(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 January 2018, Brisbane, Australia, Q&A Programme)
When was the first time you connected with someone within the realm of Krsna consciousness? How did that develop into what it did?
All those times in India that I visited, I never met devotees. But, I had seen devotees in my town in Holland. They came in a little grey van and then all these pink men came out of it. It did not seem possible for so many men to fit into such a tiny van. So instantly, I knew that something was up here. (laughter) Then, they made a line and started approaching my way, so I ducked into a shop. There this man said, “This looks like a dangerous sect.” These people looked like the epitome of religious fanaticism on the streets of Holland, dancing to “Hare Krsna Hare Krsna” for hours, and I used to think, “Wow! These people seem so extreme and fanatic!“, which is why I never thought of getting involved initially. However, after spending time in India, I started to realise that this was definitely more Indian than I had thought, so I started to look into it. I found a Bhagavad-gita on the book-shelf of one of my friends, which I read. By then, I was quite familiar with the culture of India, so the message of the Bhagavad-gita made sense to me and I started to relate to it.