| Description | Tracks 1-8: Interview with Swami Shyam Sumder, the spiritual name of an American man called Samuel from Oregon. He talks about his reasons for coming to India as a disciple of his spiritual leader who had come to America to teach the 'Krishna consciousness' in the western world. He discusses his knowledge of India from spiritual texts and from his spiritual teacher and describes the teaching of the Krishna movement, and talks about his experiences of the country and its people, and the aims of his movement to train Indian boys and girls to preach 'Krishna consciousness' abroad. He explains the structure of the headquarters of the movement and describes his daily routine, the religious rituals he performs and recites one of the chants he uses. He talks about his introduction to his spiritual leader five years previously when he visited San Francisco to open a centre, and the attraction of the Hare Krishna movement for him which he thinks provides the answers to the questions he has had about life and resolves his frustration with the materialistic western way of life and his previously goal less existence. He explains the philosophical and intellectual basis of his belief
Track 9: silence 0.55 mins
Tracks 10-15: Swami Shyam Sumder talks about his three year old daughter, who can be heard on the tape, his marriage in a Hindu ceremony and his adoption of a Hindu name, the process of getting new followers for the Hare Krishna movement, and the initial suspicion in India towards the movement. He discusses the religious beliefs of people in India from all social backgrounds, the breakup of traditional village life in India and the spiritual beliefs of people in rural areas, and the relationship between his own background of western philosophy and rational thought and the Vedic scriptures. He tries to sum up what he has learnt during his time in India and contrasts the reception the movement has received with the reaction to the movement's approach in the west
Total: 32.19 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF565D0567480 |