Swing Into Swim With Swami

This article, "Swing Into Swim With Swami" was published in The Stanford Daily, February 27, 1967, in Stanford, California.

A holy man from India, Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta, will be at the Experiment tonight at 8 p.m. to "chant, dance, and turn everyone on." 

The Swami - which literally means one who can dictate to his senses - is the founder of Acharya International Society for Krishna Consciousness Inc. The 71-year-old native of India is a graduate of the University of Calcutta. 

San Francisco beat poet Allen Ginsberg met the Swami a year ago when he established his first temple in New York. Ginsberg calls him one of the more conservative leaders of his faith. 

Rules Of The Religion 

The Swami will not tolerate LSD, marijuana, or alcoho,. In fact, he will not allow coffee, tea, cigarettes, or sexual improprieties. 

Other demands made on the students of the Indian holy man are that they bathe daily and not eat meat. 

A second temple was opened by the Swami last Wednesday at 518 Frederick Street in the outskirts of the Haight-Ashbury district. When his disciples have learned enough, the Swami plans to establish a temple in Montreal, probably this spring. 

Future Temples 

In the Swami's newest temple, a small store with a large plate glass window, there is a small altar, incense, and burning candles. 

Since everyone who enters is required to remove his shoes at the door, there are several small carpets on the floor. The most prominent of these is a large oriental rug in the center of the room. 

The location for the temple was chosen by the Swami's disciples because the rent was so low, and not because the movement seeks to convert the hippies. 

Photo: Oh, My God! Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta, Indian Holy man, winces as he contemplates facing Stanford students tonight at the Experiment.