ISKCON50 Festival of Srila Prabhupada's Arrival in New York

On 19th September 1965, the Jaladuta sailed into New York Harbor and docked at a Brooklyn pier, at Seventeenth Street. Fifty years on, on 19th September 2015, we will be commemorating this milestone at ISKCON-London with a range of festivities.

After spending a month in Butler, Pennsylvania, at the home of his sponsor, he came back to New York City to begin his movement to spread bhakti-yoga throughout the western world. He struggled for almost 6 months - during which time he was subjected to a bitter New York winter, theft of his meager belongings and abuse from a drug-crazed roommate. Yet he was determined to bring about a spiritual revolution. In May of 1966, Srila Prabhupada, with the help of just two followers, rented a storefront in New York's Lower East Side at 26 Second Avenue.

In July of 1966, Srila Prabhupada incorporated his beloved institution, ISKCON, with headquarters at this storefront. Later, he often fondly remembered those early days, as he saw the Hare Krishna Movement quickly grow into the worldwide movement we see today.