Xavier and I got together this weekend and hit the ‘restart’ button on our video podcast, after leaving it idle for the end of 2012.
As I mention at the end, we are going to try and get another episode up next week, but since I’m going to be in Kamloops and Kelowna this weekend, it might be a bit tricky.
Sounds like you had a good Christmas.
And the Hare Krishnas, in my experience, are pretty evangelical. I (briefly) got involved with them in Dublin, but lost interest quickly (short version: I was promised that any questions I had would be answered, and they were ignored).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Society_for_Krishna_Consciousness
The guy with the Bhagavad Gita was probably a Hare Krishna/ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). Unlike actual Hindus they tend to be very evangelical and interested in spreading their beliefs. And unlike actual Hindus, they’re more ethnically diverse. Most of the Hare Krishnas in Australia are white.
Once I was in a square waiting for a train and an older man came up to me. He claimed he was doing a survey on religious beliefs and he started by asking me questions like “How satisfied are you with your life on a scale of 1 to 10?” When he started talking about Jesus and his church it was clear he was trying to convert me. He told me about his troubles with his marriage and his self-hatred and how he struggled after moving here from Korea. I was actually interested in listening to his life story, but when he segued in Jesus-talk, I was caught off guard. By then he had spoken to me for so long and shared so much of his personal life that I felt bad about cutting him off. So I listened to his spiel, paralysed, and being an idiot, I ended giving him my phone number so he could call me and invite me to his church.
Yeah… it was my fault for not being assertive. I wish they would be open and up-front about trying to convert you so you could tell them to push off as soon as they speak to you. I guess they share personal stories because it humanises them and creates a feeling of connection so you feel bad about breaking off the conversation. Next time I’ll be on my guard when anyone approaches me in public and as soon as they start the missionary-speak, I’ll tell them it was nice speaking to them but I’d like them to leave me alone now.