Swamiji: An Early Disciple, Brahmananda Dasa, Remembers His Guru

“This book is a long-overdue addition to the early history of ISKCON, and fills in many details that only an insider would know. Certainly nobody apart from Bhaktivedanta himself was more of an insider in the first few years of the movement than Brahmananda. He was one of Bhaktivedanta’s first disciples in the temple at 26 Second Avenue in New York, and, as ISKCON’s first president, was involved in almost all of the activities that Bhaktivedanta set in motion: dancing and chanting in City parks, producing the first editions of Back to Godhead magazine, arranging meetings and talks, overseeing ISKCON’s first book publications, and—as one of the few disciples with a salaried job— providing a small but steady flow of cash for the operation of the temple. . . . In Swamiji, Steven Rosen has given us a glimpse into Brahmananda’s intimate relationship with Bhaktivedanta, and for that, we owe him a debt of gratitude.”

—Thomas J. Hopkins, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania