Have you visited the famous Hare Krishna tree?

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Have You Visited the Famous Hare Krishna Tree?

28 December 2024

The New York Parks Department has officially designated as a special landmark "The Hare Krishna Tree." You can click this link to see their online commemoration of this special tree. This is the elm tree under which the first widely attended public Hare Krishna kirtan took place on 9 October 1966. If you are ever in New York City you should visit ISKCON's first center at 26 2nd Avenue. This is where Srila Prabhupada legally incorporated ISKCON on July 13, 1966. You should also take a mere 13 minutes walk to the nearby Tompkins Square Park to see the Hare Krishna Tree.

The New York Times reported, “In 1965, after a difficult month on a steamship, a spiritual leader named Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York convinced that if Americans would embrace his conception of Krishna consciousness, the other countries in the world would follow. In 1966 he founded the International Society of Krishna Consciosness at 26 Second Avenue, near 2nd Street. On October 9, 1966, Swami Prabhupada led a group of followers to the nearby Tompkins Square Park. Under the leafy canopy of an American elm tree they began to chant a distinctive 16-word mantra: 'Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.' It was Swami Prabhupada’s first outdoor chanting ceremony outside of India and it was the birth of the Hare Krishna religion. Among those in attendance was poet and East Villager Allan Ginsberg. He later noted, 'The ecstasy of chant or mantra has replaced LSD and other drugs for many of the swami’s followers.' "

ISKCON devotees often go the Hare Krishna Tree to remember and celebrate the significance of that place which is now a sacred place of pilgrimage. The tree is now known by the city of New York as the Hare Krishna Tree, and in 2015, New York City officials installed a plaque to commemorate the event.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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Prabhupada Speaks in Tompkins Square Park on 6 October 1966 Under an Elm Tree

Tompkins Square Park Kirtan that Changed the Course of Human History
(It is Still Revolutionizing the World)

Here's The Famous Hare Krishna Tree

New York City Park Department Plaque Commemorating the Hare Krishna Tree

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Questions and Answers

Hare Krishna,
Dandavat Pranam, Srila Gurudeva.

In one of the questions Your Grace answered that one need not convert religion and your grace said that you can teach one to be a perfect Muslim.

I was inquisitive to know if at all i come across some Muslim people how to preach them. Should I ask them to say Hare Krishna. Please enlighten.

Your insignificant servant of the servant
Govardhan Das

Answer

From: Austin, Texas, USA

My Dear Govardhan,

Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

That depends on their mentality. In general I would just tell them that I very much appreciate your Muslim religion how your bow down and pray to Allah three times a day. I have noticed with appreciation how in many airports in India the government has designated Muslim prayer rooms to facilitate your devotion. I would tell them that we have a lot to learn from you devout Muslims.

If this opens them to discussion I would explain to them that we Hare Krsihna devotees also worship your Allah although we can Him by a different name. And if they are still open I would dive deeper into philosophical discussion how religion is one, to become a pure lover of God.

So the bottom line is that you judge how preach by your audience. Preaching is always according to time, place, and circumstance. A preacher is not a robot simply spouting off verses and philosophy. He is loving, caring human being who wants to guide everyone how they can come back to original state of pure love of God and thus become free from all the miseries of material existence.

So I don't advise you to ask them to chant Hare Krishna unless they look like they are open to doing so. If they are open I would say let's show our love and appreciation for each other, I will chant "Allah Akbar" and you can chant "Hare Krishna." Do you agree? Say this in a loving friendly mood with big smile on your face and joyfully, enthusiastically say, "Hare Krishna." Preaching is blissful. If
you are blissful in your preaching you can attract the whole world.

I hope this meets you in the best of health.
Your ever well-wisher,

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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