When The Sun Shines: The Dawn of Hare Krishna in Great Britain - Tapa dura

I can't remember when I saw my first chanting, dancing Hare Krishnas. They were simply there in the late 60s and early 70s, like the pied pipers of the alternative worlds, drawing us away from what we thought we knew. Ranchor Prime tells how those who danced and thought and developed made this country a different and better place. Martin Palmer, Director, International Consultancy of Religion, Education and Culture --Martin Palmer

The early 1970s were a time of confusion and transition in the world, bringing the hope of a new future where the cobwebs of the past would be brushed away. In When The Sun Shines, Ranchor Prime recounts how the West found in those days an opportunity to discover Eastern spirituality through the teachings Prabhupada had to offer. Julius Lipner, Professor of Hinduism and the Comparative Study of Religion, University of Cambridge --Julius Lipner

The early 1970s were a time of confusion and transition in the world, bringing the hope of a new future where the cobwebs of the past would be brushed away. In When The Sun Shines, Ranchor Prime recounts how the West found in those days an opportunity to discover Eastern spirituality through the teachings Prabhupada had to offer. Julius Lipner, Professor of Hinduism and the Comparative Study of Religion, University of Cambridge --Julius Lipner

When the Sun Shines tells the story of how Hare Krishna came to Britain in the 1960s. It is a touching and personal account of innocence and spiritual adventure at the dawn of the Age of Aquarius. The story begins in San Francisco where the founder of the Hare Krishna Movement, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, on a one-man mission from India, gathers young people around him and teaches them about Krishna. A group of Prabhupada s American disciples leave for London, the centre of sixties music and pop culture. There they gain national attention by chanting Hare Krishna and befriending the Beatles. In 1969 Prabhupada arrives in England and stays with John Lennon at Tittenhurst Park, where he lives for three months with his disciples and personally teaches George Harrison. Helped by George, the devotees record the Hare Krishna Mantra on the Beatles Apple label and open Britain s first Hare Krishna temple in Bloomsbury, London. Soon they attract a devoted following of young men and women, and centres are opened across the country. With George s backing they establish a national home at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire, where Prabhupada returns each year to spend time with his growing family and strengthen their resolve, urging them to dedicate themselves to the growth of Krishna Consciousness in Britain. At the heart of the story is the vibrant personality of Srila Prabhupada, forever inspiring his devoted followers with love, wisdom and determination. No one in history ever spoke and acted as Srila Prabhupada did to bring devotion for Krishna from the East to the West. His words will echo around the world for centuries to come. Ranchor Prime Ranchor Prime, himself one of the early members of the British Hare Krishna community, writes with feeling and sensitivity. His carefully researched account weaves together the personal experiences of more than seventy of those who there, to bring to life a captivating story.