04/09/2026
Madhuha dasa / Hare Krishna Festival of India
I met Caru Prabhu at the New York temple, which at the time was at 340 West 55th Street a few days before the 1979 Ratha-Yatra. I was a brahmacari, coming from Hawaii, on my way to Africa to assist Brahmananda Swami in his preaching.
The devotees in New York were preparing for the Ratha-Yatra on 5th avenue, and this year, 1979, was going to be special. Brahmananda Swami told me we would be leaving for Africa on Monday morning, two days after the upcoming Ratha-Yatra.
Caru Prabhu, Devi Deva Prabhu and their wives, along with Jambavan, Dasaratha Suta; Raghumisra, and Ganesh Prabhus had arrived in NY about a week before the upcoming festival, which was to be the first festival that the TRYP (Traveling Ratha-Yatra Party) would do. They were based in Toronto, Ontario Canada where Devi Deva Prabhu started the Traveling Festival Party, building chariots; exhibits; stage and getting organized for travel.
Caru Prabhu was looking for some help. As a visiting brahmacari, I was in the temple chanting japa when Caru Prabhu found me. He said “we’re building 3-Ratha-Yatra Chariots, a stage, & several exhibits to present the Krishna consciousness philosophy to the conditioned souls on the streets of New York and we really need help”! I went with him to a huge underground parking garage just a few blocks from the temple and he put me to work. Vaibhavi Mataji was putting the exhibits together while Devi Deva Prabhu was focused on the chariots. Caru Prabhu asked me to stay and help them.
We were there 24 hours a day for 2 days. Devotees brought prasadam from the temple. It was a marathon to finish everything before this first program that the TRYP was participating in.
We setup the festival in Washington Square Park. There were a few little glitches with one of the chariots, the exhibits, and the stage, but in general it was an amazing Ratha-Yatra.
In July 1976, during a morning walk in Potomac, Maryland, Srila Prabhupada referred to the Ratha-yatra festival on 5th Avenue in New York City by stating:
"Rathayatra in New York City on Fifth Avenue, the most important street in the most important city in the most important country in the world. It has been my dream always to have Rathayatra in New York."
After that festival, on Monday morning I went to Brahmananda Swami’s room and full of enthusiasm I asked him “when are we leaving for Africa Maharaj?”. Maharaj told me “plans changed, you’re not going to Africa, you’ll be staying here in North America and working with Caru Prabhu…”! At the time I couldn’t understand, and I was looking forward to the austerities that I had heard that devotees in Africa have to experience. Hare Krishna!
In any case Caru Prabhu needed help and I was happy to go with him. He explained his vision of the program to me: “We’ll be doing Ratha-Yatra festivals all over North America during the summer season, then university programs all winter, non-stop preaching and book distribution, and lots of traveling…”! Caru Prabhu, and Vaibhavi Mataji were always so encouraging, setting the bar a little higher every day, there was always room to do a little more service!
After that 1979 Ratha-Yatra in NY, Caru Prabhu told us “we’re going to Los Angeles, and we’ll be based there for some time”. The first festival after that was the 1979 Labor Day weekend grand opening of Prabhupada’s Palace in New Vrindavan.
We did a few University programs that first winter. Caru Prabhu and Vaibhavi Mataji had scheduled Chitresh, a famous Kathak Dancer who drew a large crowd at the festivals. Agnidev Prabhu; Ramadas; Caitanya dasi and their small bhajan troupe were invited to every university program. Eventually a cassette came out called ‘Bhakti Rasa’.
The festivals on the University campuses were done in the name South Asian Cultural Exhibition (SACE). At the time I didn’t quite understand why we were using another name, but it quickly became clear—because we were able to get into major universities including: University of Southern California; Cal State San Diego; Stanford, and many other prestigious educational institutions and we always had first class locations in front of the student unions. Agnideva Prabhu and his group always sung all the bhajans from the Vaisnava song book, and added the Hare Krishna Mahamantra in the middle. Most of these Universities would not have issued permits or given us permission to sell & distribute books and prasadam if we walked in as Hare Krishna people. Somehow Caru Prabhu had the vision to ‘change the name and be invited in as a cultural presentation, ‘South Asian Cultural Exhibition’.
I believe it was in July of 1980, Caru told me “we are confirmed to do the Toronto Ratha-Yatra Festival and that I need to start driving there”. I told him I needed at least $900 to fuel up the truck (Los Angeles to Toronto). He waited until the last moment, just before we had to leave, and told me to open up the back of the truck. He then gave me a pallet (about 50 cases) of Bhagavad-Gitas and told me: “stop at truck stops along the way—Krishna will reciprocate with you, you’ll get all the Lakshmi you need. See you in Toronto”. Somehow we got there, Krishna’s mercy.
During the Christmas marathon in Los Angeles, Caru Prabhu was sending me out to stores with a table with some stainless steel trays. One was filled with a nice Basmati Rice preparation and another with a first class subji. I was wearing a turban and the sign on our table said ‘Exotic India Cuisine from South Asian Cultural Exhibition’. It was very slow, about $50 a day. One day Caru Prabhu told me he asked someone to bake some fudge brownies (made with carob). He said “we’re “in America, people like brownies. Subji and rice may seem foreign to most people”. I sold out in 10 minutes and called Caru Prabhu. Within a few hours he delivered several trays of brownies and it went very well. Within a few days we also had oatmeal raisin, carob chip, and peanut butter cookies on the table. We stopped the subji and rice and only did cookies & brownies. This was so successful that the Los Angeles temple started doing massive cookie & brownie prasadam distribution all over the greater Los Angeles area. Again Caru Prabhu was thinking ‘out of the box’. He came up with that idea which ultimately helped hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of conditioned souls in California get to taste Krishna Prasadam, and support Krishna conscious programs.
Caru Prabhu was a walking Srimad Bhagavatam. He was always preaching, explaining Krishna consciousness to whomever he met. He delivered many lectures on University campuses, and in Los Angeles he was doing radio programs once or twice a week.
Caru Prabhu was the MC at the Los Angeles Ratha-Yatra from 1979 until at least the mid 1990s. He was always an exceptional speaker that would capture the audience’s attention and keep them engaged.
Early in 1981 or 82 Caru Prabhu said “we’re driving to Utah to look at a radio station”. We arrived at a small town called Spanish Fork, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. There was small AM radio station named KHQN, 1480 on the AM dial. Caru Prabhu made a down payment on it, not really knowing how he would raise the balance. Back in Los Angeles he was producing 6 hour tapes that would broadcast every day. So even if he was not in Utah, the preaching on the radio would go on, he just needed someone to watch the station to change the tapes twice a day. Between recording tapes for broadcasting, Caru Prabhu & Vaibhavi Mataji were arranging locations for selling prasadam cookies. That’s what helped pay the balance of the radio station.
Caru Prabhu showed me, by his practical life example, that all we had to do is depend on Krishna. Caru Prabhu was fully engaged every day—studying the Bhagavatam; recording tapes; interviewing devotees for radio programs; doing home programs; managing the life-membership program in Los Angeles; and selling cookies to keep the radio station going.
In the Gita Lord Krishna says:
ananyāś cintayanto māṁ
ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ
yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham
But those who always worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.
Caru Prabhu was clearly qualified, and Lord Krishna always carried what was lacking.
In 1985 or early 1986, Vatsal Prabhu and myself, along with our families, moved to Spanish Fork to help Caru Prabhu and Vaibhavi Mataji build the first temple there, it was a large log cabin style house.
Caru Prabhu was mostly living in Los Angeles at the time, but whenever he would come to Utah, there were wonderful classes. Everyone looked forward to his association.
Years later, Vaibhavi Mataji designed an amazing temple to be built on the hill just above the original radio station in Spanish Fork. Who would ever have imagined that in the heart of Morman Utah, a super excellent Radha Krishna would be built. Caru Prabhu was highly respected by University Professors and elders in the Morman church. In 1999, when Caru Prabhu was building the temple in Spanish Fork, the Morman Church contributed $25,000 to the Radha Krishna Temple.
In the early 2000s Caru Prabhu started the Holi festivals in Spanish Fork. Honestly, I was a little skeptical at first thinking ‘these devotees are really getting a little out there, too much rock music and party-like atmosphere...’. Then I went to one of the Holi festivals and it completely changed my thinking. I was then, and now as well, convinced that Srila Prabhupada and the whole Parampara must be looking down at Caru Prabhu and thinking ‘this devotee is genius, they have seen the enjoying spirit of the conditioned souls how they want to sing, dance, enjoy good food and the devotees engaged their propensities in Harinam Samkirtan’. Thousands of people, young & old, come to the Holi festivals to have a ‘good time’ they’re all eating Krishna Prasadam and dancing while singing along with the kirtan leaders ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. After being at one Holi Festival, it was clear again to me that Caru Prabhu had a special vision how to innovate and give Krishna consciousness to conditioned souls.
When we moved Festival of India to Sandy Ridge, NC, I was separated by some 2,000 miles from Caru Prabhu, but he was always an inspiration for me. He showed me tenacity—how to just keep going, how to keep doing your devotional service even though there may be so many obstacles. He had very little help and support at times, but he never gave up. The Holi festivals he started, grew to be the largest Krishna conscious festivals in North America—more than 30,000 people--twice in one day!
Caru Prabhu has encouraged & inspired many devotees all over North America. He shared all the details of how to make their festivals successful.
The last several years he has come to many of the Holi Festivals at festivals we’ve been doing including: New Vrindavan; Maimi; Towaco, NJ; Toronto; and Houston, Texas. Caru Prabhu has also been doing some Rapping, and his words are directly out of the Srimad Bhagavatam. I last saw him November 8th, 2025 at the ‘Festival of Bliss’ Holi Festival in Houston,Texas.
Thank you Caru Prabhu for Drafting me in 1979 into the festival service. Hare Krishna!
Caru Prabhu will always be remembered as a gentle; kind; creative; very intelligent disciple of Srila Prabhupada. Hare Krishna!
