For many people in the West they were -- and are -- the carefree public face and begging bowl of Hinduism although the movement was a recent addition to Hinduism's multifariousness. Founded in 1965 when A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (or Prabhupada) left India to recruit disciples among New York's Lower East Side, Prabhupada's philosophy drew on the teachings of Lord Chaitanya, a 16th-century Bengali saint whose teachings were based on the Bhagavad Gita. Closely associated with
George Harrison, this reissue reinstates their ecstatic music to disc. Its slightly Westernized but appealing arrangements betray Harrison's handiwork. Its "Hare Krishna Mantra" charted worldwide. "Govinda" had full orchestration. For a season it turned into the popular face of Hinduism. ~ Ken Hunt