By Vrsabhanu dasa
In the late sixties Hare Krishna devotees from New York went to Philadelphia to open a temple. Many people were attracted by their kirtans and by the philosophy and lifestyle that they were teaching.
Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra were installed in 1972 and taken out for the first Ratha-yatra festival on the East Coast of the USA. Srila Prabhupada visited the temple in 1975 and attended the Ratha-yatra that year.
The current temple in the beautiful suburb of Mt. Airy was acquired in 1977 and two years later Sri Sri Radha Sarad-Bihari were installed there. The devotees are in the process of building a new temple room for the pleasure of the deities.
In downtown Philadelphia there is a popular Govinda’s restaurant which attracts people from all walks of life. The devotees organise regular programmes including japa meditation, study of the Bhagavad-Gita and kirtan evenings.
In the film below local devotees tell their stories.