Entering America

Gargamuni Dasa: Prabhupada was very brave to be thinking of his mission rather than his body. We all think about our bodies.

Anyway the captain remarked how the ocean was like glass and Prabhupada said, "Yes because Krishna's leading the Jaladuta." The messenger of the sea, the name Jaladuta means basically. Krishna is guiding it. So Prabhupada didn't get any illness or any negative feelings about crossing. It took 40 days to make the complete trip from India.

He arrived and first he went through customs in Boston. In Boston, Prabhupada went through customs there and he boarded back on the ship. I believe, it was like, it took another two days to get to New York. So in New York, Prabhupada didn't have to go through customs. So when he went to customs the man said, "How long you want to stay?" I think Prabhupada said 30 or 60 days. I think it was 30 days. So the man stamped it 30 days. Prabhupada didn't know what to expect, what was going to happen.

When he got to New York a man from Butler came with a van and greeted Prabhupada and brought him to Butler which took about six or seven hours.