Prabhupada’s Followers–PLEASE Visit the Prisons!

I am the voice of many crying in the spiritual wilderness of this nations prison system. One of many voices begging the devotees to come into the prisons with a weekly program of sankirtana, classes, spiritual council and association.

Hare Krishna Dear Vaishnava devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

All glories to Sri Guru all glories to Sri Sri Gauranga

I am a devotee inmate at Oregan St Penitentiary, Salem Oregan USA.

I am the voice of many crying in the spiritual wilderness of this nations prison system. One of many voices begging the devotees to come into the prisons with a weekly program of sankirtana, classes, spiritual council and association. everyday at each Krishna consciousness center there is a morning class in which a verse from Srimad Bhagavatam is read and discussed. Anyone who regularly takes part in hearing the Bhagavatam in the association of devotees will experience cleansing of all inauspicious things from the heart, by hearing the Sanskrit verses and discussing and chanting of the holy names the restless mind is captured and one can think of Krishna, the goal of life.

“By regularly hearing the Bhagavatam and rendering service unto the pure devotees all that is troublesome to the heart is practically destroyed and loving service unto the glorious Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.”
Bhagavatam 1.2.18

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport,

“There is the remedy for eliminating all inauspicious things within the heart, which are considered to be obstacles in the path of self-realization. The remedy is the association of the Bhagavatas. The devotee Bhagavan is a direct representative of Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotees are direct representatives of the pure devotee. By association of the Bhagavatas one is sure to receive transcendental knowledge, very easily, and the result is they become fixed in rendering devotional service.”

It is very important that devotees come into the prisons to lead Bhagavatam classes and that all the Sanskrit words are chanted exactly as they are to sound. Each Sanskrit word is a treasure house of meaning that the leading devotee, giving the class can expound on the subject infinitely, without deviating from the conclusion of the disciplic succession. the audience is then assured that the original truth, as first revealed by Krishna is being exactly repeated with all its purity and potency intact!

In the prisons of this nation the impersonalist philosophy that Srila Prabhupada came to free us from is overrunning the inmate population. The Sarada Ramakrishna Vivekananda association is coming with their non-dual philosophy telling us we are Krishna!! ” Everyone is god if you only realize it.”

What a dangerous philosophy to expound unto us!

I answer, “If i am god how did god become covered by ignorance? How is god incarcerated?”

We are eternal servants of Krishna, not Krishna.

The best method for getting rid of confusion amongst these souls who are searching and striving to change the consciousness is for Vaishnava devotees to counteract the Mayavadi philosophy by coming in and helping guide those suffering incarcerated men and women back home, back to Godhead.

Ones attraction to fleeting materialistic pleasures will diminish upon association with Vaishnava devotees. We are all here because of desire. If you come into prison hold meditation classes and Bhagavad gita discussion, as the Mayavadis do and tell the inmates they are God, then it is easily justifiable in these inmates minds that there is no wrong done in any of there actions. That they are god and it is only relative that the crimes they committed should be punishable. We then have confusion upon confusion.

Upon hearing the truth expounded by the parampara and Vaishnava devotees one is put back into consciousness of his constitutional position. One relishes in hearing of the pastimes of our Lord and chanting the holy names, all confusion about the nature of God and the living entity will be cleared up as one associates with Krishna conscious devotees and studies the conclusion of the great Acharyas.

It is extremely important that one hears Bhagavad gita, Srimad Bhagavatam from the right person, a bona fide spiritual master or his representative. If one tries to understand on his own, or is mislead by mundane academic or Mayavadi expounders, he will come to the wrong conclusion and think Krishna is an ordinary man, or worse, a myth, and that God is impersonal.

Many men in prison are looking for real spiritual life. Realizing their desires have landed them into this darkness and suffering, they are asking the same questions as Arjuna. “What does a person in transcendence look like?” “How does he speak?” “How does he act?”

The Impersonalists, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and Wiccans are answering us daily with half truths! But Krishna describes that such a person is not agitated in any circumstance, fixing his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan Krishna.

Great spiritual masters and their representatives go everywhere and anywhere just to speak of the glories of Krishna.

Now Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and Vaishnavas world wide are discussing these truths daily. In schools, college campuses public festivals and temples. but they refuse to enter the prisons!!

We are 60 miles from the Portland temple. We have begged devotees to come for close to a year now and have heard no response! There are 10 men here who hold daily Bhagavad gita as it is classes, meet on the yard and chant Japa and we all desperately need association of senior devotees, but their hearts are tirnid and they do not come.

We are begging that they come to all prisons!! As inmates give a submissive ear the potent transcendental message of Bhagavatam and gita can immediately clear years and lifetimes of the most abominable behaviour, and clear the heart. That is real rehabilitation, real corrections.

Please take compassion and be a true follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! Take compassion and be a true representative of Srila Prabhupada, who endured every hard ship to bring us freedom from bondage, freedom from the void of Impersonalism

Please come offer classes, sankirtana,and prasadam.

It is guaranteed many men will sign up to attend such classes and become bhakti yogis!

Many will learn real love, real compassion, real devotion as servants of Lord Chaitanya!

Many devotees are doing wonderful things for us, sending books and corresponding such as Chandrasekhara and Shyama Priya with ISKCON prison ministries. Bhakta Chris Matthews who was an inmate himself and Bhaktin Ginger Burnette of Krishna Prison Ministries.

We are very thankful to all of them. But there remains the need of personal association and classes. Some are doing life terms and will never be able to attend a kirtana or temple! Please come into the prisons.

Your servant

Jivananda das bhrahmacari

You may write Jivanada at

James Seal# 10659242
2605 state street
salem oregan 97310

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Hare Krishna

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I would like to express my appreciation to every one who has sent stamps, money, books, japa beads,etc. To help us in spreading Krishna consciousness throughout our nations prisons. We are doing a very difficult task by trying to introduce Krishna into our nations prisons. And we can use all the help we can.

We currently have put books into prison libraries and to individual inmates all over the country! We hope and pray other Vaishnavas see the immense need of introducing Krishna consciousness into our nations prisons.

There are so many inmates interested and so many prisons to get books into it is overwhelming! If you would like to help with donations of stamps, books, money, japa beads or are interested in preaching to inmates in your spare time please contact us at:

Krishna Prison Ministries
5437 Meadow Rue Trail
Knoxville TN 37918

or by phone at either 865 922 9953 or 865 577 0785

your servant

bhakta chris matthews