fourth day

Dec. 1st
Ekadasi. Major blunder. How can someone arrange a Kirtan program in Philadelphia on Ekadasi? Bad move! Gourmet to Go is a holy place in regards to Vegetarians. People travel far and wide to get their Veggie Cheese Steaks. Being Ekadasi what do we do, no cheese steaks it almost a waste of a trip! It was tempting to break our Ekadasi vrata and indulge in the best sandwich on the east coast. Some how we resisted. We show up in Philly and take darshan of the presiding deities of South street Sri Sri Pancha Tattva. Four foot tall Neem…. They have some plans for this place without a doubt. That’s clear upon seeing them hiding out in their little loft above the restaurant. Anyone who hasn’t seen them is missing out. Two things-Pancha Tattva and Cheese steaks. Buy five offer them to Pancha Tattva them eat them all your self. That’s my suggestion. I got in a few fights with the devotees about the glories of the Veggie Philly Cheese steak. They couldn’t understand the signifigance…

A wonderful devotee named Yaitza organized a nice kirtan program at the Bikrams studio. Anyone in Philly get down there, it’s a great place run by one of Srila Prabhupada’s best. HG Visnugada arrived on the scene and stole everyone’s minds with sweet kirtan. The evening ended with all in attendance dancing. A little break dancing was seen as well as a little African trance… great talks with the youth in attendance left me in rememberance of a few years back when I was on south street distributing books over New Years. I fell in love with Philadelphia. I met all types of personalities including one of the original Vaisnava youth from Gita Nagari. He came out of a bar and I stopped him. Very quickly in great amazement we became friends and for about an hour he felt joy telling me all types of stories of him playing with Srila Prabhupada. I was one of the first devotees he spoke to in years. I also stopped a young “hippy” girl who looked at me and asked” where are you from?” I answered from West Virginia. She said,”No! I am too. I don’t know you!” I asked what she was doing out here and she said just traveling. The next day I got a telephone call and within the course of conversation the devotee had said one of the devotee familie’s daughter had just ran away. That girl was her. She was ok then and now she is doing great. Devotees are everywhere and book distributors find them. I asked Kuladri Prabhu(who was my Tp at the time) if I could stay in Philly and preach forever. He didn’t say no but just said I should get home quickly. Thatn year I was number four in Sp’s book marathon in the USA!