The Patriarch, Part 2: His Background

My dad was born in Texas in June of 1950 to a father of Scotch-Irish descent and a mother who came from a Catholic German family.  He had one older sister, and a younger sister was to follow as well.  From his mother he inherited his warmth, spontaneity, and temper, while from his father he was to imbibe a strong work ethic and the principles of honor and duty.  His parents, unfortunately, fought a lot, and when he was about 10 years old, they got divorced.  His father remarried soon after that, his mother later on in life.

Like most young boys of that day and age, he enjoyed outdoor play of various kinds.  He hated to be bored and sought after exciting or stimulating pastimes.  If something didn't hold his interest, he wouldn't pursue it, but if he was bent on something, he had plenty of energy and drive to keep on working until he achieved it.  In his teenage years, he used his charm on the girls -- many of them -- and he got jobs, worked hard, bought himself a used car with his own money, and generally made his own way in the world -- in part due to his father's insistence on it.  At some point, to his parents' chagrin, he joined the hippie movement, got into drugs, and grew his hair and beard out long.  Then he decided to drive out to Northern California and live there for a while.

He had some artistic talents and used them in working to support himself.  Shortly after his move to California, he decided to become a vegetarian; some time later, he gave up drugs as well. Then, he read the Bhagavad-gita As It Is -- the "bible" of the Hare Krishna movement -- and realized that here were the answers to all the philosophical questions he had ever asked.  He accepted the author -- His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (whom we call Srila Prabhupada) -- as his guru, and upon finding out that Srila Prabhupada was then in Los Angeles, my father immediately traveled down there to meet him.  It wasn't long before my dad shaved his head and moved into the temple, accepted the four regulative principles as his rule of life (which for him really just meant giving up illicit sex, since he was already vegetarian and intoxication-free, and gambling, the fourth proscribed item, wasn't an issue for him), and received the name Haripada dasa, officially becoming part of the Hare Krishna phenomenon that was sweeping the nation at that time (in the 1970s).

Like most new members of the Hare Krishna movement, he became celibate for a while, focused on worshiping Krsna (God), chanting His names, and reading and selling Srila Prabhupada's books.  During this time he also started his own temple in Fullerton, CA and commenced holding regular programs there.  However, again like most members, after some time he needed to find a wife for himself.  My mother was very interested in him, so the two of them went on some dates together (chaperoned by friends) and he decided to accept her as his new spouse.  After they were legally married, she moved into the Fullerton temple with him.