In 1965, at the age of seventy, a humble Indian sannyasi, a devoted servant of Lord Sri Krishna, embarked on the cargo ship Jaladuta to travel to America.
He did not possess sufficient funds for such a journey and was unsure of what awaited him at his destination. However, he had clarity regarding one thing: his mission.
Following the instructions of his guru, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, an acarya in the lineage of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534), this sturdy disciple took a giant step to present the message of the Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic scriptures to the world. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (respectfully known as Srila Prabhupada) began his monumental and historical service to God and humanity.
In July 1966, Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York City. Over the subsequent decade, he worked tirelessly toward achieving his goal. He traveled around the world fourteen times, founded 108 Krishna temples, authored more than 70 books, and led a global movement involving over 10,000 devotees of Krishna spanning all continents.
He opened the first temple in New York, followed by the second in San Francisco and the third in Montreal. Srila Prabhupada strongly wished to establish 108 temples before departing from his body.
Additionally, he taught us during his lifetime how to make our home into a temple. Many people mistakenly assume that practicing Krishna Consciousness requires living in a temple. Following the model of the small town of Vrindavan in India, each residence can serve as a temple dedicated to worshipping Krishna. Approximately 5000 homes comprise this town, and all function as shrines for honoring Krishna.
The first three temples inaugurated by Srila Prabhupada in the West
