Volume-15 Chapter-34: Vyasa Puja Offering to Mukunda Goswami

By Indradyumna Swami

Volume 15 Chapter 34

|August 23, 2026|

Dear Mukunda Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

On this most auspicious day of your Vyasa-puja, I offer my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for your extraordinary life of service to Srila Prabhupada and the Krsna consciousness movement.

In the history of ISKCON there are certain devotees whose lives are woven inseparably into the very fabric of the movement’s earliest days. Your name stands prominently among them. When future generations look back to understand how Srila Prabhupada’s mission took root in the Western world, they will inevitably encounter your service, your dedication, and your unflinching loyalty to our spiritual master.

You were there when it all began.

Those early days on Second Avenue in New York were not merely historical moments -they were sacred beginnings, filled with uncertainty, sacrifice, enthusiasm, and transcendental adventure. In your wonderful book Miracle on Second Avenue, you capture those formative times with such clarity and warmth that readers feel transported into that tiny storefront temple where Srila Prabhupada was planting the seed of a worldwide spiritual revolution.

Through your words, we catch a glimpse of the atmosphere of those first kirtans, the simplicity of the early devotees, and above all, the profound presence of Srila Prabhupada whose purity and determination changed the course of so many lives, including your own.

But your service did not end with preserving those memories. You were also one of the pioneers who carried the movement forward with creativity and courage.

One of your most remarkable contributions was helping bring the holy name to the world through music. Your collaboration with George Harrison in producing the Radha Krsna Temple album in 1971 became a historic milestone in the spreading of Krsna consciousness. Writing the musical arrangements and sharing this devotional music with a global audience required both artistic sensitivity and spiritual conviction.

When the single “Hare Krishna Mantra” was released on Apple Records and became widely heard, the maha-mantra entered homes, radios, and hearts across the world. In this way, the transcendental sound vibration personally brought to the West by Srila Prabhupada reached countless people who might otherwise never have encountered it.

Looking back on those early days, we can see Krsna’s hand in everything. A small storefront temple on Second Avenue, a handful of young seekers, a pure devotee from India and soon the holy name was echoing across continents, carried even through the music industry. Your role in that divine plan unfolding was significant and unforgettable.

Your friendship with George Harrison is also legendary. He recognized in you a sincere devotee of Krsna, and that spiritual friendship endured throughout his life. Through that connection, so many doors opened for Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

Yet beyond these visible accomplishments, what has always impressed me most about you is something deeper and more enduring.

You are truly a “Prabhupada man.”

You received Srila Prabhupada’s mercy at the very beginning, and you never let go of it. Through decades of change, expansion, challenges, and triumphs within the movement, you have remained steady in your appreciation for him and faithful to the mission he entrusted to all of us.

Many devotees have rendered great service, but only a few have had the rare fortune of personally witnessing those earliest days when Srila Prabhupada was laying the foundation of his movement brick by brick, kirtan by kirtan, soul by soul. Even fewer have preserved that spirit and transmitted it to others with the affection and authenticity that you have shown.

The real glory of a disciple is to faithfully represent the spiritual master. By that measure, your life stands as a beautiful offering at his lotus feet.

Although you have now stepped back from active managerial responsibilities, your presence continues to inspire devotees throughout the world. True influence does not come only from action, but from the character one develops through decades of steady service to Krsna.

In addition to these early pioneering services, you also played an important role in shaping how Srila Prabhupada’s movement would be understood by the broader world. In 1977, you established the ISKCON Communications Office in Los Angeles, helping to present Krsna consciousness with clarity, dignity, and intelligence to thoughtful audiences. Through publications such as the ISKCON World Review, as well as books like Search for Liberation, Chant and Be Happy, Coming Back, and A Higher Taste, you helped articulate the philosophy and culture of devotional life in a way that was accessible and relevant. Other initiatives, including Who Are They? Omni, and later the ISKCON Communications Journal, further reflected your thoughtful and forward-looking approach.

Devotional life begins with faith, grows through association with devotees, and matures through sincere practice. You have lived that progression for more than half a century, and in doing so you have become part of the living history of our movement.

For myself personally, it has been a great fortune to have shared association with you at different points over the years. I have always appreciated your warmth, your musical spirit, your ability to innovate, and above all your unwavering love for Srila Prabhupada.

Today, as devotees gather to honor you, we are not simply celebrating the passing of another year. We are honoring a life that has helped shape the very course of Krsna consciousness in the modern world.

Thank you, Mukunda Maharaja, for your decades of dedication, for your service in spreading the holy name, for preserving the memories of our movement’s sacred beginnings, and for showing all of us what it means to remain loyal to one’s spiritual master throughout an entire lifetime.

On this sacred day, I reflect on how the mercy of Srila Prabhupada continues to move through time, carried in the hearts of those who have remained faithful to him. May that same devotion, ever present within you, continue to guide and nourish all of us who aspire to follow in your illustrious footsteps.

Your servant,

Indradyumna Swami