HVK Archives: Re: Royal messenger
Re: Royal messenger - The Sunday Observer
Purnima Goswami
()
29 September 1996
Title : Royal messenger
Author : Purnima Goswami
Publication : The Sunday Observer
Date : September 29, 1996
Alfred Ford, the great grandson of Henry Ford - the man
who started mass production of cars in 1908 was in India
recently. His illustrious forefather had laid down the
foundation of Ford fortunes and of the greatest success
story of the century with his car model T-Ford. No,
Alfred wasn't here to launch some new car model for the
Indian roads but to participate in the celebration of the
hundredth birth anniversary of His Divine Grace A C Bhak-
tivedanta Swami Prabhupada - Founder of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness - ISKCON.
To my surprise, Alfred Ford, the American with the most
illustrious surname in the world, is not dressed up in a
three-piece-suit, but in traditional Indian attire - a
cream silk kurta, white pyjama and a garland of fresh
roses. Instead of a `hello' or a handshake, he greets me
with folded hands and says `Hare Krishna' as we settle
down for an interview on the white gaddi in the quarters
of Srila Prabhupada at the ISKCON Temple in Juhu.
Is this his first visit to India, I ask him. "No," re-
plies Ford softly. "I came earlier in 1975 with Srila
Prabhupada himself and visited Vrindavan, Delhi, Calcutta
and Mumbai. I've spend two months with him in India and
every moment spent with Srila Prabhupada was full of
happiness. We would often walk on the beach for hours and
he would always impart some message."
Alfred Ford became Ambrish Das in 1975 when he took
formal initiation from Srila Prabhupada. he says that his
friend brought him a few books written by Swami Prabhupa-
da in 1973 and on reading them, he was "fascinated - and
luckily I meet Swami Prabhupada in America."
"I became his disciple after I met him, to be very frank,
my life has changed since then. Earlier I had a feeling
of emptiness - I had no purpose in life. I am impressed
with how much the teachings of one man and the spirituals
of one man and the spiritual tradition he brought has
made an impact on the lives of so many people."
Alfred Ford lives in a 200 acre farm in Gainesville,
Florida and is married to an Indian, Sharmila Bhattachar-
ya (Svahadevi Dasi) whom he met in Melbourne at the
ISKCON temple. The duo is committed to the ISKCON Founda-
tion. "We've a temple at the home on the farm and early
in the morning we perform puja for two hours. Nearly
1,000 devotees of Iskcon live in Gainesville. We often
meet and sing bhajans together and every month we. have
functions. "
Ford, who is in his forties, confesses that he has turned
vegetarian and does not take alcohol. He is "against
rambling and sex outside marriage." He is the chairman of
the ISKCON Foundation in the United States and feels that
"more and more younger people in America are joining
ISKCON for they are Frustrated and are looking for-
answers - and the teachings of Srila Prabhupada appeal to
them."
About India, he says that most Americans know of India as
the land of "exotic places". But they also know it to be
"filthy and dirty" so they are afraid they might fall
sick here. Today, I think pollution is a major problem in
many cities of the world. I feel that Indians are a
pious people. I've liked the places I've visited. These
days, many Indian students come to pursue their higher
academics in the United States and they excel at univer-
sities. But I feel that they should also try to reju-
venate their Vedic culture and spiritual life."
Ford stayed in Calcutta for three days and attended the
function on September 6 where Srila Prabhupada's idol was
bathed with holy water collected from 1,008 sacred rivers
and kunds. He addressed a gathering of 20,000 devotees
at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Stadium. He spent only one
day in Mumbai. "We've left our two daughters aged seven
and two years, back home, so this is a short visit. But
I'm planning to be back soon, sometime this year itself,
for the work of Mayapur temple."
Ford, who also looks after his family business and in-
vests in stocks, is the director of the Mayapur Fund-
Raising Campaign and has pledged $1 million for the
construction of a Vedic planetarium in Mayapur, the
birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. "This was the dream
of Srila Prabhupada. It is an ambitious project. And
apart from the planetarium, there will be a guest-house
and interactive theme parks."
Now, his main aim is to make ISKCON a "global congrega-
tion" and "to acquaint all people of the world with the
universal principles of self-realisation and God-con-
sciousness. So that they may derive the highest benefits
of spiritual understanding, unity and peace."
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