The Bhakti Center of New York City is in East Village, within a three block radius of a funeral home, a nail salon, two housing projects, a cemetery, three gay bars, and a Jewish deli. Their ashram, or spiritual place of residence, is tucked away in a quiet five-story walk-up on First Avenue, above The Bhakti Cafe, a vegetarian and raw food luncheonette run by the center’s practitioners. It is almost 10 a.m. when Dave buzzes me into the building.
