Seattle's Free Vedic Restuarant

[Guest guest]

The following is an excerpt from an article which was printed in the

student newspaper of the University of Washington regarding the

activities

of the local ISKCON temple in Seattle.

This temple is run by GBC member Hari Vilasa. ------------------------

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The Daily University Of Washington

by Elizabeth Celms

 

Unlike other restaurant managers in Seattle, Harivilas dasa at My

Sweet

Lord Vegetarian Cafe on the Ave. doesn't worry about a customer

leaving

without paying the tab. In fact, he

encourages it. The cafe, at 5521 University Way N.E., may be the

first free

vegetarian restaurant in Seattle. A long-time dream of his, Harivilas

opened the cafe six weeks ago with the

credo that it's more fun to give than to take.

[..]

 

*** Meals offered to the guru

 

On a soft brown carpet at the back of the cafe, young disciple Acyuta

Madhava placed his meal on a table under the shrine of A.C.

Bhaktivedanta

Swami, the founder and spiritual master

of Hare Krishna. Madhava bowed down on his knees beneath the shrine,

offering the warm meal to Krishna.

 

"You see, we offer food to him because he has the experience as a

guru,"

explained Jaya Govinda, another young volunteer at the cafe. "The

guru is

our window to God. We can't offer to

God directly, so we offer to him."

 

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, who is affectionately referred to as

Prabhupada,

brought the movement to the West when he emigrated from India to New

York

in 1966. At age 69, he arrived

with only $11 in his pocket and a few books about the Hare Krishna

belief.

He is said to have circled the globe 13 times in 12 years and

established

108 temples, farms and schools before

passing away in 1977, explained Govinda.

 

All four volunteers at My Sweet Lord consider themselves Prabhupada's

disciples and strive to pass the guru's knowledge on to others. ***

 

But anyone who saw them sitting cross-legged on the carpet floor,

joking

with each other over dinner, would see they were no different than any

other young group of friends.

 

Parading on the Ave.

 

Every Thursday evening, these disciples join other Hare Krishnas to

parade

up and down the Ave. The group members hand out pamphlets while

chanting

Hare Krishna songs to the

beat of their tambourines.