(Matchless Gifts storefront, 26 Second Avenue, NYC, 1966)
"When we came to New York in 1965, we never expected that the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra would be accepted in this country. Nonetheless, we invited people to our storefront to join in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and the Lord's holy name is so attractive that simply by coming to our storefront in New York, fortunate young people became Kṛṣṇa conscious. Although this mission was started with insignificant capital, it is now going nicely. The spreading of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in the West has become successful because the young people were not offenders. The youths who joined this movement were not very advanced as far as purity was concerned, nor were they very well educated in Vedic knowledge, but because they were not offenders, they could accept the importance of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. We are now very happy to see that this movement is advancing more and more in the Western countries. We therefore conclude that the so-called mlecchas and yavanas of the Western countries are more purified than offensive Māyāvādīs or atheistic impersonalists."
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 17.145, Purport)
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