Age 18-19, '73, after two plus years on the road between my thumb and Greyhound buses, Winnipeg, L.A., New Vrndavana, Toronto, I found myself at the recently opened Winnipeg Gour Nitai Temple, on 160 Home Street.
Finding ourselves short-handed, Mother Mandari, Nandi's wife, ushered me into the kitchen, and told me to make the next offerings...
lol. I had never cooked anything but like, rice, in my life. I was neither a brahmana, yet. In fact, I was still Bhakta Tom, though I'd been around a bit for those early days. Too mobile.
Krsna. So anywho, turned out I had an ability, and so I spent day after day listening to all of Srila Prabhupada's lectures and walks etc over and over, while stirring and washing pots, making carob milk, rolling kofta balls for Sunday feast. ( The kofta balls were great. People came just for the Sunday kofta ball program!) And in that way, I learned the philosophy, listening to Srila Prabhupada's lectures in Gour Nitai's kitchen. Eventually diksha happened, Jagdisa as ritvik. He also recommended my second in Mayapura in '76, Srila Prabhupada in attendance at the fire sacrifice on Gour Purnima that year.
I did sankirtana many days all day, as well as kitchen jagya. I preferred the kitchen, but Winnipeg got to have number one slot for small books distribution month after month for years. Iskcon was my family. Many adventures happened, including all-brahmacary living-in-a van travelling sankirtan parties to Ontario, Saskatchewan, Mardi Gras, Kansas City Salt Lake City etc. We were the first ones there in some cases. Gour Nitai tskp. We rocked, believe it!
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