Meeting The Devotees
My first exposure to Krishna, like many people in the 80s, were the Hare Krishna devotees at the airport. I was 16 years old and didn’t know my ass from my elbow, but I did make the effort to talk to these seemingly happy folks at each and every layover or delayed flight (much to my parents chagrin).
My initial impressions of them were as follows:
- They were all high (looked like fun, but hadn’t tried it yet, personally)
- Cool smelling incense
- The baby they were worshiping seemed to need oxygen
- They were spiritual vegetarians (which I found cool at the time)
- And most important – Was that Krishna hottie wearing anything under her robe?
Although I was somewhat intrigued, I didn’t have any further contact with the group until I got to college out in crazy California. Out there the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) had a continual presence on campus. Not only that, but every Thursday night they would have a free vegetarian feast and some funky chanting.
My friends and I would attend every week. What we noticed was that we all felt like we were high afterwards. Again, I still hadn’t ever been high, but my friends knew the state well, and swore it felt like a light buzz.