SpiritualImmediately after Prabhupāda’s departure, Kṛṣṇadāsa began looking for a bigger place. Within a week he found a vacant office on the third floor of an old warehouse on Bartelsstrasse, a small street in the industrial section of Hamburg. Compared to the storefront, the six-room office seemed spacious, and the location was not bad because it was not far from the SBahn station Sternschanze, only a few minutes from downtown by train. In other respects the location and the office were far from ideal: the entrance could not be seen from the street because the building stood in the back of a yard, and there was no bathroom or shower. But the devotees’ report to Śrīla Prabhupāda conveyed enthusiasm, and in response, he wrote to Śivānanda on September 26: I am so pleased to learn you have found out a very nice place. My suggestion is that you take a first class temple site; never mind if the rent is little higher. Kṛṣṇa will give you strength. But try to find out first class place for Kṛṣṇa, and make the throne very nicely as per sample I have given. Then I shall go again and install the Deity. The sooner you do it is better, because when it will be cold, I must leave Europe.
I always remember you for your kind personal service and walking with me on the street. So you are so kind upon me, Kṛṣṇa will bless you with advanced Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and you will be spiritually very happy. Thank you very much.
The devotees moved into Bartelsstrasse at the beginning of November and did their best to convert the old warehouse into a temple. Soon the walls and window frames shone a bright yellow, the old wooden floor a dark brown, and there was a sign downstairs that told visitors they had come to a temple of the Internationale Gesellschaft für Krischna Bewusstsein e.V. * * * The devotees in London, meanwhile, had also found a place for a temple, a five-story building near the British Museum. An Indian man donated a set of beautiful marble Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities, and Prabhupāda wanted to install Them as soon as possible. Thus he focused his attention on preparations for inaugurating the London temple.
Kṛṣṇadāsa, eager for Prabhupāda to return to Hamburg and install Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa at their new place, asked his spiritual master about an auspicious day for the installation and details concerning the ceremony. The reply came on November 7: To celebrate the Rasa Lila Ceremony decorate the Deities very nicely with flowers; as many as possible, ornaments, garlands, nice light demonstration, and much distribution of Prasadam. That will be a very nice day for opening the Radha-Krishna Temple. So if by chance I do not go, then Tamal Krishna, who is arriving in London this Monday, will go. He and Yamuna are both expert in the matter of Deity decoration, so there will be no difficulty for the opening ceremony. So arrange for this ceremony without fail, and let me know immediately if you have got a pair of RadhaKrishna Deities in the new consignment [from India]. If not, the Deities with me will go back there.
In late August the devotees in England had released a recording of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra with George Harrison’s help. Radha Krishna Temple (London), as the singing group was called, conquered the European charts. In Germany, the single “Hare Krishna Mantra” had made it to Number 3 on the pop charts. When the group received an invitation to tour Germany for a week in late November, Prabhupāda sent Tamal Krishna, one of his experienced managers, who had recently come from Los Angeles to help organize the London preaching. Prabhupāda asked him to perform also the Deity installation on his behalf.
TAMAL KRISHNA GOSWAMI: Śrīla Prabhupāda reminded me of the installation of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa that I had observed him perform in Los Angeles and said that everything should be done exactly in the same manner. In the middle of our busy concert schedule, we set one day aside to install the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities. Were it not for Prabhupāda’s order I would not have been considered qualified to undertake such a serious responsibility. Perhaps this was the first time in the history of the BrahmaMadhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya that the Deity form of the Lord was being installed and a fire sacrifice performed by someone born outside India. Of course, birth in India was not in itself a qualification nor a guarantee of being Kṛṣṇa conscious. The ācāryas in our disciplic succession were all greatly exalted, pure personalities, transcendental to such bodily designations. But actually, I was not qualified. I had little personal experience of Deity worship.
In Los Angeles, as in all of our temples, the standards were still simple enough that a single pūjārī could handle all the worship. I had never even offered ārati. And as for the intricacies of performing an abhiṣeka ceremony, I had observed it only once before. But all of my insufficiencies were more than covered by the intense desire of Śrīla Prabhupāda. It was he who was actually installing the Deity, and I was simply the officiating priest. By his request, Kṛṣṇa agreed to descend and accept the form of the Deity as non-different from Himself. Prabhupāda was an unseen participant, for without his presence that day, Kṛṣṇa would certainly not have manifested.
As I went through the motions of ācamana, vibrating the sacred mantras, bathing and dressing the Deities, and finally igniting the sacrificial fire, Śrīla Prabhupāda was the guide directing every action. With each successive svāhā, the devotees threw grains mixed with clarified butter and the fire blazed brightly. Kṛṣṇa was pleased; it was a successful sacrifice. At the end, with Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa installed on Their throne, we offered ārati and danced and sang ecstatically to celebrate the auspicious occasion of the Supreme Lord’s appearance.
Much more than before, the temple room had become a place of reverential worship. There was a feeling of security and shelter because of the presence of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. All of this had taken place by the mercy of the spiritual master. By his blessings, we were now experiencing the blessings of the Supreme Lord.
Thus on November 23, 1969, on the auspicious full-moon day commemorating Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s rasa-līlā pastime, the first Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa temple in Europe was inaugurated. Simultaneously, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, in Their sound incarnation—the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra—were making Their impact felt in the lives of thousands of conditioned souls. MUKUNDA GOSWAMI: Because of the success of the song Hare Krishna Mantra, our group, Radha Krishna Temple, became famous all over Europe. On arriving in Hamburg, the first thing we did, despite the cold, was to go out on the street with all the devotees and perform a tremendous kīrtana in front of a record shop. The owner was very happy because he was selling our record. Soon hundreds of people curiously surrounded us. Obviously, they had seen nothing like it, and they stood and stared. But it seemed that they appreciated the chanting.
In the evening we were scheduled to play at the famous Star-Club, where the Beatles had begun their career in 1962. It was a rundown place on the Reeperbahn, Hamburg’s infamous red-light district, and everything was dirty and uninviting. We had expected something better. The whole place was dark; even the lighting was dim.
TAMAL KRISHNA GOSWAMI: It was doubtful that the club-goers that evening considered us anything more than a musical group. They were unaware that the “performance” was actually an eternal ceremony conducted for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They had come to be entertained, to dance, and to get drunk, and they greeted us enthusiastically with applause, expecting us to turn them on to an evening of sense gratification.
Our intention, of course, was totally different. We had only Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure in mind. We began by singing the praṇāma-mantras to Śrīla Prabhupāda, then The Prayers to the Six Gosvāmīs; next came the Pañcatattva mantra. Finally, we hit them with Hare Kṛṣṇa. As the rhythm began to pick up, couples rose to their feet, moving away from their tables onto the dance floor. As they gyrated about, moving in time to the mṛdaṅga and karatālas, they never suspected that they were taking part in the yugadharma, the great chanting for deliverance in the Kali-yuga.
The next day we were on national TV performing kīrtana in the marketplace of Kiel. The cameras photographed us in our dhotīs and sārīs as we marched along the sidewalks and passed out the German edition of Back to Godhead, entitled Zurück zur Gottheit.
MUKUNDA GOSWAMI: Our concert in Kiel turned out to be one of the most amazing events I have ever experienced. Until then the whole music business didn’t seem too promising. We had mainly encountered degenerate, unintelligent people, interested only in drugs and alcohol. Other than George Harrison we hadn’t met anyone with spiritual inclinations. After the disappointing experience at the Star-Club we thought, ‘Well, that’s what Germany is like,’ so we didn’t expect anything different in Kiel.
We had been booked at the Krüger Klub, a former cinema that had been transformed into a dance hall. All the seats had been taken out, so there was only a stage and a gigantic ballroom. The building was in bad shape. There was no running water, no toilets, and to our dismay, there weren’t even any microphones on stage. We had been announced as the only group for the evening, and the thousand or more teenagers who would come expected a regular concert that would last for two or three hours. But we knew only two or three songs other than Hare Kṛṣṇa. So as more and more people poured into the hall, many of them intoxicated and boisterous, our anxiety grew—maybe they would become violent. Probably they were expecting Rock ’n’ Roll, but here we were, eight Hare Kṛṣṇas without even a microphone.
Fortunately, Sucandra had come with us, so we asked him to address the crowd and explain the situation. After everyone calmed down, he said [in German], “Hare Kṛṣṇa! Good evening, everybody! We are sorry that there is no microphone. And to be honest, we don’t have a repertoire of many songs. Actually, we are not here to present a show. We have something to share with you. Therefore it is very important that you all participate. Please repeat after me: ‘Hare!’” He pointed to a banner we had brought with the mantra written on it. In the beginning, they were a little shy, but soon more and more people joined in, and after some time, when he said “Kṛṣṇa,” the whole crowd responded enthusiastically and in unison: “Kṛṣṇa!” In this way, Sucandra taught them the mantra. Then he asked them to sing along with us, and we rehearsed a simple melody until they got used to it.
There must have been at least two thousand teenagers, and as we led them in the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa they became more and more ecstatic. When we began to dance, they also began to dance. We even taught them to dance with their arms raised like Prabhupāda had shown us. We told them, “This is the Swami Step,” and they all danced with raised arms, just like seasoned devotees.
Soon the kīrtana picked up speed and volume, and after twenty minutes we stopped and said the praṇāma prayers. Naturally, all the devotees bowed down and exclaimed, “Jaya!” To our amazement, these kids also bowed down and repeated “Jaya!”
When we got up, they suddenly started to shout rhythmically, “Zu-gabe! Zu-ga-be! Zu-ga-be!” We were perplexed; they seemed to have enjoyed the chanting, but maybe they had become upset for some reason? Then Sucandra informed us that they were asking for an encore; they wanted to chant more. Relieved, we continued kīrtana for another thirty minutes, but as soon as we stopped they again shouted “Zugabe! Zugabe!” We didn’t know what to do. So we got down from the stage and held a resounding kīrtana on the dance floor. We were in the middle, and all those young people were dancing around us. Then we made two rows and started to jump and dance up and down the aisle. Then we danced in a circle and everyone followed us. Once in a while, somebody came forward to play on one of the mṛdaṅgas. The crowd went wild. Some caught the devotees by their arms and shoulders and jumped up and down like mad. It was almost hysterical. We felt the situation was getting out of hand. The only thing that calmed them down to some degree was more kīrtana. We had to play louder and faster; otherwise, who knows what they were going to do?
We beat the drums so heavily that our hands bled. Splashes of blood were all over the place—on the mṛdaṅgas, our dhotīs, the floor, people’s clothes. But they didn’t care, and it seemed they really liked it that we didn’t care either. We were all carried away by the ecstasy of chanting—and time stood still. The kīrtana continued for almost three hours, and although we were completely exhausted, we didn’t know how to stop.. Then a devotee spotted a turntable and amplifier onstage, so we stopped the kīrtana and put on our record of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. We turned the volume all the way up—it was deafening—, and apparently, the audience liked it. They were satisfied that the kīrtana somehow or other continued. We watched from backstage as everybody chanted and danced, although we weren’t there anymore. And when the record was over, all of them bowed down as they had done during the live kīrtana.
When we returned to the stage, the crowd applauded for several minutes. Sucandra thanked them, but when we were about to leave the stage they again shouted “Zugabe! Zugabe!” Again we put the record on. There was no question of holding another kīrtana in our condition. After they chanted happily for the last time, many of them came onstage and asked for our autographs. Some even asked us to open a temple in Kiel. Everyone was very nice. I am sure that they remembered this wonderful experience for the rest of their lives.
Our next engagement, in Bremen, took place in a small club near a lake and was attended mostly by people in their fifties and sixties who were more concerned with their dinners than our presence.
The last two concerts, in Herford and Münden, were both attended by young people again. There weren’t many of them, but those who came all chanted, and after the performance, many of them came to the stage to ask us questions about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We felt that the prospects for spreading Lord Caitanya’s movement in Germany were very bright indeed. GURU DĀSA: When there came the opportunity to go to Germany, we accepted the invitation, as some of our sincere godbrothers were already there to begin a new Kṛṣṇa consciousness center. Joining with them, we chanted in colleges and clubs, stores and market-places. The first night we chanted in the Star-Club in the famed sin-filled Reeperbahn and changed the atmosphere. The next day we chanted in the marketplace of Kiel, passing out literature announcing a Kṛṣṇa consciousness concert that night at the university and selling the German edition of Back to Godhead, called Zurück zur Gottheit.
The next day we had the transcendental pleasure of witnessing the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa temple come to life in Hamburg. The installation ceremony of the Deities was relished by all, and nice prasādam was offered. Then again the next day off to Münden and Hereford, walking into the dens of apathetic youth to whom sex and intoxicants are the only outlets to their searching. At one engagement, in Kiel, we turned off the red lights of passion and darkness, put the house lights on, and began to chant, and we jumped into the audience singing (for no one is merely the audience). In this process we are simply a room full of spirit souls singing to our beloved one, Lord Kṛṣṇa, crying for our divine father, mother, friend, advisor, protector, confidante and savior. Everything that we love and relate to personally is enclosed in this transcendental name. We all started jumping and crying “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa,” and then the chant ended. We paid our obeisances to Śrīla Prabhupāda and started to leave, but they wanted more. So we chanted more, and again we went to leave, but still they wanted more chanting. So again we began holy sankīrtana, and they were jumping and shouting, "Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa!" Everything was purified by association with sankīrtana.
After returning to London, Mukunda and Tamal Krishna gave Prabhupāda an enthusiastic report about their tour of northern Germany, but they also said that the devotees there would be much more successful if the saṅkīrtana activities were better organized.
So when Prabhupāda received a letter from Kṛṣṇadāsa indicating that he would appreciate more association with older godbrothers, Prabhupāda replied: I have heard from Tamala and Mukunda that there is good chance of preaching our movement in Germany, provided our Sankirtana Party is well organized. For this purpose I have asked Tamala Krishna to stay in Europe for some time, and whenever you will require his assistance in Germany, he will go there and stay for some time.
In London, Prabhupāda received a parcel from Vāsudeva. It contained a small oil painting of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa and a letter. During his visit to Hamburg Prabhupāda had encouraged Vāsudeva to devote as much time as possible to painting. A picture is worth a thousand words, he said, and Kṛṣṇa conscious paintings act like windows to the spiritual world. He needed paintings for his new temples because as long as no Deities were installed, the devotees’ objects of worship were pictures of the guruparamparā, Lord Caitanya and His associates (the Pañca-tattva), and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva happily concentrated on this direct instruction from his spiritual master, but although enthusiastic to focus all his attention on Kṛṣṇa, he still felt the strong pull of material allurements. In his letter he explained his predicament, and Prabhupāda replied without delay: I thank you very much for your nice letter and the beautiful picture of Radha-Krishna which you have sent to me. Immediately upon receipt of this picture, I have hung it on the wall directly above my Deities, and it is appearing very nice there. Thank you very much. I always remember you that you are such a sincere and good boy, and I am sure that Lord Krishna will help you more and more to advance in Krishna Consciousness. Krishna is very merciful to His sincere devotees, but also we have to remember that maya is very strong. Therefore, we have to always be engaged in serving Krishna. At every moment we should be doing this or that service for Krishna’s transcendental pleasure. If we do not remember this, then maya is right there to grab us. It all depends upon our leaning towards Krishna or towards maya. If you lean towards Krishna, you will be in Krishna consciousness; and if you lean towards maya, then you will be captivated by material nature. Krishna and maya are just like light and shadow which are directly next to one another. If you move a little this way, you are in light and there is no question of shadow. But if you move a little the other way, you are in darkness. So if we remember to always be engaged in Krishna’s service, then there will be no maya and everything will be all right. Please always remember this great secret of advancement in Krishna consciousness.
So as you are showing promise to be a nice artist, I think you may next paint some pictures of the spiritual masters in the line of disciplic succession. Also, continue to fix up the new temple nicely and promote the sankirtana movement as far as possible. These, along with promoting our literatures will give you sufficient engagement to fill your time. Also, continue to chant all of your rounds daily and read our magazines and books as much as possible. In this way your future will be very bright, and surely you will be able to do great service to this movement within your lifetime.
VĀSUDEVA DĀSA: Prabhupāda returned to the United States at the end of 1969. A few months later, while in Los Angeles, I sent him a photograph of my first painting of him. A week later I sent him another gift, an oil painting of his spiritual master, for Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī’s appearance day.
When I inquired about how long an express parcel to L.A. took, I found out that I had only one day to do the painting. It was already late in the afternoon, and I had to hurry out and beg for the necessary materials before the shops closed.
The next day, because the painting was still wet, I had to secure it inside a large box in such a way that it could dry during transport. The parcel looked as unusual from the outside as its transcendental contents. After Prabhupāda received the painting, he wrote to me: Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 20 February, 1970, along with an enclosed photograph of one painting of the spiritual master rendered by you. In the meantime, I have received also one painting of my Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Both these paintings are very, very good, and I am therefore requesting that you be able to devote yourself full time in developing this great talent of yours. There are many paintings required not only for our temples, but for illustrating our books also. So I think this work will be more than ample and you will be happy in this work.. While still in Los Angeles Śrīla Prabhupāda also received a letter from Kṛṣṇadāsa who explained his vision for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Germany: If it is your desire, Prabhupada, with the organization of Germany’s Sankirtana Party we would like to make a tour of Germany during the summer and, if it is with your blessings, to open a second temple at least by the end of 1970, either in Berlin or Munich.
Germany (West) has a population of over 50 million, and that is not including East Germany. In England there are over 60 million, but the difference lies in the concentration. In England there are a few large cities (London, Birmingham, Liverpool, etc.) whereas in Germany the folk are spread in hundreds of towns all over Germany, and these towns are situated only short distances apart.
Another hint of Germany’s importance is that the D-Mark, the German currency, is one of the most stable monetary systems in the whole world. As you have said many times previously, the Germans are a very intelligent people. Now the only problem is to reach the people in large numbers, and this will be through SKP and new temples. Especially in large cities, like Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart, all of which have a population of half a million to a million (except Berlin which has 3 million). All these cities are centers of industry, trade, art and travel, and all have Universities.
In another letter, Kṛṣṇadāsa suggested to Prabhupāda that Hansadutta and his wife, Himavatī, could visit Germany. At the time, Maṇḍalibhadra was the only householder in the Hamburg temple, but since his wife was not inclined to participate in temple activities, the brahmacārīs found it difficult to look after new female devotees. Having known Hansadutta from Berkeley, Kṛṣṇadāsa admired his enthusiasm for saṅkīrtana and felt that Himavatī—besides being an excellent cook—would be a vital asset in guiding the new girls. Furthermore, because Hansadutta had extensive experience in managing temples and preaching, Kṛṣṇadāsa hoped his presence might spark a Kṛṣṇa conscious revolution in Germany.