Aindra- Kirtan Revolution

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Kalachandji das (Carl Herzig, PhD) is a professor of English in Davenport, Iowa, where he teaches courses in creative and expository writing, sacred poetry, film, and the Bhagavad-gita, and leads service- learning trips to Vrindavan, India. Born and raised in New York City, he was introduced to Krishna consciousness by his brother, Tamal Krishna Goswami, in 1969 and was formally initiated in 2013 by His Holiness Giriraj Swami. He has published numerous articles and works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry and edited dozens of others, including I'll Build You a Temple: The Jubu Story (and all other publications), by Giriraj Swami; Hiding in Unnatural Happiness, by Devamrita Swami; Ocean of Mercy, by Bhakti Charu Swami; Reason and Belief, Yoga for the New Millennium, and A Hare Krishna at SMU, by Tamal Krishna Goswami; and A Transcendental Diary (Vol. 5), by Hari Sauri das. He has served as Director of Writing in Iowa; Testing Coordinator for the University of California-Santa Barbara; Visiting Scholar for Humanities Iowa; reviewer for literary and creative journals; and evaluator for the U.S. Senate Youth Program, the Iowa Humanities Board, and the Illinois Council for the Humanities, and currently serves on the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust's Editing Review Panel. In 2007 Aindra Prabhu brought him to Vrindavan to edit Aindra's book, The Heart of Transcendental Book Distribution.

A personality like Aindra Prabhu cannot be described in one book. Meditative and explosive, serious and comic, shy and outrageous, simple and complex; a dedicated and expert musician, scholar, pujari, kirtaniya (kirtan leader), teacher, and disciple, Aindra was a composite of diverse, even contradictory qualities-and often misun-derstood. But he was always intense. And not merely different, but unique-seeming to be not of this world or bound by it.

Whatever one's view of Aindra's ideas, his potency can't be denied, and even today he remains a leader on the front line of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtana movement, his kirtans touching hearts and transforming lives around the world, continuing to attract people to and support them in Krishna consciousness.

Many contributors helped produce this volume. Akincana Krishna das and a team of devotees conducted hundreds of hours of inter- views; Vraja Kishor das drafted an early version; and Yadavendra das coordinated the project. Multiple readers offered comments, corrections, and suggestions or otherwise participated in the years-long effort.

Contained herein are stories told from the range of perspectives by individuals who interacted with Aindra Prabhu at different stages of his life. It is far from exhaustive and makes no claim to be the sole, definitive version. There are many, many inspiring and instructive stories about Aindra not included, and readers are encouraged to share their own experiences and views of his life, teachings, and influence.

Likewise, a great cast of characters played roles in Aindra's story.

**Contents and Sample Pages**