The Bhakti Center of New York City is in East Village, within a three block radius of a funeral home, a nail salon, two housing projects, a cemetery, three gay bars, and a Jewish deli. Their ashram, or spiritual place of residence, is tucked away in a quiet five-story walk-up on First Avenue, above The Bhakti Cafe, a vegetarian and raw food luncheonette run by the center’s practitioners. It is almost 10 a.m. when Dave buzzes me into the building.
As I walk up the stairs, I pass a framed print of
An incredible 25,000 devotees attended the opening of a brand new temple in Ravet on the outskirts of Pune, India this March 21st through 22nd—including Gopal Krishna Goswami, Lokanath Swami, Radhanath Swami, Chandramauli Swami, Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami, and many other senior devotees from ISKCON temples across Maharastra.
