A look at the worldwide activities of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
A Rare Ketch for the Hawaii Krsna Center
Honolulu, Hawaii—The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has its first floating temple, a 53-foot teakwood ketch recently donated to Narahari dasa, president of the Honolulu Krsna center. Valued at more than $200,000, the rare boat is a gift from a friend of the movement who appreciated Narahari’s desire to sail from island to island spreading Krsna consciousness in Hawaii.
The craft’s maiden voyage was an adventure. Having christened the boat Sri Jaladuta II (after the Indian steamship that carried His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada from India to America in 1965), Narahari, a seasoned sailor, picked four of his sturdiest men and set out from San Francisco for Honolulu. There was no shortwave radio aboard, so they navigated only by the sun, stars, and planets. “Every night while steering our course,” Narahari relates, “I would gaze into the crystal-clear sky filled with unlimited stars and meditate on how insignificant my position is on this insignificant planet. Being alone out in the midst of the great Pacific made us realize that we have no shelter other than Krsna’s holy name.”
The 18-day, 2500-mile journey ended with a reception at Magic Island, the popular Honolulu beach park. The hundred devotees of the Honolulu Krsna center celebrated the crew’s arrival with chanting of Hare Krsna and a feast of krsna-prasadam, food offered to Lord Krsna. Two local TV stations sent reporters to cover the event for the evening news broadcasts.
Now Narahari is putting the finishing touches on the boat’s interior, which has been remodeled as a temple. The first mission Narahari plans for the unique craft: a visit to Hawaii’s Molokai Island leper colony to distribute prasadam.
Ghana Receives 1000 Books On Krsna Consciousness
Accra, Ghana—Recently His Holiness Brahmananda Swami, who coordinates the activities of the Krsna consciousness movement in West Africa, presented nearly one thousand books on Krsna consciousness to the Ghana Library Board for distribution to 177 libraries throughout this West African nation. The distribution of the books was handled by Mr. A.K. Gyehi, Assistant Director of the School and College Libraries Department of the Ghana Library Board. The books became available through gifts by ISKCON branches in the United States, Canada, and Europe under a “Books for Africa” program.
“The response has been tremendous,” says Brahmananda Swami. “Correspondence to our centers in Africa and Great Britain has increased tenfold since the Books for Africa program began.” The program is also sponsoring donations of books to thirty-six libraries in Nigeria.
First Volume of Srila Prabhupada’s Biography Published
Los Angeles—The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust has announced the publishing of A Lifetime in Preparation, the first volume of Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta, a projected six-volume biography of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. (The second volume, Planting the Seed, has already been published.)
A Lifetime in Preparation charts Srila Prabhupada’s life from his birth in 1896 until his voyage to America in 1965, viewing him as a turn-of-the-century Calcutta schoolboy, as a young married businessman as a devoted disciple of a saintly teacher, and finally as a lone, elderly svami struggling in India to publish the teachings of Krsna consciousness in English.
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