Message from Adridharana Dasa, Temple President ISKCON Calcutta:

1. Krishna Confirms ISKCON Re-Birth 
2. Manhattan Hasn't Seen Nothing Yet 
3. Book Distribution Begins To Explode in New York 

Last August, the IRM held a conference in Manhattan, New York City, with the aim of reviving the Krishna Consciousness movement throughout the world. The flyers for the meeting stated: "ISKCON Rebirth Planned - Where ISKCON Founded". This was in recognition of the fact that for the ISKCON tree to be healthy, we must once again re-invigorate the root - which is Manhattan, the birth-place of ISKCON. With this in mind we launched a program to re-establish the skyscraper temple which Srila Prabhupada had left us in Manhattan. 

Madhu Pandit and Adridharan prabhus, the temple presidents for Bangalore and Calcutta respectively, had agreed to act as the sponsors for this project. Phase one of this project was to first open a preaching center, which would serve both as an office for the main project, as well as a base from which to start forming a team that will work on establishing the sky-scraper temple. So following the IRM meeting in August we set about working on opening a preaching center. However the going was very tough. We had come to Manhattan last August, with nothing more than a dream and a vision. For 2 months our representatives in New York, Jayananda, Brahma Bhuta and His wife Mother Vani, were searching for a loft in Manhattan to open a new temple for Srila Prabhupada. 

They contacted many real estate brokers and looked at several lofts for rent in Manhattan. However since we were looking for BOTH a good location AND a large size - in the 3000 square feet region - the rents were astronomical - more than $6000 a month. The only places we could afford were in the less appealing parts of Manhattan.

Even when we managed to find a place, and were willing to pay more, the competition was so great, that they would be gone within a day. This happened for over 2 months, and after contacting dozens of brokers, we were getting nowhere. It was approaching November, and the infamous extremely harsh New York winter was setting in. We had almost given up hope. We started to speculate on all sorts of other options - maybe we should try again in 6 months time when the real estate market in Manhattan was not so 'hot' or maybe we should start in Brooklyn, where cheap available properties are plentiful. However we remembered that Dravanaksa Das, the first treasurer of the Manhattan sky-scraper temple back in 1976, had told us that Srila Prabhupada had told him that Brooklyn was a 'low-class neighbourhood'.

So we did not know what to do. Did Krishna really want us to carry on with this extremely ambitious plan, to try and facilitate the re-birth of ISKCON? We prayed for a sign one way or another. 

One cold November morning Jayananda happened to be walking down St. Mark's Place in the Lower East Side, and noticed a broker's office and on the off-chance thought he would ask if there was any loft space available. To his amazement the broker named Pete said "Sure - right next door."

Immediately Jayananda was excited but at the same time he did not hold out much hope since St Marks is the trendiest place in Manhattan at the moment, and he knew that both competition and the price would be tough. He was not wrong - the rent was in the $6000 region. However he preached to the broker how we were reviving Krishna consciousness back to just what it was like in the old days, with Srila Prabhupada as the Guru, and that we were going to use the loft as a stepping stone to a building in Manhattan just like the one on 55th St (this is where the old sky-scraper temple was) with a 5 star restaurant, temple, school, and regular prasadam distribution and Harinamas. Like many NY'ers Pete was familiar with the grand 55th St. Temple, was impressed with our dedication and said he would do his best to get us the place. He arranged an appointment with the landlord, but suggested the devotees wear karmi clothes and not mention the Hare Krishna Temple part and just say we wanted to start a 'yoga' center, since 'Yoga centers' are very trendy in NYC these days. So they did just that. Jayananda and Brahma Bhuta went and met Nancy and Mellisa (the landlords). They told the standard story about how they wanted to start a 'Yoga Center', thinking that would satisfy them. To their surprise Nancy immediately asked WHAT kind of Yoga they practised. The devotees shuffled their feet nervously at this line of questioning - and said 'Bhakti-Yoga'. Surely THAT would be the end of the matter. 
However as quick as a shot, Nancy said:

"Oh I know all about Bhakti Yoga. I knew Bhaktivedanta." 

This was becoming stranger and stranger. The devotees didn't know whether to be happy or worried. Jayananda asked - "Which Bhaktivedanta". Again, as quick as a shot, she said:

"The Hare Krishna One!"

The devotees immediately screamed out -"That's US" - having forgotten all about their 'coaching' from the real estate broker to hide the fact that they were Hare Krishnas ! 

Nancy Continued, "When I was in College in California I helped Allen Ginsberg get Bhaktivedanta a storefront in Haight Ashbury in the 60's."

But that wasn't all. Mellissa the other landlord said she used to go to 26th 2nd Avenue, the Matchless Gifts Temple in the 60's and she met Srila Prabhupada. She also said her husband wrote the article and took the picture for the East Village Other where Srila Prabhupada is standing in front of the tree in Tompkins Square Park. We explained how we wanted to get a new building for Srila Prabhupada in New York City and revive Krishna Consciousness because the old ISKCON had now become corrupt and was failing.

Nancy said she would pray that night to Srila Prabhupada and Allen Ginsberg and then give us an answer. The next day she had gotten her answer, and decided to rent us a 3000 sq ft. loft for 3 years at $3500 per month even though there was already an offer from a photographer for $5500 on the table. She said she was thrilled to again get a chance to help Srila Prabhupada to create a spiritual revolution. But this was not all. The transcendental arrangement was completed when we found out also that Pete the broker's wife had grown up in the ISKCON Dallas gurukula! She's fried with today's ISKCON, but she still loves Srila Prabhupada. And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Keith the first electrician we hired saw Srila Prabhupada's picture on a window sill in the temple room and said his mother has this picture hanging over her bed and has said for years that he is her guru!

We asked for a sign - and my God did we get it. And it could not have been more appropriate. For in trying to re-launch the Krishna Consciousness movement and revive the spirit of Srila Prabhupada and the 60's, we just happened to stumble upon someone who had directly participated in the first revolution. And so here we were, just a block away from Tompkins Square Park where Srila Prabhupada started the first revolution, and in St. Marks, the trendy hotspot of Manhattan. This was sign enough that Krishna had blessed the re-birth - and it now became clear to us that the mission to restore the sky-scraper building will be unstoppable, as Krishna himself had set us on our way.

THE RE-BIRTH HAS BEGUN 

We immediately began working on renovating the place into a temple. Luckily Jayananda is a trained builder, and he managed to rope in all his work colleagues and many devotees to all pull together to start knocking the place into shape. Also a large TV screen was acquired to show Srila Prabhupada videos. Brand new Kitchen Equipment was also put in, a South Indian altar installed and the floor completely re-laid. We had devotees come from all over to help as soon as we told them about the project. Even Sunday feast regulars at the ISKCON temple in Brooklyn volunteered. Consequently we were able to do a $100, 000 + renovation job for less than half that amount.

As well as a Temple Room, there is also a large prasadam room, a TV/Preaching Room, Brahmacarya Quarters, a Kitchen, and shower room. But do not take our word for it - please click the link below to see the 'Before' and 'After' pictures of our temple room, and you will be convinced that the IRM has come to New York determined to 'mean business':

The place has only recently become fully operational, and in such a short space of time already we are having : 

Twice weekly programs with over 35 people, Weekly hari-namas, Programs in life-members homes, Cooking classes and daily book distribution (please see next section). 

In fact we have already had many famous personalities from the world of fashion and movies visiting our Sunday feasts, including a Hollywood director, a top fashion model and TV actress, as well as a member from the cast of 'Cider House Rules' - a recent Oscar winning film. This is not surprising since the prasadam and hospitality is becoming famous. One devotee visited from Australia and he said that he could honestly say that in visiting ISKCON temples all over the world for more than 20 years, this was the best in terms of atmosphere and Prasadam. And that's not surprising since our bhoga bill for the Sunday feast alone runs into many hundreds of dollars, with no expense spared to ensure opulent prasadam, with everything cooked in ghee. Many devotees have commented that the atmosphere is just like it used to be in the 'old days', and this is what has been missing in ISKCON for many years.

We also have our own regular TV show on Cable TV! The details are: 

"The Hare Krishna Show" on Manhattan cable channel 34 1:30pm Every Sunday. The shows contains nectar from Srila Prabhupada, and reaches over 2 million viewers. And this is the only Krishna Conscious TV show going out in New York City.

But get this - WE HAVEN'T EVEN OPENED YET - and already the place is on fire. The official opening takes place on:

Sunday, 11th June, from 3pm onwards This is the day after the New York Ratha Yatra, so many devotees are coming over, since they will be able to catch two events in one go. Their will be continuous prasadam served from 3 PM onwards till late into the night, non-stop kirtan and videos of Srila Prabhupada will be playing all day on huge TV screen. 

EVERYONE IS WELCOME - the address is:

93 St. Mark's Place, 2nd Floor, NYC, NY 10009-5141 This is between 1st Avenue & Ave. A  PH: 212-979-0381 & 1053 

212 780 0686 E-mail: brahmabhuta@hotmail.com Please call or e-mail for more information. 

Remember this is just the beginning - only a small window into what is yet to happen. Just an office to facilitate the main vision - to return Srila Prabhupada's sky-scraper temple back to him.

The Best Is Yet To Come 

From the outset, the purpose of establishing our project was to re-establish book distribution in New York. We had been told by the devotees from the ISKCON temple in Brooklyn that it would not be possible to do large-scale book distribution in Manhattan, that the future lay in simply catering to the Indian life-members. However we knew that the success of Srila Prabhupada's mission in the west would depend on reviving book distribution back on the streets. Right from day 1, even whilst the place was not fit for habitation, devotees were out on the streets distributing books. The very first day that Madhusudana Dasa, our sankirtan leader, went out to do books was on a Sunday, and he was nervous having not done books in New York before. So he just walked up and down the side-walk right outside the temple, and did $90 in 4 hours . We were on our way. Every day without fail, even during the harsh New York snow they went out. Led by Madhusudana das, many devotees have come and been trained up in how to do books on the New York streets, and congregational devotees have also been doing books on a part-time basis. 
Consequently since last November till the end of April, the following is the total number books that have been distributed:

................7381! 

We will bring you the scores for May next month.

The books distributed include: Perfection Of Yoga, Beyond Birth & Death, Nectar of Instructions, as well as books in Spanish, and a number of hard-back titles such as Srimad Bhagavatam 1st Canto, and Journey of Self-Discovery.

To give a comparison at what all this means, the following is the score for month of March for the large ISKCON temple in Brooklyn:

Maha Big Books 92  Big Books 9  Medium Books 130  Small Books 765  Magazines 18 
(Scores taken from North American Sankirtan Newsletter - Scores only available up to March)

The corresponding score for our small motley crew in March was:

Softback books = 1177   Hardback books = 95   Making a total of 1272 books distributed 
(We do not yet know the exact classifications used by the Sankirtan Newsletter - maybe somebody can help?)

So already, even before we have really got going and opened, our small operation is blazing a trail in book distribution in the USA. And the scores, month on month are going up, as more devotees assist in doing books on apart-time basis, and also because now we have just received a shipment of case-loads of big hard-back books. And from the collection in book sales and donations at the Sunday Feast, we are already able to cover up to half the monthly rent bill. Following the official opening, and more devotees joining up, we aim to start covering most of our costs through book distribution.

Madhusudana has many far out stories to tell about doing books in New York.

Dressed fully in dhoti with a shaved head, many people have approached him, saying that he reminded them of the good old days when devotees openly distributed books in Manhattan dressed AS devotees. When the weather is too cold he goes and distributes books in the subway. The devotees go out 7 days a week including Sundays. Here are a few sankirtan stories: 

Madhusudana gave the head of the World Trade Center, a very important building in New York, a Higher Taste and the guy threw it on his desk and said 'whatever' - showing no interest whatsoever. Weeks later he saw Madhusudana distributing again in the World Trade Centre and approached him. Madhusudana thought he was going to ask the security guards to throw him out, but instead he thanked him saying he had taken the book home to his wife and she read it and had made practically all of the recipes. She made him read the book also. He loved it. 

Another time distributing in 'The World Trade Center', at Christmas time, as the devotees stood overlooking an endless stream of bodies, one white haired and bearded elderly gentleman approached with intent curiosity, wishing to know what books Madhusudana had. He was overjoyed when Madhusudan showed him many different titles from Srila Prabhupada. As he took the Science of Self Realisation he stated that he had read Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavada-gita As It Is and approved of it. In return he gave a donation for the book and said he would come for the opening of the temple, saying to contact him with details. Madhusudana asked his name and particulars, and he just said - "My name is Orest Bedrij, and I'm in 'Who's Who' - just look me up!"

So the devotees did, and found out he was the top computer scientist at IBM for a long time. He lead the team that built the first modern generation of computers. Yet somewhere along the path of material success, Orest became an aspiring transcendentalist. 

Once in the subway, Madhusudana was sheltering away from the cold, and trying to pass out books to the busy commuters. Then Hayley Mills, the famous actress came up to him, and bought a book. She said that she was performing a play at Broadway. She said she had only noticed him because of his shaved head and robes. This again shows the value of being fearless and doing books dressed as devotees - Krishna is supplying the result!

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL AT THE OPENING THE HARE KRISHNA EXPLOSION HAS BEGAN AGAIN!

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter, and please keep your letters, and e-mail addresses of other devotees who should be added to our list, flowing in. A hard copy of our main position paper 'The Final Order' is available on request. 
All other IRM papers can be accessed through the EDITORIAL SECTION of the IRM website at http://come.to/irm 

If you would like to receive any of the back issues of the Newsletter please let me know.

No 1. Invitation to Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja
No 2. GBC Lose First Round of Court Case 
No 3. The Story VNN Refused to Publish 
No 4. Poison Theorists Accuse Adri of Complicity 
No 5. Iskcon Continues to Promote Child Abusers 
No 6. Invitation to Malaysia 
No 7. United World Body Formed 
No 8. Does Srila Prabhupada Support Poisoning Theory?
No 9. PADA Attacks IRM Position 
No 10. PADA Continues to Present False Evidence 
No 11. GBC Funded Video says Ritvik Spiritual 
No 12. Child Rapist Selected by Gurus to Defend their Legitimacy 
No 13. GBC Facing Perjury Charge in Calcutta High Court 
No 14. Sahajiyism Makes a Comeback in Iskcon.
No 15. Govt. Minister Inaugurates Bangalore Rathayatra 
No 16. Iskcon Calcutta Triumphs Following Arson Attack 
No 17. Fighting Lies with Truth Not More Lies
No 18. GBC Resolutions Continue to Provide Laughter
No 19. Indian Leaders Endorse IRM Position That GBC Confused 
No 20. Convicted Child Abuser Officially 'Returns' To Parampara
No 21. GBC Chairman Admits ISKCON 'Disintegrating' 

Your comments, questions and feedback are appreciated. Please write to me at adri@cwcom.net
Your Servant, Adridharan das