Every mighty oak tree was once a nut that stood its ground, they say. For eight years, Krishnadas has diligently occupied his spot at one of Mumbai’s busiest intersections – Juhu Circle. Standing there every morning and evening, he was faced with his fair share of naysayers. In different words, these detractors all said the same thing – “Krishnadas is wasting his time."

Very little is known about your early life. Could you tell us about those years?

My family named me Krishna Avatar. I was born as a Hindu in Moradabad and spent my childhood in Uttarakhand. I lived what most would consider a perfectly ordinary life. However, within me I had an acute sense of how people often don’t do what they think would be wise. This started to greatly concern me when I saw my beloved family members act without love for each other. I left home in 1984 and moved to Gangotri, Uttarakhand.

There, I studied every religion I could. It soon occurred to me that there were a lot of similarities. The basic teachings of every religion are the same – truth, love, and compassion. It was an obvious recurring theme across every religious text.

Was this the insight that sparked your spiritual journey

It wasn’t until 1998, when I attended the World Religion Conference organised by my Guru – Morari Bapu Ji – that I found my calling. His discourses rekindled my thoughts about similarities shared by every religion. His sermons were secular, they didn’t give importance to any faith over another. There, I saw a message for humanity. From that point I focused on spreading this message which had come to me.

I spoke to everyone I knew, they all seemed concerned. They said only a fakir or a sadhu could spread this message. So I renounced all my worldly possessions and started living like I do till this day.