The Swami’s Arrival Went Mostly Unnoticed

The Swami’s arrival went unnoticed.  The neighbors said someone new had taken the gift shop next to the laundry.  There was a strange picture in the window now but no one knew what to make of it.  Some passers-by noticed a piece of paper announcing classes in Bhagavad-gita taped to the window.  A few stopped to read it, but no one knew what to make of it.  They didn’t know what Bhagavad-gita was, and the few who did thought, “Maybe a yoga bookstore or something.”  The Puerto Ricans in the neighbourhood would look in the window at Harvey Cohen’s painting and then blankly walk away.  The manager of the Mobil gas station next door couldn’t care less who had moved in – it just didn’t make any difference.  The tombstone-sellers and undertakers across the street didn’t care.  And for the drivers of the countless cars and trucks that passed by, Swamiji’s place didn’t even exist.  But there were young people around who had been intrigued with the painting, who went up to the window to read the little piece of paper.  Some of them even knew about the Bhagavad-gita, although the painting of Lord Caitanya and the dancers didn’t seem to fit.  A few thought maybe they would attend Swami Bhaktivedanta’s classes and check out the scene.