Srila Prabhupada, as he's known to his followers, translated and commented on over eighty volumes of the Vedas' most important sacred bhakti texts, including the Bhagavad-gita —a concise handbook for understanding the purpose and goal of human life—and the multi-volume Srimad-Bhagavatam —an epic biography of Krishna, Krishna's avatars , and His many devotees throughout the history of the universe.
Srila Prabhupada's own spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur , was the leading proponent of Krishna consciousness in India during the early part of the twentieth century. He specifically taught the philosophy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu , the divine avatar who revived Krishna- bhakti all over India in the s. When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta first met the young man later known as Srila Prabhupada - in Calcutta in - he urged him to preach Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's message of Krishna consciousness throughout the English-speaking world.
After forty years of struggling within India to carry out his guru's order, while maintaining family and business responsibilities, Srila Prabhupada boarded a steamship bound from Calcutta to New York City in At age sixty-nine, with forty rupees and a trunk of his Bhagavatam commentaries - the first ever in English - his aim was to introduce "India's message of peace and goodwill" to the western world. During the last twelve years of his life, Srila Prabhupada would inspire thousands of Westerners and Indians to devote their lives to Krishna consciousness, launching one of the fastest-growing spiritual movements in the history of the world.
After Prabhupada died in , power struggles ensued. Some of the guru's successors became embroiled in scandals.
One was convicted of racketeering. Then came allegations of abuses at boarding schools — including a school in Seattle — where Hare Krishna parents had sent their children. Several temples elsewhere in the U. The boarding schools in the U. But then came the influx of Indian immigrants — the basis for the movement's revitalization, said E.
Many temples were facing financial difficulties and "they didn't have anyone else who was knocking at their door," he said. That's not to say temples across the country are flourishing. Today, about half still struggle financially. Nonetheless, there are now an estimated 50, to , members in North America. And especially in India, the movement is gaining a large following, with temples built or under way in New Delhi, Mumbai and many other cities.
The local Hare Krishna community, which had grown to about people in the s, faced its own controversies. Neighbors of the temple, when it was on Capitol Hill, complained about sunrise chanting and drumming.
After travelers complained, Port of Seattle officials sought to limit proselytizing and soliciting by Hare Krishnas at the airport. The temple moved to Madrona and then to its current location. By , when current temple president and head priest Harry Terhanian arrived, it was on the verge of closing.
Slowly, he built up the community. But it wasn't until the mids, as Indian families began joining, that Terhanian saw a "base by which we rebuild our legitimacy. Though some Indians were wary of the Hare Krishna movement in the past, "I don't think in today's generation, that's an issue," said Ganapathy Krishnan, chairman of the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center in Bothell, a traditional temple that opened in Now, there are people who attend and contribute to both the Bothell and Sammamish temples, he said.
On a recent Saturday evening, Anjan Chakraborty, a year-old software engineer who lives in Sammamish, was enjoying one of the free vegetarian meals the temple provides regularly. Chakraborty first came to the temple about 10 years ago when he moved to the U. He had been looking for a place to introduce his daughter to Hindu culture. The other families were welcoming and he found the rituals similar to those he had practiced in India. As for the movement's controversial history, he thinks it's unfair to judge an entire movement based on individuals' past actions.
The movement "should be known by what the founder teaches, stands for. For Vishakha Dasi, 25, a software engineer from Sammamish, a big draw is the chance to perform classical Indian songs at the temple's festivals. The temple started "cradle-to-grave" programs three years ago, said Bhatt, the board member. Some are interested in culture. Others, food. For Bhatt and his wife, Bansri, talking with Terhanian and reading Prabhupada's books help them understand their faith better.
They both were raised as Hindus, taking part in rituals and practices mainly because their parents and grandparents had done so.
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