Gaura Purnima 1993 at Englewood Federal Correctional Institution in Colorado

The first time Sarva-drik joined the Petersburg inmates for a kirtan was a unique experience. As their only information about Krishna consciousness until then had been from books and letters, they had never heard how to sing kirtan or pronounce the words properly.

“They said, ‘Here are our Gaura Nai-tai deities,’” recalls Sarva-drik. “Then, when they started the kirtan, one of the devotees had a guitar, and he was just using a G chord and a C chord. It was almost like a rap style kirtan. But they were very enthusiastic. And they really got into it.”

The inmates’ kirtan made Sarva-drik think more about what’s truly important in our chanting. In the past, he had seen some devotees emphasize the musical quality of kirtan over the content—form over substance.

But here was a group of devotees who didn’t know how to play mridanga or kartals, and didn’t know the correct melody. They had only substance, and no form. But the sincerity of their intent was deeply moving. And he realized that this was what was most important.

With the constraints of life in prison, substance is often all the inmates have. On one occasion back at Englewood FCI for instance, Sarva-drik remembers how they got the chance to cook a feast for Gaura Purnima—Sri Chaitanya’s appearance day—in the prison kitchen.

“Of course by temple standards, you can’t cook in a pot that has had meat cooked in it,” he says. “But it was all we had to work with. So we did the best we could, offering the food to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, asking for his blessings and that he accept the offering, and giving the sanctified food to the inmates. These kind of experiences have been very helpful for me in my own introspective life, allowing me to see what is the essence of Krishna consciousness.”

It’s this essence that Sarva-drik focuses on in his programs with the inmates. A core group of eight—sometimes up to twenty-five—gathers every month for two-and-a-half hours. They first offer obeisances to each other, then sing kirtan together, and then Sarva-drik speaks briefly on a chosen topic from the Bhagavad-gita.

Finally, in order to build their faith and encourage them as much as possible, he allows at least half of the time period for questions and answers.

These fall into three main categories: There are the externals of how to be a devotee—for instance, how to put tilak on, how to pronounce a certain word, or how to sing a bhajan. There are basic philosophical questions—such as why we’re here, and what is the soul. And there are questions about how to navigate life in prison as a devotee, and how to deal with other inmates.

“They’re challenged in many ways—sometimes because of who they are, and the heavy karma they have to deal with,” says Sarva-drik. “Some of them will die in prison. But one of their biggest challenges is the association.”

One inmate, for instance, is a gentle soul who feels for the resident pigeons and likes to hold and feed them. Once, as he was doing this, another inmate walked by and kicked one of the pigeons as hard as he could, killing it—for no reason other than to be mean. This kind of environment is something they must learn to deal with—and an understanding of Krishna consciousness and the nature of the material world can help.

At other times, devotee inmates can be the positive association for others. One devoted soul walks around with a fully shaven head and sikha, and has picked up the nickname “Krishna,” compelling all 1,400 inmates to chant the Lord’s name whenever they see him.

Whether their experiences are good or bad, however, inmates tend to be the perfect recipients for Krishna consciousness. With lots of time on their hands, and no distractions, they are often very introspective. On top of that, they can relate easily to the analogy of all conditioned souls being imprisoned in the material world.

“It’s helpful for them to understand that they’re not the only one,” Sarva-drik says. “The whole world is in prison. And devotional life is parole. We’re correcting our faulty behavior, rectifying our relationship with God, and making progress in our life. And one day, there’s liberation from this situation. Whether we’re ‘in prison’ or out.”

One thing’s for sure: with the help of Sarva-Drik Das and the other volunteers at ISKCON Prison Ministry, they have all the tools they need to break out.

As well as visiting them once a month, Sarva-Drik corresponds by mail with several inmates. Meanwhile, in the prison they have a well-stocked library of Srila Prabhupada’s books, a set of kirtan instruments, and will soon receive DVDs of Srila Prabhupada. Even when Sarva-drik is not present, they meet twice a week to have kirtan and study Bhagavad-gita, and are allowed to celebrate two festivals a year—Janmastami and Gaura Purnima.

These results are encouraging, and Sarva-drik hopes to replicate them in other prisons in the future, beginning with the larger Butner Prison near Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Trying to help someone else in Krishna consciousness is the most inspiring thing,” he says. “There’s nothing more invigorating.”