Vishnujana had shakti, he had power
Meanwhile, the party of the other four sannyasis has already arrived at the Philadelphia temple, a three-story storefront on Lombard Street. This is a small center with only four devotees, so the sannyasis' presence more than doubles the enthusiasm of the devotees. Right after breakfast, everyone goes out to Broad and Chestnut for sankirtana, the place to be in Philadelphia. On Friday night they stay out late and do the movie lines on Chestnut Street.
Daivisakti devi dasi: When Vishnujana Maharaja came, I had never seen or heard anyone like him. In the middle of the night I would wake up and hear Vishnujana still singing within the ether. His harmonium playing and his singing was so transcendental that it would just stay in my mind, and even in the middle of the night I would hear him singing. It was so beautiful. He very deeply influenced me by his chanting then. I was realizing, even then, that this person, whoever he is, has some great mystical potency for chanting the Holy Name. It seems that he's distributing this Holy Name even on the subtle platform over and beyond the chanting that we hear when we go out on sankirtana. Subala had written to Prabhupada that I had given my life savings of two hundred dollars. I also wrote a letter to Prabhupada thanking him for sending these four sannyasis because they are enlivening the devotees so much with their sankirtana. A few days later we got this message from Los Angeles that Srila Prabhupada was not initiating anymore. I was completely shattered! But a week later a letter came back from Srila Prabhupada, and he initiated me through the mail. I got the letter when the sannyasis were at the temple, and I immediately brought them the letter and showed it to them, and they congratulated me.
Lambhodara: I was very influenced in those days by Subala, the temple president. I was associating with devotees and coming after school. I would leave school and ride the bus down to meet the kirtan party and chant for an hour or two before I'd head home. I was coming on a regular basis at that time. I would come to kirtan after school almost every day. My parents and I had finally made peace about it. Therefore, I could come and spend Saturday and Sunday at the temple. So I spent a weekend at the temple, and there were the Swamis. And among them was Vishnujana Maharaja. He was the most powerful. He had a big influence on my actually deciding to try and become a devotee. Vishnujana had shakti, he had power. The others glowed, too. I remember Brahmananda, in particular, also had a presence and an energy, but he didn't have that expression of emotion and love that Vishnujana had. That was inspiring because many of the other devotees around me were stiff and formal. This was the first time there was new blood coming through. They had taken that next step. They had become Swami and taken those vows. To be able to do that was very impressive to me. I remember Vishnujana, in particular, as really having shakti. His face was bright; his glow was vivid. What had transpired had real meaning and had moved him. Another thing that drew me in about Vishnujana was the way he would just open up and pour his heart out. Because if you showed emotion, it was sometimes disturbing to other devotees. And yet he had emotion. I was very impressed by that. I remember having gotten off school and heading down for kirtan. I could hear the devotees and they were ecstatic. The kirtan was hot that day. I was hurrying down the street in downtown Philadelphia. It's crowded, and I'm weaving my way through people. Vishnujana spots me and just yells, "Haribol!" and starts going into a mad dance and comes over and gives me a big hug. We jump up and down and chant Hare Krishna for an hour on the corner of Broad and Chestnut. Whenever he sang and played, I would sit by him and chant. I was impressed by his musical talents, by his true belief, and mostly by his power. He glowed. When you're becoming involved with something like this, the guru always has that for you. But when you see that he imparts it to the other disciples, then it's a really important thing. And of the four I remember that with him. He was very powerful. It was hard for me because I was one of maybe ten black devotees at that time in the whole world. So coming from a Black background, when I sang and led kirtans, it was just emotional. That's what the mantra did for me. I was oftentimes harassed about singing that way or dancing that way. Part of what encouraged that in me was Vishnujana. He was that way, but no one could criticize him. He was like Lord Caitanya, like a madman. I remember him as being about 6'3", with a large forehead. If anyone in the movement looked like Lord Caitanya, and I know how that sounds, but he did.
On Saturday afternoon the devotees of the Philadelphia temple drive up to Manhattan to join the New York devotees for a maha-sankirtana-yajna in Times Square. With the increase of devotees and Vishnujana Swami leading the kirtan, there is also an increase in ecstasy.
Daivisakti devi dasi: During those kirtans I saw for the first time the ecstasy that Caitanya Mahaprabhu must have experienced in His maha-sankirtana. Because the looks of ecstasy that Vishnujana Swami had on those sankirtanas cannot be described. It just looked exactly what mahabhava must look like when someone is experiencing that. It was just so ecstatic with so many devotees chanting, so many musical instruments, and so many people watching. There were hundreds of people because the sankirtana was just so fantastic.
While in Philadelphia, Gargamuni Swami writes to Madhudvisha Maharaja in Japan that he and Brahmananda are now strictly following Prabhupada's program and they feel a lot better about it. Srila Prabhupada is in great anxiety about the two brothers, having not heard from them for almost a month. Madhudvisha, therefore, decides to show Prabhupada the letter. Prabhupada immediately sends an enthusiastic reply.
"Sriman Madhudvisha Maharaja has given me to read your letter dated 16th August, 1970, addressed to him. I have gone through the letter carefully and it gives me a great pleasure. I am so glad to learn that both of you are now chanting 16 rounds or more regularly and murmuring the Gayatri mantras regularly. Please continue this habit without fail. I am very glad to note that you are now realizing that without executing the regular routine work of spiritual life, nobody can grow spiritual strength and without spiritual strength nobody can preach the Krishna Consciousness Movement. Both of you are my great hopes. You have done great service to the cause of the Society and I always consider you as two strongest pillars of the Society. Sriman Brahmananda Swami Maharaja joined me in my apartment in New York sometimes in 1966, and since then he is working so hard for upliftment of our activities and later on you also joined to help the Movement so strenuously. So your service to Krishna in this connection will never go in vain even though accidentally something contrary has been done. So far I am concerned, I am the same spiritual father and guide of both of you, and I have prayed all along to Krishna for bringing you back to your good conscience. I hope Krishna is already helping you, sitting in your heart, and thus you are executing the regulative principles. We have a great task before us to preach this Krishna consciousness all over the world. I have given you all the sannyas order with a great hope that in future you will all work for me. I came to your country to execute the mission of my Spiritual Master at a very old age, and by the Grace of my Spiritual Master within four or five years, with your cooperation, we have expanded beyond expectation. Now if all you sannyasis work with the same zeal and enthusiasm and if each of you establish another set of 30 to 40 branches with necessary influx of devotees, then I am sure our Krishna Consciousness Movement will prove a solid fact throughout the whole world, and for this purpose you have to gather sufficiently spiritual strength. There is a statement in the Caitanya-caritamrta that without being empowered by Krishna, nobody can preach the glories of His Holy Name, and the only means for acquiring this spiritual strength is to abide by the orders of the Spiritual Master. That is the verdict of all Scriptures. I hope in the New Vrindavana meeting you will all formulate a solid program for advancing this Krishna Consciousness Movement all over the world." Letter to Gargamuni Maharaja, August 23,
1970 A big festival has been organized in New Vrindavana, the first movement-wide observance of Janmashtami. Devotees from all over America and Canada will attend. No one has any idea that it is destined to become an infamous event in ISKCON history.