| December 31, 1966 : New York |
| December 31. Goodbye, 1966. Hare Krishna and Happy New Year! New Year’s Eve, Matchless Gifts is crowded with devotees and visitors. Swamiji leads the kirtana, and we all chant and dance by candlelight. It is a celebration none of us will ever forget. “Chant! Chant!” Swamiji tells us, and our chanting drowns out even the drunken revelry on Second Avenue. Again, Swamiji is weaving magic. A feast follows, and Swamiji eats with us, sitting on his dais and talking amiably. He keeps insisting that Umapati, Satsvarupa, and I take more prasadam. There’s a bucket of gulab jamuns, “ISKCON bullets,” and we stuff ourselves. “For us, every day is New Year’s,” Swamiji says. “Krishna is always new, always fresh, and we are always celebrating Him. Just see how these people in maya are celebrating, drinking poison to forget everything! Because they are frustrated, they want to forget. But for a devotee, it is just the opposite. The devotee wants to remember Krishna at all times.” |
| Reference: The Hare Krishna Explosion – Hayagriva Dasa |