ISKCON UK’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
By Karunamayi dasi
The first ISKCON members to enter Britain in 1968 were three young American husband and wife teams, Malati devi and Shyamasundara dasa; Mukunda dasa and Janaki dasi; and Yamuna devi and Garuda dasa.
At first, not having any financial support meant life was a struggle. Yet soon they gained the attention of one of The Beatles, George Harrison, who had encountered the Hare Krishna devotees in America. Together with John and Paul, they recorded a single of the maha-mantra, which reached the ‘Top of the Pops’.
Funds from sales of the record enabled them to rent a building in Bury Place, near the British Museum, and convert it into a temple.
This year, 2019, the UK celebrated 50 years since ISKCON devotees first started preaching there. I was fortunate to be part of this milestone celebration as some members of the youth-led the full morning program.
A disciple of ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami gave a class detailing those early days in the UK. The Srila Prabhupada murti in the temple room was surrounded by Srimad-Bhagavatam sets and a chart showed how many sets had been distributed.
The presiding Deities Radha Gokulananda; Sita Rama, Lakshman, Hanuman; and Gaura Nitai watched over the packed temple room as devotees eagerly listened to the stories about Mukunda Maharaja and the five other devotees who first journeyed to England, the stories of building relationships with The Beatles and how the yatra had progressed since then.
At the end of the class, a video was shown of Mukunda Maharaja and other devotees narrating their experiences from that exciting time in history, along with clips of Srila Prabhupada at The Manor.
A devotee who was raised in the movement then enthusiastically spoke of her gratitude for those devotees and Srila Prabhupada. She presented Srila Prabhupada with an opulent cake, which was followed by offerings of flower petals and a stirring kirtana.
During breakfast, you could feel the inspiration devotees had from the class. The youth went for a walk around the temple grounds and were pointing out different services they could engage in together. It was a very inspiring day, filled with so much love for Srila Prabhupada and his devotees.