History
(piece excerpted from the book Welcome Home)
History of Krishna Camp at the Rainbow Gathering
Back in New Vrindaban Community, news that the National Rainbow Gathering would be held in West Virginia traveled fast. Probably because it was the first national gathering ever attempted east of the Rocky Mountains, it captured the imagination of everyone. Enthusiasm to pack up and go “rain bowing” was contagious. But when the smoke cleared, nobody, and I mean nobody, really committed themselves. My hunch is that the prospect of “roughing it” for two weeks in a national forest had a sobering effect—with one exception, Radhanath Swami.
“Let’s go!, Let’s do it!’ he coaxed. “It’s a great opportunity to share the chanting of the holy name!” he insisted. I, as his not-so-humble brahmachari assistant, traveled with Maharaja for several years. We were focused totally on reaching people through the medium of prasadam distribution, chanting of the holy name, and philosophical discussion, especially on college campuses where our vegetarian cooking classes were well received by hundreds and hundreds of students. We hatched a plan of action. Using an old Ford Econoline van and an even older Dodge Maxivan, we stuffed the two vehicles with pots, pans, utensils, sawhorses, tools, wooden pallets, rice, beans, pasta, musical instruments, an old tent, rugs, duct tape (you gotta have duct tape!), Indian spices, pictures of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna, aroti paraphernalia, blankets…you name it, we loaded it.
The one thing that seemed a little goofy about our strategy was the uncomforting fact that there was only the two of us. No problem. One of the wonderful features of Krishna consciousness is attempting to do what appears to be materially impossible. You just sort of “surf the wave of your pure intentions” and hope for Krishna’s divine intervention. That bold approach to overcoming insurmountable obstacles is not without precedent in the lives of devotees. It’s how our eternal spiritual guide, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada brought Krishna consciousness to the Western world; it’s how we miraculously built a golden palace in his memory—and by God—it’s how Radhanath Swami and I lumbered out of New Vrindaban community with two horribly overloaded vehicles. We call it “depending on Krishna’s mercy,” or “shooting for the rhino.” Whatever name you give it, we were definitely big on enthusiasm but mighty short of help.
We rolled and weaved through seven hours of mountain roads before reaching the Monongahela National Forest. It was late afternoon. Now came the challenge of lugging tons of stuff down a mountain slope in hopes of securing a suitable campsite. Mind you, this is not just an ordinary campsite, the kind where you just pitch a tent, dig a fire pit and snooze until diner. In our plan making, we envisioned huge feasts, a temple tent, sleeping arrangements, water hauling, woodcutting—in short, lots of hard work. I remember looking at Radhanath Swami with a kind of “I can’t believe we’re actually going to attempt to do this by ourselves” expression on my face. He silently smiled and kept flopping the big kitchen pots onto the ground with a thud. Suddenly, a voice shouted out, “Hari bol!” Another voice rang out, “Hey, the Krishna people are here!” “Look at the size of those pots…let’s help them!” Our Rainbow brothers and sisters had come to the rescue. Like an army of ants, they swarmed over everything in the two vans and carried it all to a beautiful campsite, two miles away. While I accompanied them to the site, Radhanath Swami jumped back into the now empty vehicle. “I’m calling back to New Vrindaban for reinforcements,” he assured me. I don’t know who he talked to or what he said, but 24 hours later twenty New Vrindaban residents arrived to populate our makeshift village.
As if by an act of magic, our camp came alive with chanting, dancing and feasting. For ten action packed days, we served thousands of meals, performed plays, sang together, danced together, and shared the bliss that comes naturally wherever there is love and trust. Radhanath Swami’s conviction that the Rainbow people were natural allies in the battle against darkness and illusion was evident throughout the gathering. He freely gave his association to anyone, just as his spiritual master, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, had shown his love and compassion for the wandering youth of the 60’s. His melodious kirtans and captivating talks really did earn him the title of the Rainbow Swami.
A lot has transpired since that national gathering in 1980. In many ways the forces of darkness seem to have tightened their grip…but not so. The power of spiritual kinship has always and will always reign supreme. May the people of the Rainbow Nation and the devotees of Krishna commemorate this 25th anniversary gathering by drawing inspiration from an event that occurred over 5,000 years ago. There on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, the diverse tribes and nations of the world were represented by their respective armies. Standing between those opposing forces in the middle of the battlefield, Lord Krishna turned to the warrior Arjuna and said:
(Bhagavad-gita 18:57–58)
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