The Genesis of Back to Godhead: Srila Prabhupada’s Mission Amidst Turmoil
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Ṭhakura, the founder-acharya of the Gauḍiya Maṭh, passing in 1937, led to internal disputes over leadership and the future direction of the mission. Despite Bhaktisiddhanta’s clear instructions to establish a governing body of twelve men to manage the affairs of the Gaudiya Maṭh, a faction of senior disciples, including Ananta Vasudeva, advocated for a singular acharya to assume leadership. This divergence from the founder’s directive led to a protracted legal battle over the ownership of the Maṭh’s properties, further deepening the rift among the disciples.
Amidst the internal conflicts, the socio-political landscape of India was also in turmoil. The British colonial administration, embroiled in World War II, imposed policies that exacerbated the suffering of the common people. Artificial famines were created, leading to widespread starvation. Srila Prabhupada, then known as Abhay Charan De, witnessed the dire conditions in Calcutta, where beggars filled the streets and families struggled to survive.
The situation worsened with the advent of air raids on Calcutta. The city faced bombings, particularly targeting areas like Kittapur and Syama Bazaar. These attacks, believed to be retaliatory measures during the war, led to mass evacuations. However, Srila Prabhupada chose to remain in the city, viewing the bombings as manifestations of divine will, albeit in a challenging form.
Abhay had already been deeply influenced by his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Ṭhakura, who had urged his disciples to distribute Kṛiṣhṇa consciousness widely, especially through English publications. Srila Prabhupada later recalled, “During the time of my Guru Maharaja’s passing away, his last instruction to me was that, ‘You try to preach whatever you have learned from me in English, and that will do good to you and the people who will hear you'” (Letter to Rayarama, 1968).
Although deeply pained by the internal conflicts within the Gaudiya Maṭh after his guru’s passing, Prabhupada remained focused on his mission. He believed that spreading Kṛiṣhṇa’s teachings through writing was a sacred duty and the most powerful means to uplift humanity.
Srila Prabhupada told how he had come to begin Back to Godhead magazine—how he had written a letter two weeks before the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Ṭhakura, and how his spiritual master had instructed him to preach in English. From his front room at 6 Sita Kanta Banerjee Lane, he conceived, wrote, edited, and typed the manuscript on a manual typewriter for the first Back to Godhead. The magazine then was a tabloid—one sheet folded in half, making four pages of type.
After Prabhupada had selected a printer and a distributor, he was denied paper. Because of World War II, India had a severe paper shortage. Srila Prabhupada persisted, however, and finally received permission to print his first issue—forty-four pages.
As he wrote to India’s President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, “I have got the clue of going back to Godhead just after leaving my present material body and in order to take along with me all my contemporary men and women of the world I have started my paper Back to Godhead as one of the means to the way” (Letter to Dr. Rajendra Prasada, 1956).
On 14 February 1944, during a gathering to celebrate the appearance day of their spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Ṭhakura, Abhay launched the first issue of Back to Godhead.
The first issue tackled powerful topics like the causes of war, the illusion of material happiness, and the eternal nature of the soul. Even in those early writings, his clarity of thought and compassion for the suffering world stood out. Back to Godhead was conceived as a voice for the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, the Vedas, and devotional service to Kṛiṣhṇa. Its mission was simple but profound: to remind people that true peace lies in returning to our eternal spiritual home—back to Godhead.
Srila Prabhupada’s purity and scholarship are now well known, and he is celebrated for his books, his disciples, and his lifetime of devotion. But when he began Back to Godhead, few knew of his spiritual gifts, and fewer still came forward to help him. Times were tough, and money was scarce. After only two issues, Srila Prabhupada had to stop printing.
Still, he remained committed. Later, he emphasized to his disciples, “Back to Godhead will always remain the backbone of the Society because the more the magazine is popular the more our Society becomes popular” (Letter to Rayarama, January 30, 1967). He also stated, “Back to Godhead should be the life and soul for the Society” (Letter to Rayarama, March 1967).
As the years passed, Prabhupada continued writing and meditating on how to spread Krishna consciousness. In 1952 he and his family moved to Allahabad, where he revived Back to Godhead, making a new beginning in February 1952. He was still doing most of the writing, typing, editing, meeting with printers, and distribution.
Reflecting later on those early struggles, he wrote, “I was printing this paper and almost distributing free, and some of them were paying me subscription and some of them not. But I was trying my best at my cost” (Letter to Rayarama, June 12, 1968).
He soon went to Jhansi, about four hundred miles west of Allahabad. There he met Acharya Prabhakara (then Prabhakara Misra), who was to become his first disciple. Together they continued printing Back to Godhead and canvassed for funding to keep it going. Years later, when Prabhupada started printing and distributing the magazine in Delhi, he would go to tea stalls and spend hours to sell even one copy.
In 1965, Srila Prabhupada traveled to the United States and opened the first center of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), in New York City. Soon after, in October 1966, he relaunched Back to Godhead with the help of his early American followers. The first issues were printed on a small mimeograph machine he had bought second-hand from a country club in Queens.
He inspired his young disciples with a bold vision: “I am awaiting for the day when this paper will take the shape of Life Magazine or similar other magazines, in the matter of its popularity” (Letter to Rayarama, June 12, 1968). He added, “Please therefore try to distribute Back to Godhead as many as it is possible” (Letter to Gurudasa, April 16, 1970).
Srila Prabhupada’s ambition was clear: “Back to Godhead should be published not in hundreds and thousands, but in millions” (Letter to Madhudvisa, April 14, 1970), bringing the message of Krishna consciousness to the entire world.