Sripad Aindra Das

Aindra Dasa (1953-2010), born Edward Striker, was a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as the 'Hare Krishnas' or ISKCON). On July 16th 2010 Aindra died leaving his mark as a well-known figure within ISKCON through recordings of his singing of the Hare Krishna mantra and his historical position as a preacher in the early days of the movement.
Aindra Dasa was a renunciate, fully devoted to spiritual practices. Anyone who listened to his recordings would find obvious that Aindra was an extraordinarily talented musician. He is extremely famous and his career accomplishments are outstandingly remarkable. He dedicated himself “cent percent” to the specific spiritual practice of hearing the holy names of Krishna in the Hare Krishna mahamantra.
He was an individualist. He did what he knew was right and what would please his teacher (the great A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) and didn’t ask for anyone’s approval or support. He was, however, not egotistical - but very humble at heart. He was thankful for any support and help offered, and worked to make things nicer for others.
His intellect was outstandingly sharp, piercing and penetrating. He understood the inner workings of extraordinarily esoteric spiritual details, yet applied it all in the most down-to-earth, practical, and tangible manner.
Biography
Early life
Discovering the Music of the Spiritual World
Born on March 12, 1953 at 4:28:45 am, Growing up in Haymarket, Virginia in the 1950s and ‘60s, Eddie Striker was a jack-of-all trades artist from early on, painting, drawing, and doing his own embroidery. But it was music that was closest to his heart.
His was a musical family—his father gigged with bluegrass groups, his mother played the harp, and his brother was a bassist. Eddie, for his part, loved Jimi Hendrix and was partial to the electric guitar.
So when his family broke up in 1971, and he moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland, it was the guitar that he turned to, playing with a number of bands and beginning to make a name for himself.
“But he always had a spirit that was beyond the mundane life he was living back then,” says his brother, John. “It wasn’t long before he’d seen enough of the rockstar life and what it led to—Jimi Hendrix’s death was a particular blow to him—and he knew that there was a hole that needed to be filled by the spiritual, not the material.”
Aindra's move into ISKCON
Discovering the very different music of the spiritual world, Eddie moved into the ISKCON temple in Washington, D.C. And soon after, in February 1974, on the auspicious day of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai’s installation and Lord Nityananda’s Appearance, he was initiated by ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada and became Aindra Dasa.
Although his father was angry at this drastic change in his life, Aindra’s little brother was happy for him and excited that he had found his calling.
“I was only nine or ten, but when he visited, he’d bring me Bhagavad-gita and other writings, and these beautiful posters,” says John. “My room had Krishna stuff all over it. Several times he brought his drum and cymbals, and we would play together and chant. He was already a spiritual leader even then, because he made me aware of other things beyond the agnostic way we were raised, and opened me up to my own spiritual path.”
Back at the temple, Aindra became known as a rather erudite preacher—he joined everyone else in book distribution on the streets, loved speaking to guests at the weekly Sunday Feast, and was always looking for a way to spread Krishna consciousness.
His unique mood and love for kirtan also emerged early on. “Our neighbours used to complain about our 4am Mangal Arati kirtan,” says Jagara Dasa, who also served at the D.C. temple in the 1970s. “But when Aindra led the chanting—which he often did—he had the necessary constraint to keep the kirtan where it needed to be so that the police who sat outside would not come in and give us a big fine.”

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