An Authentic Life v 1.2 - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

"From now on you will be known as Krishna
Dasi."
I thought that at initiation Swamiji would say that
we were Krishna, but he explained, “Dasi means
maidservant."
"What is your name?"
"Steve."
"From now on you will be known as Subal Das."
I was disappointed that I wasn’t Krishna. I expected
at initiation Swamiji would reveal we are God.
What he taught was we are infinitesimal parts of God
one in quality with God but different in quantity.
We practiced celibacy for a couple of days following
the rule of no illicit sex now that we were initiated.
Fortunately, our wedding took place that Saturday
evening.
Carolyn borrowed a white sari from Kris, who
lived in the commune with us and ran a Haight Street
boutique. I borrowed a saffron dhoti from Hayagriva,
who came from the New York temple. Saris and dhotis
are traditional Indian clothes adopted by the Krishna
movement. They consist of a long piece of cloth that is
wrapped, pleated, and draped in men's and women's
styles.
We spent the day preparing a feast. I went downtown
to get rare spices, a case of milk, and ten pounds
of butter so Swamiji could cook milk sweets. The
temple was decorated with many flowers I picked in
Golden Gate Park that morning.
There was a fire sacrifice similar to the one at initiation.
After traditional Hindu vows, instead of ex-
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