On this date in 1965, at the age of sixty-nine, Srila Prabhupada left India on a steamship bound for the United States, with the intention of bringing the teachings of Krishna and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to the English-speaking world. With him was a trunk full of his translations and commentary on the First Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and about forty rupees in cash.
Within a year, he had attracted a few committed followers willing to help him spread his mission. Over the next decade, Srila Prabhupada had initiated thousands of disciples, made “Hare Krishna” a household word, and established over a hundred centers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness worldwide.
More:
- Article: Passage From India . . . Prabhupada’s Journey to the West
- In Our Store: The Jaladuta Diary, Prabhupada’s firsthand accounts of his extraordinary adventures and inspirations aboard the Boston-bound steamship Jaladuta
- Srila Prabhupada’s Authorized Biography: Prabhupada Lilamrita, by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
- In Our Store: Srimad-Bhagavatam, reprints of the first edition that Prabhupada printed in India before coming to the USA.
- Read the entire Srimad-Bhagavatam Online
(Pictured above is the Jaladuta, on which Srila Prabhupada traveled from India to America in 1965)