At first, the Government of Pakistan did not react too favourably: they felt we were too early," says Zamindar. "But slowly, President Musharraf's message of modest enlightenment spread, and things began to work out well for us."
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar himself visited Pakistan and had a meeting with many mullahs.
"They just loved him," says Zamindar, who retains a slight American accent. "They asked him so many questions, about Hinduism and idol worship. He explained it all to them, and managed to connect it to the oneness that Islam talks about.
"Everyone began to feel that this was such a non-communal and non-commercial embrace from India!"
The strength of the movement now in Pakistan is 1,000, according to Zamindar. Interestingly, he says, the ratio of women to men is 3:1. "We do satsangs with Muslim songs every day, even if the group is sometimes as small as just 10 or 20 people."
Zamindar brought some Pakistani women with him for a stint at the Bangalore ashram now.
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