Toshan Krishna Dasa (Tom Allin)

By chance, I was walking through Golden Gate Park in June of 1968. I bumped into a huge festival that was moving through the park, a procession of Hare Krishna devotees. I had no previous knowledge of them whatsoever. The group was quite a mixture. Imagine San Francisco in 1968—all manner of hippies and outcasts, and counterculture types of people. They were all chanting a mantra. 

Well, the Buddhists also chant a mantra. I had been influenced by the writings of J. D. Salinger, and particularly the book, Franny and Zooey. In that novel, Franny keeps repeating this prayer, a mantra: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” And she also investigates another mantra, “Namu Amida Butsu,” also a Buddhist chant that means, “I take refuge in Amida Buddha.” 

So there I was, hearing another mantra and being introduced to a mantra. And I thought, “I’m in an experimental mood, I’ll try it.” They were pulling through the park this immense, beautiful, religious structure, several stories tall, with big wheels. It looked very traditional. I joined them. It was my day off. My thought was that I’d gone to San Francisco to have a job, make friends, and explore life. So now I was pulling this cart and chanting, and I was feeling more and more curious about why these people would chant. What were they getting out of it? I also saw a poster of the man who had introduced this Hare Krishna mantra to the United States, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. 

When we got to the end of the park, which was at the ocean, I inquired to know more about things. As a matter of fact, I asked right off the bat to a person at one of the book tables, “What is Krishna?” Someone answered, “Krishna is God.”

Well, there I was , looking for God, but I reverted back to some of my earlier core beliefs. I said, “Oh, well, we’re all God.” 

And he answered back, “Are you moving the moon? Are you moving the sun?”

Now I think under normal circumstances I would have brushed that off as a cheap comment that didn’t answer my question, but after chanting, I was ready to think more deeply and accept that there was some validity to his point. I wasn’t God. God exists, and we have a relationship with God.