Not sure if you would be exposed to many devotees close up in Italy. The internet has brought a whole new dimension to meeting others with similar interests.
I've been attending groups in the past, there were many personalities but fortunately no demonic ones, unless I was lucky to avoid them. Well, I take it back, the late Sw. Kryiananda displayed some demonic traits but knew how to conceal them well.
The number is definitely much , much smaller than in California.
The Internet like you say is a totally different dimension, one negative aspect that I realized is that devotees speaking politics are just the same as other people speaking it.
I would have expected more flexibility, more coherence with the teachings of Yogananda and the SRF, of course times might have changed but honestly often I'm seeing the old stubborn ways of thinking. I try to be more objective and reason in terms of practicality and evidence, maybe sometimes failing in it.
That's what I instantly liked about Obama (at least, by reading his book), he's a democrat but he's not reluctant to carry around the ideals of the republicans he deems important for the nation. Beyond the expectancy and ideals of separate groups which represent different people, the aim should Always be an interest to improve the society, domestic and global.
