Evening Kirtanas

Prabhupada held his evening meetings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, just as he had uptown.  The loft was out of the way for most of his acquaintances and it was on the Bowery.  A cluster of sleeping derelicts regularly blocked the street-level entrance, and the visitors would find as many as half a dozen bums to step over before climbing the four flights of stairs.  But it was something new; you could go and sit with a group of hip people and watch the Swami lead kirtana.  The room was dimly lit, and Prabhupada would burn incense.  Many casual visitors came and went.  One of them – Gunther – had vivid impressions.

Gunther:  You walked right off the Bowery into a room filled with incense.  It was quiet.  Everyone was talking in hushed tones, not really talking at all.  Swamiji was sitting in the front of the room in meditation.  There was a tremendous feeling of peace, which I had never had before.  I happened to have studied for two years to become a minister and was into meditation, study and prayer, but this was my first time to do anything Eastern or Hindu.  There were lots of pillows around and mats on the floor for people to sit on.  I don’t think there were any pictures of statues.  It was just Swamiji, incense and mats, and obviously the respect of the people in the room for him.