Introduction

This book narrates the beginnings of ISKCON in Europe, with its primary focus on Germany during the 1970s. Drawing on direct testimonies, letters, personal recollections, and historical descriptions, it offers an insider’s portrait of a young spiritual movement that was growing rapidly while at the same time confronting significant external and internal challenges.

Here the reader encounters the voices of devotees who actively participated in establishing the saṅkīrtana movement in countries such as Germany, England, France, Holland, and Sweden, as well as in the translation and distribution of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, temple life, and their direct relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda. This is neither an idealized narrative nor an institutional chronicle, but a living memory in which spiritual enthusiasm, human shortcomings, organizational tensions, and the constant guidance of the spiritual master converge.

One of the central themes of the book is the role of Prabhupāda’s books—their translation, production, and mass distribution—as a fundamental instrument in the expansion of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. These pages show that book distribution was not merely an external strategy, but a spiritual practice capable of transforming both those who received the books and those who distributed them.

The historical context—marked by the Cold War, widespread distrust of new religious movements, and, in some cases, open institutional hostility—forms the backdrop against which the events described here unfolded.

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s presence runs through the entire book like a guiding thread. His instructions, letters, corrections, and words of encouragement reveal how he guided his disciples even in complex and sometimes chaotic situations, repeatedly emphasizing essential principles: honesty, spiritual seriousness, and the primacy of devotional service over personal ambition or external success.

This book does not seek to judge individuals in retrospect or to offer simplistic conclusions. Its value lies in presenting events and experiences as they were lived, allowing the reader to grasp the complexity of a formative period of ISKCON in Germany and to draw lessons that remain relevant today.

Ultimately, the story that follows is a story of learning: how a group of young people, with all their limitations, endeavored to serve their spiritual master and carry out a mission they understood to be transcendental, under extraordinary circumstances.

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