seattle Hare Krishna temple for the Sunday Feast. I remember when I was a new guest at the Sunday Feast in 1974. I had never seen a sanyasi before when Visnujana Swami appeared behind me as I gazed out the upstairs window. I heard this deep and loving voice, “Haribol! I’m Visnujana Swami. I’m on my way to a festival in Vancouver and am stopping by for the feast. Please accept my humble obeisances”. As I turned to look at him I noticed what an aura was. He was very bright-faced. I had never offered obeisances before and here was a swami offering obeisances to me! Talk about humility! I bowed down with him acting like I knew the prayers. He led an ecstatic kirtan [congregational chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra] and more and more devotees were showing up. He did bhajans [songs about Krishna] until about midnight at the temple. Everytime he stopped the devotees begged him to chant some more.
We were dancing so much Sukadeva, the temple president was worried about the floor caving in. What a way to go! I’d never stayed at the temple before but since it was so late I decided to do so. I laid down outside of the door where Visnujana was staying. Still excited from the experiences I couldn’t sleep. At about 2:30am Visnujana came out to go to the bathroom and noticed me laying there in semi-darkness. His eyes met mine and he said, ‘Haribol’ in his esoteric voice. I was blissed out again.
I was attending college and working at Boeing at this time. The devotees at the temple told me that I should go to San Francisco Rathayatra because Srila Prabhupada would be going. I decided to take a vacation and headed for San Francisco. When I arrived at the temple I was met at prasadam by Jayananda Prabhu. He asked if I could help out with the carts. I’d come about 10 days early. I agreed to help. I was impressed at his Krishna consciousness. He would be singing as he drove us out to the site. He was always working and feeding everyone prasadam. It was amazing and inspiring for all of us who came in contact with him.
The day for the festival arrived and it appeared as if it was going to rain. When Srila Prabhupada arrived and boarded Lady Subhadra’s cart the sky opened up and spotlighted the self-effulgent acharya. Even though I was new and didn’t know anything I knew this was special. The day before Visnujana was giving a lecture in the Armenian Hall where all of the visiting devotees were staying. Having impersonal tendencies I was staring at the Deities, Sri Sri Radha Damodara. Damodara had a blue light on Him and I was staring as Visnujana said, “Don’t think that these Deities are idols. This is Krishna.” Just then a rose fell from Damodara’s check. This really hit me. I felt He was communicating this to me and I believed it.
At the festival Srila Prabhupada had given a great short and sweet lecture. He mentioned that the whole world follows America and if we could make America Krishna conscious the whole world would follow and become like Vaikuntha. The crowd roared in ecstasy. The feast was awesome. We, some 10,000, were served out as we sat in huge rows. It was unforgettable. The next day I had packed my bags and was walking out of the hall when I was stopped by Tamal Krishna Goswami. He asked me if I would like to see Srila Prabhupada in his room saying that if I joined their party I could. I said that I was not ready to join. He made another proposal saying that if I just got the hair trimmed around my ears I would be presentable and I could see Srila Prabhupada. I agreed and was led into the bathroom by a smiling devotee, Aja. As he ‘trimmed’ I felt a few snips on top of my head and demanded to look in the miror. I was shocked to see bald spots. How could I go in public like that? I told him to just shave if off because anything would look better than that. Then I was dressed in dhoti and kopin. New bhakta [devotee] number thirteen! I was very upset and was determined to tell Srila Prabhupada about it when we arrived.
We arrived at Srila Prabhupada’s apartment and headed up to his room. We were all given a long-stemmed rose to hand to him. We were told to offer our obeisances but I didn’t even know them yet. I was very nervous as my turn approached. My anger was subsiding as I enter the room. Srila Prabhupada was sitting behind a low table gracefully with one leg up. My hand shook as I reached to hand him the rose. stepping back and offering my full dandavats I shook uncontrollably. I was now too overwhelmed to be mad now. As we all settled in and sat down Srila Prabhupada began to speak, “So your all very bright-faced and fortunate to come to Lord Chaitanya’s movement. Now that you are fortunate you should make others fortunate. Preach this message of Lord Chaitanya’s all over the world.”… Srila Prabhupada melted my heart. I decided it was Krishna’s arrangement but I wish He would of least let me move out of my apartment in Seattle first!
We boarded the bus and headed out to do a fair in Minot, North Dakota. It was ecstatic cruising down the freeway performing kirtan on the way. We were a shock at times when we stopped. The morning we arrived in Minot we pulled up behind a closed gas station to take our baths with a hose. It was about 4am. All of the sudden a truck pulls around with it’s lights on us. We froze like deer starring into the light as the truck backed up and took off. A bit later three cop cars speed to the scene after receiving a report of a UFO landing. We explained ourselves as they scratched their heads wondering if we were for real. (I guess)
We set up at the fair and it went well. We chanting until midnight and our morning program started at 7am. We would fill up the bathrooms with devotees washing their feet in the sinks etc. and shaving our heads. Needless to say it was a culture shock were some of the locals came in. Some turned right around and walked out.
As we chanted people gathered and some were so shocked that they stood there while their beer bottles dropped from their hands. We had a booth where we sold books; incense; posters and etc. making about eight hundred dollars a day. We made about seven more devotees at the fair. The program was so pure it attracted so many souls.
Where are the buses today?
[From Gauridas Pandit’s website: HARIBOL Home Page]
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I posted a comment on this page a couple weeks back in hopes of making contact with you. I realize I’m a nobody in your life, but we share a lifelong commitment to Srila Prabhupada. I too have faced much condemnation for my rigid commitment and devotion to Srila Prabhupada’s instructions over my 50 years as a devotee. Similar to you at Rathayatra 74 I assisted Jayanada for 3 days. We (my wife and I) returned to San Francisco in August and live there until January the following year with Jayananda and Triya Devi and devotees there. I have a heartfelt appreciation for my time with both Vishnujana Swami and Jayananda for their selfless devotional examples that imprinted my life with devotion to Srila Prabhupada.
I have read your articles and my heart has a deep sympathy for the mistreatment you have had to endure and I applaud your staunch commitment. I personally see you as the living authority on Srila Prabhupada’s Ritvik initiation order. I too have committed myself to this Ritvik method way back in the late 70s and was never fooled by the false appointment of diksas and still hold firm to it and assist people today as I did from day one.
There are so many things happening in the movement that are stimulating some of the devotees to question the institutional rhetoric and reconsider what Srila Prabhupada actually instructed. I have a desire to talk with you and compare notes and hopefully encourage one another to continue and expand his movement before we get too old.
There is way too much to discuss to type in an email so I won’t labor the discussion now. If you choose to contact me I would appreciate it and if not, I understand.
In closing, I’d like to offer my humble obeisances to you and thank you for your staunch devotional position and advise you I will be referring to you as the living authority on the Ritvik issue by quoting the statements in your articles. I thank you for pleasing Srila Prabhupada by your sincere service.
I assure you that I see your continued commitment and appreciate it from afar.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada and his humble servants, wherever they may be.
Advaita Das (ACBSP)
royharlow@gmail.com
Hare Krishna Advaita Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Thank you Prabhu for your service to Srila Prabhupada and your encouraging letter.
Yes. So many devotees these days are disillusioned with ISKCON. But they are old devotees, Prabhupada men. And today’s ISKCON has discarded us. Today’s ISKCON is very different from Prabhupada’s ISKCON. Today’s ISKCON is an Indian, Hindu church only. It is mundane religion, very similar to the Catholic church I grew up in. It is a congregational movement only with the Indians coming to the temple on Sundays and giving generous donations so the ‘devotees’ can live very comfortably and happily. They don’t even need to go to the temple during the week. They can just put a show on on Sundays for the Indians and Indians give them fabulous amounts of money and they live very happily and comfortably in the material world, just like all the priests in all the other churches.
So today Prabhu, realistically, Prabhupada’s ISKCON has ceased to exist.
And as far as me being the authority on ritvik. That is not correct Prabhu. I am the authority on Prabhupada and Krishna. Everything I say, it is from Prabhupada and Krishna. Ritvik philosophy, that is something invented by Krishna Kanta and friends and in his “Final Order” paper and what Krishna Kanta has written is total rubbish Prabhu.
Today both ISKCON and the ritviks are presenting so much rubbish bogus nonsense when it comes to guru tattva.
So these days I don’t have any time for writing private letters but if you want to share any ideas you are more than welcome to post here and I will reply. Occasionally. As I don’t have much time for replying here either…
Yes. We have to have a staunch position and we have to see things as they are and call out the nonsense when it is there. And today both ISKCON and the ritviks are nonsense. Prabhupada lives on and continues to preach in his books and letters and audio recordings. But you are not going to find Prabhupada in ISKCON or with the ritviks unfortunately…
Gauri das,
I was there that day as Visnujana Swami came up the stairs unannounced. He asked me if Sukadeva was in and I told him he was and would be out of his office soon. He said he would wait and I asked him his name and we had some pleasantries and he moved into the room and sat down against the wall under the windows between you and I. He at this time turned to you and has a discussion I was not part of. In a very short time Sukadeva came out of his office and was shocked to see Visnujana. He hit the floor and I think we all did.
Anyway it went through a kirtan in the temple room, prasadam, Sukadeva showed a slide show of his recent trip to india to us all. After that we had a blow your mind kirtan upstairs and yes Sukadeva sent several of us down stairs to see the chandelier above Lord Jaganatha swinging.
I told him it was alright and we all went back upstairs and got right back into the kirtan.
I think you might have attended one of our Wednesday night programs at our house in Sumner.
We all went to Rathayatra in Frisco in July.
Well anyway, I would like to connect and discuss past and present devotional subject.
I first want to thank you for sticking to you guns on what HDGSP actually said.
I have take much flack too as I never accepted the deviates and their story.
My Name is now Advaita das and my wife ‘s name is Gauravani devi and we are still following our vows. (We were Bhakta Roy and Nancy with the custom light blue van and you were Gary with the pickup truck.)
Please contact me on the inserted email. royharlow@gmail.com
Look forward to hearing from you.
PAMHO
Advaita
Wonderful story and wonderful pictures!
Too declare the might of our all,NEVER knew God WOULD BE THIS EXCITING.