On September 12, my class and I had the opportunity to visit the Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji Mandir Hare Krishna Temple in Dallas, Texas. Before going to the temple, we were asked to read an article entitled ISKCON’s Search for Self-Identity by Thomas J. Hopkins which explores the beginning and transformation of the ISKCON movement. Hopkins gives a brief history of the conception and of the founder of the movement, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. After reading the article and visiting the temple, I would come to learn how essential Prabhupada was to the entire movement. In September of 1965, Prabhupada left India and traveled to New York City at the age of sixty-nine with the goal of generating a Krishna consciousness movement. He attracted many followers who were drawn to his peaceful messages and eventually established temples throughout the United States and India. Prabhupada traveled the world preaching to new followers and gaining even more momentum for the movement shifting ISKCON onto the world stage. Being one of the only people who know what exactly how to achieve Krishna Consciousness, Prabhupada needed to pass on his knowledge to disciples who could continue to spread the message of the movement. Towards the end his life, Prabhupada wrote over 70 volumes about Krishna and how people could achieve Consciousness so that his teachings would remain after his death. Some of his most famous works include the Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Srimad- Bhagavatam.His works have been translated into multiple languages and made accessible to followers of Krishna throughout the world. Prabhupada passed away only 12 years after he first came to New York and began the movement, but the movement still remains strong in the present day.  After learning the background information about Prabhupada, I was extremely interested in learning how the temple honors its founder. Upon entering into the temple, our guide Prajapati who was part of the movement from its inception began speaking to us about how the movement started and unsurprisingly mentioned Prabhupada. He spoke about the enchanting charisma and unlimited Krishna knowledge that Prabhupada possessed. Prajapati made it clear that the movement itself was only able to succeed because of the hard work and dedication of Prabhupada who dedicated his life to the movement. As we shed our shoes and entered into the central part of the temple, we saw the beautiful artwork, elaborate deities, and centralized statue of Prabhupada in the temple. The spotlighted statue of Prabhupada depicts him positioned cross-legged on a large and elaborately-decorated dark blue and gold throne. Both armrests of the thrones are adorned with golden lion heads. Prabhupada is wearing simple clothes showing that he has chosen the simplistic Hare Krishna lifestyle. On either side of the throne are bookcases featuring the works that he had written throughout his lifetime that illustrate his teachings and serve as the foundation of the modern ISKCON movement. People have placed flowers all around his statue showing their love and appreciation for all that he has done for the ISKCON movement. Many of the followers of Krishna kneel or lay at the base of the throne and pay homage to Prabhupada. After reading the history of Prabhupada, hearing stories about him from Prajapati, and witnessing the reverence Krishna followers had for him, I finally came to realize what an instrumental role Prabhupada played in the ISKCON movement and how his dedication allowed for the message of Krishna to reach thousands of new people.