by Daivi Sakti
On 17th of September 1965, Srila Prabhupada, writing in his diary, says that they reached the Bermuda area and turned the wheel to go northwest.
That’s up the coast of the Atlantic Ocean of the United States. It took them an extra day. After 35 days at sea, he had crossed over so many oceans, seas, and three continents. Now finally he was seeing the American coastline.
The day started out sunny and bright, but then, just as here during the rainy season, around four o’clock the rain starts. At that time on the Atlantic Ocean, suddenly a fog came down and nothing could be seen—they had to stop the boat. Prabhupada was used to that, but he was just praying. He said, may Lord Krishna be pleased to lift this fog.
This was his last day on the boat. The boat we usually see in pictures of the Jaladuta was not the actual one he travelled on. There were actually three Jaladutas. The one, seen in most photos, was scrapped in 1953. There was a larger Jaladuta, brought from Germany, that had a large auspicious swastika on the front. And this was the boat that Srila Prabhupada took to America.
After two or three hours of fog, they reached the port of Boston safely at 5.30 in the morning on the 17th of September, a Friday. They were at a special pier called Commonwealth Pier, which was historically famous in America for revolutions. This was the starting point of the American revolution that led to its independence in 1776.
At that time in 1965, India had only had less than 20 years of independence after being released from British rule.
When Prabhupada left India, he couldn’t find followers. Nobody wanted to cooperate with him. So he came to America to fulfil his spiritual master’s instruction. America, having had nearly 200 years of independence, had reached the pinnacle of material prosperity and was ready for spiritual life.
Prabhupada came as a catalyst. One small match can burn an entire forest. He arrived at the very place where the American revolution began, and he began a spiritual revolution from Commonwealth Pier.
They couldn’t immediately land. Prabhupada had to go through immigration: passport, visa, sponsor—everything had to be shown. Finally, by 10 o’clock in the morning, Captain Pandya offered to take Prabhupada around the city of Boston.
Captain Pandya didn’t understand who he had brought. He was actually the spiritual ambassador of India. This was Prabhupada’s first impression of America. First impressions last.
One of Prabhupada’s senior-most disciples, Satsvarupa Das Goswami poeticised this moment of Prabhupada’s pastime in one stanza:
As the boat entered Boston Harbour, no one expected the extent of the change to come, but history was changing from no pure devotee in the West to one.
Many yoga societies had sent representatives to America before, but with little effect. Most went for material gain. Srila Prabhupada was the first pure devotee to reach America.
When Prabhupada came off the Jaladuta, Captain Pandya took him into the city of Boston. Prabhupada’s thoughts were deep: “Why have you brought me here?”
He spoke with hope and helplessness: I am your puppet, make me dance, make me dance. This was his mood
When you’re cooking rice, you just have to pick up one grain to know what the whole pot will be like. Similarly, Prabhupada got a glimpse of America through Boston.
Ports are not the most beautiful places. They’re where the sailors and merchants come—there’s a lot of dirt and coming and going. As the early morning mist lifted, Prabhupada saw the city, the dirty streets and buildings, and the people rushing to work. He grew anxious. How could he change them?
Having toured Boston for a few hours, he had to return to the ship and wait until the next day to proceed to New York.
Every year we celebrate this auspicious day. And every year we uncover more details about Prabhupada’s arrival. This year, we discovered letters Prabhupada had written when he first arrived in America.
He wrote to his eldest son, Prayagraj; to Sumati Morarji, who had been his greatest supporter; to Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj; and to Keshav Gaudiya Math, where his godbrother Keshav Maharaj had awarded him sannyas.
He also wrote to Narayan Maharaj and other godbrothers, encouraging them to come and help with the mission in America.
Although Prabhupada is known to have begun his struggles in New York, the next temple he opened was in Boston. He sent Satsvarupa Maharaj there, who started a temple even though it was a very difficult area.
What Prabhupada did in Boston was significant. The first thing he established was not just a temple, but a printing press and an art department, following his spiritual master’s instruction: If you ever get money, print books.
He also installed the first Radha-Krishna deities—Radha-Bala—and initiated the first Western brahmins, both men and women. Boston holds a very special place in ISKCON history.
Every year devotees come with a murti of Prabhupada and celebrate this day at Commonwealth Pier.
After Boston, Prabhupada described in his diary what he saw—unbelievable material development: skyscrapers, lights, overpasses, bridges, canals. It was unlike India at the time.
He wrote that he passed under bridges, went on overpasses and saw the canals. Then again there was fog. Americans were coming onto the ship. He met two kind gentlemen and began to speak with them. He was getting a little taste of what to expect in New York.
Due to fog, they landed three hours late—at 12.30 in the afternoon. The next place he had to go was the Port Authority. This is where all transport—harbour, buses, trains—is centralised in New York City.
When he landed, his books were being unloaded. He didn’t know which way to go. He called Gopal Agarwal in Butler, Pennsylvania. Gopal had arranged through the Travellers Aid Society to escort him.
The Port Authority bus terminal is a massive building. Because Prabhupada put his lotus feet there, hundreds of devotees were later created from that terminal.
Devotees started preaching there, distributing prasadam and books. It became like a second temple in New York.
Prabhupada had to wait there until 5 o’clock. Then he boarded a bus for a nine-hour journey. He hadn’t eaten. This was the trip he took. It was along NH80, which goes from the East Coast to the West Coast. You can drive it all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Prabhupada was amazed. At that time, India had no highways. He said for 500 miles, there was a steady stream of cars all going 100 kilometres per hour—non-stop.
Finally, around 2 o’clock in the morning, he reached Butler, Pennsylvania.