From Prabhupada’s Point of View:  Alone in New York City

Suppose you want to tell of your experience in facing a tiger.  You were traveling unarmed through the jungle, when suddenly you came upon a tiger.  As a narrator, you build up the suspense, “There I was, face-to-face with a ferocious tiger!”

We can empathize with the terror you must have felt, simply by stretching our imaginations a little, we feel your danger.  Similarly, we may try to put ourselves in Prabhupada’s position: what was it like for him to come alone to America and to live in New York City?  Let us think of those circumstances and appreciate it from Prabhupada’s point of view. 

In New York, Prabhupada is wrapped up in the preaching mood.  He thinks, “My dear Lord Krishna, why have You brought me here?  This place of demons is far away from Vrindavana.  But You must have some purpose.”  Prabhupada’s disciples find themselves in similar situations when they go to preach in countries where there is no ISKCON temple to support them.  Fortunately, by Prahbupada’s work, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is never very far away from us.  Yet occasionally, we are on our own.  At times like that, we can remember what it was like for Prabhupada alone in New York City.