Preaching Krishna Consciousness: Even in Prison

By Giridhari Syam das,
CDM Office, Sri Mayapur

The cult of Krishna consciousness is spreading to every corner of the world by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the compassion of Srila Prabhupada, and the hard labor of Sri Gaura-bhakta-vrnda.

HG Ananda Govinda Prabhu, during a Nama-hatta function.

When I visited my birthplace in South India recently to see my mother, I happened to join in prison preaching with Ananda Govinda Prabhu, a congregational preacher. Ananda Govinda Prabhu is balancing family duties and service to the Hare Krishna movement. As a business man, he knows how to convince people to purchase his product. Similarly, he is able to convince people to “purchase the product” of Caitanya Mahaprabhu: the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which culminates in Krishna-prema. Indeed he has been very successful in the neighboring villages through the Nama-hatta preaching method.

Ananda Govinda Prabhu was inspired by HH Jayapataka Maharaja for prison preaching. Vasanthi Mataji, who is an official prison doctor, was able to organize prison preaching all over Tamil Nadu (a state in South India). Ananda Govinda Prabhu is ministering at Salem Central prison. Once I went along with him. Among the 2,000 prisoners there, he is able to directly help 150 of them. He plans to eventually have programs for all prisoners, but at present he has only a few trained assistant preachers.

Salem Central Prison

Those 150 prisoners are gradually increasing the number of rounds of their daily chanting of japa, are worshiping deity pictures, accepting only food offered to Krishna, and studying Srila Prabhupada’s books.

One of these followers is Sanmugam, who is imprisoned for being a terrorist. Even within the prison he was very much disturbing the others; the police had been struggling to handle him and could not keep him under control. But after he started following the program of Krishna consciousness, he became obedient and cooperative.

After experiencing how the program of Krishna consciousness changes the hearts of prisoners, police personnel are very happy and appreciative. They want to have such programs in all prisons—to change criminals into civilized persons.

It does not matter where one lives within this material world, for if one undertakes the process of Krishna consciousness he can be liberated from the sufferings of birth, death, old age, and disease and engage in loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, which brings blissful life, the eternal condition of every living entity. The material world is itself a prison house, and within this prison is another prison established by the government. But it does not matter where one lives if he practices Krishna consciousness and tries to please Krishna, guided by His bona fide representative.

The prisoners who are practicing Krishna consciousness within manmade prisons are very fortunate compared to karmis, who are very busy working simply to maintain their material existence, thus wasting the opportunity of human life. Ordinary prisoners have enough time to practice Krishna consciousness, without having to worry about any other unnecessary waste of time. They don’t have political problems, economic problems, transportation problems, and so on.

Ananda Govinda Prabhu says that many more preachers are required to develop prison preaching in Tamil Nadu. If you are interested, he is ready to train you practically and engage you in this service.

All glories to Sri Sri Nitai-Gauranga!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtana-yajna!

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada

"The demigods are pleased when such sacrifices are performed, just as prison officers are satisfied when the prisoners are turned into obedient subjects. Lord Caitanya, however, has recommended only one yajna, or sacrifice, called the sankirtana-yajna, the chanting of Hare Krishna, in which everyone can take part. Thus both devotees and fruitive workers can derive equal benefit from the performances of sankirtana-yajna."

—Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.20

"This material world is a prison for the souls who misbehaved with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The material energy of the Lord, called Durga-sakti, or the superintendent of the prison house, takes charge of the disintegrated parts and parcels, and thus they undergo a conditioned life under the laws of material nature. When the living being becomes conscious of this fact, he tries to go back home, back to Godhead, and thus the spiritual urge of the living being begins. This spiritual urge is called brahma-jijnasa, or inquiry about Brahman.”

—Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.44, purport

Manmade prisons are meant for criminals who disturb the plans of the government. There is no difference in the sufferings between the various situations of the material world, because the material world is meant for suffering.

"No one can be happy in prison life, although one may be a first-class prisoner and another a third-class prisoner. The intelligent person should not try to be promoted from third-class prison life to first-class prison life, but should try to be released from the prison altogether. One may be promoted to first-class prisoner, but the same first-class prisoner is again degraded to a third-class prisoner in the next term. One should try to be free from prison life and go back home, back to Godhead. That is the real goal for all types of living entities."

—Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.10.40, purport