The great transcendental Tsunami of Krishna Conscious bliss

By Bhakta Rod

The great transcendental high tide of Krishna Conscious bliss, experienced in the mid sixties and very early seventies with Srila Prabhupada’s presents, was truly amazing. Our transcendental bus trip, in the winter of 72, was surfing high up, right on top of the Tsunami of Krishna Consciousness bliss and ecstasy, which Srila Prabhupada brought with him to Australia. Some older devotees say, that if you look hard enough, especially in New York, L. A., San Francisco, London and Sydney, where it all began, you can still see the high tide mark of that transcendental ocean of bliss Srila Prabhupada carried with him.

Of course, for those who are enthusiastically captivated by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, they also can experience that amazing Tsunami of transcendental bliss Srila Prabhupada eternally carries with him!

It was at 83 Hereford Street Glebe Temple near the Sydney Uni in April 1972, we began our preaching mission up to the North where devotees had previously never been. There were 14 of us on the double Decker Bus, eleven boys and three girls. We had painted in big letters on the side ‘The Hare Krishna Movement, The Positive Alternative’ that Srila Prabhupada very much appreciated when he first saw the bus. We were now on our way to spread the mission of Lord Caitanya for the first time on Australian soil to every town and village, as predicted by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

In April 1972 we left Sydney Temple for the trip of a lifetime, innocently we believe it had probably taken us thousands of life times to achieve such a privilege to be part of Lord Caitanya’s pioneering preaching mission.

We were all so fortunate to be on the very first preaching mission for Lord Caitanya to every Town and Village around Australia. The devotees on this first travelling preaching mission were

Madhudvisa Swami Caru (only came part of the way) Balarama, Chittahari, Yasamatinandana, Dvaipayana, Krsna Caitanya (Ted Spencer who the previous year was the world champion for surf board ridding), Kuntiboja, Kainaram Srngi (now Muralidhar_das) (meet up with in Cairns) Krishna Prema (meet up with in Cairns), Gauragopala Brahmacari’s. Plus one or two names that are not remembered.

The ‘boys’ (because that’s what we were back then) lived in the Brahmacari quarters, which were the bottom deck of the bus (except for the bus drivers who had a private space upstairs), while the second deck (upstairs) was the Brahmatarini or girls quarters where

Ambika, Arti, Kamarupa (who joined us in Cairns) and Sukla devi-dasi’s resided.

Most of us where teenagers back then except for Madhudvisa, Balarama and Chittahari who were all in there 20s

Krsna Caitanya dasa, a famous surf board rider in the early ’70s was known to the media as the great Ted Spencer, who famously declared: “When I surf, I dance for Krishna”, urged on in his heats by a full Hare Krishna cheersquad.” (Bells Beach, Australia – the Age Newspaper). Other famous surfers like Nat Young also spent time with us.

Hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam classes was so wonderful; we new this was a very auspicious time and that the teachings of Srila Prabhupada we were hearing, is the revelation of long kept secrets and explanations that told us about the universe and it’s creator Lord Krishna.

On the way we chanted on the streets of Newcastle and all Towns in-between there and Brisbane, such as Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Ballina, Lismore and the hippie centre of Australia, Nimbin. But by far the spookiest place we went to was Byron Bay; Kainaram claimed he had seen the ghost of a dead girl who was limping on one leg who had been killed by a train many years ago. On many occasions people had claimed to pick up this lonely little girl to take her home only to find when they got to there home she had mysteriously disappeared. People would go up to the house to tell the little girls parents only to find she had died many years before. Srila Prabhupada has said that then one dies, he is called dead, but when he again appears in a subtle form not visible to our present vision and yet acts, such a dead body is called a ghost. Ghosts are always very bad elements, always creating a fearful situation for others. The best way to remove them is to chant Hare Krishna very loudly and have jubilant kirtan until they leave. In England, on Mr. John Lennon’s house where I was staying in 1969, there was one ghost. But as soon as the devotees began chanting very loudly, he went away immediately

After Bryon with all the hippies we went to Murwillumbah where we chanted in the streets for the first time. Soon (1977) we would establish the farm New Govardhana there.

We then went inland to Lismore, then Armadale where there was a university. We meet an Indian Professor who invited us to the Uni where we chanted and distributed Prasadam. Many Indian families lived there and some of us went to their houses to speak from Bhagavad Gita.

One of the Indian gentlemen asked us about the jiva soul. Madhudvisa explained that we do not originate from the impersonal Brahmajyoti as many Hindu’s believed and that Srila Prabhupada had explained to us that we have all chosen to come down from Vaikuntha many millions of years ago.

As the night progressed, the Indian women cooked up some amazing food preparations that we offered to Srila Prabhupada. That place was very, very cold. Every morning, even in the middle of winter, we had cold showers behind the bus. To give one an idea, Chittahari was walking to the bus one cold morning with what we thought was a board, it was his underwear (koppings) frozen solid!

We eventually arrived in Toowoomba in Queensland and chanted to the redneck out back Queenslanders who thought we were some alien invasion from another planet!

From there we went to the Gold Coast, made up of the major towns of Coolangatta, Burleigh heads, Surfers Paradise and Southport. We chanted in all these places, distributed Back To Godhead Magazine and Prasadam and spoke to the enormous crowds that gathered around us. Many of the devotees on the Bus, like Balarama and Krsna Caitanya where surfer board riders, they attracted many young people to learn about Krishna and take prasad. Especially Krsna Caitanya who was a well-known celebrity around the world

Then we went to Beenleigh, in-between the Gold Coast and Brisbane. The day we arrived in Brisbane, we chanted on the city streets and were on page two of the Couramail the next day. The headline was ‘ The Hare Krishna’s have arrived with the chant of peace” Brisbane was also having their annual ‘Festival show’ that attracted tens of thousands of people. We chanted out the front gates thousands of the ‘Show grounds’ where so many people saw the Hare Krishna’s for the first time, many receiving BTG Magazine.

During morning class on the bus, we heard the Srimad Bhagavatam. We new this was a very auspicious time and that the teachings of Srila Prabhupada revealed to us the disclosure of the long kept secret and the meaning of existence and the purpose of all life, that had baffled our present human society. Srila Prabhupada was now, in his beautiful Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita, revealing all this to us, opening our eyes to the truth about the universe and it’s creator Lord Krishna. We never had the full version of the Gita in those days, only the abridged edition with the forward by Allan Ginsburg.

Those years were extraordinary.

Dwaip cooked up beautiful offerings to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya and Nityananda while Cittahari, Balarama and myself were the Bus Drivers. Yaso and Kuntiboja were the inquisitive philosopher, well, actually we all were. Many times we discussed the origins of the jiva that lead to the famous “Crow-and-Tal-Fruit Logic” letter Srila Prabhupada sent to his inquisitive Australian devotees.

We just new we were very fortunate to be on that bus hearing from the beautiful Srimad Bhagavatam. Some of us asked ‘what did we do to deserve to hear the wonderful Srimad Bhagavatam? Some of us speculated we were yogis, mystics, devotees and even demons from the Satya-yuga.