Renounced Order & Journey to the West
Nine years later in 1959 he took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. It was during his stay at the Radha-Damodara temple that he started writing his masterpiece: the translation and commentary of the Srimad Bhagavatam in English. He also wrote ‘Easy Journey to Other Planets’. Within a span of few years, he had written three volumes of English translation and a commentary for the first canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. All these years he was constantly contemplating over the order of his spiritual master to preach in the western world.
Renounced Order & Journey to the West — Continued
He decided to start by taking the message of Krishna consciousness to America. In 1965 at the age of 69 he arrived in New York by a cargo ship called Jaladuta. He suffered two massive heart attacks during the voyage. He was practically penniless and possessed only a few copies of his commentaries on the Srimad Bhagavatam and forty rupees. After a difficult six months, his few followers rented a storefront and apartment in Manhattan where he regularly gave lectures, held kirtanas and distributed prasadam.
Renounced Order & Journey to the West — More
People from all walks of life, including hippies got attracted to “Swamiji” and became his followers. These followers gradually took initiation from him became his disciples. Srila Prabhupada also reinstated the Back to Godhead magazine.