The Inspiration

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a saint like no other. In 1966, at the age of 69, homeless, penniless and alone, he arrived in the Lower East Side of New York, searching for ‘better opportunities’ to share the message of the Gita. This was Skid Row; the lowest of the low. Here he lived, worshiped, studied and taught. Every evening, his decrepit residence, the rat-ridden 94 Bowery, would fill up with buzzing acidheads, bearded bohemians, ruined alcoholics and disillusioned dropouts. Sex, music, LSD, and consciousness expansion; that’s what made them tick. The Swami would nonchalantly step into the makeshift ‘temple’ and take his seat at the front, face-to-face with these confused souls who were looking for real love, real happiness and real spiritual experience.

The Swami was unfazed; his expression exuding bottomless depth and boundless compassion. In short, straight-forward philosophical discourses, he delivered eternal truths with resounding impact. When he sang in simple tunes with a bongo drum, their heads would spin, and their hearts would be conquered. His tremendous devotion empowered his urgent message to penetrate the depths of their consciousness. He effortlessly smashed layers of illusion, unrelentingly exposing the fallacy of all materialistic ideology.

From these humble beginnings, Prabhupada went on to establish the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and in a few short years made ‘Hare Krishna’ a household name. He circled the globe twelve times, opened over a hundred temples, launched a variety of spiritual welfare projects, authored volumes of books, and made genuine spirituality inspiring, practical and accessible for people from all walks of life. No amount of social commentary, historical analysis or anthropological conjecture can account for his incredible achievements. Prabhupada’s story is tangible proof of a spiritual miracle that defied all odds. His life and teachings remain the strength, inspiration and guiding light.

Gita3 is based on Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, the world’s most popular and widely read edition of the ancient classic. It has been translated in over sixty languages and is available in nearly every major city in the world.