ACB in sept 1965 moved to the US and by dec artist Harvey Cohen (who became one of his disciples) had found him an artist studio appartment in the hippy area and ACB started holding chants for the local lsd users. During the next year he had a shop front where he held chants 3 times weekly where Allen Ginsberg (LSD advocate) was a regular member who came and played a musical instrument. He also became acquainted with the pioneer of LSD Timothy Leary.
An ad run for young trippers:
STAY HIGH FOREVER! No More Coming Down. Practice Krsna Consciousness and Expand Your Mind Through Practicing the TRANSCENDENTAL SOUND VIBRATION
At the end of 1966 ACB had moved to San Fran where he opened the Radha Krsna temple in the hippy area Haight/Ashbury where he offered free vegetarian meals and a place for the supposed multitude of local LSD users to come down.
Jan 1967 ACB held a concert called 'Mantra Rock' where he had asked a few well known bands to play donating the profits to the temple. In the line up was Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Moby Grape and others. Attending the concert was Tim Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Augustus Owsley Stanley II (another LSD advocate) and many locals high on LSD. At 10pm ACB arrived and Ginsberg introduced him by saying that the RK temple was offering an important community service through morning chants which will help 'coming down' LSD users 'stablize' their 'conciousness upon re-entry'.
The chanting started rhythmically and as the music grew in intencity images of Krishna were projected and puslating on the walls in beat with the music.
This event gained popularity for the Hare Krishna movement.
At the same time in Hawaii Chris Butler son of Dr Butler (lobbyist for the legalization of hallucinogenic drug marijuana who allegedly knew Ginsberg) started practicing many forms of yoga and developed his own cult where he took on disciples and instructed them to use LSD. Later this group became disciples of ACB.
The information about the Beatles that Maui offered was not actually the complete truth either. Harrison had leased a temple in England before he had supposedly met ACB and also paid for the publication of the book Krsna. In 1969 he produced and album with a hit song "The Hare Krishna Mantra" and other Krishna related songs while at the same time John and Yoko along with 6 Krishna devotees, T Leary and A Ginsberg and a few other musicians recorded the song "Give Peace a Chance"
Three months later John and Yoko along with host Harrison at his London home where the 3 met with ACB for the first time.
There is an extremely short transcript of this meeting which seems to be cropped abruptly suggesting the beginning and the ending of the conversation is largely missing. The transcript shows Yoko seemingly annoyed at asking questions of ACB for which some answers are not really related to the questions. John seems to agree with Yoko's difficulty in recieving adequate answers to her questions and tries to help. Harrison also respectful expresses his own questions which seem confused.
Yoko is asking if the Maha Mantra is so powerful why would one need any other words. She asks why this mantra is tainted and therefore suddenly impotent as ACB is stating if it comes from another source than disciplic succession. ACB changes his story and states it MAY not be as pure. John asks how you know a teacher is 'real' to which ACB states that simply that they are coming in the line of disciplic succesion repeatedly. Which is not really true either. Then Yoko asks the question:
"I see a pattern to what you've said, for instance, you said that Hare Krsna is the most super powerful word, and if that is true, then why do we bother to utter any other words? I mean is it necessary? And why do you encourage us, saying that we're songwriters and all, to write any other song than Hare Krsna?"
ACB states noone needs any other words that Hare Krsna. So Yoko re-asks the question. ACB then goes on the state that a Vaisnava needs to have a good understanding of the Vedic scriptures so they can argue with others who may criticise them.
This also does not answer the question as Yoko and John were not versed in vedic knowledge and this was their first meeting with a vaisnava who had told them to write words other than Hare Krsna.
The transcript ends there and I'm not sure they ever met with ACB again.
"Oh Let's stick to it
Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary, Tommy smothers, Bob Dylan,
Tommy Cooper, Derek Tayor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance "
This information besides the Butler stuff came from the book Chant and be Happy and this is as much as I read last night. You can see the long discussions that Maui spoke of have developed an authoratative 'nice' story of half truths regarding ACB. What Cara has said is true and I have been present for much of her research into ACB.
[
www.harekrishna.com]
The link above has a chapter from the book which seems to be complete and in the same form as the book.