The Hare Krishna Mantra

("Awaiting On You All" - from the Beatles album All Things Must Pass)

Forty years ago, in 1969, the Beatles, perhaps the most popular music group of all time, produced a hit single, "The Hare Krishna Mantra", performed by George Harrison and the devotees of the Radha-Krishna Temple, London. And the Hare Krishna chant became a household word in many parts of the world.

Behind all this was the vital force called Swami Prabhupada. Aubrey Menen in his book The Mystics, notes: "Prabhupada presented them [Americans] with a way of life of an Arcadian simplicity. It is no wonder that he found followers. He opened his mission on the Lower East Side in New York in an empty shop, fitted with nothing but mats on the floor. One of his earliest disciples, with the swami's permission has recorded an incident. Two or three were gathered together to listen to the swami, when an old grey Bowery drunk entered. He carried a pack of paper hand-towels and a roll of toilet paper..." Read more