NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently shared a breakfast chat with Hindu and other religious leaders from the city's five boroughs. Dr Uma Mysorekar of the Hindu Temple Society of North America and Radhavallabha Dasa, a brahmachari (monk), a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) were among the Hindu leaders invited to be part of the Hindu delegation to Mayor Bloomberg's annual Interfaith Breakfast was held on Dec 31, 2007 at the New York Public Library.

Dr Mysorekar recited the prayer on behalf of Hindus. Radhavallabha Dasa, who teaches vegetarian cooking classes at New York University and heads up several successful outreach programs, was one of six Krishna devotees present on the occasion.

When Radhavallabha introduced himself to Mayor Bloomberg, the mayor mentioned that he was proud that New York City was home to Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and other people of diverse faith. Radhavallabha also informed Mayor Bloomberg that the worldwide Hare Krishna movement started in New York City (since Swami Prabhupada incorporated ISKCON in New York City in 1966) - a fact that the mayor had been unaware of, but was happy to hear.

Later, in his speech, 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.The ISKCON devotees were invited to attend the event as representatives of the Hindu community.