Interview: The monk who made The Beatles dance to his tune and made Krishna worship fashionable in the West

It was the summer of 1967. The world was truly and absolutely in the midst of the ‘Beatlemania’. Just a year back, John Lennon, a Beatles frontman, had controversially said that the band had become “more popular than Jesus”. And here as the Learjet dangerously trembled mid-air while on the way to San Francisco, a fatal crash seemed imminent.

Among those staring at the death was George Harrison, one of the ‘Fab Four’ of The Beatles, who was busy chanting: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Only a few days ago, Harrison was in Greece with Lennon, spending hours on a boat ride while playing a ukulele and singing, again: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Decades later, when Harrison was breathing his last in 2001, at the young of 58, he had two monks by his side reading verses from the Bhagavad Gita.

So, here was the world’s most sought-after singer, at the prime of his career and at the height of his popularity, chanting the Krishna mantra — both in joy and in fear. And later, when death was finally knocking his doors, he again took refuge in Krishna, listening to His profound words in the Bhagavad Gita.

It’s through The Beatles, especially Harrison, that the world discovered AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, the founder of Iskcon. Prabhupada, in the 1960s and 1970s, played as momentous role in the spread of Hinduism in America as Vivekananda did in the 1890s, but in a truly contrasting way: While Vivekananda was in his early 30s when he spiritually conquered the West, Prabhupada was in his late 60s! It was Prabhupada’s first visit to America — in fact, his first-ever trip abroad — in almost seven decades of his life.

When Prabhupada first entered the port of New York City on 17 September 1965, very few Americans took notice. He was just another immigrant. As Hindol Sengupta writes in his new book, Sing, Dance and Pray: The Inspirational Story of Srila Prabhupada (Penguin), “Nothing about his (Prabhupada’s) background or achievements at that moment suggested that he could attract attention from The Beatles. But only months later, the chant of the elderly Bengali man from Calcutta was being fervently repeated by George Harrison in his moment of dread.”

As his new book on the founder-acharya of Iskcon hits the shelves, Hindol Segupta talks to Firstpost about the life and times of Srila Prabhupada and how he forwarded the cause of Hinduism and Hindu ethos globally. Excerpts:

How did the idea of writing your tenth book on Srila Prabhupada come to you?

You know I have written a book on Swami Vivekananda. While writing that book, I became interested in other figures from Hinduism who had a global approach — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda and others. But I realised among all of them, including Vivekananda, the biggest footprint that any of the Hindu gurus who went to the West had was that of Srila Prabhupada. That is why his story is so interesting.

I also noticed that Srila Prabhupada went to America at a time of great ferment. It was the time when America was totally suffused with anti-Vietnam protests. It was also the time of great creativity in literature and culture. The Hippie movement was in full force in America. What makes Prabhupada's story interesting is not just that he went to America to teach spiritualism, but also because he did so at a time America was in great ferment. And he worked among people who were at the forefront of those protest movements. A large section of his early followers were Hippies from New York. These were not the elites of America. Srila Prabhupada found his first followers in the rundown parts of America. The New York neighbourhoods where he first worked did not have a very good reputation. Even today some of these parts would be considered dodgy.

You make an interesting distinction between the life journeys of Swami Vivekananda and Srila Prabhupada. Can you please elaborate?

Srila Prabhupada began his work in many ways as a preacher at the age of 70. He was 69 when he boarded a ship to go to America. All his works that made him famous happened between the age of 70 and 80. So, here was the 70-year-old man who went to America and created this global movement which had a footprint all the way from San Francisco and New York to Germany, Russia, Africa and Australia. It’s an incredible story of global Hinduism. In sharp contrast, Vivekananda had mesmerised America in his early 30s. Unlike Prabhupada, he found his first followers among the educated and influential people.

You call Prabhupada’s America visit a turning point in the India story in the West. You, in fact, call it the most important event after Vivekananda’s Chicago speech in 1893. What makes you say that?

Look, there is no doubt that Vivekananda’s Chicago speech was an epochal event in the East-West relationship as far as India was concerned. Vivekananda is also better known, primarily because some of his followers were the elites of America. Prabhupada, in contrast, worked with those at the bottom of American society. Many people around him in the early years had problems with drug abuse. Prabhupada changed these people, showed them the way to have a cleaner, spiritual life. It was a remarkable achievement to do this in America and then take it to other European countries.

Even more incredible was the kind of followers he later got, despite working at the bottom of American society: Allen Ginsberg in those famous debates on TV with William Buckley took out harmonium and started singing Hare Krishna. Now that’s remarkable, especially when you realise that Ginsberg had written some of the most furious anti-war, anti-materialism poems ever to come out of America. Later, look at Prabhupada’s influence on The Beatles. So many of George Harrison's songs were influenced by Prabhupada and the Hare Krishna movement. So, for me, after Vivekananda, Prabhupada was the most East-West encounter that we know of. Such has been his influence that even during the ongoing Ukraine war, I saw videos from Ukraine and Russia of monks of Iskcon singing Hare Krishna.

Can you please let us know how Prabhupada decided to go to America?

The only reason we find from Prabhupada’s own writing was that his guru wanted him to go to the West and spread the words of Lord Krishna. Otherwise there was no reason for him to go to the US at the age of 69. He could have very well retired in Vrindavan. Prabhpada went to America when it was at war with itself. It was deeply divided within, with conflicting opinions and ideologies. Prabhupada was right at the centre of it all. He preached the message of peace in a war-torn America. Interestingly, today’s America seems to be similar to the America of the 1960s; perhaps, someone needs to preach peace to Americans today again.

Please tell us about Prabhupada’s encounter with The Beatles.

His encounter with The Beatles was seminal. For all practical purposes, George Harrison became his disciple. So much of his later works are influenced by Prabhupada and the Hare Krishna movement. When Harrison was on the deathbed, there were two Hare Krishna monks by his side whispering the Bhagavad Gita mantras into his ears. This was truly an incredible story.

You make a very interesting distinction between previous Indian gurus who went to the West and Prabhupada?

Yes, there was. While previous gurus propagated Vedanta, yoga, et al, Prabhupada reached America with the message of Lord Krishna. Unlike the idea of the formless God being promoted by previous gurus, including Vivekananda, Prabhupada unapologetically and forcefully spread the words of Lord Krishna. He was different in that way.

What explains the stupendous success of the Hare Krishna movement across the world?

One was the personality of Prabhupada. He was absolutely uncompromising and steadfast in his beliefs. But at the same time, his message was very important and relevant. Because of which he had a receptive audience. People of the West in the 1960s were looking for different answers, which wars and materialism failed to provide. Prabhupada arrived at that very time. And this explains his stupendous success in the West.

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