'Bloody' Vietnam War turns US Marine saffron

Just as the bloody Kalinga war set Mauryan Emperor Ashoka on the path of Buddhism, the gruesomeness of Vietnam War sent a young US Marine, Brian Tibbits, seeking the sanctuary of Lord Krishna. Trading his bloodied army fatigue for the saffron garb of an Iskcon sadhu, Tibbits aka Indrayumna Swami, wanted to heal his embittered spirit with the calmness of spiritualism.

“I gave up my uniform, rifle, knife et al and donned the garb of a saint when I was 19,” said Indrayumna Swami, initiator of the Krishna fest, while he walked the memory lane with DNA, on the eve of three-day festival at the Iskcon Temple on Tuesday.

As Brian Tibbits, a proud US Marine Commando, he had everything a youngster could ever dream of — fighting wars for his country and protecting his motherland. Not only this, the trained commando performed with great ease risky adventures like underwater diving, parachute jumping which gave him great pleasure. But this changed after the US–Vietnam War, a bloody chapter in the history of wars.

“I was just 17 when I was a part of the war and I saw suffering, death and pain of life from a close range that left me shattered. I kept asking myself various questions like why is there so much of pain in the world; why is the reality of death so painful?” he said.

The young soldier, who had too many unanswered questions on life, pain, death and problems of life from the battlefield, traced his footsteps to various religions and saints for answers — till he met the founder of Iskcon temple, Prabhupada Swami.