Susan: We went to the storefront, Matchless Gifts, and I’ve always been so taken with that sign. I can still remember it. It was beautifully done, so artistic, saying “Matchless Gifts”—wonderful colors and swirls and everything. So we entered. It was quite a simple room and they were eating on the floor, and I don’t remember any women being among that first group. My feeling about the Swami is that I think he was in some kind of a state, and I think that perhaps he passed something to us in that interview. But at the same time, I was having a very good time. I actually thought we were onto something big. I have a journalist’s instinct, but I also have—it sounds terrible—a spiritual instinct. After all, this was a very small little room, and the Swami was interviewed by us in the back in a smaller little room with a curtain over it. So to me, that’s where it started. Now, maybe it started before in someplace else. But amazing, we were there! And for me, that’s very significant
I remember his face. I don’t remember his body, it’s interesting. I remember his face. We did get these wonderful close-ups of his face. That’s where his power, his focus, and his calm presence were all gathered in his face. But here it was the beginning for us for meeting many spiritual masters, and it was also the beginning of the Hare Krishna Movement, and it was also the beginning of a trend that grew towards the appreciation of Eastern religions in America.
