Down Memory Lane: An Ode to ISKCON, L.A.

I luckily discovered New Dwarka when I resided not too far away. Krishna, Rukminiji stayed there along with Balarama, Subhadhra, Krishna and Gaura, Nitai. Sunday evenings were full of congregational singing, chanting and dancing. The deities smiled contented and looked absolutely gorgeous, the appearance came not only from bathing and new colorful apparel but also from the happiness of being served with love and care. For those 3 hours the airs were full of faith and prayer. The dinner feast came from the remnants of what was offered to the Lord - prasad. I consider it my fortune to have lent a helping hand those dozen or so times in the kitchen sending those 100s of puri balls through the rollers to flatten before they were fried. The temple evoked memories of when founder Srila Prabhupada walked its halls 37 years ago, then purchased as a discontinued Methodist Church and transformed to a thriving ISKCON temple.

It's actually amazing how a meek old man almost 70 years of age could take a 37 day trip, suffering 2 heart attacks on the way, in a cargo steamer to the opposite side of the globe from India, New York, back in 1965 with $7, a metal suitcase with books etc, some dry cereal, an umbrella yet create an organization so magnanimous. For him, the year 1965-66 was spent in struggle in small cheap rental rooms in the NY ghettos, concentrating on translations, chanting, publicizing, and romanticizing at the seaport of returning to Vrindavana. But his faith in his Guru's words and his awareness of his duty to spread Krishna consciousness across the world, kept him going; then and the 12 years after, he circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents, authored sixty books on Vedantic philosophy, religion, literature and culture (translated to 70 different languages) and watched ISKCON grow to a confederation of more than 100 schools, temples, institutes, farm communities, and ashrams.

It's amazing what the human spirit is capable of. After testing faith and determination, even God pitches in his bit, and the snowball once set rolling grows larger on its own. I've got to find a better activity than 'killing time'. Who knows what my person can do.