Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg shared a breakfast chat with members of six major faiths, including Hinduism, during the Mayor's annual inter-faith meeting on December 31, 2007.
While Hinduism was represented by Dr Uma Mysorekar of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, six other Krishna devotees were invited to be part of the Hindu delegation to the meeting that was held at the New York Public Library.
Radhavallabha Dasa, a brahmachari who teaches vegetarian cooking at New York University and heads several successful outreach programmes, was one of six Krishna devotees present.
Radhavallabha told Bloomberg that the worldwide Hare Krishna movement was started in New York City when Swami Prabhupada incorporated ISKCON in the city in 1966, a fact that the mayor had been unaware of but said was happy to know.
In his brief address, Bloomberg reflected on the contributions of different faith groups to New York City's pluralism, and implored his audience of religious leaders to continue offering faith-based perspectives on the challenges facing the city. "This can happen only in New York City. Here all are free to worship and enjoy the rights of democracy," Bloomberg said.
Referring to the recent assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who he described as a symbol of freedom and democracy, Bloomberg said he hoped that her legacy would continue and would inspire people to stop death and violence in all parts of the world.
