"Whenever he chanted, the people were in awe of him. On the Bowery a kind of transcendence came out..... In the very beginning he stressed the importance of sound and the realization of Godhead through sound. I think that was the attraction we found in him. But he wanted a serious thing. He was interested in discipleship."
-Carol Bekar
However disaster struck again when his roommate became crazy after taking dangerous drugs and despite the successful preaching, Srila Prabhupada was forced to flee his Bowery rooms.
Just nine months after arriving in New York, Srila Prabhupada became as homeless as any derelict in the street. Srila Prabhupada, however, was always confident.
Srila Prabhupada was undeterred by all these difficulties
At this point his hopes for Indian finance were dashed and not even a lone brahmachari was coming to help him. Frozen, penniless and suddenly homeless, Srila Prabhupada could surely have considered returning to the holy land of Vrindavan.
However, after 9 difficult months in America, he was finally getting a regular attendence to his chanting and lectures, and some young Americans were trying to understand. He would fight on.
Having made this resolve, he approached two of his students to help him find suitable premises.