By good fortune I came in contact with Krishna's pure devotee Srila Prabhupada in 1969. I fear that had this not happened I would have died very young, or spent my life in a crazy hospital or a jail. I hated being told what to do at every step by "authorities" who were obviously without a clue themselves. I "grew - up" in California during the War in Vietnam, and during the time when youth was rebelling enmasse. Who remembers "The Summer of Love"? (1967) Of course some say if you can remember it, you were really not part of it because everyone was stoned 99% of the time. I guess I remember flashes. Raised a "Christian", Mom demanded I attend the Episcopal Church without fail every week, and assist the priests in the early morning services sometimes during the week as an altar boy. Somehow I had some small faith in God and in His son Lord Jesus, but when the church said "God has only one son in all of eternity" that seemed senseless.

My father would sometimes takes us to Tiajuana, Mexico which was only twnety minutes from home, and there I'd see the poor people living in the dust of the street with no arms, no legs, pushing a begging bowl with their noses down the street. I would think "What kind of god is this to leave some people in such conditions while I am enjoying a nice life in a comfortable home with great food, healthy body, good appearance, enough money, good clothes, good education, and so forth? Only the Law of Karma (action/reaction) could explain this, and the Christian church had no faacility for more than one life in one body in which we either accept Jesus and go to heaven or do not accept and go to hell. What a silly and narrow minded conception of an Almighty, All-merciful, All-loving, All-compassionate God!

When I was very small I would think "This is all a dream; I am going to wake up! Reality is that this world is temporary, and even when I think it is a nice place, the reality is that it is a place of death. Therefore, my interest is in going to the place from which I will not return to the place of death.

Well, when I was younger, so much younger than today I loved the Beatles of course; Elvis; Bob Dylan; The Byrds; Jefferson Airplane; Janis Joplin; Frank Zappa; then I met Srila Prabhupada and until now I have not found anyone who can come close to singing like him.

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Have not seen many of late. Titanic immediately comes to mind. Dancing with Wolves too.

not watching any TV at present. If I ever look it is at championship level sporting events like Wimbleson, US Open, Masters, NBA playoffs, etc.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is and Srimad Bhagavatam, all books of Bhaktivinode Thakur, Brahma Samhita by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati.

so many... But my favorite verse in the Gita is 9.22 For those who are devoted to ME, I carry what they lack and I preserve what they have".. Gurukrpa told me this was Bhaktivinode's favorite verse and if it is good enough for my GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER it is perfect for me,