December 21, 1969 : Boston

Satsvarupa: More than one hundred of Prabhupada’s disciples and followers are in the lobby of the International Terminal of Boston’s Logan Airport. Kirtanananda Swami has come from New Vrindaban with a truckload of devotees. The devotees from New York are here with a large banner: NEW YORK ISKCON WELCOMES PRABHUPADA. The plane from London arrives! The devotees press forward, chanting, feverish, some almost hysterical. Suddenly they see Prabhupada’s raised hand with bead bag on the other side of the wall! They can see only his raised hand and bead bag. They go wild. Everyone is pushing and running, trying to be where Prabhupada is. He smiles wonderfully, beaming to his children. Devotees cheer and cry: “All glories to Prabhupada!”

As he walks toward a saffron-covered sofa in the airport lounge, the devotees move with him in an ecstatic wave, pressing in close. Prabhupada is smiling, and the devotees are completely, unabashedly blissful. Prabhupada looks beyond the wall of devotees at the newsmen with their cameras. “So,” Prabhupada begins speaking, “the spiritual master is to be worshiped as God. But if he is thinking that he is God, then he is useless. My request is, please don’t take Krishna consciousness as a sectarian religion… These boys and girls had never heard of Krishna before, but now they have taken it up so naturally – because it is natural.” The potency of this movement is such that it can awaken awareness of God within anyone’s heart.

Swarup Hebel: They cut me right out of this photo (or half of me). I’m in the corner holding the left side of the banner. Rohini Kumar is holding the other side. There’s Tosan, Subal, Jayapataka, Kirtanananda, Chandan, Advaita, Raktak, Gopal Krishna in suit (used to work for Pepsi Cola) standing at the back, and Bhavananda and Satsvarupa. Notice how we spelled Prabhupada wrong?