Radha Krishna Temple

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For other uses of "Radha Krishna", see Radha Krishna (disambiguation).
For the temple of the same name in Dallas, Texas, see Radha Krishna Temple, Dallas.

Radha-Krishna Temple (London)
Tamal Krishna
Yogesvara
Websitehttps://iskcon.london

The Radha-Krishna Temple (also Radha-Krsna Temple) is the headquarters of the

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to establish a UK branch of the movement in 1968. The Temple came to prominence through George Harrison of the Beatles publicly aligning himself with Krishna consciousness. Among the six initial representatives in London, devotees Mukunda, Shyamsundar and Malati
all went on to hold senior positions in the rapidly growing ISKCON organisation.

As Radha-Krishna Temple (London), the Temple devotees recorded an

Govinda". With Harrison's financial support, the Radha-Krishna Temple secured its first permanent premises, at Bury Place in central London, then acquired a country property in Hertfordshire, known as Bhaktivedanta Manor. In 1979, following legal proceedings over the use of the Bury Place site, the central London temple moved to a new premises at Soho Square
.

Background

A black-and-white photo of the swami sitting cross-legged with a figure of round-eyed smiling deity to his right
Prabhupada (with the deity of Jagannath to his right) chanting in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in February 1967

As founder and

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada established the first Radha-Krishna Temple in New York in 1966, followed by a branch in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco.[1][2] In 1968, as the movement continued to expand in North America,[3] he asked three married couples who had served at the San Francisco temple to establish a base in England.[1] One of the devotees, Shyamsundar Das, later explained that "The scene, the centre of activity, was shifting from San Francisco to London [in 1968]", and that the 72-year-old[4] Prabhupada was drawn to having a base in the United Kingdom due to his upbringing as "an Indian in the British Empire".[1]

Formerly known as Sam Speerstra,

Gaudiya Vaishnava teachings.[9] The third couple was Gurudas and Yamuna.[1] Before joining the Hare Krishna movement, Gurudas had spent five years in Alabama as one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s human rights supporters and then worked among San Francisco's underprivileged communities.[10]

Early months in London

After arriving in Britain, the three couples lived in separate accommodation across London and struggled financially.[1] They met to perform their missionary activities – which included kirtans (public chanting), attending notable public events, the distribution of promotional leaflets in busy areas such as Oxford Street, and the cultivation of new members.[11] Having previously relied on the generosity of the local Indian community, they eventually settled in a warehouse complex in Covent Garden,[1] which also served as their temporary temple.[12] Malati later recalled of this early period in England: "[We had] hardly any possessions, no money, no protection. It often got very cold … All we had was love for Srila Prabhupada."[13]

To gain wider recognition for their message, Shyamsundar had the idea of meeting

Maha Mantra, into their songs.[14] In October 1968, Mukunda and Shyamsundar went to the band's Apple Records offices, on Savile Row, where Peter Asher subsequently passed a recommendation on to George Harrison,[15] the Beatle most interested in Indian philosophy and culture.[16][17][18] The following month, the devotees' public appearances in Oxford Street received national attention in London's Times newspaper. The article carried a quote from Gurudas that read: "Hare Krishna is a chant that sets God dancing on your tongue. Try chanting 'Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth' and see the difference."[19]

Meeting George Harrison

With Harrison busy finishing the band's double album

kirtana while in Vrindavan in September 1966; he had also enjoyed Prabhupada's album Krishna Consciousness[23] and had begun chanting the Maha Mantra, sometimes with John Lennon.[24][25] When they met in December 1968, Harrison greeted Shyamsundar with the words: "Hare Krishna. Where have you been? I've been waiting [years] to meet you."[26]

Harrison subsequently visited the devotees at their warehouse.

house in Surrey[32] and the Apple offices.[33]

Recording for Apple Records

Three men in their early fifties, one on the left, wearing a white robe and holding a bottle of water with both hands, and two on the right, one in a white robe and one in a pink robe. On the wall behind them is something written in Sanskrit, both in Roman characters and in Sanskrit characters.
Harrison, Shyamsundar and Mukunda in the Hindu holy city of Vrindavan in 1996

As a director of Apple, Harrison valued the record label as a means to working with acts other than the Beatles.

kartal.[43][44]

Released by Apple Records in August,

Humble Pie at London's Royal Festival Hall, the Radha-Krishna Temple would be performing eleven concerts at the Holborn Conway Hall between 15 October and 22 December, for which audiences were encouraged to bring their own musical instruments and participate. The same report said that further performances were scheduled in Oxford, at the Revolution Club in London, and in Amsterdam.[49] The Temple devotees went on to play concerts across Europe to meet public demand.[13][50] Mukunda later said: "We went from street people to celebrity status. Overnight."[3][51]

Aided by the association with Harrison,[52][53] the single established the ancient mantra in the cultural mainstream, while also attracting many new members to ISKCON's centres.[54] For the growing London branch, this achievement was accompanied by a more tolerant attitude from a previously wary public.[55] In addition, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava faith, the international popularity of the Temple's recording was viewed as the fulfilment of a prediction by the Hare Krishna movement's sixteenth-century avatar, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,[32] who had written: "One day, the chanting of the holy names of God will be heard in every town and village of the world."[56]

Establishing the London temple, and Prabhupada's first visit

A color photo of a young Western woman dressed in sari and an Indian Swami in the forefront
Malati with Prabhupada in Vrindavan in 1975

Prabhupada was pleased with his disciples' progress but had stated that he would only visit London once they had established a formal ISKCON temple.[57] For this purpose, Mukunda found a seven-storey[13] premises at 7 Bury Place, close to the British Museum in London's Bloomsbury area, for which Harrison was co-signee on the lease[33] and helped fund.[47] Gurudas has spoken of the problems the devotees experienced, with complaints being made against them by their former neighbours, and objections being raised by members of the community at Bury Place, and that it was only through Harrison's guarantee that they were able to secure the new site.[58]

With the building in a state of disrepair,[13] Lennon offered the Temple devotees temporary accommodation on his recently purchased estate, Tittenhurst Park, near Ascot,[59] while renovations were underway at Bury Place.[4][60] The devotees occupied the servants' quarters at Tittenhurst Park, close to the main house, and assisted in their hosts' renovation of the 72-acre[32] property.[61]

In September 1969, Prabhupada finally came to visit the new UK base, reuniting with his disciples[62] and meeting Harrison and Lennon for the first time.[63][64] Held in a former recital hall in the grounds of Tittenhurst Park, Prabhupada's meeting with the two Beatles and Yoko Ono, Lennon's wife, led to a philosophical discussion about topics such as the Bhagavad Gita, mantras and Krishna.[65] Their conversation was taped by Shyamsundar[66] and later made available as Lennon '69: Search for Liberation, the first publication in Mukunda's Vedic Contemporary Library Series.[67] Of the two bandmates, Lennon was the one most impressed with Prabhupada initially.[68] Harrison, who was preoccupied with news that his mother had been taken severely ill,[63] later admitted to having underestimated the acharya at first.[69]

Prabhupada stayed in a guesthouse at Tittenhurst Park, at Lennon's invitation.[32] The recital hall – which had been one of the locations for what would turn out to be the Beatles' final photo shoot as a band, on 22 August 1969[70] – became known as "the Tittenhurst Temple" from this point.[4]

In what Gurudas would deem "not the best move", the devotees' numbers had been bolstered with some recent recruits who provided a disruptive influence.[71][nb 2] As a result, Prabhupada's followers "outstayed their welcome" at Lennon's home, according to author Alan Clayson,[72] while Joshua Greene writes of the devotees later recalling "few … friendly exchanges with their hosts" there, compared to the warm relationship they shared with Harrison.[73]

In December 1969, Prabhupada and the devotees – which now numbered 25, in Gurudas' estimation[58] – moved into the new Radha-Krishna Temple at Bury Place.[73] The location allowed for easy access to Oxford Street,[73] which continued to be the Krishnas' main area of interaction with the public in central London.[74] Harrison donated the temple's altar,[75] which was made of Siena marble selected by his sculptor friend David Wynne.[76]

Prabhupada and Harrison

Harrison came to revere Prabhupada as a teacher and a friend,[77] as well as "a perfect example of everything he preached".[78] Harrison was particularly taken with the guru's insistence that he was merely a servant of God,[79] telling Mukunda in 1982:[80]

A lot of people say, "I'm it. I'm the divine incarnation. I'm here and let me hip you." … But Prabhupada was never like that … I always liked his humility and his simplicity: "the servant of the servant of the servant" is really what it is, you know. None of us are God – [we're] just His servants.[81]

Harrison once asked Prabhupada if he should also shave his head and formally become a devotee, to which the acharya replied that he could do more for Krishna through his music.

Govinda", he was moved to tears and asked for the song to be played every morning during the daily greeting of the deities,[84] or darshan arati.[85] This practice continues today, at all ISKCON centres around the world.[86][87]

1970 activities

The Temple members made other

Tamal Krishna, a flute player, was among the members of ISKCON's American centres who also joined the London chapter over this period.[62]

The devotees again appeared on Top of the Pops to promote "Govinda".[92] Richard Williams of Melody Maker described their performance as "a fresh wind blowing in the midst of turgid dishonesty"; he added: "There they were – a dozen or so people with happiness on their faces, completely unselfconscious, radiating a weird inner strength of the kind which easily unsettles less secure people, even those of a so-called 'enlightened' generation."[92] Sung primarily by Yamuna,[93] "Govinda" peaked at number 23 in the UK.[46]

Greene has written of the devotees "jok[ing] about a Harrison Bat-Light", whereby, in a scenario akin to the

Maxim's restaurant,[95] this gesture increased Harrison's public affiliation with the movement,[96] as did his financing of Prabhupada's 400-page book Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,[47] for which he also wrote a foreword.[13][97]

That same spring, Harrison invited three families from the London temple to stay at his newly purchased Oxfordshire estate, Friar Park,[98][99] where they helped restore the property's parkland and formal gardens.[61] The devotees' arrival at Friar Park sated Harrison's love of chanting[100] and inspired themes on his first post-Beatles solo album, All Things Must Pass (1970),[101][102] but left his wife, Pattie Boyd, feeling increasingly isolated.[103][104] While Boyd welcomed Shyamsundar's presence, as the leader of this group,[105] she and others close to Harrison were disturbed by the devotees' approach to childrearing when a young boy twice came close to drowning in the property's fountains.[106]

Apple Records album

Main article: The Radha Krsna Temple (album)

Yamuna suggested to Prabhupda that the Radha Krishna Temple (London) album might be released "in time for Christmas [1970]", with the title Bhaja Hunre Mana, Mana Hu Re.[107] Apple issued it as The Radha Krsna Temple, in May 1971, compiling the two hit singles with new tracks,[88] one of which was the eight-minute "Bhaja Hunre Mana".[108]

The album cover depicted the

prasadam for the musicians and crew.[110][nb 3]

The album was subsequently released as Goddess of Fortune on the Spiritual Sky record label

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.[113] Following an initial CD release on Apple Records in 1993, The Radha Krsna Temple was remastered and reissued in October 2010 as part of Apple's ongoing reissue campaign,[114] and featured in the sixteen-disc Apple Box Set.[115]

Bhaktivedanta Manor and the founding devotees' later careers

Bhaktivedanta Manor temple

ISKCON's London chapter continued to grow during the early 1970s, such that the temple at Bury Place became too small to accommodate all its members by 1972.[62] Harrison once more offered to help, and instructed Scottish-born devotee Dhananjaya to purchase a 17-acre property in Hertfordshire, close to London, on his behalf.[62] Harrison donated the property, subsequently named Bhaktivedanta Manor, to the movement in February 1973.[116] In addition to serving as the new UK headquarters,[117] Bhaktivedanta Manor has since become one of the most popular Krishna temples in Europe.[72] Out of appreciation for Harrison's various contributions, Prabhupada called him ISKCON's "archangel".[118] In 1979, following legal proceedings over the use of the Bury Place site, the central London temple moved to a new premises at Soho Square.[119] The Radha-Krishna deities were installed there and became known as "Radha-Londonishvara".[120][121]

Ratha-Yatra
festival procession in central London

In their book on the first four decades of the Hare Krishna movement, authors Graham Dwyer and Richard Cole describe the three couples who founded the UK mission as "pioneer devotees".

Ratha-Yatra festival.[125] From Marble Arch and ending at Trafalgar Square via Piccadilly,[124] the acharya walked the whole route, dancing and chanting in front of a chariot carrying the deities of Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra. Prabhupada's strength amazed his devotees, since he had been diagnosed with dysentery the previous week, while in Calcutta, and was considered to be too sick to travel.[126]

Gurudas and Yamuna were based in Vrindaban in early 1974, where Gurudas was overseeing the construction of ISKCON's

centre there.[127][128] While Janaki left both Mukunda and the Hare Krishna movement, Mukunda ran the UK centres until relocating to Los Angeles in 1976, four years after which he founded the organisation's public relations department.[129] Like Malati, Mukunda served on ISKCON's Governing Body Commission; in Malati's case, her 1998 appointment provided a breakthrough for gender equality within the movement.[130]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ An Apple Records employee at the time, Chris O'Dell recalls that there were "perhaps a dozen Krishnas" on the recording.[42]
  2. ^ Gurudas described these newcomers as "just a hair short of lunatic".[71]
  3. ^ Harrison told Shyamsundar that he had considered including a kirtan in the concerts, but having a set of Indian classical music performed by Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan was "already too much Far East stuff for most people".[111]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dwyer & Cole, p. 30.
  2. ^ Goldberg, 178–79.
  3. ^ a b c Muster, p. 26.
  4. ^ a b c Liner notes by Andy Davis, The Radha Krsna Temple CD (Apple/EMI, 2010; produced by George Harrison; reissue produced by Andy Davis & Mike Heatley).
  5. ^ Mukunda Goswami, p. 150.
  6. ^ Greene, p. 104.
  7. ^ Muster, p. 25.
  8. ^ Greene, p. 84.
  9. ^ Mukunda Goswami, pp. 103–05.
  10. ^ Greene, p. 106.
  11. ^ Dwyer & Cole, pp. 30, 31.
  12. ^ Greene, pp. 106–07.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Dwyer & Cole, p. 31.
  14. ^ Dominick Paul Cerrone, "The Krishnas: An Unexpected Journey" Archived 12 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine, IN Wheeling Magazine, 7 January 2010, p. 20.
  15. ^ O'Dell, pp. 58–61.
  16. ^ Doggett, pp. 33, 35.
  17. ^ Goldberg, pp. 179–80.
  18. ^ Will Hermes, "George Harrison 1943–2001", Spin, February 2002, p. 22 (retrieved 10 June 2015).
  19. ^ Greene, pp. 101–02.
  20. ^ O'Dell, pp. 61–62.
  21. ^ George Harrison, in The Beatles, p. 316.
  22. ^ Tillery, p. 69.
  23. ^ Clayson, pp. 247, 248.
  24. ^ Chant and Be Happy, pp. 7–8.
  25. ^ Tillery, pp. 57, 58–59, 160.
  26. ^ Greene, p. 103.
  27. ^ Tillery, p. 70.
  28. ^ Leng, pp. 34, 39.
  29. ^ Greene, pp. 100, 109–10.
  30. ^ Tillery, pp. 65, 69, 71.
  31. ^ Greene, pp. 112, 117–18.
  32. ^ a b c d Tillery, p. 71.
  33. ^ a b Clayson, p. 267.
  34. ^ Leng, pp. 39, 58–59.
  35. ^ Michael Simmons, "Cry for a Shadow", Mojo, November 2011, p. 80.
  36. ^ a b Castleman & Podrazik, p. 79.
  37. ^ a b Greene, p. 143.
  38. ^ Castleman & Podrazik, pp. 79, 202.
  39. ^ Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, p. 156.
  40. ^ "George Harrison – Tribute by Hare Krishna Members", in Hare Krishna Tribute to George Harrison; event occurs at 18:42–18:45.
  41. ^ Greene, pp. 143–44.
  42. ^ O'Dell, pp. 78–79.
  43. ^ Mukunda Goswami, p. 342.
  44. ^ Greene, p. 144.
  45. ^ Tillery, p. 161.
  46. ^ a b "Artist: Radha Krishna Temple", Official Charts Company (retrieved 9 September 2014).
  47. ^ a b c Goldberg, p. 180.
  48. ^ Greene, p. 146.
  49. ^ "Krishna London concert season", NME, 11 October 1969, p. 13.
  50. ^ a b Greene, p. 147.
  51. ^ Liner notes by Derek Taylor, The Radha Krsna Temple CD (Capitol/Apple Records, 1993; produced by George Harrison).
  52. ^ Lavezzoli, p. 195.
  53. ^ Greene, pp. 147–48, 167.
  54. ^ Clayson, pp. 268, 439.
  55. ^ Clayson, pp. 268–69.
  56. ^ Greene, pp. 107, 148, 153.
  57. ^ Dwyer & Cole, pp. 30, 32.
  58. ^ a b "George Harrison – Tribute by Hare Krishna Members", in Hare Krishna Tribute to George Harrison; event occurs at 24:00–24:57.
  59. ^ Tillery, pp. 71–72.
  60. ^ Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, pp. 156–57.
  61. ^ a b Dwyer & Cole, pp. 31–32.
  62. ^ a b c d Dwyer & Cole, p. 32.
  63. ^ a b Greene, p. 149.
  64. ^ Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, pp. 158, 160.
  65. ^ Tillery, pp. 72, 161.
  66. ^ Greene, pp. 150–51.
  67. ^ Muster, pp. 95, 96.
  68. ^ Clayson, p. 269.
  69. ^ Chant and Be Happy, p. 25.
  70. ^ "Timeline: August 15–September 13, 1968", Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days of Revolution (The Beatles' Final Years – Jan 1, 1968 to Sept 27, 1970), Emap (London, 2003), p. 114.
  71. ^ a b Greene, p. 148.
  72. ^ a b Clayson, p. 306.
  73. ^ a b c Greene, p. 157.
  74. ^ Clayson, pp. 267, 269.
  75. ^ Tillery, p. 72.
  76. ^ Greene, pp. 158, 159.
  77. ^ Clayson, pp. 269–70.
  78. ^ Chant and Be Happy, p. 27.
  79. ^ Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, pp. 165–66.
  80. ^ Greene, p. 155.
  81. ^ Chant and Be Happy, pp. 25–26.
  82. ^ Clayson, pp. 267–68.
  83. ^ Tillery, p. 104.
  84. ^ Greene, pp. 170–71.
  85. ^ Kenneth Valpey, "Krishna in Mleccha Desh: ISKCON Temple Worship in Historical Perspective", in Bryant & Ekstrand, p. 51.
  86. ^ Greene, p. 171.
  87. ^ Kenneth Valpey, "Krishna in Mleccha Desh: ISKCON Temple Worship in Historical Perspective", in Bryant & Ekstrand, p. 52.
  88. ^ a b c Spizer, p. 341.
  89. ^ Fredrik Strage, "Tidernas största flopp?" (in Swedish), dn.livsstil, 14 June 2014 (retrieved 14 September 2014).
  90. ^ Greene, pp. ix–x.
  91. ^ "Interview: Yogesvara Dasa (Joshua M. Greene)", Harmonist, 19 June 2011 (retrieved 14 September 2014).
  92. ^ a b "Melody Maker 09/05/70", Uncut Ultimate Music Guide: George Harrison, TI Media (London, 2018), p. 58.
  93. ^ Greene, p. 170.
  94. ^ Greene, p. 174.
  95. ^ Greene, pp. 174–77.
  96. ^ Doggett, p. 117.
  97. ^ Tillery, pp. 72–73, 161.
  98. ^ Boyd, p. 155.
  99. ^ Tillery, p. 190.
  100. ^ Tillery, pp. 90–91.
  101. ^ Greene, pp. 166–67, 171–72, 181–83.
  102. ^ Chant and Be Happy, pp. 1, 18, 31–32.
  103. ^ O'Dell, p. 154.
  104. ^ Doggett, p. 116.
  105. ^ Boyd, p. 156.
  106. ^ O'Dell, pp. 152–53.
  107. ^ Prtha Devi Dasi, "George Harrison and Srila Prabhupada" > "SP Speech to Maharaja and Maharaini and Conversations Before and After, Indore, Dec 11, 1970", Christ and Krishna (retrieved 9 September 2014).
  108. ^ Castleman & Podrazik, p. 101.
  109. ^ Castleman & Podrazik, pp. 79, 87, 101.
  110. ^ Greene, pp. 188–89.
  111. ^ Greene, pp. 189, 190.
  112. ^ Listing: "Goddess Of Fortune – Goddess Of Fortune (Vinyl, LP, Album)", Discogs (retrieved 4 September 2014).
  113. ^ Listing: "Radha Krishna Temple, The – Goddess Of Fortune (CD, Album)", Discogs (retrieved 4 September 2014).
  114. ^ Joe Marchese, "Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 3 – Esoteric to the Core", The Second Disc, 17 November 2010 (retrieved 4 September 2014).
  115. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Various Artists Apple Box Set", AllMusic (retrieved 9 September 2014).
  116. ^ Tillery, pp. 111, 162.
  117. ^ Tillery, p. 111.
  118. ^ Clayson, p. 268.
  119. ^ "ISKCON and 8 others v. the United Kingdom", HUDOC, 8 March 1994 (archived version retrieved 17 October 2014).
  120. ^ "Temple – Radha Krishna Temple ISKCON London", iskcon-london.org (archived version retrieved 17 October 2014).
  121. ^ Dwyer & Cole, pp. xx, 118.
  122. ^ Greene, p. 189.
  123. ^ Dwyer & Cole, pp. 32–34.
  124. ^ a b Badman, p. 104.
  125. ^ Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, p. 240.
  126. ^ Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, pp. 239–40, 241–43.
  127. ^ Greene, p. 211.
  128. ^ Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, pp. 249–50.
  129. ^ Muster, pp. 26–27, 95–96.
  130. ^ Kim Knott, "Healing the Heart of ISKCON: The Place of Women", in Bryant & Ekstrand, pp. 303–04.

Sources

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