Srila Prabhupada first met his spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, in Calcutta in 1922. At their very first meeting, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur asked young Abhayacharan, “You are an educated young man, why don’t you present Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s message throughout the whole world?” Abhayacharan replied, “Who will hear your Chaitanya’s message? We are a dependent country. First, India must become independent. How can we spread Indian Culture if we are under British rule?” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur replied, in a very grave voice, that Krishna Consciousness did not have to wait for a change in Indian politics. Krishna Consciousness was so important, so exclusively important, that it could not wait for a political change. Whether one power or another ruled India was a temporary situation. However, the eternal reality of the true self, the spirit soul, was Krishna Consciousness. Therefore, no man made political system could actually help humanity, only Krishna Consciousness could help. Abhayacharan was very pleased with these words.

From that day he accepted Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur as his spiritual master. He was formally initiated by

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