Treasure of Brhat Mrd. Chaps - 1 14

The Treasure of the Bṛhat Mṛdaṅga
Spreading the Glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Through Book Distribution

compiled by Vijaya Dāsa
Spreading the Glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Through Book Distribution
© 2013 by Vijaya Dāsa
Chapters 1-12
Note: for Table of Contents activate Bookmarks in PDF.

INTRODUCTION
From the earliest days of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasized book distribution.
As a deeply compassionate pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he felt pained to see the conditioned souls
suffer. In Mārkine Bhāgavata-dharma (“Kṛṣṇa Consciousness in America”), a Bengali poem he wrote
upon arriving at Boston harbor, Śrīla Prabhupāda addresses Lord Kṛṣṇa:
Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion.
Absorbed in material life, they think themselves very happy and satisfied, and therefore they
have no taste for the transcendental message of Vāsudeva. I do not know how they will be able
to understand it. But I know Your causeless mercy can make everything possible because You
are the most expert mystic. How will they understand the mellows of devotional service? O
Lord, I am simply praying for Your mercy so that I will be able to convince them about Your
message.
This is the nature of a kind-hearted devotee: he wants to see everyone become happy by practicing
Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Prabhupāda’s books are guides to the happiness everyone is seeking.
It is by knowledge of the Absolute Truth that people can become free of their suffering. There are so
many universities, so many libraries, so many books, so many web sites—so much information available
today. But where is the knowledge by which a person can be freed of ignorance and attain full
satisfaction? That knowledge is found in the teachings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupāda.
Śrīla Prabhupāda lived the transcendental teachings he wrote, and thus he inspired countless people
all over the world to embrace those teachings. Millions of people are now learning about Lord Kṛṣṇa and
becoming purified. We are all very much indebted to Śrīla Prabhupāda for giving us this great treasure
of knowledge. He once said, “You cannot repay me for what I’ve given you. I’ve given you Kṛṣṇa. But
if you want to try, then preach.” He also said, “The best way to preach is by book distribution.” This is
how we can show him our appreciation—by giving this knowledge to others.
Book distribution is a joyful experience because it’s pleasing to Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotee. In 1973
Prabhupāda wrote a letter to some saṅkīrtana devotees. It contains my favorite quote about book
distribution:
London
My dear Prabha Visnu,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 1,
1973, and I am very glad to hear from you the wonderful news of traveling party in England. I
think the people of that place are becoming more and more inclined for this Krishna
Consciousness movement, they are inviting you to stay at their houses, they are taking books,
becoming sometimes devotees—all of these are very encouraging signs to me. . . . [A]lways
without anxiety for destination and comfortable situations, always relying only on the mercy of
Krishna for your plan, just go on preaching His message and selling His books, wherever there is
interest.
We shall not waste time if there is no interest or if the people are unfriendly, there are so
many places to go. But I understand from your letter that practically everyone is taking some
interest. That means you are presenting the thing in a very nice manner, they can detect that here
are some persons who are actually sincere and nice, let me hear them, let me purchase one book.
So I can understand that it is not an easy matter to travel extensively over long periods of time
i
without proper food, rest, and sometimes it must be very cold there also, and still, because you
are getting so much enjoyment, spiritual enjoyment, from it, it seems like play to you. That is
advanced stage of spiritual life, never attained by even the greatest yogis and so-called jyanis.
But let any man see our devotees working so hard for Krishna, then let anyone say that they are
not better than any millions of so-called yogis and transcendentalists, that is my challenge!
Because you are rightly understanding through your personal realization this philosophy of
Krishna Consciousness, therefore in such a short time you have surpassed all the stages of yoga
processes to come to the highest point of surrendering to Krishna. That I can very much
appreciate, thank you very much for helping me in this way.
Hoping this meets you and the other men of your party in the best of health and spirits.
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Undoubtedly saṅkīrtana can be difficult, but if we are sincere and continue distributing books, then,
as Śrīla Prabhupāda says, “It seems like play to [us].”
In the purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.55 Śrīla Prabhupāda writes that a pure devotee doesn’t
have a material body, because he is “surcharged with the current of the Lord’s identical interest.” What
is that identical interest? Kṛṣṇa wants everyone to go back to Him because He’s everyone’s well-
wishing father. Prabhupāda also wanted that. He was filled with kṛṣṇa-prema, and when he touched a
sincere soul’s heart, the spiritual current from Prabhupāda would inspire that soul to become Kṛṣṇa
conscious. Then that soul would be inspired to do what Prabhupāda did—preach. This current of
Prabhupāda’s mercy is still flowing all over the planet in the form of book distribution, and in many
other ways. The current is similar to electricity. If someone touches an electric wire he gets shocked, and
if another person touches him he also gets shocked, and if a hundred people touch in this way they will
all get an electric shock. Prabhupāda once said, “If they read one line of my books, it can change their
life.” That’s because every word is connected with the current of Prabhupāda’s and Kṛṣṇa’s mercy
flowing from the spiritual world. The more this current is transmitted, the more the lives of the people
will light up with the happiness of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Śrīla Prabhupāda once said this period in history would be remembered as the time when the Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement saved the world in its darkest hour. It’s hard to see that now, because there is
still relatively little interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We don’t know what the future holds. But
Prabhupāda, who is totally connected to Kṛṣṇa, knows. Christianity was not a significant religion until
two hundred years after Christ departed. Now by some estimates there are more than two billion
Christians on the planet. We may see Kṛṣṇa consciousness bring about a revolution in society in our
lifetimes, or we may not, but when Śrīla Prabhupāda says something it must be taken very seriously.
And after all, we are only a little over five hundred years into the ten thousand years of this Kali-yuga
known as the Golden Era of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When we consider how much Kṛṣṇa
consciousness has spread in less then fifty years since Prabhupāda founded ISKCON, we should have
great hope.
One may ask what need is there for another book about book distribution since we already have
Preaching Is the Essence, “Distribute Books, Distribute Books Distribute Books,” The Nectar of Book
Distribution, and others. All I can reply is ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam—the saṅkīrtana movement is an
ever-increasing ocean of bliss. This book is an attempt to increase this ocean of book distribution.
I’m not a writer; I’m a book distributor. But as the minister of book distribution, I have as one of my
services to try to encourage the book distributors. One way I do that is by sending out saṅkīrtana stories
to the world of book distributors through a conference called “BDN,” or “Book Distribution Nectar.”
Through the years I’ve collected hundreds of interesting stories. Many devotees asked me to compile
them into a book so they wouldn’t be forgotten over time. So, that’s the main purpose for this book. I
ii
hope it inspires those who are already distributing books and pray it will inspire others to take up this
glorious activity.
Before the stories or comments I’ve put the name of the devotee speaking them. I didn’t include a
biography of everyone in the back of the book, as was done in The Nectar of Book Distribution, because
there are too many devotees. Although I’m not a writer, book distribution has been my service for over
thirty years, and so Kṛṣṇa has inspired me to write much more than I thought I would. To avoid seeing
my name before everything I’ve written in the book, I’ve put my writings in italics.
A main feature of this book is a series of quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda expressing the importance of
book distribution. Another comprises descriptions of the many ways one can distribute books.
I pray that this book will inspire devotees around the world who are distributing books to continue
with greater determination, and that it will inspire those who are not engaged in this activity to somehow
take it up in whatever small or big way they can.
Vijaya Dāsa
Minister of Book Distribution
iii
PREFACE
There is some dispute about where book distribution started. Some say San Francisco, some say
Montreal. But it’s certain that big book distribution began in New York City. Śrīla Prabhupāda came to
the US with two hundred three-volume sets of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s First Canto—six hundred
books. He would sell them to bookstores on consignment. He would also sell them to people who came
to his programs. The price was $18. Many devotees from the early days still have those priceless
original First Canto sets that they personally bought from Śrīla Prabhupāda. So Śrīla Prabhupāda was the
first big-book distributor in the West.
But the first English Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava book to appear in the West was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:
His Life and Precepts, by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, who sent it to McGill University in Montreal,
Canada. This momentous event took place in 1896, the same year Śrīla Prabhupāda appeared on this
planet. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda was setting the stage for what would happen in the West seven decades
later—Śrīla Prabhupāda’s founding of a worldwide movement that would change the lives of millions.
It was Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s son, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, who started book
distribution in a big way after establishing the Bhagwat Press in 1915 and the Gauḍīya Maṭha in 1918.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta continued his father’s Bengali-language magazine, the Sajjana-toṣaṇī
(“Satisfaction of the Devotees”) and began an English-language version called The Harmonist. He also
printed the Caitanya-caritāmṛta and Bhagavad-gītā with commentary. Later he established the Gauḍiyā
Printing Works and published the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (with annotations) and the Caitanya-bhāgavata.
Many more books would follow. In one temple he started he installed the printing press in the temple
room because he knew that the Lord would be pleased to hear His words being printed. If one of his
disciples went out and distributed even one magazine, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta would express his great
pleasure to that disciple. He called book distribution “the bṛhat-mṛdaṅga,” “the great mṛdaṅga.” The
traditional saṅkīrtana party, with congregational chanting of the holy name accompanied by karatālas
and mṛdaṅga, could be heard for maybe a few blocks, but the bṛhat-mṛdaṅga could spread Kṛṣṇa
consciousness all over the world. On a walk with Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī
instructed him, “If you ever get money, print books.” Prabhupāda didn’t forget this instruction.
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī considered book distribution so important that when there was some friction
among the devotees in the temple/ashram at Bhagbazar, the Gauḍiyā Math’s center in Calcutta, he said,
“It would be better to take the marble from the walls and secure money. If I could do this and print
books, that would be better.”
In his Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in the Concluding Words:
If there is any credit to my activities of translating, it is all due to His Divine Grace
[Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura]. Certainly if His Divine Grace were physically present at
this time, it would have been a great occasion for jubilation, but even though he is not physically
present, I am confident that he is very much pleased by this work of translation. He was very
fond of seeing many books published to spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Therefore
our society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, has been formed to execute the
order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī
Ṭhākura.
In 1965, by the desire of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, Śrīla Prabhupāda had come to America.
After a year he had attracted a small following in New York City, and then the movement gradually
spread to San Francisco and Montreal. But there wasn’t much money in the beginning. So to support the
iv
temples Śrīla Prabhupāda asked some devotees to keep the jobs they had, and others to get jobs. In San
Francisco Jayānanda Prabhu supported the whole temple by driving a taxi. Other devotees around the
small movement also took on some responsibility by getting jobs.
Śrīla Prabhupāda saw that his disciples weren’t making much money in their jobs, and that they also
didn’t like the jobs. So he instructed them to do harināma-saṅkīrtana and depend on Kṛṣṇa. This was in
1968. Devotees would go around with a conch shell near the chanting party and collect donations.
Whoever gave a donation would receive a Back to Godhead magazine. Sometimes devotees were going
on harināma twelve hours a day. At one point the devotees in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York,
and London were distributing five thousand BTGs a month.
For some time this was the way information about Kṛṣṇa consciousness was spread, through BTG
distribution. Then in 1970 the first volume of Kṛṣṇa book was printed, and Srila Prabhupāda had the
copies sent to the few centers in North America at that time. The devotees didn’t know what to do with
the boxes and boxes of books. Then big book distribution began. Devotees would mainly go door to
door. At first the books trickled out—if someone distributed five Kṛṣṇa books, that was a very big day.
This is a quote from a 1971 saṅkīrtana newsletter:
Recently, in an all out program to sell books, the San Francisco Temple has been averaging 20
Krishna Books per day distribution. What is their technique? Keshava Prabhu the temple
president says, “Simply we make it our priority activity. All you have to do is want to do it and
then try as hard as you can. Everywhere we go, we carry BTGs and Krishna books—on street
SKP, door to door, to the laundromat, to the store, everywhere. We have been taxing our brains
in so many fancy and complicated ways to try to increase sales, but as it has been experienced,
nothing is more successful than simply taking the books personally in hand and going door to
door with this Causeless Mercy.”
Prabhupāda wanted the books distributed, and that was the main force behind the books going out—
the desire of the pure devotee.
The BTG they may read, Śrīla Prabhupāda knew, but most likely they wouldn’t keep it. He once said
that “BTG is the backbone of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.” But still he wanted the hardbound books
distributed more, because people would be more likely to keep a big hardbound book. This is why Kṛṣṇa
book and the Bhagavad-gītā became the main books distributed. He once said, “Book distribution means
big books.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda once said, “I have only one disease: I always think big.” He wanted there to be at
least one BBT book in every household on the planet. He understood how important book distribution is,
and he passed on this understanding to his disciples. So much so that he once wrote this message on the
back of a saṅkīrtana newsletter: “Everyone should go with the Sankirtan Party as soon as possible.”
This message was sent all over ISKCON, and devotees all over the movement were put into a frenzy to
distribute Prabhupāda’s books. One disciple who reminisced about that period said that when he heard
of this letter he, his wife, and another couple got in their car with as many books as they could and went
traveling around the country distributing books. From then on it was increase, increase, increase—and
then double it.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda, his son Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta, and then his disciple Śrīla Prabhupāda set the pace
for Kṛṣṇa consciousness to be spread all over the world.
It is from these great, pure devotees that we members of ISKCON understand the importance of
distributing books. They understood how much people need Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that it is their only
hope for becoming free of their unfortunate position.
Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself came to help the conditioned souls by speaking the Bhagavad-gītā. He knew it
would be a guide to millions around the world for millennia to come. A devotee is para-duḥkha-duḥkhī,
he feels sad to see the suffering of the conditioned souls. And Kṛṣṇa, especially in the form of Lord
v
Caitanya, is also known as para-duḥkha-duḥkhī (see Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 3.51). Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu appeared in order to give His mercy to those who were considered the most fallen:
Muslims, Māyāvādīs, a leper, Jagāi and Mādhāi, etc. He broke open the storehouse of love of God. One
devotee asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, “Why didn’t Lord Caitanya spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the
world? Since He’s God, He could have.” Prabhupāda replied, “Because He saved it for me.” Śrīla
Prabhupāda is continuing the transmission of the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Śrīla Prabhupāda
grasped the essence of the teachings of Lord Caitanya: Spread this message throughout the world.
yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa
“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in Bhagavad-gītā and
Śrīmad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.”
(Cc. Madhya 7.128)
Once in 1972 Śrīla Prabhupāda was in Mexico City and had just had a full day of preaching. It was
around 10 pm. The temple president timidly entered Prabhupāda’s room and asked if he would like to do
one more engagement. Prabhupāda asked him what it was, and the devotee said it was a radio interview
and would begin at 12 midnight. Prabhupāda was not so enthusiastic to go to such a late program, but he
asked how many people would hear. The devotee said it is the most popular radio show in Mexico City
and more than twenty million people would hear it. Prabhupāda then said, “Then we must go!” This was
Prabhupāda’s mood: To get the message of Kṛṣṇa out to as many people as possible. But he knew the
best way was through book distribution.
He once wrote, “There is no doubt about it, to distribute books is our most important activity. The
temple is a place not for eating and sleeping, but as a base from which we send out our soldiers to fight
with māyā. Fight with māyā means to drop thousands and millions of books into the lap of the
conditioned souls. Just like during war time the bombs are raining from the sky like anything.”
Other services are also important. We need managers, cooks, pūjārīs, etc., and they can’t be
neglected but are to be appreciated. So many services are needed to carry on this movement. But still
there is something special about book distribution. And the book distributors are also special—
Prabhupāda called them “frontline soldiers.”
In the mid 1970s a devotee who was taking care of the saṅkīrtana newsletter wrote that the
saṅkīrtana devotees were in the mood of the gopīs because they enjoyed going out to bring others to
Kṛṣṇa more than worshiping Kṛṣṇa directly in the temple. Some of the devotees in the temple thought
the book distributors were becoming a little bit sahajiyā, so they wrote to Śrīla Prabhupāda to learn how
he felt about this new understanding. Prabhupāda wrote back that the understanding was correct: the
saṅkīrtana devotees are in the mood of the gopīs because they are bringing others to Kṛṣṇa.
An Interview with Rādhānātha Prabhu
While visiting the ISKCON center in Kansas City in 2005, I had the good fortune of associating with
one of the greatest inspirations in ISKCON, Rādhānātha Prabhu. He joined in 1975, in Philadelphia,
and shortly thereafter contracted a disease that put him on crutches and then in a wheelchair.
Eventually his legs were amputated below the knee. Despite all this, he continued enthusiastically
distributing books for thirty-one years! I’m a big fan of his, so I decided to interview him. It’s fortunate
that I did because he went back to Kṛṣṇa in 2006. One of Lord Caitanya’s great warriors, he will live on
much longer through his reputation than he lived in his body.
Vijaya Dāsa: What year did you start distributing books?

vi
Rādhānātha Prabhu: I joined in Philadelphia in 1975, and after a few weeks I went out on book
distribution during the Christmas marathon. The devotees were making headway distributing books in
the subways, airports, and other places.
Vijaya Dāsa: What inspires you to distribute books?
Rādhānātha Prabhu: When I read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books I get inspired to distribute them. I used to
be into welfare work; I always wanted to help people. From reading Prabhupāda’s books I could see that
these books are the ultimate solution to all problems. Before I joined I read the Kṛṣṇa book that my
sister gave me, along with the Bhagavad-gītā and The Perfection of Yoga, and by reading these books I
became very inspired to take up the process and give it to others.
Vijaya Dāsa: What do you say to distribute books?
Rādhānātha Prabhu: It depends on the person’s mentality. The face is the index of the mind. If they
look very sinful, I just try my best and pray to Kṛṣṇa. If they say they’re Christian, I say, “Yoga means
to think of God always, so this won’t impede your faith in Christ, but it will help you understand what a
great devotee Jesus was because He was always thinking of God.” With other people I hand them a
Bhagavad-gītā and tell them that A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda’s translation has sold more
than fifteen million copies and has the best translation, and why it is best. Small books I distribute
randomly. I tell them, “This book will help you become more successful in life. “
Vijaya Dāsa: You’ve gone through many trials and tribulations. How is that you’re able to go on
despite the difficulty?
Rādhānātha Prabhu: Everyone has trials and tribulations, mental or physical. One way or other the
trials are there—there is suffering. But when I think of the difficulties Śrīla Prabhupāda had to endure
just to come to America to inspire us, I consider whatever trials I have very insignificant. We have
temples, books, prasādam, etc. All we have to do is enter the temple, become inspired, and preach. All
we have to do is get the books and go out. We should see how fortunate we are and do our best.
A friend of mine has been a nurse for the past twenty years. One day she decided to go out to
distribute. She went out and tried her best, but she couldn’t distribute a book. She came back and was
feeling a little depressed. But that night she had a dream. Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke to her: “That’s OK.
Just keep on trying.” If we just endeavor to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, we’re doing the right
thing. Success will come. Success will ultimately come because were getting purified. Simply by the
desire to get the books out, they will go out.
Vijaya Dāsa: What advice do you have for someone that wants to distribute books throughout his or her
life?
Rādhānātha Prabhu: Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted all the devotees to learn the art of book distribution.
There are so many types of devotional service, but book distribution is especially important. If a devotee
distributes his favorite books, he’ll be inspired to distribute them. There should also be a variety of other
books, but we should mainly distribute the ones that inspire us the most. This will give you a taste, and
you’ll then enjoy distributing books very much. It’s a very wonderful service, and you’ll love to do it.
Vijaya Dāsa: Thank you.
vii
Chapter One
Book Distribution: the Pinnacle of Compassion
Compassion is a quality practically everyone appreciates. It’s a symptom of love. The dictionary
meaning of compassion is “sympathetic concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.” A
compassionate person who sees someone suffering will feel pain and want to help. To one degree or
another, everyone is suffering in the material world because they’ve forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa’s
kind devotees try to relieve the suffering of the people by giving them Kṛṣṇa.
The Nectar of Devotion says that of all Kṛṣṇa’s unlimited qualities, the most prominent is His
compassion for the conditioned souls. Some of the ways Kṛṣṇa shows His compassion are by coming
Himself and speaking the Bhagavad-gītā, leaving us Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sending His pure devotees to
teach us, and descending as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to show us how to be devotees.
But why, one might ask, does Kṛṣṇa say in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.68), “For one who explains the
secret of the Bhagavad-gītā to My devotees, devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will
come back to me,” rather than “For one who explains the secret of the Bhagavad-gītā to devotees and
nondevotees alike, devotional service is guaranteed . . .” ? It appears that He has compassion not for all
conditioned souls but only for His devotees.
Śrīla Prabhupāda answers this question in his purport to Bhagavad-gītā 3.29:
Men who are ignorant cannot appreciate activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and therefore Lord
Kṛṣṇa advises us not to disturb them and simply waste valuable time. But the devotees of the
Lord are more kind than the Lord because they understand the purpose of the Lord.
Consequently they undertake all kinds of risks, even to the point of approaching ignorant men to
try to engage them in the acts of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which are absolutely necessary for the
human being.
So Kṛṣṇa is not callous toward the suffering of the nondevotees, but out of compassion toward His
devotees He doesn’t want them to waste their valuable time with nondevotees who are quite often
uninterested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Therefore devotees can be even more kind than the Lord himself because they go to people who are
uninterested in Kṛṣṇa and try to help them become interested. When Kṛṣṇa sees the compassion of His
devotees, He is so pleased. Imagine a father with many children. One of them leaves the family and
takes to the life of a degraded rogue—drinking, carousing, taking drugs, committing crimes. Then one of
the boy’s brothers goes out of his way to help him. He seeks him out in the seedy part of town, and
gradually he helps the wayward boy clean up his life and again become a good man and a good son.
How pleased the father would be with his good son who helped the lost son! This is how Kṛṣṇa feels
toward devotees who take the trouble to help the degraded conditioned souls who have given up their
relationship with their eternal father, Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the most munificent, compassionate incarnation, appeared in this
Age of Kali to freely give His mercy to the conditioned souls and relieve their suffering. Extending the
compassion of Lord Caitanya to everyone is the essence of the saṅkīrtana movement. By performing
harināma-saṅkīrtana and preaching all over India, He taught us how to be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa and how
to have compassion. When a brāhmaṇa named Kūrma wanted to leave home and accompany Lord
Caitanya in His travels, the Lord told him to stay home and preach. He said, “Instruct everyone to follow
the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way on My order
become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya
7.128)
In this vein, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in a purport in the Sixth Canto (SB 6.2.36):
1
A Kṛṣṇa conscious person should free himself from the clutches of māyā, and he should also be
compassionate to all others suffering in those clutches. The activities of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness
movement are meant not only for oneself but for others also. This is the perfection of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. One who is interested in his own salvation is not as advanced in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness as one who feels compassion for others and who therefore propagates the Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement. Such an advanced devotee will never fall down, for Kṛṣṇa will give
him special protection. That is the sum and substance of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Everyone is like a play toy in the hands of the illusory energy and is acting as she moves him.
One should come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness to release oneself and also to release others.
By approaching the conditioned souls to give them knowledge about Kṛṣṇa, one exhibits the highest
form of compassion. This is so because all suffering is due to not being Kṛṣṇa conscious. There have
been many examples of devotees who had horrible, painful diseases but who were happy because they
were Kṛṣṇa conscious, filled with realizations of how they were not the body but the soul within.
There are many philanthropic organizations throughout the world, but they are all concerned with
the welfare of the body and not the most important element, the soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda tells a parable
about a lady whose husband had fallen into a river but could not swim, so she was crying out for help. A
man shows up who tells the lady, “Have no fear, Ma’am, I’m an expert swimmer. I’ll save him.” He
dives in and catches hold of the drowning man. But when he gets to shore he finds that he’s only
brought back the man’s coat—the man has drowned. This is what all these philanthropic organizations
are doing—treating the “coat” of the external body while ignoring the person within, the soul. But the
knowledge we distribute tells people how to get to the root of the problem, forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa.
By nature a devotee of Kṛṣṇa is compassionate. Therefore the history of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava line
is replete with great Vaiṣṇavas who dedicated their lives to preaching. Among them is the towering
figure of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, who in the late nineteenth century organized hundreds of local
bhakti groups in Bengal, spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness to thousands. Seeing the need for a powerful
preacher to expand his mission, he prayed for a “Ray of Viṣṇu” and was blessed with a son who grew up
to become the great stalwart devotee Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura.
As we have recounted in our Prologue, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta began the mass printing and
distribution of Kṛṣṇa conscious literature. He established sixty-four maṭhas (ashram/temples) throughout
India and sent his disciples to other countries to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Upon meeting Abhaya
Caran De (Śrīla Prabhupāda) in 1922, he instructed him to teach the message of Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu to the English-speaking world. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta wrote: “I wish that every selfless,
tender-hearted person of the Gauḍīya Maṭha will be prepared to shed two hundred gallons of blood for
the nourishment of the spiritual corpus of every individual of this world.” He also said, in the same
compassionate mood, “Every single door must be knocked on at least once.”
Then Śrīla Prabhupāda, the epitome of compassion, crossed two oceans, braving two heart attacks
and serious seasickness, just to show compassion to the conditioned souls. He lived with a motley group
of dropouts and hippies in New York, cooking for them and cleaning up after them. They were babies in
spiritual life, and he would spoon-feed them very carefully, so expertly that many devoted their lives to
him. He would rise in the wee hours of the night to write the pure message of bhakti so that people
throughout the world, for thousands of years to come, could take advantage of this rare human form of
life and hear about Kṛṣṇa. Then he would preach for hours to whoever would listen. A boy named David
was staying with him in a loft; he was the first one to live with Śrīla Prabhupāda in America.
Prabhupāda had hopes that David would become a brahmacārī and assist him in preaching around the
world. But then David became crazy on LSD and threatened to seriously harm Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda left the apartment, alarmed but not discouraged. And this incident turned out to be a
2
Chapter One: Book Distribution: the Pinnacle of Compassion
blessing in disguise. When Prabhupāda explained his situation to some of the young men who had been
visiting him, they arranged to rent the first temple in ISKCON, 26 Second Avenue. That was the
beginning, and for the next eleven years Śrīla Prabhupāda’s compassion spread far and wide. By the
time he departed this world in 1977 he had established 108 temples around the world.
We understand from reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books that we should desire to get free from māyā.
If we also try to help others get free of māyā, Kṛṣṇa is very pleased. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.31.19)
Nārada Muni tells the Pracetas that showing compassion toward others (dayayā sarva-bhūteṣu) is an
essential part of pleasing Kṛṣṇa. One of the reasons Kṛṣṇa descends is to enlighten the bewildered fallen
souls, so when He sees someone helping Him, how much pleased He is! People all over the world are
bewildered by māyā, thinking “I’m this body.” No other society in the world is teaching the basic
understanding of spiritual life, that one is not the boy, but this is the first point that Kṛṣṇa makes in the
Bhagavad-gītā, and it’s a point Prabhupāda made again and again. We are so fortunate! If we can help
others become fortunate by giving them Kṛṣṇa and Śrīla Prabhupāda, we will become even more
fortunate.
If we don’t feel compassion for the conditioned souls, we should desire to develop it. Everyone is
suffering in the prison of birth and death, and their material desires are the bars that keep them locked
up. Kṛṣṇa’s illusory energy makes them think everything is okay, but as Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says,
they are “sleeping on the lap of the witch Māyā.” Our desire should be to free ourselves and to free
others. Let’s widen our circle of compassion, seeing everyone as part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. In this way
we will increase the family of devotees and decrease the inmates in the prison of the material world. If
we’re compassionate we’re happy because we’ve gone beyond selfishness; conversely, the more selfish
we are, the more unhappy we are. Vāsudeva Daṭṭa was so compassionate that if a worm fell off his
leprosy sores he would pick it up and put it back. This is inconceivable compassion. Lord Caitanya was
so pleased with him that He embraced him, and as soon as He did so the leprosy disappeared and
Vāsudeva had a beautiful form. Then he lamented, thinking he would become proud. Lord Caitanya
assured him, “If you chant the holy name, you will not become proud.”
3
Quotes on Compassion from Śāstra and Previous Ācāryas
Śrila Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
When will Lord Nityānanda shower mercy upon me? When will I reject the world of māyā? Bestow
unto me the shade of Your lotus feet. Let the right to preach the name be mine. When, oh when will that
day be mine?
* * *
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.2, purport
Sometimes religious men who preach the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for the benefit of the
entire populace are arrested and harassed by the police and courts. The Viṣṇudūtas, who are Vaiṣṇavas,
lamented for these very regrettable facts. Because of their spiritual compassion for all the fallen souls,
Vaiṣṇavas go out to preach according to the standard method of all religious principles, but
unfortunately, because of the influence of Kali-yuga, Vaiṣṇavas who have dedicated their lives to
preaching the glories of the Lord are sometimes harassed and punished by courts on false charges of
disturbing the peace.
* * *
A Vaiṣṇava is para-duḥkha-duḥkhī; in other words, he has no personal troubles, but he is very

unhappy to see others in trouble. Prahlāda Mahārāja said, “My Lord, I have no personal problems, for I
have learned how to glorify Your transcendental qualities and thus enter a trance of ecstasy. I do have a
problem, however, for I am simply thinking of these rascals and fools who are busy with māyā-sukha,
temporary happiness, without knowledge of devotional service unto You.” This is the problem faced by
a Vaiṣṇava. Because a Vaiṣṇava fully takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he
personally has no problems, but because he is compassionate toward the fallen, conditioned souls, he is
always thinking of plans to save them from their hellish life in this body and the next. Parīkṣit Mahārāja,
therefore, anxiously wanted to know from Śukadeva Gosvāmī how humanity can be saved from gliding
down to hell. Śukadeva Gosvāmī had already explained how people enter hellish life, and he could also
explain how they could be saved from it. Intelligent men must take advantage of these instructions.
Unfortunately, however, the entire world is lacking Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and therefore people are
suffering from the grossest ignorance and do not even believe in a life after this one. To convince them
of their next life is very difficult because they have become almost mad in their pursuit of material
enjoyment. Nevertheless, our duty, the duty of all sane men, is to save them.
* * *
4
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.8.9
When a person is advanced in spiritual consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he naturally becomes

very sympathetic toward all living entities suffering in the material world. Naturally such an advanced
person thinks of the suffering of the people. If one is sympathetic to suffering humanity, he should try to
elevate people from material consciousness to spiritual consciousness. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa, we may
raise a person to spiritual consciousness if we ourselves follow the rules and regulations. If we give up
our own spiritual activities and simply become concerned with the bodily comforts of others, we will
fall into a dangerous position.
* * *
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.1b
[TRANSLATION:] If a living entity is developed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is merciful to others,

and if his spiritual knowledge of self-realization is perfect, he will immediately attain liberation from the
bondage of material existence.
[PURPORT:] In this verse the words dayā jīveṣu, meaning “mercy to other living entities,” indicate
that a living entity must be merciful to other living entities if he wishes to make progress in self-
realization. This means he must preach this knowledge after perfecting himself and understanding his
own position as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Preaching this is showing real mercy to living entities.
Other types of humanitarian work may be temporarily beneficial for the body, but because a living entity
is spirit soul, ultimately one can show him real mercy only by revealing knowledge of his spiritual
existence. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: “Every living
entity is constitutionally a servant of Kṛṣṇa.” One should know this fact perfectly and should preach it to
the mass of people. If one realizes that he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa but does not preach it, his
realization is imperfect. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura therefore sings, duṣṭa mana, tumi
kisera vaiṣṇava? pratiṣṭhāra tare, nirjanera ghare, tava hari-nāma kevala kaitava: “My dear mind,
what kind of Vaiṣṇava are you? Simply for false prestige and a material reputation you are chanting the
Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in a solitary place.” In this way people who do not preach are criticized. There are
many Vaiṣṇavas in Vṛndāvana who do not like preaching; they chiefly try to imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura.
The actual result of their so-called chanting in a secluded place, however, is that they sleep and think of
women and money. Similarly, one who simply engages in temple worship but does not see to the
interests of the mass of people or cannot recognize devotees is called a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī.
* * *
Engaged in external activities, they kill the internal vision. The Lord‘s devotees, however, do not
mind the offenses of the foolish in their many gross and subtle bodily endeavors. The Lord‘s devotees
continue to bestow the blessings of devotion upon all such offenders without hesitation. That is the
nature of devotees.
* * *
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 13.67, purport
A bona fide devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is always pained to see the fallen condition of the whole world.
5
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura used to say, “There is no scarcity of anything within this world.
The only scarcity is of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” That is the vision of all pure devotees. Because of this lack
of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in human society, people are suffering terribly, being merged in an ocean of
nescience and sense gratification. A devotee onlooker is very much aggrieved to see such a situation in
the world.
* * *
[TRANSLATION:] The self-effulgent Vaikuṇṭha planets, by whose illumination alone all the
illuminating planets within this material world give off reflected light, cannot be reached by those who
are not merciful to other living entities. Only persons who constantly engage in welfare activities for
other living entities can reach the Vaikuṇṭha planets.
[PURPORT:] From this material world . . . people can be transferred to Vaikuṇṭhaloka if they
incessantly engage in welfare activities for all other living entities. Such incessant welfare activities can
really be performed only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no philanthropic work within this material
world but Kṛṣṇa consciousness that can engage a person twenty-four hours a day.
A Kṛṣṇa conscious being is always engaged in planning how to take all of suffering humanity back
home, back to Godhead. Even if one is not successful in reclaiming all the fallen souls back to Godhead,
still, because he is Kṛṣṇa conscious, his path to Vaikuṇṭhaloka is open. He personally becomes qualified
to enter the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, and if anyone follows such a devotee, he also enters into Vaikuṇṭhaloka.
* * *
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.9.12 purport
The Lord is so satisfied with His pure devotees that He wants to give them the credit for missionary
success, although He could do the work personally. This is the sign of His satisfaction with His pure,
niṣkāma devotees, compared to the sakāma devotees. By such transcendental activities the Lord
simultaneously becomes free from the charge of partiality and exhibits His pleasure with the devotees.
Now a question arises: If the Lord is sitting in the hearts of nondevotees, why are they not moved to
become devotees? It may be answered that the stubborn nondevotees are like the barren land or alkaline
field, where no agricultural activities can be successful. As part and parcel of the Lord, every individual
living entity has a minute quantity of independence, and by misuse of this minute independence the
nondevotees commit offense after offense, to both the Lord and His pure devotees engaged in
missionary work. As a result of such acts, they become as barren as an alkaline field, where there is no
strength to produce.
* * *
[TRANSLATION:] O my lord, great philanthropic souls travel on the earth on behalf of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead to show compassion to the fallen souls who are averse to the sense of
subordination to the Lord.
[PURPORT:] To be obedient to the wishes of the Supreme Lord is the natural position of every
living entity. But due only to past misdeeds, a living being becomes averse to the sense of subordination
6
to the Lord and suffers all the miseries of material existence. No one has anything to do but render
devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore any activity other than transcendental
loving service to the Lord is more or less a rebellious action against the supreme will. All fruitive
activity, empirical philosophy, and mysticism are more or less against the sense of subordination to the
Lord, and any living entity engaged in such rebellious activity is more or less condemned by the laws of
material nature, which work under the subordination of the Lord. Great unalloyed devotees of the Lord
are compassionate towards the fallen, and therefore they travel all over the world with the mission of
bringing souls back to Godhead, back to home. Such pure devotees of the Lord carry the message of
Godhead in order to deliver the fallen souls, and therefore the common man who is bewildered by the
influence of the external energy of the Lord should avail himself of their association.
* * *
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 3.50–52
[TRANSLATION, 50–51:] Lord Caitanya said, “My dear Ṭhākura Haridāsa, in this Age of Kali
most people are bereft of Vedic culture, and therefore they are called yavanas. They are concerned only
with killing cows and brahminical culture. In this way they all engage in sinful acts. How will these
yavanas be delivered? To My great unhappiness, I do not see any way.“
[PURPORT, 51:] This verse reveals the significance of Lord Śrī Caitanya’s appearance as patita-
pāvana, the deliverer of all the fallen souls. Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura sings, patita-pāvana-hetu
tava avatāra: “O my Lord, You have appeared just to deliver all the fallen souls.” Mo-sama patita
prabhu nā pāibe āra: “And among all the fallen souls, I am the lowest.” How Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya
Mahāprabhu was always thinking about the deliverance of the fallen souls is shown by the statement e
duḥkha apāra (“It is My great unhappiness”). This statement indicates that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu,
who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa Himself, is always very unhappy to see the fallen
souls in the material world. Therefore He Himself comes as He is, or He comes as a devotee in the form
of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to deliver love of Kṛṣṇa directly to the fallen souls. Namo mahā-
vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so merciful that He not only gives
knowledge of Kṛṣṇa but by His practical activities teaches everyone how to love Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-prema-
pradāya te).
Those who are following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu should take the Lord’s
mission most seriously. In this Age of Kali, people are gradually becoming less than animals.
Nevertheless, although they are eating the flesh of cows and are envious of brahminical culture, Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu is considering how to deliver them from this horrible condition of life. . . . Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu was always anxious to deliver the fallen souls because their fallen condition gave
Him great unhappiness. That is the platform on which one can propagate the mission of Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu.
[TRANSLATION, 52:] Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied, “My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety. Do not be
unhappy to see the condition of the yavanas in material existence.”
[PURPORT:] These words of Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s are just befitting a devotee who has dedicated his
life and soul to the service of the Lord. When the Lord is unhappy because of the condition of the fallen
souls, the devotee consoles Him, saying, “My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety.” This is service. Everyone
should adopt the cause of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to try to relieve Him from the anxiety He feels. This
is actually service to the Lord. One who tries to relieve Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s anxiety for the fallen
souls is certainly a most dear and confidential devotee of the Lord. . . .
7
One who has actually assimilated the essence of the Vedas can preach the truth. He is compassionate
to the conditioned souls, who are suffering the threefold miseries of this conditional world due to their
not being Kṛṣṇa conscious. A brāhmaṇa should take pity on the people and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness
in order to elevate them. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, personally descends
into this universe from the spiritual kingdom to teach conditioned souls about the values of spiritual life.
He tries to induce them to surrender unto Him. Similarly, the brāhmaṇas do the same thing. After
assimilating the Vedic instructions they assist the Supreme Lord in His endeavor to deliver the
conditioned souls. The brāhmaṇas are very dear to the Supreme Lord due to their high sattva-guṇa
qualities, and they also engage in welfare activities for all conditioned souls in the material world.
Comment by Vijaya Dāsa
Śrīla Prabhupāda had the kṣatriya spirit of fighting Māyā and the Vaiṣṇava-brāhmaṇa spirit of
giving Kṛṣṇa to the suffering, poverty-stricken souls. This was his mood. His disciples picked up
that mood as well. He was so touched by the devotees‘ enthusiasm. At one point during a class
he started crying and said, “You are helping me so much in this mission to please my spiritual
master.“ He was overwhelmed. So we should understand that we are always giving great
pleasure to both Kṛṣṇa and Śrīla Prabhupāda by going out and preaching. By doing this activity,
we ourselves make very rapid advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and we are helping the
conditioned souls. It is an all-around successful program.
* * *
[TRANSLATION:] Dear Lord, Your personal associates, devotees, wander all over the world to
purify even the holy places of pilgrimage. Is not such activity pleasing to those who are actually afraid
of material existence?
[PURPORT:] There are two kinds of devotees. One is called goṣṭhyānandī and the other
bhajanānandī. The word bhajanānandī refers to the devotee who does not move but remains in one
place. Such a devotee is always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. He chants the mahā-
mantra as taught by many ācāryas and sometimes goes out for preaching work. The goṣṭhyānandī is one
who desires to increase the number of devotees all over the world. He travels all over the world just to
purify the world and the people residing in it. Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised:
pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma

sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted His followers to move all over the world to preach in every town
and village. In the Caitanya sampradāya those who strictly follow the principles of Lord Caitanya must
travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, which is the same as preaching the
words of Kṛṣṇa—Bhagavad-gītā—and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The more the devotees preach the
principles of kṛṣṇa-kathā, the more people throughout the world will benefit.
* * *
8
The word ātma-bhāvitaḥ also indicates that a devotee is always engaged in preaching to deliver the
conditioned souls. It is said of the Six Gosvāmīs: nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-
saṁsthāpakau lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau. A pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always
thinking of how the fallen, conditioned souls can be delivered. The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
influenced by the merciful devotees’ attempt to deliver the fallen souls, enlightens the people in general
from within by His causeless mercy.
Saṅkīrtana devotees relish this purport because they often see it confirmed on saṅkīrtana. People
will say they’re not interested and twenty seconds later ask, “How much do you want for the
book?” As they’re walking away they may say, “Why did I get this book?” This is the mercy of
the Lord—He enlightens them from within.
I mostly distribute from a book table. When I’m in good consciousness, praying for
compassion and a sincere desire to serve, it’s amazing how many people just come to my table
and want books. But if I’m attached to the results or polluted with material desires, even though
I’m motioning people to come to the table and they come, no one takes a book. A saṅkīrtana
devotee feels this reciprocation from Kṛṣṇa and very much feels the presence of Kṛṣṇa on
saṅkīrtana because of this reciprocation. Sometimes saṅkīrtana devotees become overwhelmed
with happiness upon feeling Kṛṣṇa’s clear reciprocation on saṅkīrtana. And this is what keeps
many of them going out year after year after year.
Some devotees go on saṅkīrtana not because they have compassion for the conditioned souls
but because they know their spiritual master is pleased if they do it or they know Kṛṣṇa is
pleased and that some people will benefit. But not so much because of compassion. I’m one of
them; maybe sometimes there’s a little compassion, but it isn’t a driving force. Compassion is a
very deep quality that increases as one’s self-realization increases, as one’s devotion to Kṛṣṇa
increases.
Among all the devotees of Lord Caitanya, the one who exemplifies compassion the most is
Vāsudeva Daṭṭa. He prayed to Lord Caitanya, “My Lord, my heart breaks to see the sufferings of
all the conditioned souls; therefore please transfer the karma of their sinful lives upon my head.
Let me suffer perpetually in a hellish condition, accepting all the sinful reactions of all living
entities. Please finish their diseased material life.” When Lord Caitanya heard this he began
crying and trembling, and in a faltering voice He replied, “I can understand why you’ve said this:
because you are the incarnation of Prahlāda Mahārāja. Lord Kṛṣṇa has bestowed His complete
mercy upon you. There is no doubt about it.”
* * *
[TRANSLATION:] By showing mercy to all living entities, being satisfied somehow or other and
controlling the senses from sense enjoyment, one can very quickly satisfy the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Janārdana.
[PURPORT:] These are some of the ways in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be
satisfied by the devotee. The first item mentioned is dayayā sarva-bhūteṣu, showing mercy to all
conditioned souls. The best way to show mercy is to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The entire world is
9
suffering for want of this knowledge. People should know that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
the original cause of everything. Knowing this, everyone should directly engage in His devotional
service. Those who are actually learned, advanced in spiritual understanding, should preach Kṛṣṇa
consciousness all over the world so that people may take to it and make their lives successful.
The word sarva-bhūteṣu is significant because it applies not only to human beings but to all species
of life. The devotee can do good not only to humanity but to all living entities as well. Everyone can
benefit spiritually by the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. When the transcendental vibration of
Hare Kṛṣṇa is sounded, even the trees, animals, and insects benefit. Thus when one chants the Hare
Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra loudly, he actually shows mercy to all living entities. To spread the Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement throughout the world, the devotees should be satisfied in all conditions.
* * *
[One’s] energy can be utilized for real self-interest if one is compassionate. A person in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, a devotee of the Lord, is always compassionate. He is not satisfied that only he himself is
a devotee, but he tries to distribute the knowledge of devotional service to everyone. There are many
devotees of the Lord who faced many risks in distributing the devotional service of the Lord to people in
general. That should be done.
It is also said that a person who goes to the temple of the Lord and worships with great devotion but
who does not show sympathy to people in general or show respect to other devotees is considered to be
a third-class devotee. The second-class devotee is he who is merciful and compassionate to the fallen
souls. The second-class devotee is always cognizant of his position as an eternal servant of the Lord; he
therefore makes friendships with devotees of the Lord, acts compassionately toward the general public
in teaching them devotional service, and refuses to cooperate or associate with nondevotees. As long as
one is not compassionate to people in general in his devotional service to the Lord, he is a third-class
devotee. The first-class devotee gives assurance to every living being that there is no fear of this material
existence: “Let us live in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and conquer the nescience of material existence.“
* * *
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 3.98
[TRANSLATION:] Seeing the activities of the world, the Ācārya felt compassion and began to
ponder how He could act for the people’s benefit.
[PURPORT:] This sort of serious interest in the welfare of the public makes one a bona fide ācārya.
An ācārya does not exploit his followers. Since the ācārya is a confidential servitor of the Lord, his
heart is always full of compassion for humanity in its suffering. He knows that all suffering is due to the
absence of devotional service to the Lord, and therefore he always tries to find ways to change people’s
activities, making them favorable for the attainment of devotion. That is the qualification of an ācārya.
Although Śrī Advaita Prabhu Himself was powerful enough to do the work, as a submissive servitor He
thought that without the personal appearance of the Lord, no one could improve the fallen condition of
society.
In the grim clutches of māyā, the first-class prisoners of this material world wrongly think
themselves happy because they are rich, powerful, resourceful, and so on. These foolish creatures do not
know that they are nothing but play dolls in the hands of the material nature and that at any moment
material nature’s pitiless intrigues can crush to dust all their plans for godless activities. Such foolish
10
prisoners cannot see that however they improve their position by artificial means, the calamities of
repeated birth, death, disease, and old age are always beyond the jurisdiction of their control. Foolish as
they are, they neglect these major problems of life and busy themselves with false things that cannot
help them solve their real problems. They know that they do not want to suffer death or the pangs of
disease and old age, but under the influence of the illusory energy, they are grossly negligent and
therefore do nothing to solve the problems. This is called māyā. People held in the grip of māyā are
thrown into oblivion after death, and as a result of their karma, in the next life they become dogs or
gods, although most of them become dogs. To become gods in the next life, they must engage in the
devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; otherwise, they are sure to become dogs or
hogs in terms of the laws of nature.
The third-class prisoners, being less materially opulent than the first-class prisoners, endeavor to
imitate them, for they also have no information of the real nature of their imprisonment. Thus they also
are misled by the illusory material nature. The function of the ācārya, however, is to change the
activities of both the first-class and third-class prisoners for their real benefit. This endeavor makes him
a very dear devotee of the Lord, who says clearly in the Bhagavad-gītā that no one in human society is
dearer to Him than a devotee who constantly engages in His service by finding ways to preach the
message of Godhead for the real benefit of the world. The so-called ācāryas of the Age of Kali are more
concerned with exploiting the resources of their followers than mitigating their miseries; but Śrī Advaita
Prabhu, as an ideal ācārya, was concerned with improving the condition of the world situation.
Great personalities of the material world are very eager to render welfare service to human society,
but actually no one can render better service than one who distributes the knowledge of spiritual
realization in relation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All living entities are within the
clutches of the illusory energy. Forgetting their real identity, they hover in material existence,
transmigrating from one body to another in search of a peaceful life. Since these living entities have very
little knowledge of self-realization, they are not getting any relief, although they are very anxious to
attain peace of mind and some substantial happiness. Saintly persons like the Kumāras, Nārada,
Prahlāda, Janaka, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and Kapiladeva, as well as the followers of such authorities as the
Vaiṣṇava ācāryas and their servants, can render a valuable service to humanity by disseminating
knowledge of the relationship between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity. Such
knowledge is the perfect benediction for humanity.
Knowledge of Kṛṣṇa is such a great gift that it is impossible to repay the benefactor. Therefore Pṛthu
Mahārāja requested the Kumāras to be satisfied by their own benevolent activities in delivering souls
from the clutches of māyā. The King saw that there was no other way to satisfy them for their exalted
activities. The word vinoda-pātram can be divided into two words, vinā and uda-pātram, or can be
understood as one word, vinoda-pātram, which means “joker.” A joker’s activities simply arouse
laughter, and a person who tries to repay the spiritual master or teacher of the transcendental message of
Kṛṣṇa becomes a laughingstock just like a joker because it is not possible to repay such a debt. The best
friend and benefactor of all people is one who awakens humanity to its original Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
* * *
[TRANSLATION:] The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all
11
living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics
are sublime.
[PURPORT:] A sādhu, as described above, is a devotee of the Lord. His concern, therefore, is to
enlighten people in devotional service to the Lord. That is his mercy. He knows that without devotional
service to the Lord, human life is spoiled. A devotee travels all over the country, from door to door,
preaching “Be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Be a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Don‘t spoil your life in simply fulfilling
your animal propensities. Human life is meant for self-realization, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” These are
the words of a sādhu. He is not satisfied with his own liberation. He always thinks about others. He is
the most compassionate personality towards all the fallen souls. One of his qualifications, therefore, is
karuṇikā, great mercy to the fallen souls. While engaged in preaching work, he has to meet with so
many opposing elements, and therefore the sādhu, or devotee of the Lord, has to be very tolerant.
Someone may ill-treat him because the conditioned souls are not prepared to receive the transcendental
knowledge of devotional service. They do not like it; that is their disease. The sādhu has the thankless
task of impressing upon them the importance of devotional service. Sometimes devotees are personally
attacked with violence. Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, Haridāsa Ṭhākura was caned in twenty-two
marketplaces, and Lord Caitanya‘s principal assistant, Nityānanda, was violently attacked by Jagāi and
Mādhāi. But still they were tolerant because their mission was to deliver the fallen souls. One of the
qualifications of a sādhu is that he is very tolerant and is merciful to all fallen souls. He is merciful
because he is the well-wisher of all living entities. He is not only a well-wisher of human society, but a
well-wisher of animal society as well. It is said here, sarva-dehinām, which indicates all living entities
who have accepted material bodies. Not only does the human being have a material body, but other
living entities, such as cats and dogs, also have material bodies. The devotee of the Lord is merciful to
everyone—the cats, dogs, trees, etc. He treats all living entities in such a way that they can ultimately
get salvation from this material entanglement. Śivānanda Sena, one of the disciples of Lord Caitanya,
gave liberation to a dog by treating the dog transcendentally. There are many instances where a dog got
salvation by association with a sādhu, because a sādhu engages in the highest philanthropic activities for
the benediction of all living entities. Yet although a sādhu is not inimical towards anyone, the world is
so ungrateful that even a sādhu has many enemies.
What is the difference between an enemy and a friend? It is a difference in behavior. A sādhu
behaves with all conditioned souls for their ultimate relief from material entanglement. Therefore, no
one can be more friendly than a sādhu in relieving a conditioned soul. A sādhu is calm, and he quietly
and peacefully follows the principles of scripture.
* * *
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.17. 26
[TRANSLATION:] “Any cruel person—be he a man, woman, or impotent eunuch—who is only

interested in his personal maintenance and has no compassion for other living entities may be killed by
the king. Such killing can never be considered actual killing.”
[PURPORT:] The planet earth is actually a woman in her constitutional form, and as such she needs
to be protected by the king. Pṛthu Mahārāja argues, however, that if a citizen within the state—be he
man, woman, or eunuch—is not compassionate upon his fellow men, he or she may be killed by the
king, and such killing is never to be considered actual killing. As far as the field of spiritual activities is
concerned, when a devotee is self-satisfied and does not preach the glories of Kṛṣṇa, he is not considered
a first-class devotee. A devotee who tries to preach, who has compassion upon innocent persons who
have no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, is a superior devotee. In his prayer to the Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja said
that he was not personally interested in liberation from this material world; rather, he did not wish to be
12
liberated from this material condition until all fallen souls were delivered. Even in the material field, if a
person is not interested in others’ welfare, he should be considered to be condemned by the Personality
of Godhead or His incarnation like Pṛthu Mahārāja.
* * *
13
Quotes on Compassion from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Followers
His Holiness Gour Govinda Swami
Our activity is preaching. Flood the whole world with the message of Mahāprabhu. We are
goṣṭhyānandīs, not bhajanānandīs. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī once said, prāṇa āche yāṅra, sei
hetu pracāra: “He who has life is preaching.” The preacher’s heart bleeds when he sees the suffering of
the jīvas. So he goes out, not caring anything for himself. Go out and preach! Inculcate Kṛṣṇa
consciousness into them. Let their suffering be done away with forever. Yes, this is the heart of a sādhu.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, at the end of his days, was so old that his eyelids had to be lifted by someone so
that he could see. At that time he said, “I want a horse to ride on to go out and preach.” He was very,
very old, practically an invalid, but such a spirit was there. A preacher’s heart is pierced to see the
people suffering for want of Kṛṣṇa consciousness: “Oh, he is Kṛṣṇa’s servant! Out of ignorance he is
suffering. He is not engaged in bhajan. Let me go and inculcate Kṛṣṇa consciousness into him. Let me
engage him in Kṛṣṇa’s service.” One who does not preach has no life. Lifeless. He is a dead body. Those
who go out and preach are not dead bodies. They have life.
* * *
His Holiness Rādhānātha Swami
The devotees are going out each day to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s books. This is such a
wonderful, wonderful service. To give a person medical assistance is good because it gives him relief
from bodily suffering for some time, but to give him the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as Śrīla
Prabhupāda has revealed it to the world through his books, is to give him the opportunity to enter into
the spiritual world. It is to give him the only real solution to his problems of life, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So those who perform this work in sincere compassion are actually performing the greatest welfare
activity in all creation. And what you give through Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s books should also be exemplified
in your lives. In this Age of Kali the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the most sublime means of
purifying the heart. This is the conclusion of all the writings of the great saints. Let us distribute these
books with great enthusiasm, and let us show the world how wonderful and joyful life can be in the
association of devotees chanting the holy name.
* * *
His Holiness Śivarāma Swami
At Chicago’s O’Hare airport the devotees would sell books just where the arriving passengers
entered the terminal. This was also the place where people would greet and pick up arriving travelers.
Sometimes there would be as many as eight or ten devotees in the area, and people waiting would stand
in a circle, watching devotees sell books. It was like a spectator sport.
Businessmen who were impressed with devotees’ selling skills would often approach devotees with
job offers. I also got a few offers. On one occasion, after I’d sold a book, a well-dressed, well-spoken
man approached me and asked, “How much do they pay you for this job?”
I answered, “I don‘t get paid and it’s not a job. I work for free because distributing these books is my
mission in life.”
He was taken aback. But after a moment he continued, “I can offer you a job starting at $40,000 a
year.” (That would be over $100,000 in today’s money.)
14
I replied, “You could not match what I get in return for selling these books.”
The man was genuinely curious to know more. So I explained to him about the content of the books,
about Prabhupāda, about Kṛṣṇa, about why I had given my life to ISKCON. I explained that the
satisfaction of giving people the Absolute Truth, giving them something that would change their lives
and set them on the path to eternal happiness, was in itself my salary, one that nullified the desire for any
other remuneration. After a while he took out a $20 bill and gave it to me. “That’s for your cause,” he
said. “I wish I could get dedicated workers like you boys. But then,” he said with a smile, “I would have
to be like your guru. And I’m not.” Then he shook my hand and walked away.
I didn’t explain to him another reason I wouldn’t accept a salary. He wouldn’t have understood. By
selfless sacrifice for Lord Caitanya‘s mission one purchases Kṛṣṇa forever, and thus Kṛṣṇa, thinking He
is unable to repay the devotee for his service (na pāraye ‘ham), becomes the property of His servant. In
such an indebted condition, Kṛṣṇa, when asked for it, gives His devotee eternal loving service to Him.
That is what I want. Is there any compensation better than that?
Keep distributing books. With every book sold you are putting Kṛṣṇa in your debt, more and more.
Then one day invisible Kṛṣṇa will become visible to your eyes, as He became visible before the gopīs
after disappearing prior to the rāsa dance. And He will tell you, na pāraye ‘ham: “I am unable to repay
My debt for your spotless service.”
* * *
Maṇidhara Dāsa (ACBSP)
I like the verse from the Bhagavad-gītā that states how the real yogī experiences pleasure and pain in
connection with other living entities’ pleasure and pain. That’s the lesson one learns on saṅkīrtana and
throughout one’s whole life. The more one experiences pain, the more one understands that others
experience the same pain—some more, some less.
I believe that’s the true way to compassion. It has to grow, and it has to mature. It cannot be
developed in some sort of academic way, or by a mere arrangement of words. Any pain experienced on
saṅkīrtana becomes tolerable when seeing daily the pain of the conditioned souls around us. To the
degree pain arrives, to that degree one remembers that others have walked the same thorny path before.
So one grows to be compassionate.
Book distribution is a transcendental activity. Only a realized Vaiṣṇava truly knowledgeable about
the nature of this world can be truly compassionate. And so we can only stand embarrassed and in awe
of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s unlimited compassion upon us. What he has done! He gave the highest to the
lowest, not asking for anything in return. The best way to start to pay our debt to him is to produce and
distribute his books.
* * *
Praghoṣa Dāsa (ACBSP)
I keep this beautiful excerpt [from The Message of Godhead] with me on saṅkīrtana:
Each and every soul has a potent, confidential, eternal relationship with the Personality of
Godhead. But due to long association with the illusory material energy, every one of us has
forgotten that relationship from time immemorial. We are as if roaming in the street like street
beggars, although we are all the transcendental sons of the richest personality, the Personality of
Godhead. With a cool head we could very well understand this fact. But unmindful of our
15
supremely rich father and our relationship with Him, we go on endeavoring in many ways to
solve our street-beggar problems of poverty and hunger, but with practically no appreciable
results.
As Śrīla Prabhupāda has said here, everyone we meet is a “street beggar“ looking for eternal
happiness. We are also beggars! However, by the mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda we simply run from one
beggar to another—begging them to take up their eternal function of saṅkīrtana. We approach each
beggar: “Now take this little book home with you. We beg you to take out some time from your busy
schedule to begin the finishing touches on your human form of life! Now, with this information, you can
make your life successful and perfect.“
Thus we make them once again mindful of their supremely rich father, as His Divine Grace has
described—and what was once a huge waste of time becomes a glorious and thrilling adventure!
* * *
Vaiṣeśika Dāsa (ACBSP)
During the first Iraq war in 1991, Iraq‘s infrastructure was blown up. Due to a lack of clean water,
people were suffering from cholera, and children roamed the streets of Baghdad begging from members
of the foreign press: “Do you have any drinkable water? Anything we can drink? Anything?“ They
were thirsty, but if they drank the polluted water they would get sick. It was a dire situation.
So the conditioned soul in the material world is in the same situation. Kṛṣṇa says that this world is
duḥkhālayam, a place of suffering. Here everyone is dying of thirst, not so much for want of water but
for want of the spiritual atmosphere. And we have that. Imagine you are in Iraq and a thirsty child is
begging you for some clean water and you have gallons back in your room. You‘d want to give it to that
child.
So we have that transcendental water. And this is our mission—to distribute that water, to let people
drink the real thing and become revived and healthy. But we ourselves must understand that Kṛṣṇa
consciousness is the real thing; then we‘ll want to taste it more and more and distribute it more and
more. And if people see our good example and the satisfaction in our eyes, they‘ll understand we have
something substantial and will want to purchase it from us. A devotee is naturally kind and
compassionate, and thus he wants to share this pure water of Kṛṣṇa consciousness with others who are
so thirsty for love but who don’t know where to find it, who don’t know it’s in Kṛṣṇa.
Daivīśakti-devī Dāsī (ACBSP)
Compassion is the foundation of the entire Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, which has been going on
eternally. Compassion is personified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu. Without
Their mercy we cannot understand the spiritual science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They gave Kṛṣṇa
consciousness freely, and those who seek Their mercy also help others become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is
the highest form of compassion—to help a person become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Book distribution is one of the eternal functions of a compassionate devotee, beginning with Śrīla
Vyāsadeva and extending down through the entire paramparā. It is something of the past, present, and
future of ISKCON. Sometimes we hear “It’s not respectable to go out and try to convince someone to
buy a book.” But it can be respectable if done in the proper consciousness.
16
The deep compassion of Lord Caitanya is difficult to comprehend. He converted the most
stalwart Māyāvādīs, such as Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, into bhaktas. He sat with Sārvabhauma
for seven days, listening to him patiently, before defeating his philosophy. Lord Caitanya went
out on harināma Himself. He also instructed the Six Gosvāmīs to write books. Why? Because
He knew this information would be distributed all over the would by Śrīla Prabhupāda. What
doesn’t Lord Caitanya know?
Once one of Prabhupāda’s godbrothers said to a disciple of Prabhupāda’s: “If Lord Caitanya
wanted Kṛṣṇa consciousness spread all over the world, why didn’t He do it Himself?” The
devotee relayed this to Śrīla Prabhupāda, who replied, “Because He wanted me to get the credit.”
The ISKCON society is a continuation of the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Prabhupāda also says in a
purport that this society is one of the branches of the Caitanya tree. Throughout the world, more
than five hundred years after His departure, the pure message of Kṛṣṇa is being distributed and
appreciated.
This movement is a movement of compassion. People are suffering for want of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. They are hungry not for food but for love, love of God. Kṛṣṇa can fulfill
everyone’s desire for love. Kṛṣṇa is so great that He can satisfy unlimited numbers of people.
The problem is people don’t know about Kṛṣṇa. We also didn’t know about Kṛṣṇa, but when we
did hear about Him, we devoted ourselves to Him. So many people will become devoted to
Kṛṣṇa when they hear about Him. We just have to have compassion on the conditioned souls and
go out to help them.
We can solve all the problems of the world with these books, because they contain the
instructions of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Śrīla Prabhupāda, Pṛthu Mahārāja, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, King
Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣmadeva, and many others. The main problems are birth, old age, disease, and
death. Imagine if a doctor found the cure for all types of cancer and AIDS. He would likely be
the most popular person on the planet. It would be front page news all over the world: “Doctor
Finds Cure for Cancer and AIDS.” But if he didn’t give the medicine out and instead went on a
six-month cruise around the world, that would be the next big front-page news story: “Doctor
Finds Cure for Cancer and AIDS But Doesn’t Give It Out!” We have the cure for AIDS and
cancer and all other diseases. If someone gets a book, reads it, and follows its instructions, then
they will go back to Godhead, where there’s no birth, old age, disease, or death. It’s Vaikuṇṭha.
If we don’t go out and give this message, which can solve everyone’s problems, then we’ll be
like the doctor who had the cure but didn’t give it out.
* * *
Nidrā-devī Dāsī (ACBSP)
Nidrā-devī Dāsī joined Śrīla Prabhupāda’s movement in 1975 and has been distributing books ever
since. She is a wonderful Vaiṣṇavī. Here’s what she has to say about compassion:
Because we feel Śrīla Prabhupāda’s and Lord Caitanya’s compassion upon us, we want to share it.
Their mercy gives us impetus to pray to Them so that Their compassion will shine through us and touch
the hearts of the conditioned souls. People become inspired within. When we see this happening, we
become prayerful and desire to have even more compassion. Book distribution thus helps us reawaken
pure compassion so that we can share Kṛṣṇa consciousness more and more. It is an ideal service for that
because we witness so much suffering every day during this service. Even if some of us may feel stone-
hearted at first, the service gives us insights into the suffering of the living entities and gradually softens
17
our heart. We realize that just by some good fortune we are no longer in that unhappy state of ignorance,
so we want to share our good fortune and help the unfortunate souls become fortunate. Book distribution
thus helps bring out this quality of compassion in ourselves, as long as we try to execute the service in
the right consciousness.
* * *
Acyuta Gotra Dāsa
At the end of one day during the marathon I visited a slaughterhouse. Eluding the guard, I got inside
and saw an abominable view—dead cows and calves, blood everywhere (on the floor, the walls, the
doors), and only one Ukrainian man cleaning up after the slaughtering. I’d never seen anything like it.
After weaving through this scene, I became a upset and angry and was looking for someone responsible,
someone in charge.
Of course, there’s nothing we can do but be compassionate and try to get even the cow-slaughterers
to purchase a book. After passing many empty rooms and knocking on many doors, I concluded that no
one was there because it was late afternoon. A little sad, I continued knocking. Then from one door
emerged a man dressed in his pajamas, very surprised to see me, a stranger. Happily presenting the
books, I began speaking about a lot of things concerning Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy—except
vegetarianism. The man took me inside his room, and I found out that he was the head manager of that
slaughterhouse. Seeing my enthusiasm for the books, he also became fired up and finally took three
cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and five other books. In fact, he took all the books I had, except the
vegetarian cookbook. The only problem was, he didn‘t have enough money, so I suggested, “Take the
money from the slaughterhouse office.“ And he did it! All together he took twelve books and paid for
them out of the slaughterhouse funds.
Ambarīṣa Dāsa (Russia)
We started book distribution in Russia when Communism fell. People had great spiritual hunger. We
would just set up a table with books on it, and in five minutes people were standing in line to buy the
books. Kṛṣṇa was using us. We were new—we didn’t have any purity. Now there isn’t as much spiritual
hunger in Russia, but many people are frustrated by the present social situation and are inquisitive.
When we pray to our spiritual masters and Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, we ask for purity and
compassion so we will be able to reach the hearts of the conditioned souls.
A real preacher is one who has compassion. Such a person can easily convince others to take to
Kṛṣṇa consciousness because he is a friend to everyone and wants to give everyone the best thing. He’s
not interested taking, but in giving.
* * *
Ānakadundubhi Dāsa
It is quite normal for a devotee to be compassionate. He just has to remember how his life was
before he joined. If we do not feel compassion, we should pray to Lord Kṛṣṇa to give us some of His
unlimited compassion so that we can share it with the conditioned souls. This always works for me.
Kṛṣṇa never lets you down.
* * *
18
Avadhūtacandra Dāsa (Finland)
Around noon I saw a very old couple. They were so old they could not walk by themselves but
needed four-wheeled walkers. I thought, “We have come so far, and here are these old people. They may
leave their body at any moment, so now is their chance to get Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s mercy.“
I went up to them and presented one with a copy of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1 and the other with a
Gītā. The wife immediately accepted her book and put it in her basket. I told them what the books were
all about, and the husband also accepted his book. They gave a nice donation and slowly proceeded
down the hill clutching their vehicles.
Another interesting incident took place just at the beginning of the week. We were in Hameenlinna,
which is a relatively big town by Finnish standards. After our prasādam break I saw a man in his late
fifties. Looking a bit rough, he walked along the street minding his own business. I stopped him and
presented him with a Teachings of Queen Kuntī and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.
“These are very practical books,“ I said. “This one is about simple living, and the other is ancient
Indian wisdom.“ This time I introduced the books in quite a roundabout way, since the man did not seem
to be interested in spiritual life.
The man looked at the books and asked, “Is there anything about God in these books?“
“Actually, these books are only about God,“ I said, changing my approach.
“Good,“ he said. Then the man told me his life story. He had been an alcoholic for many years, but
then he had been saved by Jesus. He had been a member of the Free Church congregation for the last
eight years. However, a couple of days earlier he had fallen off the wagon due to his wife nagging him.
The man looked intently at the books, absorbed in thought. He said, “Big books are not very good,
since people will simply put them on their bookshelves and not read them. I prefer smaller books [like
the TQK].” Suddenly he said “If I give you fifteen euros, will you give me three of these smaller books
[TQK]?“
I said, “Fifteen euros is not the proper price for three books.”
After some time he said, “Will you give me four for a twenty?“
“Sure,“ I said, and started taking out the books from my trolley.
At this point a grandmother was walking nearby. He hugged her and gave her a book. (It seemed
they knew each other.) He told her it is a good one and that she should read it.
Then immediately he ran across the street to a group of other men. “Hey Pekka! Here is a very good
book. Take it and read it!“
In one minute this man had distributed two books. After a couple of minutes I saw him sitting on a
park bench talking to another man and distributing the third one.
It was a wonderful experience to see how the man came under the control of Kṛṣṇa‘s spiritual
energy, and how compassionate he was. I was praying I could be as enthusiastic as he was to distribute
Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s books.
It was truly amazing: Here was a man who didn’t know anything about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who
had no idea how important it is to show compassion for others by giving them Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who
hadn’t heard Śrīla Prabhupāda’s strong emphasis on distributing books, who was not a disciple of
Prabhupāda or a granddisciple, and who most likely engaged in sinful activity of some type. But upon
first seeing and hearing about Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, he became a book distributor. This example
should inspire us, who know so much, to go out of our comfort zones and do what we know is so
pleasing to guru and Kṛṣṇa.
* * *
19
Candraśekhara Ācārya Dāsa
Twenty-two years ago, when I was nine years old, my mother took me to Venice Beach. There a
large assembly of devotees was performing saṅkīrtana in the bright sun. A table was set up in front of
them, and on the table stood many cups of free lemonade prasādam, as well as many small books. I
remember approaching the group. Then a devotee spoke to me and gave me a cup of lemonade and a
copy of Coming Back.
A few days ago in Kolobrzeg, Poland, toward the end of the daily harināma procession led by His
Holiness Indradyumna Swami, a very young innocent girl walked up to me. She could not have been
more than seven years old. She had small round glasses and an eager look in her eyes. Pointing to the
pile of Coming Backs I held in my arms, she asked me for a copy. I smiled and told her that I had to get
a donation in exchange for the book. But then I suddenly remembered how I had been graced with the
same book twenty-two years ago, how that devotee on Venice Beach had begun my spiritual life by
giving me Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s book. So I immediately gave the little girl a Coming Back. She smiled and
ran off to her parents, skipping up and down and waving the book in her hand.
Before joining ISKCON, one of the devotees distributing books in the LA airport had been the
biggest drug dealer on the University of Ohio campus, which is the largest college campus in the USA.
He met Gaura-Nitāi Prabhu from New Vrindavan, who sold him the book Dharma: The Way of
Transcendence. He read it in three hours, and the first thing he did after finishing the book was separate
himself 100% from all his drug-dealing. Now, as he proudly says, “Instead of drugs I sell love of God in
the form of Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s books.”
This story shows the mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda. He came to America and turned so many
degraded crows into swans. Therefore he’s called “Paramahaṁsa,” the supreme swan.
In New York another incident happened that was similar to this one. There was a drug dealer
who owed some money to other drug dealers. The other drug dealers went to his apartment and
beat him severely till he lost consciousness. As they were leaving they saw a booklet on the
counter called Kṛṣṇa, the Reservoir of Pleasure. They opened it, laid it on his unconscious face,
and left. When the drug dealer regained consciousness, he found the booklet on his face. He got
up, went to the sink, washed the blood off his face, read the booklet from cover to cover, found
out where the temple was, and joined. He became a very good devotee.
Kṛṣṇa says there are four types of pious people who approach Him. One is the distressed, a
category that includes a large proportion of the people who come to Kṛṣṇa. There is so much
suffering in this world. In the USA about 30,000 people a year commit suicide, and in the world
about a million, and three times that number try. Millions of people visit psychiatrists to help
solve their mental problems, but the psychiatrists themselves are suffering. Among professionals,
psychiatrists commit suicide more often any other professional. Through the years I’ve heard of
many devotees who were on the verge of suicide before they received Prabhupāda’s books. The
solution is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
* * *
20
Cāru-candra Dāsa
Sometimes when we do saṅkīrtana for a while we do it kind of mechanically, not really in the mood
of compassion. But despite all our shortcomings, we still get special mercy from the Pañca-tattva. Once
I stopped a twenty-year-old girl and ran through my mantra, but she didn‘t respond in any way. I
repeated my line, but she started to do sign language to me, which I couldn‘t understand. Still, I thought,
“Here’s a conditioned soul, and she deserves to get the mercy somehow or other.” Since she could read
lips, I showed her the books and told her what they were all about. When I asked her for a donation to
cover the printing price, she happily agreed. She took her books, and while she walked away tears
poured down my cheeks as I realized the special mercy of Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi, which they distribute
freely to anyone regardless of caste, color, or bodily disability, thus engaging them in Their saṅkīrtana
movement.
* * *
Jagadīśa Dāsa (Russia)
I was distributing books in a factory in a town in the CIS and had just signed up one hundred
workers to each take a set of books (fifteen books per set). When I went to see the director for payment,
he sent me to the chief accountant, but she refused to give me the money, saying she had nothing in the
treasury.
A few days later was the anniversary of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s passing, so we had a big festival at the
temple. I thought that to really get the mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda I should go to the factory that day and
see the chief accountant to get the payment so that the workers could get Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s books.
When I got to the factory, the chief accountant told me, “There’s no chance you will get the money
today because it’s Friday. Come back on Monday.”
But this was Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Disappearance Day, and I really wanted to please him by getting
these books out. So I sat down in the accountant’s office, pulled out a picture of Śrīla Prabhupāda,
placed it on the table, and began to pray intensely to him. After a while all attention turned to me. The
chief accountant was quite concerned and asked me what was wrong.
“Today is the anniversary of my grandfather’s passing away,” I told her. “I’m praying to him to help
me.“
She left her office and came back with a paper in her hand—a release for the money.
“You’ll get the money today,“ she said. “I promise.“
By now it was late in the afternoon, and the bank was going to close in twenty minutes. We ran to
her car and sped off to the bank. When we returned to the factory, she was concerned that the workers
hadn’t gotten their books. It was already too late for me to pick up the books from the temple and make
it back before the workers went home. So she made an announcement over the intercom: “All workers
who were to receive books must go to the Hare Kṛṣṇa temple tonight and collect them.“
When I returned to the temple later, I was amazed to see a long line of people entering and walking
out with boxes of books. The temple was full of workers from the factory. They all received the mercy
of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
* * *
Madhumaṅgala Dāsa (South Africa)
Madhumaṅgala Dāsa is one of the most personable devotees in our society. It’s very common for
21
him to give a big hug to a man who takes a book. In this age of impersonalism, it’s rare to find someone
so personable and compassionate. Here’s a story exhibiting his compassion:
I went into a very exclusive yacht club, and as I walked out a young bearded man came toward me
wearing a greasy t-shirt and pants. As I introduced myself I noticed he was in a very agitated frame of
mind. I kept talking to him, though he showed disinterest in what I was saying to him as I presented
Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s books to him. I said to him, “I notice you’re a bit stressed out.”
“Oh yes, well, you know, I have so many debts and things, and a lot on my mind.”
I said to him, “Not to worry. Try to understand that everything material is temporary. If you
understand that there is something eternal, then you will be free of anxiety and stress. I’m telling you
this out of compassion and love. This material concept of life that people are living in is the cause of
impersonal and selfish existence. Don‘t you think it’s amazing for one person to tell another, ‘I care for
you.’“
The anxiety disappeared from his face as he nodded in agreement. I gave him a big hug and handed
him one of Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s books. He said that he didn’t have much money but gave me four rand. I
thanked him and said, “It’s not the amount of money you give me that counts, but your devotion to
God.”
While waiting for the bus to come to take me to Coronado, California, where I would distribute Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s books, I turned to see if the oncoming bus was mine. Suddenly I saw a middle-aged
gentleman in a business suit rushing across the street. I remember thinking to myself, “He’s really in a
hurry and he looks very serious.”
As he passed by me I said to him: “Hey, slow down, you’re going to make yourself sick.”
He stopped dead in his tracks and said, “I can’t stop. I have an important meeting to attend.“
As he turned to leave I said to him, “No, please wait. I have something important to tell you.” He
waited as I walked over to him. As I introduced myself I saw he was a bit stressed out. He displayed all
the classic symptoms of the Kali-yugites, fixed and focused as he was on the material energy.
I said, “Don’t be in such a hurry, sir. Believe me, if you slow down a bit you’ll still get there. I can
see from your aura that you’re a bit stressed out. Stop worrying and start living.”
To my astonishment tears started welling up in his eyes, and in a choking voice he said, “The reason
my aura is like that is because my wife wants to leave me!”
“Don’t worry,” I said, “things will soon be all right. I have something to give you that will solve
your problem. Look, I care for you very much. What I said to you before, I said out of compassion.
When’s the last time somebody told you they loved you?”
He looked upward as more tears came, and in a soft voice said, “It’s been a long time.“
I put my arms around him and said, “I love you very much. You are a very brave and honest
person.” Then I whispered in his ear: “Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma
Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare” and I handed him a Chant and Be Happy.
“Thank you very much for the book,” he said. “I respect and admire the Hare Kṛṣṇas and the work
they do.” Then he smiled and said, “Now I have to go.”
”It was a pleasure meeting you,” I said, “and I look forward to meeting you again. Don’t forget to
utilize the knowledge in the book.”
* * *
22
Compassion develops from serving those who have compassion. The devotee thinks, “I don’t
have any compassion, but I see my gurudeva literally crying for the suffering of the conditioned
souls, so let me alleviate my dear father’s grief.” And by thus serving the spiritual master, who is
an embodiment of compassion, we will also develop compassion.
Compassion must also be based on śāstra. When we read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books
regularly, we learn how to see this world for what it is—a place of suffering. Otherwise we will
forget. Māyā’s job is to make us forget the suffering of this material world so that we are
inclined to stay here. If our compassion is based on our previous experiences, we will forget, so
we must constantly hear. The example is given of how a woman who gives birth vows she will
never go through that painful experience again. But what happens? After a year or so she forgets
the pain of childbirth and again desires to have a child.
* * *
Madhupati Dāsa
I was distributing in Kassel, a big city in Germany. It was during the Prabhupāda Marathon. I had a
quota of a hundred books a day. I really wanted to distribute that much. The previous days had been
very nice. But on this day my mentality became that of an ass—work, work, work. No compassion, no
Kṛṣṇa, no taste. Oh, what a counting game! Just numbers, no souls . . . uff tough stuff. From nine
o’clock till noon I distributed twenty-five books. Then I took a break. Then again I distributed from two
to seven. That was my schedule. Well, my heart was closed, people didn‘t stop, I couldn’t connect . . .
tough.
I saw a young drunken lady, maybe around twenty-three years old—suffering. She didn‘t have much
clothing on—no heavy jacket—and it was below freezing. I presented a book to her and said, “I‘m a
monk, and we distribute these books.
“How much?“ she asked.
“Nothing, it is my present for you!“
“How much do people usually give?“ she asked again.
“Three euros,“ I said. Actually, the normal donation was five euros. “But you don‘t have to give
anything.“
“No, I want to give you something.“ She gave eighty cents.
I went for a break in the van. As I resumed my distribution around two, my heart was still closed.
Seventy-five books to go. No one stopped and I thought I wouldn’t reach my quota. I was so much into
the numbers.
Again I saw the lady begging, freezing, drunk to numb the cold. Just suffering. I wanted to give her
some warm prasādam. We still had some dāl left. But my selfish mind switched in: “No, it‘s the
marathon. It will cost you at least twenty or thirty minutes, and during that time you could distribute ten
books.“ So there was an internal fight between my good and bad angel. Finally I decided to approach her
and asked if she was hungry. She said she was. I told her, “Wait here till I come back.“ So I ran to the
van, heated up the dāl, filled a plastic bottle with it, and brought it to her.
She was so grateful that I gave her this prasādam. She happily ate. Then she approached me, opened
her wallet and gave me three more euros. She had actually begged very hard for that laxmi. Gaurāṅga!!
Then everything changed. Because I had taken some time to personally care for a soul, I gave up on
“my own strength.“ Kṛṣṇa opened up the curtain. The people stopped, the flow of love was there, my
heart was open. In the last four hours of the day Kṛṣṇa let me distribute around eighty books.
23
This was an incident I will never forget. It is not by our own strength that we can get a good result. It
is Kṛṣṇa who gives such a result to those who are living the truth. Because of practicing Kṛṣṇa
consciousness I felt some compassion for the suffering lady, and Kṛṣṇa was pleased.
* * *
Nitāi Rāma Dāsa
I visited New Dwarka, our ISKCON temple in Los Angeles. Much of my visit was spent at the
airport (LAX). Day after day the stalwart saṅkīrtana devotees there were distributing so many books to
people from all over the world.
One real highlight occurred during the last half hour at the airport one Thursday afternoon.
Bṛghupati Prabhu, one of the leading book distributors in the world, had completely emptied his suitcase
and most of my backpack, having distributed more than fifty big hardcover books, fifteen Bhagavad-gītā
CD ROMs, and a number of soft-cover books. Arriving at Terminal One, we found Mādhavendra Purī
Prabhu standing on the ground floor near the baggage claim. When we reached him I saw that his box
was also empty. He looked at us happily and asked if he could take some of our books. Bṛghupati
Prabhu told him that we would give him half of everything we had. He then dramatically laid the
suitcase flat, completely unzipped the zipper, and then flung open the cover. It was, of course,
completely empty. It’s an amazing feeling when so many books are distributed. We all laughed in
wonder.
Suddenly I heard Bṛghupati Prabhu utter “Military!” and he was gone in a flash. With a CD ROM
and one soft-cover book, his only remaining ammo, he was quickly walking across the terminal to greet
a young military man with a crew cut and an army-issue green duffel bag. Mādhavendra Purī Prabhu and
I just naturally started following so we could observe the encounter. The military guys are almost always
the nicest people in the airport. As we picked up our pace to catch up, I looked over at Mādhavendra
Purī to see his face beaming with glee. He had the most blissful smile as his eyes followed Bṛghupati
Prabhu. We began running to catch up, but then stopped so we could observe from a distance.
As the young military man gave a donation and took the books, Mādhavendra Purī began to worry
about the fact that we actually had no more books. We had half an hour before all the devotees would
meet at the van to go. The general agreement is that if anyone is more than five minutes late, he can’t
complain if he has to take a bus back to the temple. We had only a little bit of time left to distribute.
“I’ll go and get more books,” I offered.
Mādhavendra Purī was delighted. I took the empty suitcase and headed out the door. Terminal One
was not far from the van, where there were plenty of books. It was raining outside and they didn’t have
rain jackets. I got to the van, loaded up with books, and as I ran back to the terminal across the parking
lot, wheeling the heavy suitcase behind me, I honestly felt completely happy. I was surprised. Is it true?
Am I really feeling this happy? Is it real? Yes! I am a miserable fool always suffering because of
material desires, but for a moment I am not hankering or lamenting for anything. Smiling cheek to
cheek, I was running clumsily with the suitcase behind me, but it felt more like a dance. There was
gravity as well. I understood that I was like an ambulance in a war zone. There was no doubt that the
books in this bag were in minutes going to be in the hands of some inconceivably fortunate conditioned
souls. The longer I took, the less people would be saved. I really felt that. It had nothing to do with me. I
had hardly distributed anything all day. Bṛghupati and Mādhavendra Purī were empowered and would
deliver the medicine. I was serving them.
All this to say, What a glorious service this book distribution is! If anyone in any capacity even
makes some small, seemingly insignificant effort to just help a book distributor, is there any doubt about
his receiving Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy? Is there anyone on this planet who is not qualified to help a
24
book distributor, even if it is only to give some laxmi? Any person on the street can do that. Therefore,
who can understand the fortunate position of those devotees who are consciously endeavoring to help
the saṅkīrtana movement of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu? I pray to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva that the image of
these devotees blissfully distributing His mercy be forever imprinted in my heart.
Wherever you are or whatever you do, please make the decision to assist those devotees who are
distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.
* * *
Nityānanda Dāsa
I received a call from a lady in Nadi, Fiji, who was severely depressed. Her husband was giving her
a very bad time, always beating her and trying to strip her naked in front of his friends when he was
drunk. She was contemplating suicide.
During one of my book distribution programs in Nadi the previous year, I had sold a Bhagavad-gītā
to her and also given her my card. Now she was desperately calling for help.
When I heard she was thinking of committing suicide, my entire body started shivering. I was
stunned. I calmed down by thinking of Guru and Kṛṣṇa
“Please take it easy,” I said, “and let me help you. You are very fortunate that in your trouble you
decided to talk to a devotee of Kṛṣṇa.” I remembered that Jaya Rāma Prabhu, our president, was soon
going to visit Nadi, so I put her on hold and called him to see if he could meet her. He agreed. Returning
to the lady, I said, “Please meet our temple president, Jaya Rāma Prabhu, on Wednesday. In the
meantime, please chant the mahā-mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare
Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—so that Kṛṣṇa will protect you from doing anything
wrong.” She chanted it to me with all her heart, and later I learned that she had chanted it the whole
night. “Please treat me as your brother and call me anytime for anything.”
She called me up later and confirmed her appointment with Jaya Rāma Prabhu. She asked, ”What
shall I say to him?”
“Just reveal your mind to him as you would to Kṛṣṇa.” And so she did. After their meeting she called
me and told me what she had decided to do, which was exactly what I had suggested.
Jaya Rāma Prabhu asked her to talk to her husband and in-laws and tell them that if her husband did
not change within a month she would leave him. Jaya Rāma also arranged for her to call another devotee
in the area any time of the day or night if anything happened so that he could pick her up and take her to
his home. And if worse came to worst, she could come to Suva.
I call this lady two or three times every day to check how things are going. Recently she told me that
her husband had promised not to cause any more trouble and would stop drinking.
She has started continuously chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and is going to start reading the Bhagavad-gītā.
She’s gradually progressing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and has become a vegetarian.
Here’s what she wrote to me yesterday:
“Hare Kṛṣṇa, brother. It has been a very bright morning for me after months of darkness. All thanks
to Kṛṣṇa. I chant every free moment. This process has saved my life. I just wish I could have come to
Kṛṣṇa consciousness earlier so that I could have tried to save my elder brothers, whom I lost to alcohol
and drugs.”
* * *
25
Padmamālī Dāsa
When I was just a new bhakta distributing books in Prague, I was so spaced out that once for an hour
I couldn‘t approach anyone. I became angry with myself and started to preach to my mind: “How can
you just sit here while all these people walking by are actually searching for the very books you‘re
holding in your hands!? Do something!“
At last I pulled myself together and stopped a young man hurrying back to work with his sandwich.
He was interested in the books, so he invited me to his shop. It was an alternative gift shop full of
oriental and Indian gifts. His two colleagues also liked the books, but no one was willing to buy them.
They were just interested in the vegetarian cookbook.
I began to narrate a story about Lord Viṣṇu and showed them a picture from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
depicting Garuḍa carrying Lord Viṣṇu on his back. One of the shop assistants exclaimed, “Hey, He
looks like ours!“
“What!?“ I exclaimed.
They took me upstairs and pointed to a statue covered with a cloth. A female shop assistant
uncovered the statue, and there He was: Lord Viṣṇu standing on the back of Garuḍa, ready to release His
Sudarśana cakra. I cried out “Viṣṇu!“ and paid my obeisances.
At that moment someone entered the shop and the shop assistants went down to look after him.
Remaining alone with the Lord, I took advantage of the situation to pray to Him for His mercy so I
could distribute some books to these people. They returned and said, “This is your last chance to see
Him because a twelve-year-old girl has purchased Him and will pick Him up tonight.”
With renewed enthusiasm I showed them all the books again. This time they were really inspired,
and the young man I had first met opened the cash register and pulled out some money. The Lord was
very merciful, and they took seventeen books among them.
The young girl wasn‘t the only one to take the Lord home that night. He resides in millions of homes
all over this planet in His form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. I regularly visit this shop and bring the
shopkeepers some prasādam, and they always give generous donations.
* * *
Parameśvara Dāsa
When you feel it is more important for someone to get a book than for you to be comfortable, then
you know you’re doing pretty good.
* * *
Pārtha-sārathi Dāsa
As I waited to check in for my flight to Durban, I saw a young man staring at me. After some time
he approached me and asked if I was a monk. I replied, “Yes, I’m a Hare Kṛṣṇa monk.”
“I work at a new-age yoga studio,” he responded. ”Can I ask you some questions?”
I turned out he didn’t want to ask many questions but wanted to open his heart to me. So I just sat
next to him and listened.
“I started practicing yoga,” he began, “to escape the pain in my heart from failed relationships, from
the pain of disappointing my family. I even thought of suicide once.” He was in tears as he revealed this
to me. ”If yoga is such a peaceful way of using your energy, then why do I feel that something is
missing? I’ve been practicing for over six years and feel no difference in my heart.”
26
I saw that this man’s heart was heavy with the burden of material life. When he finished, I asked
him, “What do you want from life.” He looked off into the distant lights and just shook his head. He
said, “I just want to become happy. Can you help me, please? Can you show me happiness?”
I said, “Of course. The reason your yoga hasn’t worked is because you’re missing the key ingredient,
and that ingredient is God. The object of yoga is to reconnect with Kṛṣṇa. But haṭha-yoga won’t help
you; you need to practice bhakti-yoga. Bhakti means serving Kṛṣṇa with all your heart, with all the love
you can muster.”
The man just looked at me, tears welling in his eyes. By now some others had gathered around, and
someone made a comment about this gentlemen being too emotional. I corrected him, saying, “He is
only revealing what is in all your hearts; you’re all sad deep within because you’ve forgotten your
original relationship with Kṛṣṇa. You should thank this man for making you realize how sad your lives
are without Kṛṣṇa.” The fellow who’d made the comment just looked down. Everyone else nodded.
For the next twenty minutes I answered questions and exchanged email addresses. When everyone
walked away, I was left alone with the original man. He said, “How can I thank you for your help? How
can I thank you for your time?” I pulled out a Perfection of Yoga. “Please take this book, read it, and
apply the knowledge to your life. If you ever need help, please give me a call.” With a big smile on his
face, he thanked me and gave a donation.
I boarded the flight from JFK to LAX, hoping to catch up on some rest. As I took my seat I noticed
that the man sitting next to me was an amputee. I struck up a conversation with him. It turned out he had
lost his legs in a roadside blast in Iraq. I said to him, “I was also a soldier in Iraq,” and I showed him my
military ID card.
“Did you see anything crazy over there?” he asked.
“My friend, I saw too much.“
He looked down and with a sad expression said, “Now I drink all the time and am very depressed.”
As he opened up, I could see that this boy was suffering a lot and was looking for something to guide
him through this rough time in his life.
“Look,” I said, “I’m here to help you if you want me to.”
He grabbed my hands and pleaded, “Yes, please help! How are you dealing with the effects of
combat?”
“I try to take shelter of God and develop a loving relationship with Him in my heart. This body is
temporary, my friend. When we die, it‘s only the body dying, not the soul.”
He looked at me intensely. “Should I stop?” I asked, and he said, “No, please keep going.”
So for the next five hours I spoke to this man about the Bhagavad-gītā. When we landed I got my
bag out of the overhead luggage compartment and pulled out three books—a Bhagavad-gītā, a
Perfection of Yoga, and a Science of Self-realization. As I gave him these books he was moved to tears.
He said, “I have gone to so many groups and talked to so many people, but no one wanted to help me.
So why are you opening your heart to help me?”
“Well,” I answered, “I have a great treasure that was given to me, and I would be a miser to keep it
to myself. So here I am, trying to give myself to you, trying to help you come to a better position in life.
If I didn‘t try to do this, I wouldn’t be an asset in the mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda.“ With some tears in
both our eyes, we exchanged hugs, and then he grasped the books to his chest and went on his way.
* * *
27
Tāra Dāsa
True compassion is an exalted emotion. The saints feel compassion because they are satisfied in
Kṛṣṇa and they see how everyone is suffering.
Despite my lack of compassion, I act with compassion by being the instrument of the compassionate
Lord and his servant, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
When I meet a humble soul who is suffering, I feel some compassion. This is my imperfect vision.
Everyone is unfortunate in this world. They’re all stuck in the world of misery. The enlightened souls
make no distinction that “This one is doing well and this one not.”
* * *
Vācaspati Dāsa (Russia)
It was New Years Eve in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the authorities said no one could have any
gatherings or meetings. But the devotees wanted to go on harināma. So they went, but while they were
chanting a group of policemen came to arrest everyone and take them to jail. The chief said the ones
distributing books should also go to jail. While the police were gathering the devotees I gave a book to
the chief. He looked at it and said, “Is this for me?” I said, “Yes, I want you to have it as a gift. Happy
New Year.” He was so touched by this that he told the other policemen to let the devotees go.
* * *
Viśvambhara Dāsa
The nature of the mind is to take, whereas the nature of the soul is to give. The more we think we’re
the mind and body, the more we’ll want to take, and the more we understand we’re the soul, the more
we’ll want to give. We’ll have compassion. There is nothing more valuable to give than knowledge of
Kṛṣṇa, which gives the ultimate relief from the miseries of material existence and gives us an
opportunity to have a relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
* * *
Yāmunācārya Dāsa
I went to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books door to door in Slovakia. I met a girl who had cancer.
Her name was Jana. She was happy to see me and took two books. Before I left I promised that I would
visit her again soon. A few days later I learned she was in the hospital.
I went there and found her surrounded by her family, in a room for people who are going to die. She
was so happy to see me again. I spoke Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy to her and also to her family
members. She said, “I already read three fourths of the book.” She was very happy to eat a plate of
prasādam I had brought her.
She then said, “This is amazing! This is amazing! Why didn’t I know of this wonderful process
before?”
I sat down and read Kṛṣṇa book to her for some time. Then I preached to her mother. When Jana
heard my preaching, she opened her eyes and said, “Is it OK if I chant this mantra in my mind?”
“Yes, sure, it’s O.K. What do you actually chant?”
She then chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra with closed eyes, intently hearing the holy names. I
left her a nṛsiṁha-pavitram and a photo of Śrī Śrī Nitāi–Navadvīpa-candra, the presiding Deities of the
28
Prague temple. I also gave her some mahā oil from Lord Nṛsiṁha and a CD with the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra
on it.
A week later I received a message that she had left her body. The family invited me to visit them.
When I arrived at their home, her mother was there with Jana’s sister. I spoke to them about the
eternality of the soul and Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and they heard with rapt attention.
The mother said, “Before she passed away we smeared her body with this oil and held this photo you
gave us in front of her. The CD was also playing.”
Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! At that moment I understood the amazing mercy of Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu.
In the future I am going to visit them again because the rest of the family wants to know me.
* * *
Ahaitukī Bhakti-devī Dāsī
I was distributing books at a New York subway station and showed a lady Teachings of Queen
Kuntī. After I explained the book, she revealed that her life had been tragic, exactly like Kuntī’s, and
that she therefore didn’t need the book. She started leaving and said, “I know all the gurus, swamis, and
groups, but I’ve found that I don’t need any of them. I only wish to concentrate on ‘the light’ now. I
want to bring ‘the light‘ from the astral plane down to the gross plane, to fill each of my cells with light.
The true teacher is within, the inner master and guide. Everything is included in the self. Do you
understand?”
While she spoke like this I was praying to Kṛṣṇa, “Please help me say something that will change
her mind.” I answered her: “Yes, but do you think it’s a coincidence that Queen Kuntī has appeared to
guide you today? Include this book within your self.” I put the book in her hands and she became
thoughtful. At last she decided to take it and gave a nice donation.
What Ahaitukī Bhakti did in this circumstance is the essence of book distribution. We have to
pray to Kṛṣṇa to allow people to receive His mercy. It really becomes ecstatic when a distributor
is not attached to the results and is just dependent on Kṛṣṇa and prays to Him to help the
conditioned souls. As we saw in this case, Ahaitukī Bhakti prayed to Kṛṣṇa and the lady had a
change of heart before Ahaitukī Bhakti’s very eyes. Kṛṣṇa reciprocated with His devotee, and
both of them walked away satisfied, feeling that they had gained something from the exchange.
In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.57) Kṛṣṇa says, cetasā sarva-karmāṇi mayi sannyasya mat-paraḥ: “In
all activities just depend on Me and always work under My protection.” In this way book
distribution helps us to be Kṛṣṇa conscious.
* * *
Gokula-līlā Devī Dāsī
I was distributing books on Lincoln Road in Auckland, New Zealand. Many people were taking
books. As I saw two young boys approach, before stopping them I concluded that they were either on
drugs or depressed. It was obvious from their morbid, expressionless faces. As we talked I discovered
they were brothers, fifteen and sixteen years old, and due to circumstances they were also best friends;
they didn‘t really have much shelter other than each other. They were simple, gentle boys. Just
29
remembering them makes me realize how lucky I am to have the protection of Kṛṣṇa and His devotees;
any struggle in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a sweet struggle not worthy of complaints.
They explained to me that they lived with their grandmother, who because of old age had just
recently broken both her feet. Now these two teenage boys had to do everything for themselves and their
elderly grandmother. I asked about their parents. Brace yourself—this is the reality of Kali-yuga. Their
mother had left one day and never came home. The boys had no idea where she was. And their father?
After repeated heart attacks, depression, and anxiety—at this point the younger brother stopped speaking
and turned to the older boy, who completed the sentence: “he took his own life.“
Somehow, by the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and my showing a little interest in these boys, they
gave $15 and took a Bhagavad-gītā. How else was I to help them get out of such a terribly lonely, empty
life? Showing pity is not enough. The only possible way to help anyone is to give them the mercy of
Lord Caitanya, just as we’ve received it.
* * *
Karuṇā-dhāriṇī Devī Dāsī
When I was a kid growing up I was close to several alcoholics. I felt like I would go on feeling sorry
for everything and everyone for the rest of my life! But I couldn’t help them. It was a very debilitating
feeling, bad karma.
When I became a devotee I learned you could help people just by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra
out on harināma. Suddenly I could change the karma of a wino or a businessman or a stray dog. What a
relief! Prabhupāda has given us the best and most effective form of compassion.
That compassionate mood gets abbreviated when you start to think about your score on saṅkīrtana. I
employ different tactics to avert that. Mother Gaurī taught us one. When you come home you put your
collection in front of the Deity of Kṛṣṇa or Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mūrti and pay your obeisances and pray
and meditate on how everything belongs to him. As an offering, tell Prabhupāda about what you did that
day, or even about someone special you met, how many of his books went out.
Another great way to be compassionate is to give the mahā-mantra to each person you meet. Teach
them how to say it. That is very powerful and personal. Another way is to distribute prasādam sweets,
personally invite them to the temple, take their phone number, and call them.
* * *
Tulasī Devī Dāsī
I stopped a boy who was in his last year of high school. He said he had come to North Carolina to
live with his father, but that after a short stay his father decided he didn’t want him and so was sending
him back to his mother.
I started preaching to him: “Actually, God is our eternal father. You’ve had so many material
fathers. In your last life you had a father, in this life you have a different father, and in your next life
you’ll have still another father and won’t remember the previous ones. The pain in your heart you feel
isn’t ultimately because your temporary father is rejecting you but because you are separated from your
real, eternal father—God, Kṛṣṇa. And just as your father is turning his face from you, you and I are
turning our face from our real father, God. And God is feeling pain for us, and we are also hurting,
suffering. We want to be loved and to love, and that’s really possible only with our real father, God. So
we have to turn our face back to God. And that’s why God has arranged this world in such a way that we
eventually, deep in our hearts, cry out to Him again.” The boy just started crying and crying—tears were
30
squirting out. He bought a Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1 and a small book, and I gave him some prasādam.
He was very happy to hear about his real father.
* * *
Bhakta Rajesh
One evening at Perangud, a small town on the outskirts of Pune, [India], I ventured into the busy
market area. I got a mixed response as I slowly moved among the various vegetable vendors engrossed
in bargaining with unyielding housewives on their daily grocery run. I was immersed in showing books
to everyone and soon found myself deep inside the market. Suddenly I realized I had unknowingly
reached a lane that was exclusively selling meat and fish. As I looked around, there were butchers lined
up in their nauseating little shops, which stunk like hell. On the other side were fisherwomen heckling
and arguing with each other, ready with their overbearing personalities to drive away any prospective
troublemaker.
Wasting no time, I began to flee. As I did so, however, a thought crossed my mind, prompting me to
slow down: “These people need Śrīla Prabhupāda‘s books more than anyone else.” Aware of the dangers
of hanging around in such a sinful place, I hurried through, still reluctant, showing books half-heartedly.
To my great surprise, however, one after another, almost all the animal-slaughterers called me in to
their shops and took many copies of the books I had. Even the fisherwomen, usually foul-mouthed and
indiscriminately abusive, were polite and also asked for the books. One man was particularly
remorseful. Hearing about the severe karmic reactions awaiting him after death, he was sorry about his
profession and honestly desired to give up this heinous practice, his family trade for many generations.
He took many books, worth Rs400(!) and also promised to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Taking a risk for preaching is healthy, especially when we have the association of strong devotees. It
enables us to help more conditioned souls experience the all-embracing mercy of Lord Caitanya.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.17.28) Lord Śiva says, nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati:

“Pure devotees of the Lord do not fear any condition of life. For them heaven, hell, and liberation
are all the same because wherever they go they serve Kṛṣṇa.” We should have a healthy fear of
Māyā, but at times we should take risks to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa will protect us. In
the Uddhava-gītā (SB 11.27.46) Kṛṣṇa tells Uddhava how to pray to Him in His Deity form:
prapannaṁ pāhi mām īśa bhītaṁ mṛtyu-grahārṇavāt. “‘O my Lord, please protect me, who am
surrendered unto You. I am most fearful of this ocean of material existence, standing as I am in
the mouth of death.’” When we go on saṅkīrtana it is risky; we are entering Māyā’s kingdom,
declaring war on Māyā. So we have to be very careful and pray for protection. Śrīla
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī once said, “When there is war, there will be casualties.” So if we don’t
want to be one of those casualties, we have to be very strict in our spiritual life. Then we won’t
be harmed by Māyā. Kṛṣṇa will protect us.
* * *
Bhaktin Ellen
I was distributing in the Czech Republic and met a young, homeless beggar. He told me he had some
of our books and that he really wanted the Bhagavad-gītā. But he had no money, and whatever money
31
he collected on the street he had to spend for food. I told him that he could come every afternoon to our
Govinda’s restaurant and take some restaurant prasādam that hadn’t been distributed during the day, and
then he could spend his collected money on books. He agreed, and the next afternoon he bought a
Bhagavad-gītā. He plans to buy the whole set of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in this way.
* * *
End of Chapter One—Book Distribution: the Pinnacle of Compassion
32
Chapter Two
Books Make Bhaktas
Most devotees in our Society come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness because of receiving a book. As I travel
around the world, I inevitably ask devotees I meet how they came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Ninety-five
percent of the time it’s because they received a book. More often than not it was the Bhagavad-gītā that
convinced them. This is one of the reasons I mainly distribute Bhagavad-gītās—it’s what makes
devotees. It’s also what brought me onto the bhakti path.
Sometimes we hear this criticism about book distribution: “What is the use of book distribution?
Who’s becoming a devotee? It’s something of the past. Let’s do something new.”
Here is a morning walk conversation with Śrīla Prabhupāda, from May of 1975, that may clear up
such misconceptions:
It is missionary activity, that they do not understand, but you have to make them understand.
They are not calling you, “I am suffering; please come,” but it is your business to go and let them
know that “You are suffering. You take this method.” That is the way of becoming very quickly
recognized by Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, if you think, “They are not understanding; what is the use of
going there? Let me sleep,” that is not good. They are not understanding; still, you have to go.
Then Kṛṣṇa will take that “He is laboring so hard for My sake.” Never mind he is successful. It
doesn’t matter. But you are working hard for Kṛṣṇa. That is noted down.
So our business is to be recognized by Kṛṣṇa. Whether one man is converted or not
converted, that is not our business. We shall try our best. But Kṛṣṇa must see that I am giving
service to Kṛṣṇa. That’s all. That is wanted. Not that you have to judge that you have approached
so many men; nobody became Kṛṣṇa conscious. That doesn’t matter. But you have gone there.
You have endeavored your sincere effort. That is recognized by Kṛṣṇa. That is the order of
Caitanya Mahāprabhu: yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa: “Whomever you meet, you give
him, you inform him the instruction of Kṛṣṇa.” Caitanya Mahāprabhu never said that “You see
that he has actually become Kṛṣṇa conscious.” Never says. You simply say and go and say. That
is your business. It is not that you have to see that he has become Kṛṣṇa conscious. It is not so
easy. It will take, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante, after many, many births. But you have to do your
duty. Go and preach. Then your duty is finished. Of course, you will try to convert. If he is not
converted, that is not deviation of your duty. You have simply to go and spread. Just like when I
came to your country, I never expected any success because I knew as soon as I say “No illicit
sex, no meat-eating,” they will reject me immediately.
Whether people join or not has a lot to do with the sincerity of the preachers. In Chowpatti devotees
are lined up to move into the āśrama, and there are 130 brahmacārīs living in the temple. Śrīla
Prabhupāda said that a temple is as good as the leader. In Chowpatti the main activity is preaching, and
the leader, Rādhānātha Mahārāja, is expert in ācāra (acting properly) and pracāra (preaching)—rare to
find. When devotees were preaching in Bombay in the early 70’s, practically no one was joining. One of
the leading sannyāsīs said to Prabhupāda, “Practically we’re seeing that only in West Bengal are people
becoming devotees.” But now in the same city, Mumbai, under the guidance of Rādhānātha Swami and
Gopāla Krishna Mahārāja, so many people are joining.
It is Kali-yuga, and most of us are born mlecchas. If someone does join, it is the mercy of Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Prabhupāda, and devotees who are going out of their way to give mercy. In
the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (8.7.44) we find this statement:
tapyante loka-tāpena sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ

paramārādhanaṁ tad dhi puruṣasyākhilātmanaḥ
34
Chapter Two: Books Make Bhaktas
“Great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in
general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who
is present in everyone’s heart.”
Even if there is no result—people aren’t joining—still we should know that Kṛṣṇa is pleased and that
people are benefiting. They may not join, but people are definitely reading the books and getting
purified.
* * *
His Holiness Bhakti-vijñāna Swami
Here is Mahārāja’s account of how the first large shipment of books entered the USSR.
“In 1989 Brahma Muhūrta Dāsa heard that the Russians were allowing religious books into the
USSR for the first time. The BBT decided to print 200,000 books and send them in. They were put in
three semi trucks, but when the trucks reached the border the customs officials wouldn’t allow them in
because they hadn’t heard of the new law. After three days the books were allowed in, but they would
have to be held in a warehouse. The devotees went to the warehouse and asked the persons in charge
why the books would not be given to them. The officials told the devotees to come back in ten days.
After ten days the devotees returned, only to find that nothing had changed. One mātājī then told the
officials: ‘You’re all dinosaurs, living a hundred years in the past. Don’t you know there’s a new trend
in this country? Don’t you watch television!’ Then the devotees demonstrated outside the warehouse
until the books were released.”
Bhakti-vijñāna Mahārāja, who was there at the time, said that from these 200,000 books hundreds
and hundreds if not thousands of devotees came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
* * *
His Holiness Bhakti Vikāsa Swami
As a devotee advances in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he begins to feel blissful when rising early in the
morning. How wonderful — another day in the service of Kṛṣṇa! So much work in the service of Kṛṣṇa,
so many things to do. There are so many people all over the world who have to know about Kṛṣṇa. They
don’t know about Him yet. They are just going to work or school, and they don’t know that they are
devotees of Kṛṣṇa. Some are just waiting for someone to come and say, “Hey, here’s a book about
Kṛṣṇa.” Then they read it and come to the temple and ask, “What is this?” They start to associate, to
chant.
There are so many people like us before we knew about Kṛṣṇa. We thought that life means to go to
school, eat some bread, watch some TV, sleep, etc. This is life. We didn’t know about Kṛṣṇa. Now we
know about Kṛṣṇa and our life has changed. So many people all over the world — they don’t know
about Kṛṣṇa yet. Or they may have heard something, but they haven’t come to the point of
understanding that there is no meaning to life except to serve Kṛṣṇa.
So devotees have an exciting mission — to go out and find all those devotees who don’t realize yet
that they are devotees. Great mission. Just like some kind of hunting —transcendental hunting. Where
are the devotees? Many karmīs like to go hunting. They go out with guns and shoot rabbits and deer —
very demoniac. But devotees go out hunting for more devotees: “Where are those spirit souls who are
eager to understand Kṛṣṇa? Where are they?” There are so many. You can never tell who will become a
devotee. They may be old or young. They may be pleasantly behaved or very nasty. Sometimes very
nasty people also change and become devotees. Who are these people? They are all spirit souls, servants
of Kṛṣṇa. So it is a great mission for the devotees in The International Society for Krishna
35
The Treasure of the Båhat Mådaìga
Consciousness to find people who want to know the truth. That is the greatest pleasure: to find someone
who forgot Kṛṣṇa and is now willing to take up the process to remember Him.
Kṛṣṇa Himself likes to do this. He finds such pleasure in waking others up to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
He Himself comes as Lord Caitanya and preaches by spreading the holy names, requesting people to
preach, discussing philosophy, appointing His disciples the Six Gosvāmīs to renovate Vṛndāvana and
write books. The Six Gosvāmīs carried the message of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, sending their disciples to
preach the message in their books, and this process is going on at the present time, the same movement
of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself, came to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is the victory sound.
Wherever there is the chanting of the holy name, that is a sign of victory. Wherever devotees are
enthusiastically chanting, then Māyā’s influence will definitely be cast away and the transcendental
potency of the holy name will awaken the sleeping souls. So devotees have to go out among the people
who are sleeping in the lap of the witch called Māyā and chant the name of Kṛṣṇa, which will enter the
hearts of the sleeping souls and awaken them and enliven them. This is the joyful life of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness.
Arjuna forgot it; he became despondent. A devotee wants to conquer māyā, just as Arjuna conquered
the forces of the Kauravas. Conquer māyā by preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And there will be some
casualties, no doubt. In preaching, in fighting māyā, there may be some casualties. Even big generals
may fall, but their service is not forgotten. And those who are alive and strong in Kṛṣṇa consciousness
should remain alive and strong by always adhering to sādhana and chanting nicely, studying
Prabhupāda’s books. Do not entertain foolish, nonsense ideas. Real knowledge is that which comes in
paramparā. Prabhupāda is the great empowered associate of Caitanya Mahāprabhu who has given us
this knowledge. What we have heard in disciplic succession, what Prabhupāda has given us — that we
should follow. Just follow what the ācāryas have given us — simple system. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be
happy, and spread that chanting to others. In that way we will remain strong, blissful, and happy, and
Kṛṣṇa will always be there to help us.
I was about sixteen when my best friend at school wanted to show me some of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s
books. But I refused, saying, “I know all about these Indian swamis; they’re all cheaters.” About two
years later I came across a Kṛṣṇa book in someone else’s house. The owner hadn’t read it. I did.
Afterward I went to the temple and joined.
* * *
His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami
One of my disciples told me an unusual story of how he came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Drunk one
night in Toronto, he bought a Bhagavad-gītā As It Is from a devotee and stuck it in his briefcase. When
he got home and opened his briefcase and saw the Bhagavad-gītā, he couldn’t remember how he’d
gotten it. So he opened the book and started reading. He become so purified by reading the Bhagavad-
gītā that he wanted to visit a temple right away. And when he looked in the back of the book and saw
the address list he said, “Wow, there is a temple right here in Toronto!” So he went to the temple, and
that day happened to be Nityānanda Trayodaśī. When he arrived a huge kīrtana going on, and that was it
for him. He moved in and became a devotee.
So we give the books out to people, and they are like seeds that later come to fruition.
* * *
36
This was back in the early 70s, soon after I joined. It was very cold in Montreal, windy and snowy,
and although I was in bliss, the people walking around me were not. I decided to try to sell books in the
department store I was standing in front of. I filled my book bag, went inside, and began approaching
the shoppers. I constantly kept moving so the security guards wouldn’t catch me. It was easy selling
books in the store, and I did not correct people’s spontaneous misconception that the books I was selling
were part of a special sale by the store management. After about a half hour I saw that a security man
was following me. I tried to lose him by going up the escalator to the 5th floor and then down again. He
followed me and finally stopped me and said, “I want to talk to you.” I was used to being thrown out of
shopping centers and stores, so I followed him to a little office and braced myself for a dressing-down.
He asked, “What are you selling?”
From my bag I pulled out one volume of the Kṛṣṇa-book trilogy, showed it to him, and replied,
“Books about God, who appeared on earth five thousand years ago.”
“Can I buy one?” he asked. At first I thought he was teasing me, but it turned out he was serious. He
had already read one of Prabhupada’s books, which he’d retrieved from the trash, a book someone had
bought and thrown away. Now from me he bought a Kṛṣṇa-book trilogy for $10, and I invited him to the
temple.
A few weeks later, during the Sunday Feast I noticed that the security guard had come. And he
continued to come regularly for some months, taking up chanting and our devotional practices. Then one
day I suggested to him that he quit his job and move in. He did. Of course, I sent him out on saṅkīrtana,
and sometimes he would stand in front of the store he had worked in. Eventually he moved to Chicago
and received initiation, receiving the name Sītā-Rāma Dāsa.
Sītā-Rāma’s is one of countless stories in which someone ends his or her timeless wandering in the
material world by receiving and reading one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Bring the sufferings of others
to a close and give them a book. Don’t get in the way.
It was December 1975, during the first marathon in Winnipeg, where I was distributing Kṛṣṇa books
on the street in –50-degree weather. One day, although freezing, I was in so much ecstasy that I was
crying. People didn’t know why. One boy was watching me, and when I went into a store to warm up he
followed me. He was so impressed that devotees could stand in the cold and distribute books for no pay.
He bought several books, giving all the money he had, and asked why I was crying. I told him. A week
later he joined the temple and became a book distributor.
A mātājī distributing books in the early days of ISKCON approached a young man and offered him
many books. He held the stack in his arms. Then she asked for a donation. He couldn’t get to his wallet,
so she said, “I can get it.” He turned around so she could get to it. She took all the money and was about
to give the wallet back to him when a policeman came up and asked, “What’s going on here?”
She said, “I’m distributing some books to this man.” He saw that she had taken all the money out of
his wallet. So the policeman asked the young man, “Is this OK with you?”
He said, “Yes, but I do need some money for the train.”
The policeman asked the mātājī, “Can you give him some money for the train?” She did.
He then went home and read the books — and eventually became Candramauli Swami.
* * *
37
Miśra Bhagavān Dāsa (ACBSP)
I used to be on the Rādhā-Dāmodara traveling party with Viṣṇujana Swami and Tamāl Kṛṣṇa
Mahārāja. Those were the good old days, the best days of my life. But eventually, because of the
unusual types of fund-raising the devotees were asked to do in the early 80’s (specifically selling
paintings), which I didn’t at all appreciate, I left to join the Air Force. I was in for six years. Then I
become a follower of the Grateful Dead. After a while I met a girl and we stayed together for some time,
apparently happy. But gradually I saw my lifestyle as the same old “chewing the chewed” materialism
and became disgusted. In 1992, as I wandered around in a Grateful Dead open-air concert, I saw
someone glowing. This person looked like a light in darkness, although it was broad daylight. I went
over to him and asked his name. He said his name was Tāra Dāsa and handed me a Beyond Birth and
Death. After reading the book I bought from Tāra at the concert, my former Kṛṣṇa consciousness was
rekindled. My girlfriend saw the book lying around and would sometimes pick it up and read it. It
started making a lot of sense to her also.
Although my girlfriend and I went our different ways, I again took up Kṛṣṇa consciousness and am
now back in the fire of book distribution. My girlfriend also took Prabhupāda’s teachings very seriously
and is now Lalitā-gopī Dāsī. She lives at the New Vrindavan community and helps take care of the
cows.
In this case we can see that when we distribute books we are not only helping people who have
never had any contact with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but we may also be helping those who have
gotten off the path of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness get back on it. In this case both kinds of people
were helped when Tāra Dasa distributed a Beyond Birth and Death. (Another lesson of this
incident is that we shouldn’t underestimate the power of small books.) Tāra had no idea who
Miśra Bhagavān was—he looked just like any other Grateful Dead fan—but underneath the
external dress was a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda who was ready to rekindle his Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. In a larger sense, all book distributors should see everyone as a dormant devotee
of Kṛṣṇa.
Miśra Bhagavān Dāsa (cont.)
In 1999 I went to El Paso, Texas, to do saṅkīrtana. It was during the marathon, and a few hundred
people bought copies of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s first small book, Easy Journey to Other Planets.
One El Paso student received a copy of Easy Journey to Other Planets from a friend. He liked the
book so much that he got a Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and began to teach its message to his other friends.
Then he brought his girlfriend and another young couple to the Dallas temple for a visit. Now all four of
them have moved into the temple and become new bhaktas and bhaktins.
* * *
Sureśvara Dāsa (ACBSP)
I remember selling Kṛṣṇa books door to door. On one day, practically everyone who opened a door
bought a book. The secret to being a successful book distributor, I found, was to be an avid reader of
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.
38
In the beginning all the other devotees were selling books quite easily, but I couldn’t sell any. I tried
everything, but nothing worked. Then I remembered reading in The Nectar of Devotion that if we truly
wish to earn Kṛṣṇa’s service, we must cry for it. As an experiment, I went to a place in the temple where
no one would see or hear me (so I wouldn’t be branded a fake), and cried again and again for permission
to sell Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. After that, I was permitted to sell some books.
One day, much later, when I was selling books door to door in the Hollywood Hills in full devotional
garb, I came to a house way out in the woods. Before ringing the doorbell I said a prayer, in which I
admitted to being completely unqualified for serving Śrīla Prabhupāda. I frankly admitted that I didn’t
have any ability to speak effectively or to represent the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. I begged to be
empowered to speak something worthy and to continue being allowed to sell Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. I
rang the doorbell, and an elderly woman answered. When she saw me she burst into tears. She said that
she was old and practically invalid and so couldn’t visit the temple, but that she’d been begging Kṛṣṇa to
send a devotee to her home, although she felt it was impossible since she was all the way out in the
woods. She bought all my books.
On another day I met a hippy in the hills near Santa Cruz. I tried to sell him The Nectar of Devotion,
but he was broke. So I continued selling books door to door for the next several hours, until I had
collected enough extra money to pay for his book. Then I hitchhiked several miles back to his house and
gave him his book. It touched him so much that I would care about him and give him that book that he
read it. Later he moved into the temple, became an initiated devotee, and eventually took brāhmaṇa
initiation.
Udayānanda Dāsa (ACBSP)
In the mid 1990’s a woman in her early seventies came into my art shop at the local shopping mall.
She bought several paintings for her home, and while I framed them we talked. She told me her name
was Harriet Barret. She was the mother of three children and the grandmother of seven, and she had
been married for thirty-six years before her husband passed away a few years earlier. Somehow we got
to the subject of reincarnation. When Harriet mentioned that she believed in reincarnation, I replied,
“It’s not a question of belief but a matter of fact. I’ve been a student of Vedic literature, specifically the
Bhagavad-gītā, for more than twenty years.” I then explained some of the Gītā’s teachings, and she was
very receptive to the philosophy. At the end of our conversation I asked her to come again. “There’s a
book I want to give you,” I said.
When she came back two weeks later, I gave her a copy of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. She took the book
and thanked me enthusiastically. She then began coming to my shop every week, asking questions about
vegetarianism, material attachments, the three modes of nature, and so on. One day she asked if I knew
anything about meditation. “Oh, yes,” I replied, “I’ve been doing mantra meditation for many years.
Someday, when I’m not so busy, I’ll show you how to meditate with beads.”
A few weeks went by, and Harriet kept coming to my shop. “When are you going to show me how
to meditate?” she would ask. But because of my busy work schedule I just couldn’t find time to show
her how to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa on beads. Then one day she called me on the phone. By then she had read
more than four hundred pages of the Bhagavad-gītā. “How do you pronounce K-R-S-N-A?” she asked.
“Oh, that’s Kṛṣṇa!” I said, pronouncing it for her.
Then she asked, “How do you pronounce H-A-R-E?”
“That’s Hare!” I said.
“And R-A-M-A?” she asked.
“That’s Rāma!”
“So,” she asked, “you say Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare
Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare? Is this the mantra you were going to teach me?”
39
“You got it!” I said. I explained that this is the mahā-mantra — the greatest mantra — and that
chanting it is the highest form of meditation one can possibly perform. If she chanted this mantra, I told
her, all her material attachments would be broken and her past karma removed, and eventually she
would become completely purified. She would transcend the bondage of repeated birth and death and
return home, back to Godhead.
Harriet started chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra daily. At first she chanted fifteen minutes a
day. Gradually she increased. One day she called me in a very excited mood. She had just chanted for
two hours without stopping. I was very happy at Harriet’s progress. Her enthusiasm to learn more and
more also humbled me and made me appreciate the incredible gifts Śrīla Prabhupāda has given the
world. How easy it is to take for granted the perfect wisdom of the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam and the potency of the holy name!
The realization I’ve had is that billions of people never get the chance to have the most important
questions of life answered — even by the age of seventy-one. Harriet Barrett had led a thoroughly
prosperous life, but something was missing. Then she began chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa every day, and the gap
in her life was filled. She told me that the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra was the most valuable acquisition of her
life. “Never in my seventy-one years have I ever experienced such overwhelming joy and tranquillity,”
she said. “I am humbled that at my age the Supreme Lord would be so kind to give me this great gift of
purification and the ability to understand it.”
* * *
Vaiśeṣika Dāsa (ACBSP)
Book distribution is based on faith. The more we read, the more our faith increases. Every one of
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books can purify our hearts and the hearts of those whom we give them to. To show
you how this happens, I’ll give you an example. A lady received one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books thirty
years ago; she never read it. However, when her son embarked on a spiritual path she thought he might
appreciate the book she had received years earlier. She gave it to him. He read it and was immediately
convinced. Now he’s a devotee.
* * *
Nidrā Devī Dāsī (ACBSP)
When seeds are sown, they take time to grow into plants. There need to be watering, cultivating,
weeding. In time the plants flourish. When we look at the big picture, we see that many bhakti plants
have sprouted though they may not be in our own backyard. Actually, most who have joined are not
living in temple āśramas. They are living all over the world in all kinds of situations. Many more are
joining now than ever before. We have to be more broadminded about what “joining” really is.
In my own case, I was practicing some Kṛṣṇa consciousness since the early 1970’s (I was somewhat
of a closet devotee, since many of my friends and family members did not really know what I was
doing). Then in 1976 I moved into a temple. Many felt that I had not joined until I moved in, but in my
heart and in my practices I had already started my Kṛṣṇa consciousness and had accepted Śrīla
Prabhupāda as my spiritual master several years before moving into an āśrama. So there are many
people who have joined us but we may not recognize them. But Śrīla Prabhupāda and Kṛṣṇa surely
recognize them, and hopefully in the future we will be more able as a movement to connect with so
many who are joining.
In 1972 a devotee approached a man passing through the St. Louis airport and distributed Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-gītā to him. He took it home and put it on his bookshelf. There it sat for ten
years. In 1982 his wife was pregnant and wanted to do something interesting to pass the time. She saw
40
the Bhagavad-gītā on the shelf and thought it would be interesting to read the whole book. She did, and
it made her whole life interesting. She told her husband how interesting it was, and he also started
reading it. Then he decided they should visit the local ISKCON temple, which they began visiting
regularly.
Eventually, the man’s job sent him to Boise, Idaho. There the couple became more involved in
Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but there was no temple. So they decided to start their own. They became initiated
and received the names Ananta Rūpa Dāsa and Ārūḍhā Devī Dāsī. She home-schooled her two children
by mainly teaching them from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. One of them graduated with a PhD in religion
from Oxford University at the age of twenty-two and is now teaching at a university. The other is also at
Oxford University, also studying religion. Both of them are initiated and are engaged in the service of
Kṛṣṇa. By Ananta Rūpa’s and his wife’s preaching, many people in Boise have become devotees and are
now living on the same street as the temple.
All of this because of one book that was patiently waiting on a bookshelf for ten years, before the
“time bomb” went off and transformed so many lives.
I approached a young lady named Nancy in the Denver airport. She took a book but then later threw
it in the trash. Paradoxically, she was curious but inimical. Some time later she visited Govinda’s buffet
at the ISKCON temple in Denver. When I recognized her and approached her, she said she was only
coming for the food and did not want anything to do with the devotees.
Then the prasādam took effect.
Gradually she started to talk with the devotees. Then she began doing service, and soon she began
preaching via the ISKCON Prison Ministry. Eventually she took initiation, receiving the name
Bhāgavatī Devī Dāsī. By then she was writing to about a hundred inmates a month, some of whom
received initiation. She distributed many books to the inmates and preached enthusiastically for several
years. Then, in her early 40s she left her body. About a year or so before she left, I gave her a set of Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s books. She and her husband would read them regularly. He also took initiation. So in
many ways Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books became her life and soul, and she distributed hundreds of books
through the mail. And to think that it all started with a book that she threw in the trash!
In 1988 I was distributing in the Denver airport when a businessman approached me. This
gentleman, Chuck, wanted to see what books I had, and I showed him what I was distributing — Ninth
Canto, part one. He said that he already had it. I thought, “Most people don’t have this volume,” so I
said, “Perhaps you have another volume of the series?” But he insisted that he did have it, and to prove it
he took out a small sheet of paper from his wallet, on which he had listed all the books by Śrīla
Prabhupāda he already had and those he still needed to acquire. I was amazed, since most people we met
at the airport didn’t know anything about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam yet here was a person who was
methodically collecting the whole set!
He asked, “Do you have any of the volumes I need?” I began to shake my head when I realized that I
had my own personal Eighth Canto, part one, which I would read during prasādam breaks. So I gave
him that volume and he gave a generous donation. Then we arranged that I would mail him the
remaining volumes.
After I had corresponded with him and mailed him the remaining books over a few years, Chuck was
well on his way to becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious — chanting rounds, following the principles, etc. He
would even buy books buy the box and distribute them to his friends and fellow employees.
Perhaps the most amazing part of this tale is that Chuck and I wound up getting married, although
neither of us were initially interested in getting involved in a marriage. But both of us had a special
41
inspiration from Śrīla Prabhupāda that he wanted us to get married, and we took his desire seriously.
Then Chuck got initiated and is now Caitanya Kṛṣṇa Dāsa.
* * *
Acala Dāsa
I used to be a major in the Russian military. At that time I started practicing various types of yoga
and studying Eastern philosophy. I heard that some of the privates in my company were devotees of
Kṛṣṇa, so I called them in to speak to them.
When they heard that the major wanted to speak to them, they became afraid, thinking, “He’s in such
a big position. Why would he want to speak to us unless we’ve done something wrong. Now we’re
going to be punished!”
They came to my office, and to their amazement I started asking them about bhakti–yoga. “What
would be a good way to start learning?” I asked.
“You should read the Bhagavad-gītā,” they replied.
“Do you have one?” I asked, and they said they did. They gave me Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-
gītā As It Is and were so bold that they asked for a donation. I was surprised that these little privates
could ask me for a donation—but also impressed, so I gave them some money.
Later, whenever they would see me they’d ask if I’d read the book yet, and I would always say, “No,
I haven’t had the time.” I began to feel a little guilty that I hadn’t read it, so I read the translations. After
that, when they asked if I’d read the book yet, I could honestly reply, “I have.”
Then one night Śrīla Prabhupāda came to me in a dream and said, in perfect Russian, “It will be all
right if you read the purports also.” I woke up and was astonished that Prabhupāda had come to me to
instruct me. So I immediately started reading the Bhagavad-gītā again, but this time without skipping
the purports.
One of the book distributors in the Moscow temple used to be a doctor. He told me how he came
to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
One day he left his office to have lunch, and as he was walking he saw a table with some
books on it and a person standing behind it. He stopped and looked and then asked what the
books were about. The devotee answered, “They’re about you. They tell you who you are and
who you aren’t—that you’re an eternal soul, not your temporary body.”
Impressed with the devotee’s conviction and purity, the doctor asked, “How old are you?”
The devotee replied, “Do you want to know how old I am, or how old my body is? If you
want to know how old I am, I’m eternal. If you want to know how old my body is, it’s twenty-
two years old.”
Again the doctor was impressed, so he thought it would be a good idea to get a book. The
devotee suggested the Bhagavad-gītā. The doctor read the book, became a devotee, and has been
distributing books for the past ten years.
There is a blind devotee in the Moscow temple who goes out every day to distribute Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s books. Another book distributor in Moscow has artificial arms that often
malfunction. During the book distribution seminar he asked, “How can I distribute Prabhupāda’s
books for my whole life?”
“Don’t stop,” I replied.
42
Acala Dāsa (continued)
While distributing on the street mall in Moscow, I approached a lady and offered her a book. I
explained some of the contents, and she enthusiastically took it. Seeing her enthusiasm, I invited her to
the temple, and a few weeks later she came. By coincidence, that day the devotees were holding a book
distribution seminar. Seeing her come as a result of getting a book, I glorified her for her sincerity:
“Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, ‘Out of many thousands of people, one may inquire into the Absolute
Truth.’ So here we have this nice lady coming to inquire about the Absolute Truth. She is not ordinary.”
She was touched by my kind words and stayed for the whole seminar.
She left that evening, and we didn’t see her again. A year later I was in a plane to go to the Māyāpur
festival in India. Next to me sat a lady who, after a few minutes, asked me, “Do you remember me?”
I looked at her and said, “No, I’m sorry, I don’t.”
“You gave me a book in Moscow,” she replied. “I then visited your temple, and you spoke some
kind words about me. From getting that book and associating with the devotees, I have become a
devotee. I am on my way to the Māyāpur festival.”
I then remembered her and felt very pleased that she had become a devotee.
After the Māyāpur festival she was on a train to Vṛndāvana. While on this train she met another
Russian devotee. His service is book distribution in India. When he met this lady on the train, he asked
her if she would like to learn how to distribute books. She knew of the importance of book distribution
from hearing about it during her first visit to the temple. So she took some lessons from him. She had a
nice experience on the train distributing books, and when she returned to Russia she continued
distributing. She is now a full-time book distributor in Russia.
* * *
Aiśvarya Dāsa
I’m sitting in the temple room chanting my last rounds on an island in Ireland, in the middle of
nowhere, where deer and rabbits roam wild eating all our trees and flowers. Then in comes Arjuna Dāsa
with a stranger, a young man in his twenties. Stunned momentarily upon seeing another human being
from the outside world in this remote mandira, I stammered out a quiet “Haribol.” This young man
wanted to join our temple and dedicate his life to ISKCON by moving into the āśrama and doing
whatever was required to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. In shock at this unexpected news, I asked,
“How , why?” He was working in Dublin two years earlier and got a Chant and Be Happy from a
saṅkīrtana devotee. (At this point I should mention that the Irish yātrā has only two full-time book
distributors.) He read the book and figured everything inside was safe and sound and then started
chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, sixteen rounds a day, and following the four regulative principles. Finally he quit
his job, and after some time he took a bus to the town nearest to our temple, determined to meet another
devotee. After walking for three hours in the dark asking locals how to get here, one farmer took pity on
him and kindly took him in his tractor to the lake surrounding our mandira. By chance a devotee spotted
him and put him up for the night in his home, and now as I write this he is chanting japa in the temple
room downstairs, fully fired up and confident that he has changed his life for the better.
So there you have it. Book distribution still works. It is still one of the most important preaching
tools we have to offer. This young bhakta had a job and was a respectable member of society. Just a
normal guy who got a small book, read it, and was convinced that chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is the best thing
he could possibly do with his life. So he packed his bags and found the temple.
* * *
43
Ajita Dāsa
Parigraha Prabhu, a brahmacārī from Northern Europe, visited Brisbane, Australia, to distribute
books. While standing in front of Govinda’s downtown, he gave a soft-cover Gītā to a Mr. Wong. Mr.
Wong gave Parigraha $20 and was on his way.
A few weeks later we received a letter from Mr. Wong describing his appreciation for the Gītā, and
accompanying the letter was a check for $4,000, “a donation,” in Mr. Wong’s words, “to further KC.”
Needless to say, I at once wrote back to Mr. Wong, thanking him profusely for his generous
donation, and Dhruva Prabhu visited him at home to give him a couple of more books. He appreciated
the gesture, but his mother didn’t. “Better to communicate by phone or mail,” he told us out of his
mother’s earshot.
In a few days we received another letter from Mr. Wong, in which he thanked us for the books, and
with the letter was another “donation to further KC.” This time it was a check for $8,000!
In my thank-you letter to Mr. Wong I informed him I had a gift for him and invited him to the
temple. He came by the temple a few days later, and we gave him a full set of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatams. He
was very happy to receive the books, and after an hour or so of conversation he pulled out an envelope
that said “donation to further KC.” Enclosed: yet another check for $8,000. I soon left Brisbane and the
munificent Mr. Wong, but since then I have heard that he sent yet another “donation to further KC,” this
time a gift of $6,000. Total: $26,000, stemming from the distribution of one soft-cover Bhagavad-gītā.
Who says book distribution is not cost-effective?
Mr. Wong’s father, upon hearing that his son had given so much money to the Hare Kṛṣṇas, became
upset and demanded the money back. Soon thereafter he went on a business trip and his plane crashed
and he perished. Mr. Wong later became an initiated devotee.
While distributing books in Kathmandu, a devotee approached a teenage boy named Suvarna and
tried to convince him to take a book. Suvarna wasn’t interested. But the book distributor was new and
became forceful, demanding that Suvarna take a book, saying, “This book helped me so much, and it
can help you, too! Now please take it and give a donation.”
Suvarna relented, took the book and three others, and gave a donation, thinking, “These people are
poor; let me help them.” Then he went to visit a relative in another city. When he became bored, he
remembered the books and thought, “I bought them; I might as well read them.” He found the books to
be exactly what he was looking for.
That very day he returned to Kathmandu to look for the devotees, but he couldn’t find them. Every
day for three months he went back to the place where he had met the devotees, hoping he would see
them again. Then one day he saw two devotees and rushed over to them, expressing how happy he was
to see devotees again. They had a book table, so he took some books and started distributing them to the
passersby, knowing the importance of the knowledge they contained. The devotees were trying to talk to
him, but he would just distribute books and give the devotees the laxmi. He did this for three days. They
were very surprised to see his enthusiasm and invited him to their center. He came and soon moved in.
Suvarna’s parents were upset at first, but when they met Pātrī Prabhu, who oversees the preaching in
Kathmandu, they were satisfied that their son was in good hands.
It turns out that Bhakta Suvarna, though quite young, had already led an incredible life. When he
was fifteen he entered a national poetry competition with 4,000 participants. Among the contestants
were highly educated professors and graduate students, and many others with refined poetic ability.
Suvarna was among them. Gradually, as the competition progressed, 300 were left, then 150, 100, 50,
30, 20, 10, 5, and 3. Suvarna was among the last 3. Whoever wrote the best poem would be the national
44
poetry champion. He won! The government awarded him $10,000 and a scholarship to any university he
choose, which would be good until he was thirty.
Suvarna was a sharp boy, so instead of spending the money, he bought shares in a printing company.
The company prospered, and over the next three years it became one of the most prominent printing
companies in Nepal. Now, at seventeen, Suvarna owns 70% of the company. There are two other
shareholders: one is a previous governor of Nepal, and the other is a representative of Google and the
BBC. Each has a 15% share of the company. The name of the printing company is Gauranga Printing.
Suvarna plans to soon begin printing BBT books at his company.
Also, at the age of 14 and 15 Suvarna would regularly write articles for newspapers and magazines.
But now that he’s a devotee he’s interested only in Kṛṣṇa, so he stopped writing those articles. I
encouraged him to write for BTG.
Recently Suvarna took up some managerial responsibility at one of the Kathmandu centers. He
regularly distributes books and is quite good at it.
I visited the San Diego temple and was glad to see a couple of new saṅkīrtana devotees distributing
books. One of them was Bhakta Bronson. I asked him how he became a devotee, and he said he had
received The Perfection of Yoga from Rādhānātha Prabhu in a parking lot. [Please see “An Interview
with Rādhānātha Prabhu” in the Introduction.] Not only did Bhakta Bronson become a devotee, but after
reading The Perfection of Yoga he explained it to his mother and she became a devotee. In India it is not
uncommon for a devotee to preach to his mother and bring her under the shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but in
the West it is very rare.
* * *
Ambarīṣa Dāsa (the younger)
I was distributing books near a bookstore. One Vietnamese poet was going to this bookstore, I
stopped him. He said he was looking for the Vedas. He bought the First Canto of the Bhāgavatam from
me. I then invited him to the temple. When he came to the temple he became so inspired that he bought
other books and started to chant. Then he began helping the BBT to translate Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books
into Vietnamese. Now he is helping devotees to preach in Vietnam.
* * *
Ānakadundubhi Dāsa
Going door to door, I met a couple in their thirties. They had never seen devotees but had bought a
few of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in a used bookstore. They said they were in love with Śrīla Prabhupāda
but did not understand a lot of the things they read. I gave them more books and began writing and
visiting them regularly, helping them along in understanding Prabhupāda’s books. Now they are
regularly chanting six rounds a day and reading the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When I
first met them they were not even vegetarian.
On my last visit they asked me how they could do more devotional service. This couple is one of the
innumerable miracles done by Śrīla Prabhupāda books! Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books are making devotees;
we are here just to give a hand!
* * *
45
Anonymous: How a Follower of Islam Became a Devotee
We’ll call him Bhakta Ahmed. He was a member of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization)
and an associate of Yasser Arafat. But he gave up his involvement in the PLO because of some things he
disagreed with, and he went to Germany to study at a university. One night he got drunk at a bar. Just to
his right, on the table in front of him, was a magazine that someone had left behind: Back to Godhead.
He picked it up to read, but he was so drunk that he couldn’t read it and eventually passed out. The bar
owner found his address on him and had someone take him home. When he got home he still had the
magazine in his hand and was trying to figure out where he got it. Then he started reading it and was
amazed. This magazine answered questions he’d vainly looked for answers to in the Koran and
elsewhere.
He was frustrated with material life, so he looked up the address of the nearest temple and paid a
visit. Devotees preached to him and impressed him, and he asked if he could join. When they heard he
was a former member of the PLO, they decided that having him at the temple might mean trouble, so
they politely replied that he could not join and explained why.
Disappointed but determined, for the next three days he pleaded with the devotees to let him join.
But they wouldn’t relent, though they were impressed with his sincerity.
He had heard about the Sunday Feast, so he attended it, and when he arrived he went to the
brahmacārī āśrama, locked himself in the bathroom, and shaved up.
A devotee eventually knocked on the door. From inside the bathroom came the voice of someone
determined to surrender: “I’m not coming out until you agree to let me stay.” They complied, and he
happily became a member. After some time he received initiation and became Rāvaṇāri Dāsa. He
became a good preacher and translated many of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books into Arabic.
* * *
Antardvīpa Dāsa
I was in medical school when I found a Rāja-vidyā that my brother had received from a devotee.
From reading Rāja-vidyā I decided I needed to read the Bhagavad-gītā, which I found in the university
library. I read it and found it interesting, but not interesting enough to give up my medical career and
join the Kṛṣṇas.
Then a few months later I found a set of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatams in the library, so I started reading, and
reading, and reading. I loved Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books so much that I decided that during my school
break I would just go to the local Hare Kṛṣṇa temple in Brisbane and read Prabhupāda’s books with the
devotees for seven days.
But when I got to the temple, the first person I saw asked me to help him with the garden, which I
did all day. I continued visiting the temple, and after a short time I moved into the āśrama. While I was
living in the temple I continued with my studies and graduated. Then, while still living in the temple, I
worked as a surgeon, making lots of money and giving it to the temple. But after a while I became
disgusted with the work, which was little more than a fancy carpenter’s job, so I gave it up and became a
full-time devotee.
* * *
Braja Bihāri Dāsa (Chowpatti, India)
This is the story of a man who bought Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-gītā in the year 1980 and placed
it on his bookshelf. His name is Khemraj Shah. Time passed quietly, but surely the “bomb” was ticking
46
and waiting to explode. Every year during his annual Diwali mahā-cleaning, Khemraj dumped many
books, newspapers, and magazines into the trash bin, but somehow he never discarded the Bhagavad-
gītā. Once a year this gentleman religiously removed the book off the shelf, cleaned the thick dust that
had accumulated on it, and placed it back in the same spot on his bookshelf. After more than a decade of
this ritual had passed, Khemraj’s fortunes changed.
In the early 90s Khemraj was under tremendous stress at his job. His colleagues were plotting
against him, his promotions were in jeopardy, and even his very job was in danger. He had an important
task to do: identify his enemies and checkmate them. Vaguely Khemraj remembered how the epic
Mahābhārata is a tale of intrigue and politics. Surely, he thought, this story had something to tell him
that might help him solve his problem. That instant he recollected he had the Bhagavad-gītā at home,
which for some reason he had refused to discard. Knowing it was part of the Mahābhārata, Khemraj
figured now was the time to explore its pages.
After reading the first chapter, Khemraj felt he could relate to Arjuna’s plight and his reluctance to
fight. But Khemraj’s concern was to destroy his enemies, so he kept reading. As he read the second
chapter, his interest grew—never mind if its teachings weren’t fitting into his office setup. After reading
chapters three and four, Khemraj felt he needed to take a week off from work and exclusively study the
Gītā. As he read each chapter, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words touched the core of his heart, and slowly his
vision changed. A week later he had begun chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and looking for devotees.
Today, twenty-three years after purchasing the Bhagavad-gītā, Khemraj Shah is Khagendra Dāsa, a
very active preacher and an initiated disciple of His Holiness Lokanāth Swami. A friend of the Rādhā-
Gopīnātha congregation, he stays at Alibagh and, along with his wonderful family, preaches full-time.
He left his job long ago and has a steady business, which he says is left totally in Kṛṣṇa’s hands so that
he can devote all his time and energy to distributing Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others.
* * *
Dāru-brahma Dāsa
Although my mother recalls seeing devotees chanting in the street somewhere, I was just a young
boy with her at the time, and I don’t recall it at all.
However, I do remember meeting a devotee when I traveled on a bus from Princeton, New Jersey,
where I lived at the time. I was seventeen, and it was the first time I’d ridden alone on the bus to New
York City. I felt somewhat intimidated by being in The Big Apple by myself.
Soon after getting off the bus at the huge Port Authority terminal at 42nd St., I was approached by a
devotee with a book. The thing that struck me at the time, and which has had quite an effect on me ever
since concerning how I try to deal with people when I first meet them, was how personal and friendly he
was. He asked me my name, where I was from, and what I do, but most importantly, I had the sense that
he truly cared about my answers and wasn’t just asking them as throwaway questions before getting
down to the business of selling me something.
Of course, within a short time he did get to the point of asking for a donation for the book, and all I
recall was kind of feeling unready to give a donation. Thus I clumsily put the book back in his hands and
rushed off mumbling some excuse.
I had no idea what group that person was with, and I quickly forgot the incident.
Three years later, on December 24th, 1977, just before my 21st birthday and one month after Śrīla
Prabhupāda had left the planet, I moved into the temple in Gainesville, Florida. It was the first temple
I’d visited, just once a few weeks earlier, and I’d joined without ever having read one of Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s books. I remember thanking God for giving me the greatest Christmas present ever: the
understanding of who He was and what the real purpose of life was.
47
The morning after I moved in I was still thanking the Lord for my great fortune and kicking myself
for having wasted so much of my life, when a little doubt popped into my mind: “But why, O Lord, did
You let me suffer and not let me know about this knowledge before?”
Book distribution was going on quite powerfully at the Gainesville temple, and that morning I saw
many saṅkīrtana devotees getting ready to go out to distribute books. As I looked on in amazement at
the flurry of activity, I got a clear answer from inside: “Do you remember that person who approached
you in New York a few years ago? He was doing what these devotees are doing. You see, I was trying to
enlighten you, even then.”
After just a few days in the temple, I also started going out on book distribution, and I quickly
learned that many people who are approached do not take books. But I also thought that it was Kṛṣṇa’s
perfect arrangement that I had not taken a book my first time, because now I had no right to get
discouraged if someone didn’t take a book.
I knew from experience that just because a person doesn’t take a book doesn’t mean anything.
Perhaps, like me, that same person would within a few years join a temple and distribute books himself.
You never know with Kṛṣṇa!
In this regard, I had an experience eighteen years later. I was at the Los Angeles temple gift shop
when a mātājī working in the store came up to me and asked, “Did you ever distribute books in the
Miami airport?”
I said, “Yes, at different times.”
She exclaimed, “It was you! Do you remember giving me a big book in the airport a few years ago
and asking for a donation? I gave you a dollar and you said, ‘Well, we really try to get around $5 to
cover the cost of these big books. Do you mind if I give you a smaller book instead?’ Then you started
to gently replace the big book with a smaller one. But I got upset and said, ‘No, you gave me the big
book and I want that one!’ And I forcibly grabbed the big book back. You then pleaded with me for a
bigger donation, but I got so angry that I grabbed even the dollar I’d already given you and stormed off
with both the book and my money.”
By now my memory had been jogged sufficiently to remember the incident. I remembered distinctly
thinking at the time, “That !%@#&%#!! I bet someone who takes a book like that will go to hell for
quite awhile.”
She continued her story, saying, “Well, Prabhu, I read that book and within a short time became a
devotee. And for many years I myself went out and distributed Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in the Los
Angeles airport.” It turns out that she was very good at it, too.
So the lesson is that not only may someone who doesn’t take a book from a book distributor become
one, but even someone who steals a book from a distributor may become one, too. You never know with
Kṛṣṇa.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s transcendental book distribution!
* * *
Divya-jñāna Dāsa
We were distributing in downtown Melbourne with Prahlādānanda Swami during the last few days
of the December marathon. I stopped a man who told me his name was Adrian. He was twenty-seven
years old and worked in a seafood restaurant. As soon as I met him I could tell he was special.
I showed him the Bhagavad-gītā, and he said he was interested. But he was unsure whether to take it
or not. I introduced him to Prahlādānanda Swami. Mahārāja asked him if he knew what yoga was.
Adrian said he did not. So Mahārāja explained that yoga means to control the mind and senses, because
by controlling the mind and senses one can become free from stress and anxiety. We spoke for a little
longer, after which he took the Bhagavad-gītā for $20. I invited him to our Loft, our inner-city
preaching program.
48
One day at the temple, three months later, I saw Adrian in Bhāgavatam class. After class I went up
to him, and he asked me if I remembered him. I told him I did. I asked him what happened. He said that
he’d been going to the Loft for three months, and that he had bought some beads from the restaurant
store and started chanting. When I had stopped him the previous December he happened to be looking
for something spiritual to do, but he didn’t know what.
Now eight months have passed and Bhakta Adrian is chanting sixteen rounds. Instead of working at
a seafood restaurant, he works as a chef at our Govinda’s restaurant. He is also taking our Bhakti Śāstrī
course, so he is doing well. It took a whole team of devotees to get one conditioned soul out of māyā. I
think that reading the Bhagavad-gītā was the final potent act that convinced him to become Kṛṣṇa
conscious.
Here is a story that shows how Lord Caitanya’s mercy is spreading in so many mysterious ways. By
distributing these books we are spreading so many seeds, and we never know where they might end up
and sprout.
In Melbourne we have recycle bins where people take old clothes and other things and donate them
to charities to be sold as second-hand goods. Some young people play a game called dumpster busting,
in which someone climbs into one of these bins and sees what treasures he might find. Gary was
dumpster busting one fateful night and found The Quest for Enlightenment. He took it home, read it,
thought the book was great, and came to the temple. Now Bhakta Gary chants sixteen rounds, follows
the morning program, and helps out at our restaurant.
Here’s another story: A Rastafarian co-worker asked Andrew, “Have you ever heard about Kṛṣṇa.?”
Andrew hadn’t, but his curiosity was aroused. So he went to the library to find out about Kṛṣṇa. There
he found many books on the subject, so he picked out one, which happened to be Bhāgavatam 1.1, and
opened it. He read, “In this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy,
misguided, unlucky, and, above all, always disturbed.” As soon as Andrew read that, he exclaimed,
“That’s it! That’s why the world is so messed up — it’s the Age of Kali.” He read some more and
eventually became a devotee.
* * *
Divya-siṁha Dāsa
In the summer of 2011 I meet a young man at a Rainbow Gathering in Switzerland. He was on a
journey to find the goal of life. We had a nice discussion, and I invited him to our temple in Zurich. The
next day he showed up, and after three days in the temple he decided to stay for the bhakta program,
which had started just a week before.
One day a friend of his came for the Sunday feast, and when he saw me he shouted, “Hey, I know
you! Last summer you gave me a couple of books by your spiritual master.”
I also recognized him, and it turned out that he had given those books to his friend, the same fellow
who had just joined the bhakta program. I felt great satisfaction to see how Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books
prepared this young man to directly accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness and commit himself to becoming a full-
time devotee.
But that’s not the end of the story! Now, one year later, a new-bhakta course has started with five of
his closest friends enrolled. They are very serious candidates, with strong ambitions to join the
brahmacārī āśrama. Three more friends in this group started a community close to the temple, and they
are also on their way to becoming serious practitioners of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
49
Two books distributed created such a tremendous effect in the lives of these young people. By Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s mercy, such miracles truly happen.
All glories to Śrī Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Saṅkīrtana yajña kī jaya!
* * *
Govinda Dāsa
It has to be the most fortunate thing that could happen to anyone—my whole life changed.
It happened one afternoon while I was going to a shop in Durban, South Africa. I saw a book lying
on the side of the road. I walked past it, spoke to some friends, bought whatever I needed, and was on
my way back home when I again noticed the book. I stopped and picked it up, although I normally
wouldn’t pick up something from the road that looked as bad as this. It was dirty, torn, and old.
I was a sinful person at that time, and a great meat-eater. One evening I went out with some friends.
When I returned home I sat and read a few magazines and then picked up the book I’d found. I dusted it
off and read the title: Coming Back. I began to read—and I read and read and read. I had never read
anything as clear, pure, and truthful as this book. I was amazed and shocked. I began to think how sinful
I was. I completed the book the next day and decided to change my life by becoming spiritually
conscious. The next month I gave up eating meat, went to the temple, and started learning more about
Śrīla Prabhupāda and the all-glorious Lord Kṛṣṇa. I have now been a devotee for three years, and I enjoy
every minute of it. All this happened because I decided to take a walk to the shop one day. That is the
power of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
* * *
Kṛṣṇa Dāsa (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
In one of the Far East countries the police were on the lookout for a very notorious criminal. He
decided to hide out in the local Hare Kṛṣṇa temple. After he’d stayed in the temple for a few months, his
heart became purified and he became a genuine devotee. He had heard of the importance of book
distribution and thought he would be good at it since he had a bold nature. He figured the police
wouldn’t notice him because of his shaven head.
Once while distributing books he was recognized by the police, and they arrested him and took him
to jail. Because of the severity of his crimes, the judge sentenced him to serve his sentence in a torturous
island prison. Many hard-core criminals had been sent there. To make it even harder for them to escape,
the authorities would inject them with tranquilizers. After a while they would forget even who they were
and become almost like vegetables. The devotees from the temple pleaded with the judge to release the
devotee, since he’d completely changed his way of life. But the judge said that was impossible because
of the seriousness and extent of his crimes. He had to undergo the punishment, and there was no escape
from that.
The prisoners in the camp were very badly treated. At meal time the police would throw loaves of
bread on the ground so the criminals would have to fight among themselves like dogs to get a morsel. At
the temple devotees’ request, however, the authorities agreed not to inject the devotee with tranquilizers,
since he had obviously undergone a change of heart.
After a few months the prison commissioner went to the island prison to see the status of the
criminals there. To his astonishment, there was no more throwing of bread to the prisoners. Each
prisoner would get his loaf of bread and would then offer it to the Rādhā-Krishna Deity the devotee
prisoner had made out of sand. Only then would the prisoners take prasādam. All the prisoners were
50
chanting the mahā-mantra and had been completely transformed into devotees by associating with the
criminal-turned-devotee.
After visiting the island prison, the prison commissioner informed the temple devotees of what he
had seen. He was quite happy about how such notorious criminals had undergone such an extraordinary
transformation of character. He was completely stunned by the whole episode and decided to reduce the
sentence of the devotee criminal on the island.
* * *
Murāri Gupta Dāsa
Bhakta Rick from Holland is serving in the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnātha Mandir, in Chowpatty,
Mumbai. Every day he goes on book distribution and is very enthusiastic, even on “bad days” when he
distributes very few books. The following account by Bhakta Rick explains his unbreakable enthusiasm:
Once a devotee from Amsterdam came to my hometown to distribute books. He had a bad day,
managing to distribute only two books the whole day. He was very frustrated. “I have never done
so bad. I think I’m in māyā. This is the worst score I’ve ever had.” He was so morose. But when
he went back to the temple in Amsterdam, he got the shock of his life. One of the two men he’d
distributed a book to that day was sitting in the temple room!
The book distributor said, “This has never happened to me before. I’ve distributed books to
so many people, but I’ve never seen any of them again. This is the first time I am seeing a person
who took a book from me come to the temple. It is the amazing mercy of the Lord.”
Not only this, the next time the book distributor went to the temple, he found that the man
had joined the temple!
This shows that no score is a small score. We may do just one or two books in a day, but if
one of those books reaches the right person, it has the power to bring about a complete
transformation of the heart. This story keeps me going. I know that even if I have a bad day, with
a small score, some person’s life might change due to a book I’ve sold.
* * *
Narajīvana Dāsa
I was studying yoga, and a friend of mine knew this. So when he got one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s
books he gave it to me, thinking I would appreciate it more than he would. It was the Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam 1.1. From page one I knew it wasn’t an ordinary book. I read it six hours a day. When I
finished reading the book, I would start reading it again. First I would read all the transliterations; then I
would go back and read all the translations and purports. I wanted more, so Kṛṣṇa arranged for some
devotees to visit my town and hold a program. At the program I found what I wanted — more books! I
was in bliss. I didn’t even stay for the whole program, because I wanted to go back to my apartment and
read the books. Then, of course, I started chanting, and soon thereafter I found out where the nearest
temple was and joined.
Narajīvana Prabhu’s story shows, as we’ve seen time and time again, that the person we give the
book too may not be the one who ultimately benefits from it. Incidents like this happen quite a
bit. The moral of stories like this: “Let’s keep the mercy flowing, because there are people out
there looking for — more books!”
51
* * *
Nityānanda Dāsa
While visiting Vṛndāvana with some friends, I met a group of devotees from Tamil Nadu in front of
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s samādhi-mandira. A pukka devotee from the group, dressed in dhotī and with clear
tilaka, approached us and, pointing at me, said to his friends, “He came to my home for the first time a
few years ago and sold us The Science of Self-Realization. That was my first contact with Śrīla
Prabhupāda and ISKCON. Now my family and I are all devotees.” We exchanged pleasant words, and
then he introduced me to his wife and two children—all wearing tilaka and holding japa-mālā in their
hands.
This experience was for sure a drop of nectar from Kṛṣṇa. From this I understood that all the
austerities I had undergone, preaching almost alone for many months, were successful: a whole family
had taken up kṛṣṇa-bhakti! And how many more are in the queue to get this matchless gift in the near
future? The book they bought was the beginning of the end of their material existence. By Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s mercy I was made an instrument in this līlā of Caitanya Mahāprabhu—the līlā of His
delivering four more conditioned souls. I felt very happy. It was Kṛṣṇa’s small revelation to me how no
endeavor undertaken in preaching goes in vain.
We may not perceive how Kṛṣṇa transcendentally enters the hearts of people when they buy a book,
say “Kṛṣṇa,” or taste a prasādam cookie we made and offered on a simple altar at home. But Kṛṣṇa does
enter their hearts, and we have to be fully convinced of that. So what if we don’t see? Even the
Yamadūtas, the expert servants of Yamarāja, the main upholder of dharma in the universe, couldn’t
perceive the purity Ajāmila achieved by merely chanting the name Nārāyaṇa in nāmābhāsa! Likewise,
sometimes we also forget the potency of the holy name and other manifestations of Kṛṣṇa, like the
Deity, prasādam, Vaiṣṇavas, and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Nevertheless they have the power to
transform any conditioned soul, and just to prove that, sometimes Kṛṣṇa performs these little “miracles,”
which I sometimes call “drops of nectar.”
* * *
Padma Locana Dāsa (Bali, Indonesia)
I had been distributing all day and was about to go home. But something inside me (the Supersoul?)
pulled me to a nearby beach. I saw a man sitting on the sand staring out into the ocean. I went up to him
and, standing behind him, said, “I have something I think you’ll find interesting. You look thoughtful.”
At that, the man reached back, and I handed him the Bhagavad-gītā.
I started telling him about the teachings as the man looked at the book. He didn’t look at me at all; he
just listened and looked through the Gītā. Then he said, “How much?” I told him the price and he paid. I
then told him about the temple, which was close by.
That night the man went to the temple and asked the devotees, “What can I do to advance in spiritual
life?” They told him to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and he took up japa. Now, one year later, he is
chanting sixteen rounds and aspiring for initiation.
Recently the man told me what he had been through up till the time he had received the Gītā: “I was
an avid gambler and had lost two houses because of it. I was an alcoholic, addicted to drugs, and often
coughed up blood. My doctor said I might have only six months to live if I didn’t change my ways. I’m
only forty years old. When you saw me on the beach, I was so confused and depressed I didn’t know
what to do. Then you brought Kṛṣṇa into my life. Now I’m so happy. Thank you.”
* * *
52
Rādhā-piyārī Dāsī
A devotee in Mumbai went out to distribute Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. At one place he knocked on the
door but no one replied. Again he knocked, but still no answer. With firm determination to distribute the
Bhagavad-gītā, he again knocked on the door with great force. A lady angrily opened the door and
shouted, “What do you want? I’m very busy,” and tried to shut the door. But the devotee blocked the
door with his foot and put the Bhagavad-gītā in her hand. As soon as she touched the Bhagavad-gītā,
she relaxed and calmed down.
The lady then asked the devotee about the Gītā, and he explained to her the difference between the
body and the soul according to chapter two — how the body is just a dress for the soul, which never
dies. She then told the devotee that what she was “busy” with was committing suicide. She showed him
the table she had been standing on and the fan on the ceiling with a rope hanging from it, complete with
a noose at the end. It was only by the mercy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His devotee that she had been saved from
suicide. Now she is a devotee chanting sixteen rounds and is associated with an ISKCON temple in
Mumbai.
* * *
Rūpa-Raghunātha Dāsa
I was going store to store in a town in India when I entered a shop where about ten men were having
a business meeting. In such circumstances it’s usually very difficult to interest anyone in taking a book.
This time, however, as soon as the leader of the meeting saw me with the Bhagavad-gītās he invited me
in and glorified the Gītā very nicely, suggesting that all the men in the meeting purchase a Gītā, which
many of them did. He said, “This book is filled with so much great knowledge that it can change your
life and fill you with so much peace.”
It happened to be the end of the meeting, so after everyone had left I asked the man why he had so
much faith in the Gītā. So he told me his story.
“For some time I had been going through some difficulty with my family, so much so that it had
affected my work at the office. So I started drinking, which didn’t help the situation. Finally I decided
that my only alternative was to commit suicide. I just couldn’t continue as I was. I was sitting in my
room with a little container of poison in front of me, thinking, ‘This is it, the end of the road.’ Just then I
looked up and saw the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is in my bookcase. Then I looked at the container of poison.
Then I thought, ‘Maybe this isn’t the end.’ I pulled the Bhagavad-gītā off the shelf, brushed off all the
dust, and started reading. After reading just a few sentences I felt relief, so I kept reading. For the next
four days all I did was read the Bhagavad-gītā, which I finished. My life completely changed. I stopped
drinking, all my family problems were solved, and I became so happy, like I’d never been before.”
* * *
Sarvasukha Dāsa
I was a university student in my fourth year, studying agriculture. I was also a fanatical Christian. At
one point I decided, “I have to fully give my life to Christ.” So I put the name of Christ everywhere in
my room and did other things I thought constituted surrender. I had a roommate who was into yoga. He
was also a scientist — very intelligent. We used to have debates. I wanted to know what his beliefs
were. Then he got one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. He told me what he was reading, and even though
what he was saying made sense, I wouldn’t accept. But when he was out of the apartment I would
secretly read Prabhupāda’s books. After a few weeks of doing this, I understood that the Kṛṣṇa
consciousness philosophy was superior. I then started chanting. My friend found out that there was
53
going to be a Hare Kṛṣṇa program in town, so he asked if I would like to join him. I did, and it was
fantastic — the prasādam, the lecture by Bhakti Vaibhava Swami, and the devotees. It was all great, and
I was amazed. After that experience, it didn’t take long before I joined.
* * *
Prāṇa-nātha Dāsa
Once a doctor bought the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is from me. I got his contact information, and the next
time I saw him he said, “I’m astonished. This book is amazing.” So he bought a full Bhāgavatam set and
many other books. I started to visit him every month. He bought bhajan CDs and Kṛṣṇa posters. He
began playing the CDs in his clinic (he’s a homeopathic psychiatrist) and put the posters on the wall.
Being very wise, he started to chant the mahā-mantra and became a vegetarian. I went to his house
several times. I even went to his farm with his family to do some programs. He has been reading
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam all this time, and now he is reading it for the third time! He buys many Bhagavad-
gītās, which he gives to his patients.
* * *
Śarabha Dāsa
Until age 18 or 19 I was like everyone else in Serbia — occupied with attempts to turn my
materialistic dreams into reality: a good job, a big car, a house or an apartment with a beautiful wife and
lots of ruddy-cheeked children. All my thoughts were focused on realizing this dream, until one day —
and to this day I don’t know why or how — I suddenly got a completely different vision of that dream,
the realistic one. Family fights, misunderstandings, deep-rooted selfishness and intolerance.
Now each day seemed senseless, until the idea of committing suicide as a solution to my despair
became more and more prominent in my mind. Happiness, joy, satisfaction — for me these were only a
dim memory. Aware of the blind alley I was in, I became desperate to find some solution, some shelter.
Totally hopeless and lonely, wandering in darkness, somehow or other I struggled on. I tried to forget all
my miseries and problems by absorbing myself in drinking, smoking, sleeping, sports, sex, etc. In other
words, I didn’t know how to get out of the deep mud I was in, so I plunged even deeper into it, deep
enough to hide from both the mud and myself. I thought, “Let me embrace nothingness, darkness,
unconsciousness.”
After finishing high school I had to go into the army, where even deeper realizations of the
emptiness of materialistic life were revealed to me.
After the army I went to college, but for a whole year I just experienced more emptiness and
pointlessness. Then the first sign of hope appeared. A student I met at college started telling me about
yoga, particularly Transcendental Meditation. I took up the practice, meditating fifteen minutes twice a
day, and found some relief. I thought I had finally found the real thing. In this way two more years
passed.
Then, although somewhat satisfied, I began feeling the need for real purification and more concrete
answers to life’s questions. I knew about the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement and had even been attracted by the
mahā-mantra and Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. But my roommate had advised me, “Don’t get too close to
that sect,” and so I didn’t look into the Hare Kṛṣṇas.
On one occasion I was at a friend’s house in a nearby city searching through his books, looking for
something interesting. I remember seeing on these books such words as jing-jang, tantra, Freud,
Yogananda, and yoga, until I found the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. An unfamiliar voice within me suddenly
said, “This is what you are looking for. This is the real truth. Here you will find all the answers. Take
54
this book and read it, study it. Surrender to it completely, to each and every word in it. Worship each
page of it.”
But when I opened the book and read the words “Hare Kṛṣṇa,” my roommate’s advice came to mind
and I put it aside, as if it were dangerous.
Later the voice inside me returned when I saw Kṛṣṇa’s picture for the first time. “Decorate the
picture with flowers,” the voice said. “Worship it. Meditate on that person.” Unfortunately, when I
found out that the person was Kṛṣṇa, I again recalled my roommate’s advice and took the voice to be an
hallucination.
Still, my resistance was weakening. Apparently by chance I went to a concert featuring a band called
Nityananda, a Serbian devotee rock band. The special guest that night was one of the initiating spiritual
masters in the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, His Holiness Śacīnandana Swami. That concert was the turning
point for me. After that night I could no longer practice Transcendental Meditation. Instead of the
Transcendental Meditation mantra, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra kept playing in my mind involuntarily.
Very soon the mahā-mantra became everything in my life, giving me a feeling of satisfaction and
inner fullness. I chanted almost constantly while performing my daily duties. All anxiety, heaviness, and
misery disappeared from my heart, and I thought that no one in the whole world was more fortunate than
I was.
In due course all my family members started reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and chanting Hare
Kṛṣṇa, so that my home slowly transformed into the spiritual world. From reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s
books I understood the importance of accepting a bona fide spiritual master and receiving initiation. To
accomplish that goal I would have to live in the association of devotees. But I didn’t know how to meet
devotees because at that time I lived in the Bosnian town of Travnik, where there were no Hare Kṛṣṇa
temples. A war was going on, and military forces and barricades surrounded the city. Battles between
Serbs, Croatians, and Muslims were blasting in all possible combinations: Serbs against Croatians,
Muslims against Serbs, Croatians against Muslims, etc., and to get out of Travnik I had to cross all those
fronts.
Feeling a little discouraged, I started gathering information on how to get from Travnik to Croatia,
specifically to Zagreb or Rijeka, cities that I knew had temples. I did not find any good news. It seemed
that in Gornji Vakuf, a town just outside of Travnik, soldiers were shooting at everyone without
discrimination, even at United Nations Peace Forces (UNPROFOR) and Red Cross volunteers. I waited
about twenty more days, hoping the situation would get better, but it only got worse.
After one more month of studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, I prayed to
Kṛṣṇa, “My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I beg You to help me get to a temple.” I found great inspiration in verses
like māre kṛṣṇa rākhe ke, rākhe kṛṣṇa māre ke: “If Kṛṣṇa wants to kill you, no one can protect you, and
if Kṛṣṇa wants to protect you, no one can kill you.” I decided to put my life in Kṛṣṇa’s hands and go to
Croatia by foot. Before I started on my journey, a few soldiers told me not to go because in Gornji
Vakuf they were killing people — cutting their throats, severing their ears, and plucking out their eyes.
But they couldn’t stop me. Feeling Kṛṣṇa’s protection, on February 11, 1993, at 1:00 PM, with just a
few personal belongings, I started on the journey to Croatia through Gornji Vakuf. The whole time I
chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra on my japa beads.
After about ten hours of walking and chanting, I came to the border of Gornji Vakuf. I was surprised
at how easily I had reached that far. It was night, and very dark. From my position about a mile outside
the center of the city I heard shooting, explosions, and bullets and shells flying from one side of the city
to the other. I decided to take the road that wound around the city. After about ten minutes of walking, I
entered a small village where literally all the houses had been burned down. The remaining walls
revealed that the houses had been new, built in a modern style. A little further down the road a haystack
was burning, giving off the only light in that part of the village. An eerie silence pervaded everything. I
thought, “I don’t know what hell looks like, but it must be something like this.” In the courtyard of one
house a cow and her calf were standing, staring at the burning haystack, their eyes filled with tears.
55
I decided to stop there to see if I could do something for the cow and calf. I stood by the wall of a
house illuminated by the burning haystack and loudly shouted, “Is anyone there?” The reply was click,
click, and then through the window of another house someone started shooting at me. Bullets whizzed
around my legs and head, bouncing off the ground and broken walls. I ran as fast as I could while fiery
bullets continued to fly all around me. I kept running for about fifteen minutes without stopping.
“Oh my God,” I thought, “am I alive?” I was in a state of shock. I couldn’t tell whether I was alive
or dead. I clenched my hand and felt my japa beads. I nervously repeated the mahā-mantra. “I’m alive,”
I concluded. “Everything’s OK. Let’s keep going.” Little by little, as I realized what had happened, my
faith in Kṛṣṇa increased more and more, while my old conception of God as some light, some
impersonal force, vanished.
Because I chanted the mahā-mantra the whole time, my distress quickly diminished and my desire to
get to the temple rapidly grew. For the next twenty minutes I walked and chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare
Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Everything was
peaceful as I neared the exit from Gornji Vakuf.
Then suddenly on my left I heard someone shout “Stop!” along with the ominous click, click. I
stopped but continued to chant. “Who are you?” the voice demanded. “A spirit soul,” I thought, but after
a short pause I said, “A pilgrim, a well-wisher.” The stranger came out of the shadows, pointing his huge
gun at me. He came right up to me and stared in my face, apparently a bit confused by my answer. After
finding no weapons on me, not even a pocketknife, the man was even more confused, but he considered
me harmless, and therefore he relaxed.
But then from the darkness another soldier appeared, shouting and swearing. “On the ground!” he
yelled. As I lay on the ground he searched me. Not finding anything, he got mad. I was still chanting.
The two soldiers started arguing about what to do with me. The first soldier wanted to take me to their
commander, but the second wanted to kill me on the spot. And when the second soldier heard me
mumbling something, he really became furious. He aimed his gun at me, preparing to shoot. For a
moment I stopped chanting, but then I remembered reading that it is very auspicious to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa
while dying, so I started chanting again. The second soldier called me ill names and then pulled the
trigger. I felt something hit my back, and then I saw the bullet bounce off a stone and fly by the other
soldier’s head. The bullet had been deflected by something in my backpack! “What are you doing?” the
first soldier shouted. “Are you trying to kill me?!” The other one yelled something back. And again I
had to verify whether I was alive or dead. I was still chanting and didn’t feel any pain. “Good sign,” I
thought. The soldier who had shot his rifle was now scared and distressed. He was touching me, unable
to believe he had missed me from the distance of one foot.
Then a third soldier came, clearly senior to the other two. He took my old identification card from
my pocket and said, “Let’s take him to the commander.” In the commander’s office I was interrogated
for a long time. They decided to kill me by hanging me from a tree or shooting me because the photo on
my identification card didn’t really resemble me. Still, for some reason I remained very calm. My
calmness really puzzled them. They asked, “Do you have any money on you?”
“Yes,” I replied, “three hundred Swiss francs.” They looked at each other. It seemed strange to them
that I was not disturbed at the prospect of their taking all my money. In truth, at that moment money
didn’t mean anything to me. I just wanted to get to the temple. They said, “We can kill you, we can
torture you, we can do whatever we want with you!”
Again I replied very calmly, “There would be nothing auspicious in that, either for you or for me, so
it’s better not to do that.” That completely shocked them, and at that point they threw away their facade
of rough soldiers.
When they learned of the places I had passed through on my journey, they looked at each other in
great amazement. One of them murmured, “He passed through Bistrica, but no one can even get close to
that place. Even UNPROFOR and the Red Cross can’t go there, yet he passed through there with his
hand in this funny bag while murmuring some Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare!?” Then the whole situation
56
changed. They became very friendly and wanted to help me. They gave me a place to stay overnight,
and the following day they gave me a ride to the next town, Tomislav-grad.
But that wasn’t the end of my adventure. To get to Croatia I still had to go through three checkpoints
with very rigid controls. Even people with all the required documents had a hard time passing through.
Then what to speak of me, who had only an expired ID card with a photo that didn’t really resemble me?
Still, early the next morning we started. Soon the car was on a road with thick forests on both sides. The
road was muddy and winding. I chanted the whole time. One of the two soldiers sitting in front said,
“You know, we really don’t know how you’re going to get through this time, but if you do, you’re really
lucky.”
“Kṛṣṇa!” I thought. The recent incidents had increased My faith in Him enormously, and I was sure
He was listening. “All I can do is chant Your names,” I said to myself, “and if You want, please help
me.”
We approached the first checkpoint. Both soldiers pulled out their identification cards and some
other documents. When asked about their mission, one of the soldiers said he was the commander of a
squad that detected and destroyed mines and that he was on a mission. I chanted in the back seat, trying
hard to hear the mantra. The soldier at the checkpoint looked at me without saying anything. “All right,
go on!” he finally said.
“Is it possible?” I asked myself while my two fellow travelers stared at each other with mouths wide
open in wonder. When we came to the second checkpoint we weren’t even stopped: the soldier just
waved us through. My companions mouths were wide open again. “The third one is the hardest,” they
told me. But what happened was similar to what had occurred at the first checkpoint. The soldiers
checked the documents of my fellow travelers and asked them where they were going, where they were
coming from, and when they would return. I continued to chant. The soldiers looked at me but didn’t ask
me anything.
Then we entered Tomislav-grad, a city near Croatia. We were all pleased that everything had gone
so smoothly. They let me out and drove off. I continued happily chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa on my japa beads.
In Tomislav-grad I bought some fruit and offered it to Kṛṣṇa’s picture on a park bench. I had one hour
before my bus to Croatia was to leave. I was just finishing with my simple offering ceremony when two
police officers approached me. With my palm I signaled them to hold off asking me any questions until I
had finished my ceremony. They stopped and waited. After a few minutes I finished the ceremony and
they checked my ID. Finding no proper documentation, they returned me to the third checkpoint. They
rebuked the soldiers at the checkpoint for having let me pass. The soldiers claimed that they’d never
seen me before, although after hearing my description of the car I’d been in, they remembered it and all
the details about it. But they still couldn’t remember me. Then they received the order to send me back
to Travnik, the city where my journey had begun.
Again I very intensely thought of Lord Kṛṣṇa: “Kṛṣṇa,” I asked, “are You really going to return me
to Travnik after all that’s happened?” But I surrendered to Kṛṣṇa’s desire, though not happily, knowing
that in any case I couldn’t go against His wishes.
However, this last reversal turned out to be just another test. Meditating on the power of prasādam, I
offered some fruit to the soldiers at the third checkpoint. They accepted it and ate with satisfaction. After
a short conversation, they decided to let me go, although they had just received an order to send me back
to Travnik. They even stopped a truck and convinced the driver to drive me to Posusje (a city on the
border of Bosnia and Croatia), where I had some relatives.
That night my relatives arranged for the documents I needed to enter Croatia. The next day I arrived
at the temple in Rijeka. Finally I met the Deities and devotees, and there was no end to my happiness.
By the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, guru, and the devotees I am still living in an ISKCON temple, and whenever I
recall all these incidents I remember Śrīla Prabhupāda’s immortal statement: “Impossible is a word in a
fool’s dictionary.”
57
Tāra Dāsa
Book distribution is an adventure. We never know what’s going to happen to us, or to the people we
distribute books to. Once in the Miami airport I distributed some books to a boy from Colombia. He
went home and put the books on his bookshelf. The books remained there for five years, sitting and
waiting. Then one day a friend of his saw the books and asked him if he could borrow them during his
upcoming trip to California. The friend read the books and was so inspired that he wanted to become a
devotee. He looked in the back of one of the books and found the address of the LA temple. He visited
and joined. Then he began doing harināma every day. At one point his friend who had lent him the
books decided to go on a vacation to Los Angeles. As he rested on the beach after surfing he heard some
chanting, some karatālas and mṛdaṅga, and he found the sound attractive. He approached the harināma
party, and as he looked at the devotees’ faces he saw his best friend among them, the one who had
borrowed his books. He ran up to him and asked, “Hey, what happened?” His friend preached to him
and invited him to the temple. Then that boy also started reading the books and became a devotee.
We were distributing at a rock concert and decided to stretch ourselves and stay for the late-night
“break out” after the end of the concert. As the crowd surged by, I met one guy who looked at me
intently as I went through my mantra. He then gravely asked, “But does it work?” I mustered up some
sincerity and said, “Yes, it really works.” Six months later I met the same fellow, now a new bhakta and
a saṅkīrtana devotee. He recognized me and reminded me of our meeting and thanked me. He had
traveled six hours to attend that concert with the hope of finding something meaningful.
In regard to the complaint that “so many books have been distributed but who’s joining?”, we should
see things from a broader perspective. Our vision is defective. Better to trust the version of Śrīla
Prabhupāda. He stated that every soul who comes in contact with these books is benefited. The fruit
might come after one, five, or ten years, or even a hundred lifetimes. Certainly the fruit will mature. In
The Nectar of Instruction Prabhupāda states, “Devotional service is so pure and perfect that once having
begun, one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success.” Only time is separating these souls from perfection.
Contact with Kṛṣṇa purifies the soul, period. “Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.” We need
to focus on doing our job with faith in Prabhupāda’s words. Kṛṣṇa knows how to do His job.
* * *
Tṛṇakartā Dāsa
I was walking my dog in a forest when he smelled something. I went over to see what it was, and
after I’d moved some leaves I found a book — a Kṛṣṇa book. I picked it up and said to myself, “What’s
this?” I started reading it and became fascinated by the contents. Soon I joined the temple. This was in
the early 70s. This may be the first time a dog became a vartma-pradarśaka-guru.
Vijaya Dāsa
Quite often I’m asked how I came to the movement. I was born in 1956 and grew up in Los Angeles.
Once, while visiting a friend I saw someone on TV speaking about Transcendental Meditation, an
organization founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Interested, I visited their center and took a three-day
course. They informed me that if after the course I wanted a mantra they would give me one, but that it
58
would cost $120. I did want a mantra and they gave me one — “ain ga.” Twice a day I would chant this
mantra for fifteen minutes. This was how I began meditating.
But after two months of such meditating, I thought, “There must be a better mantra than this.” I
decided to travel. My intention was to find something like a paradise where I could live with spiritually-
minded people and do my meditation. Before I left I bought Be Here Now, a book by Baba Ram Dass, a
famous American guru of the sixties and seventies known for his association with Timothy Leary, the
LSD “guru.” In his book Baba Ram Dass wrote, “When one progresses on the spiritual path, he
gradually becomes detached from material things.” I felt like I was on this path, that God was taking me
to a place where I would forget the materialistic life I had been living. In one place where I stopped in
my travels, almost all my things were stolen — but I felt relieved, because I knew having fewer
possessions would help me in my quest. All I had now was some money, my book, and my passport.
I decided to go to the Bahamas, off the coast of Florida. I thought this might be a good place to
practice my spiritual life. It wasn’t. I decided to leave the day after I arrived. But before I left, someone
stole my money. It wasn’t much, just a few hundred dollars, but it was all the money I had. Now I had
no money. All I had were the book by Baba Ram Dass, my passport, and my ticket back to the States.
But I was happier than I had ever been before because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was
making an arrangement for my life.
The next day I went to Miami to see what would unfold on this journey. I went hitchhiking, not
knowing where I was going. Someone picked me up and suggested I go to Key West (Florida) to get a
job. Taking this as God’s will, I went there and got a job.
I was still reading Be Here Now. In the back of the book was a list of recommended books. One was
the Bhagavad-gītā. I went to the public library and found that there were four different translations. The
one by Prabhupāda was the most attractive, so I checked it out.
From the first page I understood that this is what I had been searching for. As I read, I became totally
amazed. I had never read anything that was so clear and made so much sense. From reading the
Bhagavad-gītā I started chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa all day. I had a job where there weren’t many people
around, so I just did my work and chanted. I was getting a spiritual high from it. After three days of
chanting, I stepped out of the building where I worked and saw devotees doing harināma about a
hundred yards away. I went over to them and said, “That’s the same mantra I chant.” They were, of
course, very happy to hear this. They then explained the philosophy to me for about two hours. That
night I moved in with them. There were about three devotees living and working out of an apartment.
After a week or so they told me about a temple in Miami and suggested I go there to get more training.
The Miami temple was beautiful. It stood on eight lush acres. On six of these acres we grew flowers
we would send to temples all around the USA for Deity worship. My first service was picking flowers;
my second service was washing Kṛṣṇa’s pots. There were also eighty mango trees, many banana trees,
and about sixty other tropical plants. There was a nice pond with swans and ducks. I remember that the
ducks always had orange beaks during the mango season because they had a special liking for the
mangoes that had fallen on the ground. The devotees were very nice. I had found my home. When I had
left Los Angeles a couple of months earlier, I had been looking for a paradise where I could practice my
spiritual life. I had found it.
After I’d spent two months washing pots and picking flowers, the temple president, Narahari Prabhu,
asked me if I was bold. I said I could be. He then asked me to try saṅkīrtana. At first we were just
distributing BTGs. I would stand at the street lights distributing to the people who would stop their cars
at the lights. Very difficult. Lots of purification. It was quite hot, and the people had already been
approached by so many other groups. After two months of that, they asked me to try the airport. After
about seven years I became the saṅkīrtana leader. In 2002 the GBC asked me to be the Minister of Book
Distribution.
59
What first attracted me to book distribution was the emphasis on it. This was 1978, shortly after Śrīla
Prabhupāda had left the planet, so the momentum was still there. It was and is a very blissful activity. So
this is what has kept me doing it for as long as I have. It’s bliss.
Earlier we read how Ananta-rūpa Dāsa and his wife Ārūḍhā Devī Dāsī became devotees in Boise,
Idaho, a state in the northwestern USA. Here are some more details about their devotional lives.
Ananta Rūpa and Ārūḍhā have been running the temple for many years. Ārūḍhā regularly goes out
to distribute books at the university and at some malls in the area. She home-schooled her two boys,
Rādhikā Ramaṇa Dāsa and Gopāla Hari Dāsa. As we learned from Nidrā Dāsī, Rādhikā Ramaṇa
received his PhD in theology at Oxford University at the age of twenty-two. When he was studying at
Boise State University, the professors referred to him as “the boy wonder,” and everyone knew he was a
Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee. At his graduation he was the valedictorian and gave the speech at the graduation
ceremony, wearing tilaka for the occasion.
His younger brother Gopāla Hari is of the same nature. He graduated from Boise State University
with a masters at the age of eighteen. But he told me that he just wants to distribute books.
On top of all this, the next-door neighbors are the same way. Aja Govinda Dāsa is fifteen and a
junior at the university. In LA, while he and I were at the Ratha-yātrā site after the parade, he came up
to me and asked how to distribute Bhagavad-gītās. I explained to him that I basically show and explain
the pictures, so he did that and people started taking the books. He goes door to door in Boise with
Gopāla Hari, and they have great success in their book distribution. Everyone in these two families
distributes books. Preaching really is the essence in Boise.
Many years ago, while distributing books at the university in Boise, I met a student from Cambodia
whose father had just died. He was sad about that. I explained to him about the eternality of soul and
how no one ever dies. He was happy to hear that, took a book, and started to read it. Four years later I
received a letter from him inviting me to his initiation ceremony. It was the best e-mail I ever received.
His name is now Nimāi Murāri Dāsa. This is a “dream come true” for a book distributor. It doesn’t
happen often, but when it does, it makes it all worth it—all the austerity, the rejection, etc.
While I was distributing books at the Montreal Ratha-yatra, a devotee I had never seen before came
up to me and said, “Thank you, Vijaya Prabhu.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied, “but what are you thanking me for?”
He replied, “In the early 1980s a friend of mine was traveling through the Miami airport and bought
a book from you. He knew I had some interest in spirituality, so he later gave it to me. I read it and have
now been a devotee for the past twenty years. Your name is in the book. I was always hoping I’d see
you so I could thank you for performing this important service.”
I said, “Thank you for this encouraging news. It’s always nice to learn that people are reading the
books and becoming devotees.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda encourages me so much to distribute books, but when events like this happen I’m
so much more encouraged to continue doing our “family business.”
While in Atlanta I asked Śikhi Māhiti Prabhu, a longtime book distributor, how he came to Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. Here is his story:
When I was sixteen my brother and I would sit on our patio looking up at the vast expanse of
stars in the sky, wondering where they all came from, where we came from, and why we’re here.
We were always thinking about things like this.
Then one day my brother brought home a BTG someone had sold him and said to me, “Read
60
this. It’s amazing.” I read the BTG and thought, “This is the highest truth.” Then I somehow
received Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-gītā. After reading it I decided to join the temple.
When I told my mother of my plans she said, “Oh no you’re not. You’re staying in college.”
I was studying at Purdue University, and my mother was very happy with that. Finally my urge
to surrender to Kṛṣṇa became so strong that I just left home and went to join the temple in
Chicago.
My mother later became favorable, so much so that she gave a $20 donation to a devotee in
an airport. While she was on the plane, however, she lamented that she had given that $20, since
it was all she had and thought she might need it. Then, when she reached her destination and was
walking down the corridor in the airport, she found a $20 bill on the floor. Later she happily told
me, “I think Kṛṣṇa had something to do with that.”
Revatī-ramaṇa Prabhu, the temple president of the Tirupati temple, told me the following interesting
incident.
An engineer named Mr. Basowarej was hired to help with the construction of the Tirupati temple. He
had devoted his whole life to Lord Śiva. He had a room to stay in on the temple grounds, and after doing
his work each day he would visit the nearby Śiva temple. A devotee gave him a couple of small books,
and he would sometimes read them just to see what the devotees believed.
There was a problem in his life: His family wanted him to get married, but he didn’t want to. He
developed a friendship with Revatī Ramaṇa Prabhu and would express his anxiety to him. Revatī
Ramaṇa would lightly preach to him to move into the brahmacārī āśrama and live a simple life of no
anxiety.
After reading the small books and associating with the devotees for a couple of years, he decided to
make the move to become a brahmacārī in the āśrama.
Now for many years he has been a brahmacārī, and he is still a full-time engineer for the temple.
But he accepts no salary — he does his work as devotional service. His name is now Balabhadra
Mādhava Dāsa.
While in Māyāpur, at a seminar by Jayādvaita Swami, I sat next to a young devotee named Bhakta
Jean, who had recently joined. During a break I asked him how he joined.
“In high school my sister was known as an avid reader. One day a librarian asked her if she would
like to have some books that had been gathering dust. She took a box of them. As she was looking
through them, she found the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and knowing I was interested in
religious philosophy, she gave it to me. I read it and was convinced that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the
highest religious philosophy. Thank Kṛṣṇa that there was a sincere devotee who went to that high school
and left that book in the library.”
For the next year Bhakta Jean will be at the Rādhā-Gopīnātha temple in Chowpatti, aspiring for
initiating from Rādhānātha Swami.
Who knows how long that book had been sitting in the library? Probably many years. But eventually
the transcendental time bomb went off. There are millions of such bombs all over the world, and the
more we distribute them, the more they go off.
A boy about fifteen years old had a religious nature. In fact, he was so serious about God that the
other boys his age used to tease him. One day as they were playing, one of the boys found a BTG on a
61
seat and gave it to their religious friend, teasing him all the while. He swallowed the teasing and took the
magazine. He took it home and read it cover to cover, finding it very interesting.
A few days later a quarrel broke out between his mother and father. Seeing his father approach his
mother with a knife to kill her, the boy was shocked and spontaneously jumped in front of his mother
and was stabbed. Both parents were horrified, and they called an ambulance to rush him to the hospital.
He was in coma for three weeks.
When he came out of the coma he told his mother, “I saw Kṛṣṇa! I saw Kṛṣṇa!” But she had no idea
what he was talking about. She was just happy to see him alive.
After recovering from the stab wound, he searched out the nearest temple and moved in.
While I was in Russia the devotees told me of a program unique to that country. A devotee named
Adhokṣaja Prabhu, one of the main book distribution leaders in the Russian yātrā, oversees a
distribution team of eight boys aged ten to nineteen. Of course, they mostly distribute during the summer
when school is out, but also during vacation time. I spoke to them while I was in Moscow. They said
they really enjoy distributing books. They all chant sixteen rounds a day except the ten-year-old.
During the saṅkīrtana festival in Russia, Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja told us a nice story:
An officer with the Canadian army was playing hockey with some other officers when he was
seriously injured by one of the other officers. He went to the hospital for six months. While he was in
the hospital recovering he asked to be taken to the library to read and pass the time. While there he saw
Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-gītā on the shelf. He had heard of it and always wanted to read it, but there had
been no time. Now he had time. He actually stole the book from the library and read it every day until he
was released. Then he was told that he would not be able to continue in the service because of his injury.
This gave him more opportunity to read, and from the reading he started chanting. He found out where
the nearest temple was and started attending the programs. He decided to return the book to the library
and give a donation, since it was because of that library book that he had become a devotee.
* * *
Viśvambhara Dāsa
In 1982, during my brahmacārī period, one day I was distributing books door-to-door in Italy, in the
region where I grew up. A man came out of his house, and I tried very hard to give him a Bhagavad-
gītā, but he refused to take it. I was just about to go when his seven-year-old girl came out and said,
“Papa, I want it. Please take it,” and with great reluctance the man purchased it. The book (I learned
later) was then abandoned on their bookshelf. In those days I would always write my name and the
temple phone number at the end of every book I would distribute. If the purchaser would want some
more literature or have any questions, they could contact me personally at the temple.
After twelve years or so the girl took the book off the shelf and asked her father what it was about
and where it came from. The father told her that about twelve years earlier a young monk had come to
their door and she had persuaded the father to get it, but the girl could not remember the incident. She
embarked upon reading the Gītā, and at the end of the book she came across my name, Bhakta Raffaele,
and the phone number of the temple where I had resided twelve years earlier. She then visited the temple
for the Sunday feast. She enjoyed the lecture and kīrtana and had a good first impression of the
devotees. In fact, she later related, it was the most wonderful experience of her life. The smell of the
incense and the soft sound of the karatālas seemed very familiar to her. Before she left she asked about
Bhakta Raffaele, and the devotees told her that in 1985 I had moved to the UK and that my name was
now Viśvambhara Dāsa.
62
She then came all the way to the UK to search me out at Bhaktivedanta Manor! One day, after I had
given a class, she approached me and asked, “Is your name Viśvambhara Dāsa, and did you grow up in
Italy?”
“Yes,” I replied to both questions.
She said, “My name is Cinzia, and I am also from Italy.” Then she said, “Thank you,” with tears in
her eyes. She told me about the incident twelve years earlier, and I also started to shed tears. I
remembered what Śrīla Prabhupāda had once said, namely, that if we can make one devotee with this
Bhagavad-gītā, then our life will be successful. I was so happy that this girl had reached the lotus feet of
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gokulānanda.
Cinzia stayed at Bhaktivedanta Manor and became an initiated disciple of Indradyumna Swami. Her
name is now Kaumādakī Devī Dāsī, and she is currently serving in the festival programs with
Indradyumna Mahārāja. This incident has given me so much faith in the activity of book distribution.
* * *
Bhakta Prabhajan
We were attracting attention by our dress, bulls, and cart on Padayātrā India, and suddenly our
Padayātrā party became a sensation in a small town near Allahabad, thanks to a man who had taken a
vow of silence six years earlier.
Padayātrā takes six years to complete one round trip of the country, and so we couldn’t recall having
met this man years earlier. Others in the town, however, informed us that he’d bought a Bhagavad-gītā
from us during our last visit and that after he’d begun reading it he’d declared he would observe a vow
of silence till we returned. Now the townspeople were anticipating his breaking a six-year silence. We
were also told that during this period he followed all the regulative principles and kept his association
with his new wife to a minimum.
A pandal was erected and attracted the whole town. We made the best use of being center-stage by
distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books by the hundreds. The man entered, with the whole crowd cheering
him and showering flowers on him. He then delivered a fiery four-hour speech—and nothing but Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, as presented by Śrīla Prabhupāda, came from his mouth! The audience was spellbound
by his conviction, confidence, and knowledge, and so were we. Suddenly his mother made a dramatic
entry and declared her guru to be God. The vow-of-silence man, outraged by her audacity, roared back
that her so-called guru was a bogus Māyāvādī. Then he smashed that philosophy to pieces, repeatedly
quoting from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.
By one book distributed, a new devotee was made, Māyāvāda philosophy was defeated, and a whole
town was infused with Kṛṣṇa consciousness and saturated with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Saṅkīrtana-
yajña-kī jaya!
Bhaktin Vanessa and Bhakta Marlon
My husband Marlon started reading the Bhagavad-gītā over two years ago. He had been searching
for God in the Christian religion but said he couldn’t find the whole truth there. I was on the search with
him, but no matter where we looked we just couldn’t really find God. We even joined a church in hopes
that somehow that was “a doorway in.”
After that hope died out, we faded from the religious path and almost came to the conclusion that if
there is a God, it is whatever it is and one day after we died we would find out what it is, if it is. My
husband then remembered that when he was seventeen he had come across a Bhagavad-gītā. He said he
tried to read it but was unable grasp it at that time. He said he knew he could recognize the name of the
author (His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda) when he saw it. So he found the Gītā
63
at the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust website and bought it. He also bought a CD with a recording of the
Gītā text on it so he could listen to it while reading it. He then began praying and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa,
and soon I noticed he was beginning to change in a wonderful way. I decided to join him in his study,
prayer, and chanting and see what he was learning.
Lo and behold, we found GOD!! The absolute truth was in the words of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Now we get
up at five in the morning each day for prayer and chanting. We couldn’t live without surrendering our
day to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is doing wonderful things in our lives. We have become vegetarians, we
are developing a love for all of God’s creations, and we love Kṛṣṇa with all our heart, mind, and soul.
We read or listen to the Gītā each day, but most importantly we serving the Lord. We give donations
when and where He leads us to give. Another thing we do is that we buy the pamphlet Kṛṣṇa, the
Reservoir of Pleasure in bundles of fifty and leave a pamphlet wherever we go. We hand them out freely
and mail them to churches. One Christian pastor wrote back and said we were going to burn in the lake
of fire for eternity. My heart was saddened for him because he just does not know the truth. Anyway, we
love Kṛṣṇa and we love serving Him.
* * *
An East European Lady Becomes a Devotee
A lady devotee enrolled in a university in an East European country tells how she became a devotee:
It was summertime and very hot. I was looking out the window and saw a book that was
propping up the window in the apartment next to mine. I was amazed at how beautiful it was (the
Kṛṣṇa book). Since I was spiritually inclined, I could tell that it was a spiritual book. I couldn’t
understand why they were using such a beautiful book to prop up a window. So I went to the
apartment and knocked on the door. When the neighbor opened the door, I said, “I have
something you could use to keep your window open, if you let me read the book you’re now
using to prop it open. When I’m done reading, I’ll return it.”
The neighbor replied, “Sure, no problem, and you can keep the book.”
That’s how I came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
We never know how someone will receive Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, but our duty is to just get
them out there. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “There are people waiting on every street for this
knowledge.”
* * *
An Eastern Europoean Man Becomes a Devotee
I engaged in many sinful activities in my youth. At the age of nineteen I decided to leave home and
start a new life, so I went on a spiritual quest. As I traveled around, many people suggested I go to India:
“That’s where spiritual seekers go,” they said. So I went to India and began traveling around the
country. Once I met a devotee who gave me one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, and when I read it I was
convinced that Kṛṣṇa consciousness was my path. After spending some time associating with the
devotees at the Chowpatti Temple, I was allowed to stay. Now I’m aspiring for initiation from
Rādhānātha Swami.
But now my story gets really amazing. After being away from my mother for three years, I decided it
64
was time to call her and let her know what I was doing. After we’d talked for a while, I said, “Oh, I
didn’t tell you. I’m a monk.”
She said, “You’re a monk? I’m shocked! What kind of monk?”
“A Hare Kṛṣṇa monk.”
“Well, Haribol!”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I said, “How do you know Haribol?”
She said, “I’m a devotee too.”
I was astounded and delighted. Then we had a really nice talk about how amazing Kṛṣṇa is. She had
received a book from a devotee distributing door to door and was also impressed with the knowledge
and took up Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
* * *
End of Chapter Two—Books Make Bhaktas
65
Chapter Three
Be Bold for Kṛṣṇa
Introduction
When I joined the temple in Miami in 1978, the authorities first had me doing menial services
(washing pots and picking flowers—we had six acres of flowers), which I liked because it was
humbling. Then after a couple of months the president asked me to go on book distribution. His first
question: “Are you bold?”
“Yes, I can be,” I replied.
To approach a stranger and ask him or her to give some of their hard-earned money for a book they
weren’t looking for—you’ve got to be bold to try that. It takes a lot of confidence. We have to have
confidence that the people we approach are spirit souls and eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa.
In a letter to Śukadeva Dāsa, Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote, “I want that all my advanced disciples become
very bold preachers and take up this task of saving the fallen humanity from its worst condition of
sinfulness.”
Book distribution is so bold that some devotees feel uncomfortable doing it. But this is our
mission—to wake people up. Everyone is kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa, an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. When we
have confidence in Kṛṣṇa, we can become empowered to do so much for Him by distributing His books.
At the same time, we have to be careful that our boldness and confidence don’t infect us with the
mode of passion. This is one of the arts of book distribution: to be enthusiastic, bold, and confident and
at the same time patient, gentle, and detached from the result.
In the early 70’s a lady who had been very shy and introverted throughout her life somehow became
attracted to Kṛṣṇa and joined ISKCON. At that time Śrīla Prabhupāda was very much emphasizing book
distribution, so practically everyone was going out. She also began going out. But shy as she was, she
didn’t feel very comfortable approaching people. Still, she did it because all the other devotees were
doing it and she knew Prabhupāda wanted it. She knew he would be pleased, so she forced herself. But
she would distribute very few books, while the others would do so many. Even though she was not very
successful, she continued. One day she prayed very sincerely to Kṛṣṇa to take away the shyness that was
keeping her from being a successful instrument in Kṛṣṇa’s hands. She went out the next day and the
shyness was gone; she approached people like they were her old friends and distributed many books.
Everyone was surprised. Eventually she became the first woman in ISKCON to distribute a hundred big
books in a single day. Her name is Gaurī Devī Dāsī.
Śrīla Prabhupāda was once asked what the criterion was for his choosing GBC members. He said,
“Whoever I saw took the most risk for Kṛṣṇa I chose to be GBC.”
In the Śrī Upadeśāmṛta it is said that one of the six principles favorable to the execution of
devotional service is niścayāt, confidence. Confidence comes from Kṛṣṇa consciousness: one feels the
presence of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore one can be confident. Prabhupāda used to give the example of his son.
Once he was taking a train somewhere and had one of his little sons with him. The conductor came to
punch Śrīla Prabhupāda’s ticket and then said teasingly to the little boy, “Where is your ticket?” (He was
so small he didn’t need one.) The boy grabbed Prabhupāda’s hand, taking shelter of his father. He was
confident that everything would then be OK. We should be ready to take risks for Kṛṣṇa, confident that
He is there to help us. If one is confident, then it’s natural to be bold and take risks for Kṛṣṇa.
Here are some statements about boldness in preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness and examples of
boldness in the service of book distribution.
* * *
67
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.30.37 purport
There are two kinds of devotees. One is called goṣṭhyānandī and the other bhajanānandī. The word
bhajanānandī refers to the devotee who does not move but remains in one place. Such a devotee is
always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. He chants the mahā-mantra as taught by many
ācāryas and sometimes goes out for preaching work. The goṣṭhyānandī is one who desires to increase
the number of devotees all over the world. He travels all over the world just to purify the world and the
people residing in it. Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised:
pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma

sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted His followers to move all over the world to preach in every town
and village. In the Caitanya-sampradāya those who strictly follow the principles of Lord Caitanya must
travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, which is the same as preaching the
words of Kṛṣṇa—Bhagavad-gītā—and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The more the devotees preach the
principles of kṛṣṇa-kathā, the more people throughout the world will benefit.
Devotees like the great sage Nārada, who travel all over to preach, are called goṣṭhyānandī. Nārada
Muni is always wandering throughout the universe just to create different types of devotees. Nārada
even made a hunter a devotee. He also made Dhruva Mahārāja and Prahlāda devotees. Actually, all
devotees are indebted to the great sage Nārada, for he has wandered both in heaven and in hell. A
devotee of the Lord is not even afraid of hell. He goes to preach the glories of the Lord everywhere—
even in hell—because there is no distinction between heaven and hell for a devotee.
nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati

svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ
“A pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa is never afraid of going anywhere and everywhere. For him heaven
and hell are one and the same.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.17.28) Such devotees, wandering all over the
world, deliver those who are actually afraid of this material existence. Some people are already
disgusted with material existence, being confused and frustrated by material enjoyment, and some
people, who are intelligent, are interested in understanding the Supreme Lord. Both may take advantage
of the pure devotee who wanders throughout the world.
* * *
From a Conversation with Śrīla Prabhupāda, July 13, 1975
A lady saṅkīrtana devotee asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, “When we are doing saṅkīrtana, I must be very
aggressive, but when I come to the temple, then I’m supposed to be very humble?”
Prabhupāda replied, “A lamb at home, a lion in the chase. [Laughter] When you are chasing, you
must be a lion. [Laughter] But when you come home, you do not try to chase the devotees. [Laughter] A
lamb at home.”
* * *
68
Chapter 3: Be Bold for Kṛṣṇa
From a Morning Walk with Śrīla Prabhupāda, 11 December 1973
Śrīla Prabhupāda: So, why this speculation should be allowed? That is our proposition. Every man
will say, “No, I’ve got my own mathematics.” Will he be allowed? So we have to fight; otherwise, what
is the meaning of preaching?
Hṛdayānanda Mahārāja: Fight.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: If you think that everything will be accepted very easily, then what is the necessity
of preaching? You must know that they are all rascals—unbelievers. You have to convert them to be
sane man. That is preaching. What do you expect, that every man will immediately . . . agree with you?
Why do you expect like that? That is foolishness. You must know that everybody will disagree with
you, and it is your preaching work that you will make him agree with you. That is your preaching work.
Hṛdayānanda Mahārāja: Jaya Prabhupāda! As your example.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. We do not expect that everyone will agree. Everybody will disagree. Just like
our books. Say, four, five years ago, nobody knew these books. So there was no market. But we have
created our market. That is preaching. We have created our market. Nobody was dying for want of these
books. So that is preaching. Preaching does not mean everyone is ready to accept your theories. You
must expect that everyone will not accept it. Now it is your power to convince him, “Yes, you must
accept.” That is preaching.
* * *
Excerpt from a Śrīla Prabhupāda letter, 16 February 1975
Thank you again and again for distributing my books with great enthusiasm. Now try to double this
enthusiasm. Anyone who even touches one of our books gets such great benefit. Give them to everyone.
Because you are all very sincere and working very hard, Kṛṣṇa is giving you all facilities.
* * *
His Holiness Girirāja Swami
In the early days, every Sunday in Boston we used to go to Cambridge Commons to do kīrtana.
Various rock bands used to come and perform, and thousands of young people would come to hear the
music, dance, picnic, wander around, mingle, or just sit. So on Sundays Satsvarūpa Dāsa would lead the
devotees to an area in the Commons where they would chant and dance in a circle, and many young
people would join in. Meanwhile, a few devotees would wander in the crowd to distribute books and get
donations.
At the time, 1969–1970, there was a lot of interest in spiritual life, and one boy I approached was
especially friendly. He said he was interested and had an Indian guru who was God.
“How do you know he is God?” I asked.
“He says he’s God.”
“Just because he says he’s God you believe him?”
“Yes.”
“So if I tell you I’m the President of the United States you will also believe me? Being President is
not as great as being God.”
“Yes, I will believe you.”
“Very good. So if I’m president you have to do what I say.”
69
“Yes.”
So I said, “Take all your money from your pocket.” He took out all his money. There was a lot! In
those days young people didn’t have much money, but he pulled out ninety-seven dollars.
“You accept that I’m the President?”
“Yes.”
He was stubborn; he didn’t want to admit his philosophy was wrong. Just to maintain his false
prestige he insisted, “Yes.”
So I said, “Okay, give me all your money.” He gave me his money, and in return I gave him a book
and invited him to the temple. Then I quickly disappeared into the crowd.
About two hours later he found me, still distributing. “You know,” he said sheepishly, “I just gave
you all my money, and tomorrow I have to pay the rent. Could you give me twenty dollars?”
I gave him twenty dollars, and he kept Prabhupāda’s books. People will believe anything and be so
stubborn about their illusory position.
* * *
Kṛṣṇa observes the activities of all living entities, but He takes special notice of the activities of
those spreading His glories, like the book distributors. And when Kṛṣṇa intervenes to help a devotee in
his service, that may be called a miracle, for it is an event that begins outside the laws of nature and the
laws of karma.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said that Kṛṣṇa might dictate to a person: “Take this book and give a donation.”
That is a miracle.
For example, when the first person you approach buys many books and gives a big donation, Kṛṣṇa
is encouraging you. It’s a miracle. When a person insults you only to come back later and apologetically
buy a book, it’s a miracle. When everyone is buying, and sometimes when no one is buying, it’s a
miracle. When there is some special arrangement, that is a miracle. For example . . .
Śukra Prabhu and I were on traveling saṅkīrtana in the Canadian Maritime Provinces. We were
selling Kṛṣṇa books. At one town a new shopping mall had opened the very day we arrived, and so we
went in to sell books. We got caught in ten minutes. But being bold, I asked to speak to the manager. I
showed him George Harrison’s foreword in the front of the book and said we were selling these books at
George’s request to spread peace and love. He was right into it and gave us a booth in the center of the
mall for the entire opening weekend. So there we were, authorized as could be, telling everyone, “This is
a book to spread peace and to celebrate the mall’s opening, with an introduction by George Harrison
right in the book.” Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we sold books faster than we could unpack them. It
was bliss. It was a miracle.
Kṛṣṇa also says in scripture, “I am not in Vaikuṇṭha, but I am where My devotees glorify Me.” So by
glorifying Kṛṣṇa through book distribution, know for sure that Kṛṣṇa is standing near you and watching
you. That is a miracle. And when He helps you or tests you, that is a miracle. And if you think of what
you were before Kṛṣṇa consciousness and what you are now, selling Kṛṣṇa’s books, then you know that
your standing there is a miracle. Prabhupāda said of his devotees, “They are my miracle.”
So to distribute books is to believe in miracles, for to believe in Kṛṣṇa means believing in things
extraordinary—miracles.
* * *
70
Śrīla Prabhupāda made our lives exciting. He pushed us, and he was definitely not accustomed to
thinking small. In thinking of what my life was like while Śrīla Prabhupāda walked the planet, I often
recall a famous quotation from Helen Keller: “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
Life with Śrīla Prabhupāda was and still is a daring adventure.
After arriving in America, at times Śrīla Prabhupāda barely had enough money to pay his rent. Even
during those lean financial times, he wasn’t at all poor. He carried the most valuable currency of all:
absolute faith in the words of his guru and Kṛṣṇa. He took every risk for Kṛṣṇa. He was fearless at all
times.
Because of this, after meeting Śrīla Prabhupāda and taking up the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
young people—with little or no worldly training—became emboldened and went out to conquer the
world on Kṛṣṇa’s behalf. They were convinced that by following the order of their guru they would not
fail. They were correct!
Young boys and girls traveled the world, meeting dignitaries and rock stars, opening temples,
making hit albums, organizing festivals, and publishing and distributing millions of magazines and
books.
As I recall the miraculous accomplishments of all these devotees, I’m reminded of another quotation,
this one by the German poet Goethe:
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. . . . Concerning all acts of
initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless
ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence
moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A
whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen
incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have
come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power,
and magic in it. Begin it now.
Śrīla Prabhupāda was the epitome of boldness. In 1975 the BBT was publishing books too slowly to
keep up with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s translating. The manuscripts for the Caitanya-caritāmṛta had been
sitting for some time without being published.
Then on a morning walk at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, surrounded by senior devotees and the
heads of the BBT, Śrīla Prabhupāda suddenly said that he wanted all seventeen volumes of Caitanya-
caritāmṛta published within two months.
Until that time, the BBT had only been able to publish one book every four months. Now Śrīla
Prabhupāda was ordering that all seventeen be finished in two months! The head of the American BBT,
Rāmeśvara Dāsa, was shocked upon hearing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s order, and he replied, “Śrīla
Prabhupāda, that’s impossible.”
Upon hearing this, Śrīla Prabhupāda suddenly stopped walking. He planted his cane in the sand and
said, “Impossible is a word in a fool’s dictionary.”
The devotees were practically speechless.
But as Śrīla Prabhupāda’s order began to sink in, Rāmeśvara and the other devotees began to
feverishly plan how they would execute his order. With this, the famous Caitanya-caritāmṛta marathon
began. For the next two months the devotees worked practically without sleeping or eating to publish the
seventeen volumes in just two months.
71
By the mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda they were able to publish the books before the deadline. Śrīla
Prabhupāda was very pleased—and the whole Society was electrified by the proven fact that nothing is
impossible in the service of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana movement.
* * *
Ambikā Devī Dāsī
After I attended a book distribution seminar in Fiji, my interest in book distribution revived. I
decided to try selling the Bhagavad-gītā at my workplace, starting with my manager. Early Friday
morning, as soon as I arrived, without even going to my desk, I went straight to his office. I told him, “I
have something for you,” and presented him with the Bhagavad-gītā. He was surprised at my bold
approach, but he really appreciated it and bought the Gītā.
But it was what happened next that really floored me. In the afternoon, he quit his job!
After about a week I met him again. The first thing he told me was, “Now I have plenty of time on
this earth to read the Bhagavad-gītā.” He had enough money, so he didn’t have to worry about that.
* * *
Ānanda Vidyā Dāsa
In Florida during the December marathon I showed a group of young people the Fifth Canto. After
briefly explaining the book’s contents to them, I asked for a donation. The guy with the book in his hand
seemed slightly interested, but he was still apprehensive.
I said, “It has some cool artwork; I’ll show you.” I opened the book to the pictures showing what
happens to sinners on the hellish planets. One picture showed a young boy torturing an insect, and
another picture showed a man being eaten alive by various creatures, including a lion. As the guy looked
at the picture his eyes widened and he said, “Whoa, he’s really eating him! I’ll give a donation for that!”
He pulled out a five-dollar bill, gave the donation, and took the book.
So these books are all-attractive. We should not be afraid that there might be something in the books
that might put the people off or might seem a little too extreme for them. We should have full faith that
Śrīla Prabhupāda knew exactly what he was doing. Śrīla Prabhupāda translated these books every day in
the morning hours, giving his purports with the mood of reaching out to the public. Who is a better
preacher than Śrīla Prabhupāda? He knew exactly what he was doing. He said, “I did not write these
books; Kṛṣṇa wrote these books.”
So we should know that if we just present the books as they are, try to attract the people to the books
as best we can, explain to them as much philosophy as they are able to take, and just glorify the books,
then people will be attracted and will buy them.
* * *
Cāru-candra Dāsa
While distributing books at LAX, I suddenly saw Mike Tyson walking right toward me,
accompanied by six bodyguards. I approached him, broke through the circle of bodyguards, and started
my presentation. Tyson was nice, but his bodyguards pushed me to the side. Determined not to let him
go without having received Lord Caitanya’s mercy, I worked my way through those guys again and
started my presentation a second time. I told him I was a monk and asked him for a donation. “Yeah,
72
sure!” he replied and told one of his guys to give me a donation. The guy pulled out a roll of big bills
and gave me one, and Mike Tyson walked away with a Bhagavad-gītā in his enormous hand.
* * *
Chowpatti Book Distribution
One day tow of our young brahmacārīs, Vinoth and Venkatesh (both age 17), went for door-to-door
book distribution as usual.
Vinoth knocked on a door and a person came out, to whom he showed the Bhagavad-gītā.
“No, no!” the person exclaimed. “We’re Muslims. We won’t buy this.”
Vinoth replied, “This book is not meant only for Hindus. ISKCON has so many devotees who are
not Hindus. Whatever is described in the Bhagavad-gītā is scientific.” Then he explained about the
Gītā’s descriptions of the soul and God.
“But we have our Koran.”
“That’s good. But the Koran is like a preliminary study. You get some understanding, but not all the
detail. The Vedas give all the detail, and the Bhagavad-gītā is a summary of all knowledge—if you
know this, nothing more is to be known.”
The convinced Muslim invited the boys into his house, gave them a seat, and listened further to what
they had to say. Later he took a copy of the Bhagavad-gītā.
* * *
Ekeśvara Dāsa
I stopped a guy in the street. When I started talking to him he at first seemed puzzled, but then he
told me, “I know Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. I’ve been reading them since I was a kid. My mother and
father used to talk to me about Kṛṣṇa, but now they’re very covered.”
I said, “Why don’t you come to the temple to talk some more?”
“I’m not ready yet.”
“Yes you are!” I replied.
He left smiling, but not speaking a word.
The next day the temple devotees told me there was a guy in the temple doing service who said he
had met me the previous day on the street. I said, “Please call him; invite him to take mahā-prasādam
with me.”
While we honored prasādam he told me what had happened the day before: “Last week, before I met
you, I asked Kṛṣṇa to show me His desire through the Supersoul. I prayed to Him that what He showed
me should be very clear and not born from a dream of my creation. Yesterday, before I met you, I was
thinking ‘Today will be the day.’ So when I saw you in the street I thought, ‘OK, there’s a devotee, but
if he doesn’t approach me I’ll know I’m not yet going to get the sign I’m looking for.’
“So I passed near you as you presented some books to a person, and when I came back after an hour
or so you came up to me, and after I’d played the fool, pretending I didn’t know Kṛṣṇa, my heart
couldn’t take it any more and I told you my personal life. Then when I told you I wasn’t ready to visit
the temple and you replied ‘Yes you are!’ I began to feel a growing compulsion to visit the temple. The
next day I couldn’t restrain it, and so I ran to the temple.”
I was amazed by his account for the following reason: After the first time he passed me, it was so
cold that I moved to a place with some sun. Then after an hour something told me to return to the
previous place, and I was there when he returned so I could approach him.
73
Who can understand the wonderful plan of our Lord Nityānanda?
* * *
Lakṣmīvān Dāsa (Czech Republic)
In Cesky Tesin, on a busy parking lot, I approached a stressed-out-looking businessman. After he

rejected the proffered book with the oft-used comment “No time!” I used a heavy maneuver to respond:
“You don’t have time because time has you. Therefore you should stop now!”
He slowed down. I showed him the Bhagavad-gītā, pointed to a picture of Arjuna, and explained,
“He was in a similarly stressful situation.” The businessman slowed up and finally stopped, at which
point I quickly explained to him: “Arjuna is like us, and his best friend Kṛṣṇa gave him expert advice on
how to solve the karma problem and the time problem.” Sensing a spark of interest, I quickly presented
the set of books I had with me and told him the price. Mr. No Time gave a good donation, shook my
hand, and drove off with a stack of fifteen books.
* * *
Pārtha-sārathi Dāsa
It was time for my post-deployment mental-health assessment with a military psychologist. I really
didn’t want to go to this appointment. It would involve me and a doctor sitting down and talking about
what happened while I was in Iraq. Still, I had to go.
I walked into the doctor’s office, and he greeted me and asked me to sit down. I put down my
backpack and took a seat.
“So, how ya doing?” he asked.
“Good, how are you?”
“Good, thanks.”
At this point I decided to turn the tables on him: “Yes,” I replied, “but could you be doing better?”
“Yes, I guess I could be.”
Then I asked him about his life, and he started telling me all about it.
Then I asked, “Do you have an interest in spiritual life.”
“No,” came the reply.
I let him have it: “The reason why you’re unhappy is because you lack God consciousness.”
As the session went on we discussed more and more about spiritual life. I reached into my bag,
brought out a Bhagavad-gītā, and asked him. “Have you ever seen this book?”
“No,” he replied, “but the cover is very interesting.”
I went on to explain about how Arjuna was a soldier in a difficult situation, and how he resolved his
psychological and emotional crisis.
The doctor held the book and scanned through the pages, listening intently as I explained the
philosophy. Finally our time was up.
“Can I keep the book?” he asked.
“Sure, no problem. But most people give a donation.”
He thanked me for the nice talk and gave a nice donation.
That evening I got a call. Seemed I had to go back for another assessment because of the “stunt” I’d
pulled.
Next day I walked into the doctor’s office and was greeted by a serious-looking man. “I’m your
doctor,” he said, “and you won’t pull what you did yesterday on me.”
74
“Ok,” I said, “I will take this seriously.”
I sat down in his office as he went over my post-deployment health survey. He looked surprised. So I
asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t understand,” he said. “Usually when I have to evaluate someone who has seen so many
horrific situations as you, they’re a mess. But you’re smiling, happy, focused. How are you dealing with
all this?”
“I’m a Hare Kṛṣṇa,” I replied, “and by reading the ancient Vedic texts and chanting the mahā-
mantra I’m able to deal with all the death and suffering I’ve seen.”
For the next twenty minutes I explained the science of bhakti-yoga to him. I pulled out a Bhagavad-
gītā and a Chant and Be Happy from my bag and gave them to him. I also gave him my email address
and said I would do a reevaluation of him in a week to see what he learned. Then I walked out. I looked
in his window from the outside, and there he was, deeply absorbed in reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.
————————————————
Another incident took place when I got involved with what the military calls a “Finance Brief.” This
occurs when you resign from the military and they wonder about your finances.
I had to go to a mandatory finance brief because I resigned from the Army. The woman walked in
and commanded everyone being “chaptered” (i.e., being discharged prematurely from the military for
some reason) to move to the front. She had a very heavy personality, and I of course followed her
instructions. She said, “No sergeant, only chapter cases sit there.”
I said, “Ma’am I’m also a chapter case.”
She looked puzzled. The brief was long and boring; I read the Caitanya-caritāmṛta on my iPod
throughout.
She called us up one at a time. When I got to her desk I saw I was her very last case. She closed the
door and said, “You’re a Sergeant First Class. What are you doing in this room with all the privates? I
read your file. Are you the Hare Kṛṣṇa they’re talking about?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“What’s your deal?” she asked. “Why would you give up that rank to be a monk? I don’t understand.
My husband is trying to get promoted, and here you are—young, a fast-tracker—and you’re walking
away.”
“We all have a calling,” I explained. “While the military gave me many skills, I’ve learned that this
human life is meant for God consciousness. The books we study are not ordinary books. They change
people’s lives. They are the literary incarnation of God, and they will give you a new understanding of
life.”
She listened and asked many nice questions about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and also about Śrīla
Prabhupāda. She’d heard about a soldier who was becoming a monk, and about the really powerful
books he was giving people. “You know,” she said, “I’ve been curious about those books for some
time.”
“Do you want one of them?”
She smiled and said, “Oh, why, do you have one?”
I took out a Perfection of Yoga and a copy of Bhakti: The Art of Eternal Love and handed them to
her.
“Thank you!” she exclaimed, smiling ear to ear.
As I walked to my next appointment I thought how kind Śrīla Prabhupāda is. We have no ability to
give out his mercy, but he is so merciful that these books distribute themselves. After all, Kṛṣṇa is all-
attractive. How can anyone resist Him?
75
* * *
Prāṇa Nātha Dāsa
Some weeks ago the situation in our city, Sao Paulo, became very critical. This city of over twenty
million people is considered very violent. There’s a terrorist group called PCC, most of whose members
are in the prisons in our state. Annually on Mother’s Day they’re allowed to leave prison to visit they’re
families. But this year on Mother’s Day they pulled off a big terrorist act, killing more than 140 people
and detonating bombs in many police stations. More than fifty prisons were in emergency situations, and
more than thirty buses were burned. Everybody was scared.
But the next day everyone thought the situation was under control, so we went out to distribute
books on the local buses, as usual. After midday the attacks started again, and many people told us,
“Please, young boys, go home and protect yourselves.” People were taking off from work early.
Everything started to close. There were no buses on the streets, so we went back to the temple. We did
bhajan and kīrtana before the Deity of the Supreme Lord, asking for protection because our temple
president was a police officer and his brother, a pūjārī, worked at a prison.
The next day things were better and everybody went back to work. So we went out on book
distribution again. We went to a train station. Many people were there, and after midday many police
officers started to set up a little base there. People were scared, and we asked, “What’s going on?”
A policeman said, “You don’t know? Today the prisoners are coming back to prison and will be
dropped at this station.”
We thought, “OK, this is a very good opportunity to ‘send Kṛṣṇa to prison.’” Many of the prisoners
started to come, and the result was ecstatic: both policemen and criminals took books! We had a very
nice time on this transcendental adventure of book distribution.
* * *
Rome Book Distribution
One Sunday the temple president of Rome, Līlānanda Prabhu, was speaking to a guest who began
spouting all kinds Māyāvādī nonsense. As the guest droned on, Līlānanda became more and more angry
to hear the garbage coming out of his mouth. Then a bhakta named Corrado came by and began
listening to the man. Corrado said to him, “I think the solution is that you should purchase a Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam set.” The man asked about it, and Bhakta Corrado briefly described it. The man then asked
how much it was, heard the price of $300, and said, “All right, I’ll take it.”
Līlānanda’s jaw hit the ground. He couldn’t believe that this total Māyāvādī, who just seconds
earlier was making his blood boil, would on a moment’s notice buy an entire Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam set,
twenty-seven books. And on top of that, from a new bhakta!
Just goes to show how merciful Lord Caitanya is.
* * *
Sthānu Dāsa (Sofia, Bulgaria)
In 1994 I asked the temple president, “What is the best service I can do.”
He said, “Prabhupāda is most pleased by book distribution.”
76
“But I have my job.” While living in the temple I kept my good-paying job as manager of a printing
company.
The president said, “This is not so important. If you distribute Prabhupāda’s books you’ll be doing a
great service to Kṛṣṇa.”
The next day I went to my workplace and told my boss, in as nice a way as possible, that I was
quitting. (We actually had a nice relationship.) He was very upset that I was quitting and asked if I
wanted a pay raise. “No, I now want to distribute books that will help people in their spiritual lives.”
“OK, if that’s what you want then do it, but if you ever want to come back to your job, you’re more
than welcome.”
Twelve years later I saw my former boss on saṅkīrtana. He asked me, “So, you’re still distributing
those books?
“Yes, and I would like you to take some also.” I handed him five books, and he enthusiastically took
all of them and gave a nice donation. A happy ending and the beginning of his spiritual life.
* * *
Tulasī Devī Dāsī is one of the boldest book distributors in our society. She is extremely confident,
intelligent, fearless, and nice, all at the same time. She could probably write her own book.
I stopped a boy about twenty years old, with a backpack, long hair, and jeans.
Before I could say a word he exclaimed, “No! No! I’m already saved! I’ve been saved for four years
now. I don’t need that—I have Jesus!”
So I said, “Great! You been backpacking for long?”
“I’ve been spending a little time visiting friends in different places, but now I have to go back to my
family.”
“Real family members always stay close—spiritually, not just because our material bodies are
related. Your real family is a spiritual family.”
He really liked this idea, since he wasn’t feeling very close to his material family anymore.
Then I showed him part one of the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and told him, “You’ll love the
story of Nārada Muni—how he became detached from his family by the Lord’s mercy.” I explained a
little of the story, and then I showed him the verse and purport describing how the little boy Nārada,
after his mother died, traveled all over while remembering and following the instructions of great saintly
persons who’d visited his home. I showed him the place in the purport where Śrīla Prabhupāda says, “It
is the duty of a mendicant . . . to experience all varieties of God’s creation by traveling alone through all
forests, hills, towns, villages, etc., to gain faith in God and strength of mind as well as to enlighten the
inhabitants with the message of God.”
When I started to say more about Nārada, the boy said, “Stop! Stop! Don’t say anymore. Don’t tell
me what happens to Nārada; let me read it for myself. How much do you want?”
————————————————
I met a lady who’s been a professor of the Bhagavad-gītā for thirty years. “Oh, I love the Bhagavad-
gītā,” she said. “I read it every day.”
“Whose translation do you read?” I asked her.
“Oh, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. It’s up to each person to feel the words, and that’s the right
meaning for you.” She went on like this for a couple of minutes.
77
Finally I showed a sour face and said, “What’s this ‘feeling’ garbage? Whatever you feel?! How
many years have our feelings misled us and gotten us into trouble? How long do you want to drag it out
with these stupid feelings?”
She finally snapped out of it and said, “Yes, you’re right. My feelings have been getting me into
trouble all day long and for many years.”
I continued, “And how about the kids nowadays with their feelings, which are just like those of
animals—have sex with anyone and eat anything and exploit anyone? So what are these stupid
feelings?”
She admitted it was pretty ridiculous and took a book.
————————————————
I approached a Jewish lady and tried to present a book. “No, thank you. I’m sorry, I’m Jewish.”
I had been watching her husband, who had walked away and was ogling some girls.
I said to her, “I was about to chastise your husband for looking at all the women. Very improper!”
Suddenly she showed a lot of interest in what I had to say and listened carefully. After I’d pulled her
in more and more, she bought a book. As she was giving the donation her husband saw us from a
distance and immediately started yelling at her to stop. Afterwards he continued to yell at her for getting
a Hare Kṛṣṇa book. She didn’t care.
————————————————
I was trying to get a businessman to take a book. He said, “No, I have no time. Too busy—so many
things to do.”
“I have the perfect story for you,” I replied, and pulled out the Seventh Canto volume with the story
of Prahlāda and Hiraṇyakaśipu. I showed him the picture of Hiraṇyakaśipu standing on his toes, turning
into a skeleton buried under an anthill, just to become the most powerful and wealthy person in the
universe. Then I showed him the picture of Prahlāda sitting on his lap and described how his father had
tried to teach him the ins and outs of business, how to manipulate friends and enemies, etc., by sending
him to the best business school.
Then I said, “When Hiraṇyakaśipu asked Prahlāda what was the best thing he’d learned in school,
saintly Prahlada calmly told his big proud dad, “Dad, you should just go to the forest and meditate and
obtain the highest perfection and pleasure of life.”
Now the businessman really got into the līlā, especially when I explained how Hiraṇyakaśipu’s
greed and desire overwhelmed him and how he tried to kill saintly Prahlāda, who simply took shelter of
God and was protected. The man was very impressed with the līlā and took a book.
————————————————
I stopped a Christian couple in their late twenties. I handed a book to the man. The lady wasn’t
interested and disdainfully pushed away the book I tried to hand her: “No, thank you. Not interested.”
Finally she grabbed the book from her husband’s hands and thrust it back at me: “Let’s go.”
She was rather overpowering, so he had to go along with her. When she saw she had him under
control, she headed down the stairs, thinking he was behind her. He followed for a couple of steps, but
then he suddenly turned and bolted up the stairs and pulled me to the side so she couldn’t see us.
Speaking softly, he said, “Yesterday the doctors told me I have terminal cancer.”
78
I only had a few seconds, so I quickly said, “You have no time to waste! You have to get serious
about life, study spiritual knowledge, learn about karma and reincarnation, find out as much as you can
about God, learn how to get closer to Him. No time to waste with this ‘Well, I’m a Christian’ stuff. Get
serious!”
He hurriedly replied, “Yes, I believe in karma and these things. That’s why I want a book!”
So I quickly sold him a book before his wife freaked out.
————————————————
I stopped six college students—two boys and four girls. They gathered around me and we got into
talking about self-realization, vegetarianism, etc. All ears. Then one of them said that swimming naked
was being natural and spiritual.
“No!” I protested. “We believe in the chastity of women—protecting women from being exploited.
And if your goal is self-realization but you run around naked you are definitely going to be in illusion
that you are a man and she is a woman and vice versa. Then you will want to enjoy or exploit each
other’s bodies.”
The girls immediately objected, “No, when we are all in the sweat lodges together our consciousness
is not like that. It is very pure and spiritual.” The boys wholeheartedly agreed.
Then I asked the boys, “So, if these girls were all big fat old women, would you be so enthusiastic to
go? Would you think it was still very spiritual? Would you still go?!!”
Finally the boys honestly admitted, “No.”
Then I turned to the girls: “You see, exposed.”
Then I said to all of them: “When you are completely pure, these things won’t affect you. But who’s
on that platform? You’ll know you’re on that platform when you feel as much love for a rat—the soul in
a rat’s body—as you do for a beautiful boy or girl. So are any of you like that?”
They all started laughing: “Ewww! How gross! No.”
“So unless you are like that, we should act and dress in ways that will not put one another into
illusion and result in our cheating and exploiting one another. Personally, I want pure love, not
exploitive so-called love.”
They all took books, and an hour later they all showed up at the temple, where they took prasādam,
heard class, danced and chanted before the Deities, and stayed for a few hours talking with devotees.
————————————————
While distributing at a university I stopped a girl and a boy holding hands. The usual happened: the
girl pulled the boy away. Then I said, “Oh, you must be boyfriend and girlfriend.”
They giggled, liking that, and looked at each other with puppy-dog eyes.
“Yeah, I could tell you weren’t married yet because you two still like each other, holding hands and
carrying on. Once you get married, it’s all over. Soon you can’t stand each other and fight about every
little thing.”
They laughed.
“That’s why you need to get into self-realization—to understand yourself and others on a deeper
level. Otherwise you’ll just get bored and start to hate each other. Your cute dimples and mannerisms
will become obnoxious.”
They laughed again in agreement and eagerly took a book.
* * *
79
Vijaya Dāsa
I was distributing door-to-door in Brisbane, Australia. When I knocked on one door, and a man
opened it and saw the Bhagavad-gītā in my hand: “Sorry,” he said, “not interested. I’m a Satan
worshiper.”
I said, “You worship Satan? This book is all about God, so you should know your enemy. You
should know what you’re up against.”
“Good point. How much do you want for it?”
He gave $20. Hopefully, when he read the words of Kṛṣṇa and Śrīla Prabhupāda, he understood the
reality—that Kṛṣṇa is his best friend, not his enemy.
————————————————
I approached a man at the Los Angeles airport and offered him the Bhagavad-gītā. He said, “Oh,
yes, I’m familiar with the Gītā.”
I asked, “Have you read it?
“I’ve read parts of it.”
“So why don’t you read the whole thing?”
“It’s not where I’m at right now. Maybe you can answer a question for me. What happens to a
person who commits suicide?”
“He becomes a ghost.”
“You’ve confirmed what I heard from a friend. About three months ago I was really close to
committing suicide. I had met this girl who tore up my heart, subtly.”
I said, “This book will definitely pick you up and help you out of the bewildered state of
consciousness that would bring you to that point.”
“What word did you say?”
“Bewildered.”
“That’s it! I was completely bewildered. But I don’t want the Bhagavad-gītā. I don’t want any
spiritual guidance. I just want to depend on fate.”
“Fate is controlled by God, and he is coming to you right now in the form of the Gītā to help you get
your life together. Yet you’re refusing it!”
He pulled the book out of my hands and opened it up at random to see what message he would get.
He opened it to verse 7.13 and read the translation out loud. Then he began reading the purport. He
stopped when he read, “‘Those who are bewildered by these three modes of material nature cannot
understand that transcendental to this material nature is the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa.’ There’s that word
again—‘bewildered.’”
“Practically everyone in this world is bewildered,” I said, “but the Bhagavad-gītā is meant to help us
get out of this bewildered condition.”
Again he opened the book at random to see if another eye-opener would pop out. Sure enough, it
did. He read to me from the Introduction: “‘Out of so many human beings who are suffering, there are a
few who are actually inquiring about their position, as to what they are, why they are put into this
awkward position and so on. Unless one is awakened to this position of questioning his suffering, unless
he realizes that he doesn’t want suffering but rather wants to make a solution to all suffering, then one is
not to be considered a perfect human being.’
“All right, you got me,” he said with a smile. “I’ll take a Gītā. You know, from just talking to you
for the past ten minutes and reading a few sentences from this book, I feel happier than I have in a long
time.”
80
————————————————
A couple of devotees were on traveling saṅkīrtana. One night while asleep in their van they heard a
knock on the door. One of the devotees opened the door to find two policemen. One asked gruffly,
“What are you doing here?”
Ignoring the question, the devotee smiled and showed some books to the cops, explaining how they
would benefit so much if they gave a donation and took the books. Which they did.
This is an amazing example of someone completely absorbed in preaching. Although awakened
unexpectedly at 1:00 AM by the cops, who were obviously looking for some criminal, he never lost his
composure but distributed several books to them. This is samādhi.
What this devotee did is very important for all saṅkīrtana devotees to remember. Quite often when
we’re distributing, a person will question us in a challenging mood. The best response is to smile and
ask him a question right back, or just go straight to presenting the books, as this devotee did.
For instance, you might approach someone who immediately challenges: “What do you want?” You
might respond with a smile and ask, “Are you from here?” Sometimes such a response will throw him
off and he’ll end up taking a book. Sometimes to such a question I respond, “Oh, I’m out here today to
see how friendly people are.” When he realizes he wasn’t being very friendly, he’ll sometimes soften up
and take a book.
—————————————————
Here’s another example of boldness and quick thinking. I was on a japa walk with Jayādvaita Swami
in New York City. We had just left the Brooklyn temple when a police car pulled up next to us. One of
the policemen asked, “Hey, what do ya have to give up to become a Hare Kṛṣṇa?”
“Suffering!” replied Mahārāja without missing a beat.
“Well, that sounds good.”
“And if you want to know more about it, we have a temple just a couple of blocks down the street,
on the left.”
When we returned to the temple, the devotees told us that two policemen had come and bought some
books. I was amazed.
——————————————————
“Excuse me, sir.”

“Yes? [Ring, ring.] Sorry, I just got a call.”
Cell phones! Argggh! Everyone has one, even ten-year-olds. It’s unbelievable.
Sometimes there are two or three people walking along our sacred saṅkīrtana areas, each one talking
on a phone. They consider it an affront if someone interrupts them while they’re on the phone, so we
usually just let them pass. When I’m speaking to someone and we’re interrupted by a cell-phone call, I
want to grab the thing and throw it about a block away and tell the person the book is more important.
But I can’t do that, which means 99% of the time the transcendental exchange is finished.
Today as I was distributing in Manchester, England, I saw so many people walking around with
these obstacles to the saṅkīrtana mission. Then I remembered an incident that happened in Santa
Monica, California, some time back:
I saw a man coming toward me who looked spiritually inclined, so I decided to speak to him. Just
then his cell phone rang, but since I was a little fired up, I thought, “Let me try anyway.”
As he talked to the person on the other end I said, “Excuse me.” He politely asked his friend to hold
and asked me what I wanted. I presented The Science of Self-Realization to him and briefly explained its
contents. By now his friend on the phone was trying to get his attention.
81
The man said to his friend, “I’ll be with you in a minute. Someone is selling me a book.”
I continued showing him the SSR. He was interested and asked intelligent questions. Finally he
thanked me, gave a healthy donation, and went on his way with the mercy of Lord Gaurāṅga. After a
few steps he redialed his friend and continued his phone conversation. No cell-phone blues there.
Often I distribute while sitting at a table on a college campus. Sometimes students who are on the
phone come over to look at my displays on karma, meditation, and reincarnation, and if they show some
interest I’ll say, “Put him on hold for ten seconds and I’ll show you this book.” Ninety percent of the
time they just tell their friend, “I’ll call you back” or “Wait a minute.” Then I show them the book, and
quite often they take it.
————————————————
At Bhagavad-gītā 3.15 Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “The all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in
acts of sacrifice.” Human life is meant not for working hard to maintain the body but for reawakening
our eternal relationship with the Lord and then going back to Godhead. All this can be achieved by acts
of divine sacrifice. The best sacrifice is to please the pure devotee. Fortunately for us, we’ve been given
that chance. Śrīla Prabhupāda has left us with as much service as we like—if we like. It is entirely up to
us.
While distributing books at Irvine Valley College, in Southern California, I met an interested person
who bought a Science of Self-Realization and then went to his class. An hour later he returned and
wanted to return the book. He said he didn’t agree with Śrīla Prabhupāda that illicit sex leads to
materialism. I asked, “Do you believe in God?”
“No, I’m a devout atheist.”
I replied, “This universe is so perfectly arranged that for millions of years the sun has been radiating
heat and light throughout the solar system and it will continue to do so for millions of years into the
future. The scientists say it all began with the Big Bang. What happens when there is an explosion?”
“Destruction, chaos.”
“So how can all this order come from a big bang?”
In so many ways I explained to him that the complex arrangement of nature couldn’t have come
about by accident. After awhile he agreed that there might be a God.
Then I said, “So, if there’s a God then one should use sex not for some selfish purpose but to please
Him by having a child who will be raised in God consciousness. Millions of children are killed every
year in the womb because of uncontrolled sex desire—exploiting the opposite sex. Every year millions
of people contract venereal disease, all in the name of so-called love. What people call love is mostly
lust. Otherwise, why is it that more than half of all marriages in the USA end in divorce? Lust means
selfish desire.”
“Ok, sure, I agree that people exploit others to satisfy their sex desire.” After a pause he added: “You
know, there are so many religions all over the world, but you Hare Kṛṣṇas are the only ones I’ll support,
because you don’t condemn nonbelievers and you have a good philosophy, not just sentiment.”
He kept the book—Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.
[End of Chapter Three: “Be Bold for Kṛṣṇa”]
82
Chapter Four
A Change of Heart
It is natural that one undergoes a change of heart after receiving one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.
We may not see the change right away, but Prabhupāda said that one who simply touches one of his
books will benefit, what to speak of reading it. The whole process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is meant to
bring about a change of heart.
Not only do those who receive Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books experience a change of heart, but so do the
book distributors. They become more aware of Kṛṣṇa’s presence everywhere, and thus their hearts
become purified. In general, book distributors become more Kṛṣṇa conscious. As all distributors will
agree, book distribution means taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa, praying to Kṛṣṇa.
When we’re on book distribution we see our anarthas as clear as day, as if in a mirror. We see our
material attachments, our lust and greed, our envy and pride. I’ve noticed that when I’m not doing
saṅkīrtana these “rascals” can remain tucked away so that I don’t see them as much. But when they’re
visible we can try to eliminate them. Of course, I’m not saying that those who don’t regularly distribute
books won’t also see these anarthas and eliminate them, but what I’ve found is that in general for book
distributors the process is quicker and more intense.
At Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.10–11 Sūta Gosvāmī says:
na yad vacaś citra-pādaṁ harer yaśo

jagat-pavitraṁ pragṛṇīta karhicit
tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham uśanti mānasā
na yatra haṁsā niramanty uśik-kṣayāḥ
tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo
yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api
nāmāny anantasya yaśo ’ṅkitāni yat
śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ
“Those words which do not describe the glories of the Lord, who alone can sanctify the atmosphere of
the whole universe, are considered by saintly persons to be like unto a place of pilgrimage for crows.
Since the all-perfect persons are inhabitants of the transcendental abode, they do not derive any pleasure
there.
“On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the
name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of
transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s
misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard,
sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.”
The knowledge contained in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books brings about a revolution in the heart. It
changes those fortunate people who receive it into swans. We come into this world as crows trying to
enjoy the garbage of sense gratification, but if we submissively hear the words of Kṛṣṇa and distribute
them, then gradually the crow feathers will turn into swan feathers and we’ll fly in the spiritual sky of
devotional service.
In His Śikṣāṣṭaka Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, “All glories to the śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana, which
cleanses the heart of all the dirt accumulated for years together.” Hearing about Kṛṣṇa is what will
cleanse people’s hearts. Now they are hearing so much nonsense and their hearts are getting dirtier and
84
Chapter 4: A Change of Heart
dirtier. We want to replace all this literature dear to crows with the literature dear to swans, namely that
literature coming from Kṛṣṇa and His devotees.
* * *
Śrīla Prabhupāda letter, 18 November 1972
“The thing is, our main business is to distribute books, either here or there it doesn’t matter. So if
there is transcendental competition for increasing sale of books, that is good. If he buys one book his life
may be turned, that is best preaching work.”
* * *
His Holiness Devāmrita Swami
A devotee in New Zealand had just received his masters degree in accounting, a degree based on his
masters thesis, Spiritual Accounting. At the masters and Ph.D. levels accounting means not number
crunching but dealing with the precepts underlying the entire accounting system. The new wave of
accounting attacks the old school, which concerns itself only with financial profit and loss. The new
school says accounting should concern itself not only with financial profit and loss but also with
evaluating the costs and benefits relating to the environment and people’s health and inner happiness.
The devotee presented his thesis at an international scholars’ conference and had to defend his
openly Vaiṣṇava-based presentation against a top gun in the new school, an Indian lady Māyāvādī who
insisted that Kṛṣṇa is fictitious and that the only solution to the global problems is thus to realize that
“everything is connected to everything else”—as pure undifferentiated oneness.
Our devotee “contained her” in an appropriately scholarly way and then walked off the podium and
into the audience. He went on a “victory tour” among the professors there, distributing Prabhupāda’s
Gītā to many while asking and getting on-the-spot donations. (I’m amazed at his nerve—to be so bold in
such an arena!) His final sale was to the Indian Māyāvādī scholar herself. He told her: “Take a look at a
real Gītā.” She meekly replied, “How much?”
Amidst international scholarly accolades and urges that he continue the same research as a Ph.D., he
has opted, at least for a while, to follow his own dream: to be a simple brahmacārī book distributor.
* * *
Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote, “If they purchase a book and if they read just one page, their lives will be
changed.”
I opened a temple in Minneapolis in 1976, and devotees distributed downtown and at the airport.
Minneapolis is world-famous for its Mayo Clinic, which is the best cancer hospital in the world. Thus
many people fly there for diagnosis and treatment.
I was the temple president at the time and was distributing at the airport during the marathon. I
stopped a couple and gave them a Gītā, explaining that the book was about understanding ourselves
better, really getting to know who you are. The man was very somber, and his wife appeared sad also. It
seemed they were listening to me because they had nothing else to do, and in the end she asked him to
buy the book and they went away, almost dejected. I continued to sell books and forgot about them.
85
An hour later, as I was speaking to someone, I noticed that the woman had returned with the Gītā in
her hand. I thought she wanted to return the book and get her money back. After I finished the sale she
came up to me and with tears in her eyes said, “I just want to thank you for giving me this book. What I
have read in the last half hour means so much to me.”
I asked her to explain. It seems that she had come with her husband to the Mayo Clinic and had been
diagnosed with very serious cancer. Perhaps it was terminal. She had been hopeless. “But this book,”
she said, “has shown me that it is my body that has cancer and that I, the soul, am neither sick nor will
die. That has given me so much strength that I can now live with this disease. I know that even if this
body dies I’ll continue to live. Thank you so much.”
Just then her husband came and shook my hand and also thanked me, adding, “You are doing
wonderful work with your books. Keep it up. It has meant a lot to my wife.” They then left for their
flight, much more peaceful than at our first meeting.
This is the power of transcendental knowledge: It changes peoples lives and is the basis for their
future Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Please distribute many books. That is the only hope to bring people relief
from this mad, mad world.
—————————————————
There was a person who used to throw rocks at our temple in Los Angeles and harass the devotees.
One day a devotee physically chastised him quite heavily. He was so impressed with the devotee that he
became a devotee himself. His name was Ruci Dāsa, a successful book distributor.
—————————————————
Śrīla Prabhupāda gives an example of having a positive attitude: A sādhu was doing mādhukarī door
to door and a man gave him ashes. The sādhu sincerely thanked him and was turning to leave when the
man said, “Why have you thanked me? I gave you only ashes.”
“Because you have begun the process of giving.”
—————————————————
Long ago when I was regularly doing saṅkīrtana in the train station, the same policeman would
repeatedly kick me out. One day he caught me and said, “Don’t you understand that you should not be
here. Today you’re going to jail.”
“Listen,” I said, “my job is to sell these books and yours is to kick me out. You should thank me for
giving you employment. If I’m in jail, you will be out of a job.”
The policeman laughed and sent me away. I walked out one door and came back through another. It
was a good place for book distribution.
* * *
Ācārya Dāsa
While on traveling saṅkīrtana, I approached a middle-aged couple sitting at an outdoor cafe. They
vociferously refused to take the books, and I went somewhere else. After an hour I saw the same man
leaning against the wall of the supermarket and asked him, “Are you waiting for me?”
“No, I am waiting for my little one.”
86
“Well, here,” I said, “we’re showing these to everyone,” and I handed him a Perfection of Yoga.
“No, no, I won’t read it.”
“Why? Check it out. It’s just a small book: you can read it very quickly. It’s also a very important
book.” Then I handed him Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers.
He looked at it and read aloud, “‘Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers.’ Actually, I have been looking
for answers, but I couldn’t find any for what happened. One week ago my very best friend took a knife
and killed himself.” The guy’s eyes filled with tears at this point.
“So, please read it,” I said. “These books answer all the questions you may have in life.”
“Yeah, something is definitely wrong with this world.”
“Yes, you should read the book and see the alternative.”
We talked for a while more and he took both books.
* * *
Aiśvarya Dāsa
I was distributing books in front of a post office in Germany. I tried to show the books to a
businessman stepping out of his car. He was in his mid-fifties, well-to-do, and very tense and
businesslike.
“You are all cheaters and rascals!” he shouted. “I don’t want to get involved in this. You’re all a
bunch of hypocrites. It’s all bogus.”
So I said, “What? What are you talking about? This is the Bhagavad-gītā, ancient philosophy from
India.”
“Yes, yes, India,” he said. “I know all these yogīs and swamis and gurus, and this is all cheating.
Tell me, which guru is the head of your organization?”
“His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,” I replied.
“Really?” he said. “Swami Prabhupāda? Then I take back everything I said. I have great respect for
that man. Show me what books you have.”
I showed him. Then I asked him, “Do you know Śrīla Prabhupāda?”
He said, “I can tell you why I like this man. It’s because I read his book Life Comes from Life. In that
book he calls modern leaders hogs, dogs, camels, asses, rascals, cheaters, and hypocrites. And he defeats
them all—the scientists, the philosophers, the religionists. He tells the truth straight to their face.”
He was very happy with Śrīla Prabhupāda, and he took two books.
—————————————————
A short time later I was distributing in Malaysia. Preaching in Malaysia is more of an art than in
most places. In Malaysia, a Muslim country, devotees are not allowed to distribute books to Muslims or
preach to them. Anyone else is OK. If someone from another faith converts a Muslim, there can be
trouble both for both the converter and the person converted. Even in Lord Caitanya’s day this problem
arose with Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He had been born a Muslim but became a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa, and so
the Muslim government tried to kill him.
A Muslim lady came across a devotee distributing Bhagavad-gītās. She had heard of the Gītā and
wanted to compare its teachings with those of the Koran, of which she was a very devout follower. The
devotee was a little reluctant to give it to her because he knew it could mean trouble, but then he
thought, “Kṛṣṇa will protect.”
As she read the Gītā over the ensuing days, she would often think, “Yes, this is also in the Koran.”
She would read a little further and again find the same teachings as those in the Koran. But as she
87
continued she would also find very interesting concepts not found in the Koran. By the time she finished
the Bhagavad-gītā she was convinced that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest truth.
Now what to do? She decided to become a devotee—a “closet” devotee. In Kuala Lumpur we have
the biggest Ratha-yātrā in Malaysia (there are more than twenty a year throughout the county), and this
mātājī was the main actress in a drama performed after the parade. She was well disguised.
————————————————
An Orthodox Christian monk in Kiev, Ukraine, became attracted to Kṛṣṇa consciousness after
getting a Bhagavad-gītā. He tried to live in the temple as a brahmacārī, but the lifestyle was too foreign
to him. So he went back to live in the Christian monastery while continuing to chant sixteen rounds a
day, follow all the regulations, and visit the temple often.
At one point in his life he decided that he wanted to visit India, so he started saving money for the
trip. He was a monk, so money was very scarce, but gradually he was getting the fare together. One day
someone at the temple announced that there would be a “Śāstra-dāna” meeting in the evening. He found
out from the devotees that Śāstra-dāna was a temple department that organizes the distribution of Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s books to schools, libraries, bookstores, etc. So he went to the meeting, which concluded
when a devotee asked if anyone would like to donate for the cause. The Christian devotee who had been
saving to go to India reached into his pocket and gave all his savings—seven hundred dollars. He was so
inspired to have Prabhupāda’s books distributed that he gave up his cherished desire to go to India and
surrendered everything. A fine example of selflessness.
————————————————
“A pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always thinking of how the fallen,
conditioned souls can be delivered. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, influenced by the merciful
devotees’ attempt to deliver fallen souls, enlightens the people in general from within by His causeless
mercy.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.46, purport)
All saṅkīrtana devotees cherish this very powerful and deep statement by Śrīla Prabhupāda. This is
one way that Kṛṣṇa reciprocates with saṅkīrtana devotees. If a devotee sincerely tries to spread the
glories of Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa inspires people who would otherwise not be interested in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness to respond to the devotee’s preaching efforts.
————————————————
It was getting tough, late, and passionate at a concert, but Vaikuṇṭhaloka Prabhu felt compelled to
continue. So when he offered two ladies transcendental wisdom, only to have them mouth the oft-
repeated noncommittal “I don’t know” line, he resorted to his last resort: silently screaming to Krsna for
help. “Please, please, please, Kṛṣṇa, let these souls take books. Pleeeeeeease!!!”
When Vaikuṇṭhaloka looked up he saw that the expression on one of the ladies’ faces had changed
from hesitant to excited: “How about $10 for two?”
I take the dust from Vaikuṇṭhaloka Prabhu’s lotus feet.
————————————————
88
The Happy Mantra
Once in Germany Tośana Kṛṣṇa Prabhu stopped a girl on the street and tried to present Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s books to her, but she was quite dejected and not interested. She started to talk about the
meaninglessness of life.
Tośana Kṛṣṇa said he was a Hare Kṛṣṇa monk and showed her a two-volume Kṛṣṇa book set, the
German edition of which is subtitled The Source of All Pleasure. He explained a little about Kṛṣṇa
consciousness and then said, “If you’ll just try to read one story a day, your sadness will disappear very
soon.” She decided to check it out, but she told him she had only five euros, which wasn’t enough for
both volumes. Tośana was a little hesitant, but his merciful nature prevailed and he gave them to her.
Finally he explained a little about chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa—how to do it and how it can make one happy.
She walked off with her books, but after an hour or so she was back. “I’ve been chanting the happy
mantra you gave me, and soon after I started I couldn’t control myself—I became so blissful that I
couldn’t stop laughing. And I have to confess that I had another ten euros in my wallet that I was
planning to by drugs with. But now I don’t need drugs anymore, so here’s the rest of my money.”
But this is not the end of the story.
The same girl came back the next day, still in bliss, and asked Tośana, “How can you spend so many
hours on the street every day selling books? I’ve done some advertising on the street, and I know how
tough it is to sell stuff on the street.” After listening carefully to the devotee’s explanation about the
glories of book distribution, she decided to try it herself. She took a stack of books and began
distributing them.
Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam!!
* * *
Candraśekhara Ācārya Dāsa
One morning in the Bhāgavatam class the speaker related the story of a very pious and rich Vaiṣṇava
who would always give big donations but who, while doing so, would always be very humble and look
kind of ashamed. Once a man came up to him and asked, “Why do you always look so ashamed when
you give your donations?”
He replied, “When I give donations people think I’m a very generous and pious man, but actually
I’m nothing special, since this money doesn’t belong to me but to God. I’m just His instrument, which
He uses in His service.”
I liked that story very much, and after prasādam I went out to distribute some books at LAX. I
approached a gentleman from Holland who was very nice and receptive but only had one dollar with
him. I told him he could have a paperbound book for that and he agreed, took the book, and walked
away. I continued distributing. Father half an hour he came back and said to me, “Actually, can you give
me back the dollar?” I thought he was a miser and just wanted his money back, so I gave it back to him
and he gave me the book in return.
“Now please give me the big book you showed me before,” he said.
“Sure,” I replied, ecstatic about this turn of events. As I handed over the Bhagavad-gītā, he gave me
a hundred-dollar bill. As I thanked him profusely, what he said next nearly knocked me down: “You
don’t have to thank me, young man. You shouldn’t think I’m special, since this money doesn’t belong to
me anyway but to God and He’s just using me as His instrument.”
* * *
89
Chowpatti Book Distribution
Mohan is a very senior officer in the railways of Mumbai. If he would catch a devotee distributing
books on the trains, he would heavily fine him, and if the devotee could not pay he would put him
behind bars or detain him until the devotee’s family members or authorities from the temple came and
paid the fine, for which he almost never issued a receipt. With the bribe money he would go to hotel
restaurants and pay for expensive meat dishes and liquor.
One day, he had a heart attack and barely survived. The doctors prescribed complete bed rest for
three months. His daughter gave him a Kṛṣṇa book to read while he recuperated. “God has saved you,”
she said. “Now please read about Him in this book.” Mohan read the entire book. “God is so beautiful
and nice,” he thought, and from then on he began to pray regularly. “I felt much more peaceful after
reading Kṛṣṇa book,” he says. “I then read the Bhagavad-gītā and found that all my suffering was due to
my bad karma.”
Reading the Bhagavad-gītā and Kṛṣṇa book completely changed Mohan. He gave up his bad
activities and began associating with devotees. Everyone was amazed to see such a turnaround in him.
Now during the December marathons he makes sure the devotees get all the permission they need to
distribute on the trains.
————————————————
We were distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in the coal mines when we met an officer who was a
guide to students working for their Ph.D. in Hindi literature. He had guided six students to their PhDs.
He regularly writes for the Gita Press journal and also edits their books. When we showed him the
Bhagavad-gītā he said, “I have read eight commentaries on the Bhagavad-gītā. What will you show me
that’s new?”
We pressed him to at least look at the book for a few minutes.
“OK,” he said, “I will just read the commentary of the first verse.” He began reading Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s purport to Bhagavad-gītā 1.1. After reading for just a few moments he turned to us, “This
Bhagavad-gītā is really great. It’s marvelous. Give me the entire set.”
* * *
Dwārakeśa Dāsa
I was distributing in the international terminal at the Los Angeles airport when I approached a man
coming down the escalator.
“Excuse me, sir, are you from LA or out of town?”
“Can’t you see I’m in a hurry?” he said without stopping. “Don’t bother me.” And off he went.
Two minutes later he came back and asked, “The books you have—are they spiritual?”
“Sure,” I replied.
“Oh, I didn’t know! Yes, I would like to have those books.”
I gave him three books: The Science of Self-Realization, The Journey of Self-Discovery, and The
Perfection of Yoga.
“You know, I’m really lucky I ran into you, since at this point in my life my main interest is in
spirituality.” Hearing that, I decided to also give him a Bhagavad-gītā also. He put all the books in his
bag, thanked me, and was about to leave when I said, “Usually people give donations for the books.
Could you give a donation?”
90
“Oh, I don’t have any money on me. Should I give the books back?”
“Are you going to read them?”
“Yes, I’ll definitely read them.”
“OK, here’s my address. If you could send a donation for the books, that would be nice.” I gave him
my card with the temple address.
A week later I received a letter from him thanking me for the books, with a check for a hundred
dollars.
* * *
Gokula-līlā Devī Dāsī (New Zealand)
I was distributing in the Westfield megamall parking lot and went inside because of rain. There I
found that Lord Caitanya had people awaiting Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. One of them was Roy.
When I put the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1 into his hand, he asked me if I was a Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare
Rāma. Knowing that only Indians refer to us in this way, I asked him, “Do you have an Indian wife.”
“Wow! How did you know? But no, we’re divorced.”
He told me his horrific experience of being married at age 23 to an Indian lady who demanded more
of him than he could give. He had a high position in the corporate world, but it wasn’t good enough for
her. He worked very hard, but still the money wasn’t enough.
After divorcing her he developed a strong distaste for material life. He came to the point where he
realized that everyone was under the influence of money. In an effort to escape that trap, he literally
gave away thousands of dollars to people. He even gave away his bed and would sleep on the floor!
He further expressed his realization about money and relationships, showing distaste. Seemed like
he’d never again make such mistakes in life. He liked hearing about Kṛṣṇa conscious solutions.
The exchange was flowing nicely when a beautiful Chinese girl appeared at his side. I thought, “Oh
no! Now the exchange will be finished!” Indeed, she took one look at me, Roy, and the book and he
turned to jelly.
“You’re not interested in that book, are you?” she said with disdain, and he sheepishly placed it back
in my hand.
I gave him a look that said, “Hey, you know you’re interested. Don’t forget!”
In response to the look he said, “I want to give you some money for the conversation.” He and the
girl walked to the ATM a few meters away and were conversing as he pointed toward a few directions
of the mall.
I was praying that Kṛṣṇa would kindly sort out the situation so that Roy could take the book, as he
desired.
Then I saw something I’d never seen before. With determination to finish the exchange nicely, he
put his hands on his girlfriend’s shoulder and turned her in the opposite direction . . . and she gleefully
walked away!
Roy returned to me and I said, “You know, maybe your new girlfriend will lead you down the same
track you just told me that your ex-wife did.” Roy looked shocked and relieved that someone could see
through the illusion. He asked if we could stay in contact. I gave him the contact info for our outreach
center in Auckland.
He gave a donation and took the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1. Then he went in the direction opposite to
where his girlfriend had gone to put the book in his car before she saw it.
Saṅkīrtana is like a television show displaying Māyā’s tricks.
* * *
91
Harāprāṇa Devī Dāsī
Once as I was distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in a small city in Belgium, I met a woman who
listened very emotionally as I showed her a book. “I don’t need the book. I’ve just bought some pills in
the pharmacy [she showed them to me] and am going home to commit suicide.”
“Why?!” I asked her, shocked.
“My husband has died and I can’t live without him.”
I told her about reincarnation and explained that committing suicide would not solve her problems.
“This knowledge is all in these books,” I explained. “They can be a great help and shelter for you.”
She agreed to read one of the books before taking the pills and asked me to come to her house so she
could pay for it. After she had invited me to sit down, we started a conversation. She showed me photos
of her husband, and to my amazement I came across some pictures of her and her husband visiting
Radhadesh, the main Hare Kṛṣṇa center in Belgium, during a marriage ceremony.
I said, “Hey! That’s where I live! And the girl getting married is my friend; she’s also here in town
right now.”
I went to get my devotee friend. As we spoke with the woman, she gradually became more and more
enthusiastic and bought all five books we had with us. She promised us she was going to throw the pills
away, read the books thoroughly, and keep in contact with the devotees.
She kept her promise. Now she often visits the temple, and she opens her house to any devotee who
wants to stay overnight or distribute books from there.
* * *
Juhu Temple Book Distribution
What happens when a new devotee is met by an opponent who tests him? If the devotee can answer
the challenger, he may save himself; otherwise the encounter may disturb his faith. Does this mean that
one should not preach unless he has completely mastered the philosophy? Or should one just go ahead
and depend on Lord Kṛṣṇa? The following story told by Balarāma-līlā Prabhu of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-
Rasabihārī Temple describes what happened during just such an encounter.
We were distributing books from a stall on the railway bridge during the December marathon. A
new devotee joined us for the day. He was very enthusiastic and would earnestly request everyone who
stopped at our stall to buy Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. His incomplete understanding of the deeper aspects
of the philosophy was more than compensated by his simple and spontaneous service attitude. Then a
young Maharashtrian man came to the stall.
“Please take this Bhagavad-gītā, sir,” the new devotee said to him.
The man didn’t speak at first, but when requested again he said, “The Bhagavad-gītā is flowing in
my veins. Why should I buy it from you? I know it inside out.”
Every second Indian will give the same answer to the Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees. It’s nothing new: Indians
always consider their knowledge of a few verses of the Bhagavad-gītā to comprise a complete
knowledge of the Gītā’s teachings. Generally they think that the Gītā’s message is simply to do one’s
duty and not worry about the results. So we try to help them see the Gītā from the devotional angle. The
new devotee said, “Bhagavad-gītā As It Is gives the proper meaning of the Gītā. Therefore you should
buy it.”
The man became a little angry and said, “Are you challenging me? I told you I know the Bhagavad-
gītā inside out. Come on and ask me anything you want to know.”
92
The devotee got a little scared at this challenge because he himself was anything but a scholar of the
Bhagavad-gītā. Still he mustered some courage and said, “OK, what is verse 18.66 of the Bhagavad-
gītā?” This was practically the only śloka of the Gītā he knew.
The man thought for some moments and then said, “OK, I don’t know this. But do you know?”
“Yes,” the devotee replied and cheerfully recited, “Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ
vraja . . .”
The man had nothing to say. “OK, you defeated me,” he said, “so I have to buy your book. But wait
a minute: now I will test you.”
The devotee now realized that he would be exposed. “I hardly know anything else in the Bhagavad-
gītā,” he thought. “If this man asks me something complex I’m finished. O Lord Kṛṣṇa! Please save me!
You are my only hope!” The devotee started praying earnestly for the Lord’s mercy.
The man asked, “Tell me verse number . . . ah, let me think. Ok, tell me 4.34.”
Jubilant, the devotee blurted out, “Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā/ upadekṣyanti te
jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ. ‘Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire
from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto
you because they have seen the truth.” This was the only other śloka he knew from the Bhagavad-gītā!
The man accepted defeat and left with the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.
This shows that if devotees sincerely depend upon the mercy of the Lord, they will surely be helped.
As Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja says in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, “By the mercy of the Lord a lame man can
climb mountains and a dumb man can speak eloquently.” Similarly, even a simple devotee can be
empowered to defend the mission of the Lord against the agonistics.
* * *
Madhumaṅgala Dāsa
I approached a man wearing greasy clothes and carrying a vacuum cleaner in one hand and a toolbox
in the other. I introduced myself to him, and he abruptly responded: “Sorry, not interested. Besides, I
don’t want anything to do with organized religion. I’ve had enough of it!”
I replied, “The books I have are about you and me, the spirit soul.”
But still he refused.
“Real religion is eternal,” I said, “because it has to do with the soul and his relationship with God.
There’s so much disunity among different religions because people don’t know the difference between
spirit and matter. They’re identifying with the temporary material body, thinking, ‘I’m this Jewish
body,’ ‘I’m this Christian body,’ ‘I’m this Islamic body,’ etc. But the soul has none of these identities.
His only identity is that he’s a servant of God, the father of everyone. Some people claim to have a
monopoly on God, but God is the father of everyone.”
He immediately had a change of heart: “Yes, you’re so right. Now that’s what I like to hear. I
thought you were one of those guys who was going to tell me that Jesus was the only way or something
like that. But now I can see from what you’re telling me that you’re different. You’re not like that.”
We spoke further about real religion. Then I said, “Please take one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, and
if you like you can make a donation.”
“Certainly, I would happy to,” and he handed me twenty rand. I gave him two of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s
books and a big hug. I invited him to the Sunday and Wednesday programs at the temple and told him,
“I look forward to seeing you there. Oh, and when you come, bring an appetite and your dancing shoes.”
————————————————
93
While distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books at the University of Nairobi, I approached a lady,
introduced myself, and showed her Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. She told me she was the librarian.
“Well, then, you would be interested to see these books,” I said. She read a little and told me that she
did not think she would be interested in them since she was a Christian.
“That’s all right. These books are not about religion. Religion tells you what to do. These books tell
you who you are and how to find out for yourself what to do.”
She looked at them again. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I have my own religion.”
I told her that there is only one religion, just as there is only one God, the creator of everyone. She
shook her head and looked at her friend and whispered something to him and nodded her head again. I
began to explain to her about the soul and its relationship with God. She said something to her friend
again and nodded her head.
I said, “When are you going to stop letting fear and doubt rule your life? Don’t be a Doubting
Thomas. There are so many things in this life that we’ve not yet learned about. For too long your wings
have been clipped. Grow you wings and learn to fly. Become a free spirit and learn to fly above the
temporary nature of material existence and be free.”
She kept silent for what seemed like an eternity. Then she said, “You’re right. I’ll take the book.”
She then gave me a nice donation.
* * *
Mahātmā Dāsa (Greece)
As I distributed books on one of the Greek islands, I met a lady who had gotten an Īśopaniṣad from
me on a different island a couple of years earlier. She told me she was convinced it was a very special
book, and it had stolen her heart. Here’s why:
Just before meeting me and getting the Īśo, she had split up with her husband and was heading for
divorce. But after buying that fateful Īśo and again meeting her almost ex-husband, she suddenly found
they had something in common. Earlier he had also bought an Īśopaniṣad from me and, like her, had
found it fascinating. Because of that connection, they got back together and are still living happily as I
write—putting Kṛṣṇa in the center.
* * *
Nityānanda Caraṇa Dāsa
I distribute books in the local trains of Mumbai. I prefer to directly glorify Lord Kṛṣṇa during my
announcements, and most of the time it works. Even if people don’t buy the books, they are very happy
to hear about the Lord.
Once I boarded a local train and turned toward the corner compartment, which was very small.
Three people were sitting there—an old man, a middle-aged man who was looking out the window, and
a student—and two or three people were standing.
The moment I took my first step to enter the compartment, the old man saw me and began waving
his arms, indicating “No! No!” First I felt sad at this rejection, but then I felt a rush of determination:
“Since he’s rejecting me,” I thought, “I should be even more forceful in my presentation of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness.” I clenched my jaw and stepped forward. I had The Perfection of Yoga with me. Without
mentioning anything about yoga, I straightaway began glorifying Lord Kṛṣṇa.
94
“Here is a book about Lord Kṛṣṇa, who when He was a newborn baby killed Pūtanā, when He was a
toddler killed Tṛnāvartā, and when He was a seven-year-old lifted Govardhana Hill. That same Lord
spoke the Bhagavad-gītā, and the teachings of that Bhagavad-gītā are in this book. Please take it.”
During my announcement the old man kept waving his hands. But as I continued, there was a
change: his waving slowed and his expression softened. When I reached the end of my announcement,
he completely stopped moving his hands. Then I showed him the book. He took it and brought out a ten-
rupee note and handed it to me. The man in the window seat, who had not even looked at me during the
entire announcement and seemed completely uninterested, also took out a ten-rupee note and asked for
the book. A note came from behind my shoulder and another book was gone. Out of five people in that
train compartment, four took a book!
* * *
Nityānanda-Rāma Dāsa
Another devotee and I and were distributing books in Lithuanian villages. In Darbenai, one of the
larger villages, I was going to homes that were not much more than huts. I wondered how people could
survive in such places. Hardly anyone was interested in the books.
Kṛṣṇa finally brought me to a big house with several good cars in the driveway. I met the son of the
owner, and he liked the books but didn’t have any money. He suggested I find his mother. So I shouted,
“Mistress!” as is usual in such villages. The mistress showed her face at the door. She was a huge
women, and I felt very meek in her presence.
“My son was joking,” she said. “None of us needs Kṛṣṇa. And you look suspicious.”
I convinced her to let me into the house, but she again said, “We don’t need Kṛṣṇa.”
She finally decided to get rid of me by taking a book.
The next day I went to the high school. First I met the sports teacher. I told her what the books were
about, and she enthusiastically introduced me to other teachers. The group of us gradually made it to the
library, and I put the whole set of books in front of the librarian.
“Ha!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been searching for these books everywhere. How much does the set
cost?”
The books are expensive for Lithuania, but the librarian didn’t want to lose her chance, so she took
us to the director’s office.
The director seemed very liberal and said, “Ah, Kṛṣṇa.” He told the teachers, “You decide. If you
like them, go to the accountant. She’s responsible for finances.”
When the director mentioned the accountant’s name, everyone fell silent. I understood there would
be problems.
The librarian, the teachers, and I anxiously made our way to the accountant’s office. I knocked on
the door and opened it—and there stood the same huge woman I had met the day before!
“What are these drunkards doing here?” she shouted. “I already bought a book just out of
compassion.”
Trying to be firm, I put the whole set on the table in front of her, with the twenty or so teachers
gathered around me.
“We don’t need these books! Do you understand? And how dare you come here!”
The teachers tried to pacify her.
“We need these books. Let’s—”
“No, we don’t need these books! The school doesn’t have the money!”
The director looked in at the doorway and mumbled, “So, girls, decide,” and quickly disappeared.
95
“We won’t take these books!” decided the accountant.
But then one teacher said, “I’ll take this one,” and she took a book from the pile.
“I’ll take this,” said another.
After a minute there were no books left on the table.
The shocked accountant shouted, “Put them back! We don’t have the money.” Then, after a pause,
she said, “Well, maybe it is possible. Let’s try. Okay, I’ll accept responsibility.”
She opened the safe, counted the money, and gave it to me.
Some teachers took books for themselves, and the accountant sat looking at the set in front of her. I
thought I should give her something, so I had Mukunda, our driver, bring in a postcard of Mother
Yaśodā holding baby Kṛṣṇa.
“This is very old and divine,” I said. “Please meditate on them; they will protect you from all
troubles.”
The teachers gathered around to see what it was.
“Oh, they’ll steal it!” exclaimed the accountant. “I’ll take it home. Thank you very much.”
————————————————
Another time we went to a construction site to distribute books. We found five Russian workers in a
hut, preparing for lunch.
“Hello, I have something for you,” I said.
Experience told me I had only a small chance of success. They seemed to be waiting for someone
else. Still, I put my set of books on their small table. But under the weight of the books the table tilted,
and their lunches started to fall to the floor.
“Get out of here!” they shouted.
Then their leader came in with two bottles of vodka (most Russians can’t imagine having lunch
without it), and all the workers started to shout joyfully. I was the only morose one.
“What are you doing here? Get out!” shouted the brigade leader when he saw me in the smoky room.
They all looked at me angrily. Only by the Lord’s mercy was I able to pacify them, and they agreed
to listen to my presentation for five minutes. It wasn’t my best performance. And although I tried hard,
their eyes still looked the same after several minutes.
“Wait a minute,” said the brigade leader suddenly, as he pointed to one of the books in the pile.
The workers awakened from their dreams and looked at the books.
“What is this book?” the leader asked.
The other men seemed curious now.
I went through the books until I reached Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.
“Yes, this is the same book!” said the leader, as if he had found an old lost friend. “The same book!
Oh, I have it at home!”
My confidence jumped.
But then he shook his head. “Such a difficult book to read. Very difficult.”
My confidence started to sink.
“It’s hard to believe, guys,” he told the men, “but I tried my best for four months and still couldn’t
understand anything. Then I had my vacation. I decided to go for several months, and I took this book
with me. Instead of completely wasting my time, I tried to study the book. You can’t imagine—every
word in this book is like nectar. So much realization. So much truth. You must take the sets for yourself,
and I’ll take a set for my family.”
“But we’ll never be able to understand them,” protested one of the workers.
“That doesn’t matter,” the chief said. “Maybe you are fools, but your children will read the books,
and they’ll thank you. They’ll appreciate them.”
96
Turning toward me he said, “Thank you very much. You are doing very important work.”
————————————————
In Lithuania I went to sell sets of books at a factory where the director was feared by all the
employees. The director was like a gangster and would beat people and throw them out of the company.
When I came in with the books, the workers told me not to go anywhere near the director. But I wasn’t
deterred. I went in, showed the director the books, and fearlessly preached to him with determination.
The man looked at the books and read a little. He appreciated that I was taking time to explain the
books and talk to him. As the saying goes, “It’s lonely at the top.” No one would ever talk with him. He
was so lonely.
The director called all the department heads to his office and told them, “Everyone is going to buy a
set of these books.”
No one dared say no. The director let me go through the company selling books, with his
recommendation. I collected many signatures authorizing payment, and a few days later returned to
deliver the books. The director had assembled all the workers and department heads in a large hall. He
then gave a speech.
“Today is a very important day, because you all have a chance to get these wonderful books. You
may ask yourself why I’m doing this, since you all know I’ve been an atheist all my life. But since I’ve
met this interesting person and read these books, I’m convinced there’s something more than just
material life. And I want God—up there—to know that I, Valdimier Zuchenkof, have given His books to
the workers of my factory.”
Everyone applauded, and he started handing out the books.
————————————————
In Siberia there was a burglar who belonged to a gang of thieves. One day he was in an apartment
searching for valuables when he heard a noise at the door. Frightened, he began climbing out the
window, and out of frustration that all his trouble had come to naught, he quickly grabbed whatever was
at hand—a book lying on the kitchen table—and then ran off.
When the burglar arrived home and looked at the book, he saw that the title read “Bhagavad-gītā As
It Is.” He didn’t have the slightest interest in such a book, but since he had stolen it he figured he might
as well read it, so he opened it and began.
Soon he was becoming more and more interested in philosophy and spiritual life. He started visiting
the local temple and gradually began chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. After some time he brought his gang
members to the temple and introduced them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Before long they were all regularly
visiting the temple to render services like cleaning and driving. When devotees asked them what they
did for a living, they simply answered, “God allows everyone to survive.”
But there was a problem. The burglar’s wife became disturbed to see the great change in his
character. He was losing interest in his occupation. She worried about their income. To make matters
worse, her father was one of the biggest gangsters in town. Infuriated to find his son-in-law breaking
with their tradition of thievery, the father-in-law even threatened to kill him if he didn’t stop his spiritual
practices, which his father-in-law considered an insult to their great heritage.
So the burglar was caught in a real bind. But one day his wife went to visit some relatives in
Moscow, and while shopping in a big marketplace she saw a young man carrying a stack of books. He
was walking around without approaching anyone. After he had walked past many people, he went
straight up to her, gave her a book, and said, “This is the best book in the world. You should read it
97
because you’ll really like it.” The devotee didn’t know her and had no idea her husband was already
chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.
The burglar’s wife was intrigued that out of hundreds of people in the marketplace she had been the
one the devotee approached. She bought the book, Teachings of Lord Caitanya. Then she went home
and read it cover to cover. Now convinced about the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, she joined
forces with her husband and threw her father out of the house.
The couple started to visit the temple together, and soon the man began going out with the devotees
to distribute books. As he became more and more keen to do that service, he realized, “Formerly I would
walk by so many mansions thinking how I could enter them and steal something. Now I think, ‘Let me
go to that house and give the occupants Kṛṣṇa’s mercy in the form of Prabhupāda’s books.’”
* * *
Oṁkāra Dāsa
On traveling saṅkīrtana I met a young man who asked many intelligent questions. He was very
curious and liked the philosophy, but he did not want to take a book. I said, “You know, I have a friend
who got a Gītā but didn’t read it for five years. When he was moving and packing up his belongings, he
came across the book. So he dusted it off, cracked it open, and began reading it for the first time. The
book changed his life, and he was glad he’d gotten it. So even if you forget about the Gītā for five years,
you’ll be glad you got it when you did.”
“Well,” he replied, “if it’s meant to be, then this book will make its way into my life after five
years.”
“I guarantee this book will be in your possession within the next five years. I promise.”
We parted and I forgot about him while distributing to other students. About four hours later he
returned and said, “You’re Om . . . Aumk . . . Oṁkāra, right?” We started talking again, and again he
asked many sincere questions. He was concerned about his life and wanted to make sure he engaged in
transcendental activities. After we’d spoken for some time, he was ready to leave. I was very impressed
with the sincerity of his questions, and so I told him, “I want you to have these books.” I held out a
Bhagavad-gītā and a Journey of Self-Discovery. He thanked me and gave me a donation. Just as he was
leaving he said, “I’m sure I’ll read these books before five years are up!”
* * *
Raghunātha Dāsa
In June, in Rome, as I entered a big office building, I was suddenly stopped by a young lady who
was a security guard. “Who are you?” she barked. “Where are you going?” She seemed quite severe and
determined to bar my entry. When I presented myself and explained in a few words about my mission,
her demeanor completely changed and she asked, “Don’t you need a security guard for your
community? I’m tired of working for these people.”
“There is an ancient proverb,” I replied, “māre kṛṣṇa rākhe ke, rākhe kṛṣṇa māre ke. ‘If Lord Kṛṣṇa
wants to protect you, who can kill you? And if Kṛṣṇa wants to kill you, who can protect you?’ So we
don’t feel the need for security guards.”
She smiled and became even more enlivened. But when I asked permission to go see the director,
she became serious again and said, “You cannot go if you don’t show me those books you’re carrying.”
I laughed and happily showed her the books. She bought one of every title I had and said she wanted
to visit the temple and stay a few days. Of course, she allowed me to go in to see the director, who gave
98
me permission to distribute in all the offices.
As I came out of the director’s office and prepared to go to the workers’ offices, I saw the lady
security guard again. This time, to my great wonder, she asked me for a string of japa beads. She said
she wanted to chant some mantras. I took the opportunity to explain the mahā-mantra and showed her
how to chant on my beads. I apologized for not having an extra set of beads I could give her but
promised I would send her a set as soon as possible.
At this point I was completely ecstatic and emptied my trolley of books in a couple of hours in the
offices.
I think a time will come when a lot of people will run to us looking for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and
japa-mālās.
* * *
Ratna-bhūṣaṇa Dāsa
I was distributing books from a book table at a rest stop in California in the early 80s. A man came
and saw that we were a spiritual organization. He started telling me how everything began with the Big
Bang.
I said, “Earlier this morning there was a pile of rubber and steel on the parking lot here and someone
put a stick of dynamite under the pile and blew it up. Now we see that the Mercedes Benz over there has
manifested from the explosion.”
The man said, “Yeah, right. Funny.”
“Well, that’s what you’re saying about this much more complex creation, with galaxies, suns,
moons, humans, animals, aquatics, seasons, etc. Do you really think all this can come from a destructive
explosion?”
“Interesting point. I’m going into the store, and maybe I’ll get one of your books when I come out.”
Ten minutes later he came out and bought a Bhagavad-gītā.
* * *
Ṣaḍbhuja Dāsa
I was distributing in a small village in Germany. I had already distributed eighty books, and
everything was going well. The whole time, I was distributing in front of a taxi stand, and at one point
one of the taxi drivers must have called the police.
So the police came and one of them roughly asked me what I was doing. I told him about the books
and said, “I’m a monk, and what I’m doing here is legal.” I showed him the saṅkīrtana pass we had
gotten for this kind of occasion, but he furiously grabbed it and wouldn’t give it back to me. He treated
me like a hardened criminal. I asked him, “Is your village a part of Germany, or do you have your own
laws?” Then I coolly said, “That pass belongs to me, and if you take it away, that’s stealing.”
That made him more furious, and he threw me into the police car, where another cop was sitting.
Some books fell down, and I had a hard time picking them up without getting hurt. “What’s wrong with
you?” I asked. “Give me back my pass.” He just got into the car and began driving to the police station.
“If you keep it up,” he yelled while driving, “I’ll really hurt you.”
I replied, “Then I’ll not only press charges for theft but also for police brutality.”
That really made him furious.
At the police station he made a big show about the whole thing. I had to wait, and so I told the other
policemen about the books and asked, “Why do you have such rough people in your department?” After
99
some time the policeman who arrested me came out of his office. He was now humble—completely
changed. “We checked the law, and what you’re doing is allowed.”
I was still fried with him and said, “I told you that already. You should learn more about the law and
change your attitude.”
He was agitated but didn’t want to show it. “Ok, we’ll drive you back to the place where we picked
you up.”
On the way, the policeman asked, “What are those religious books you’re selling?”
I said, “These are not religious books: they’re beyond mundane religion. They show you how you
can connect with your inner self and become more calm in life.”
I continued to describe the books, and somehow he really transformed. When we arrived back in the
village he asked, “How much are they?” Then he bought two books, much to the amazement of his
colleague and me. He started to talk about his wife—how she was always interested in Indian
philosophy and religion. It was really astounding.
* * *
Saṅkīrtana Devī Dāsī
I was in a Wal-Mart parking lot and approached a young man with a Coming Back. I asked, “Do
have any opinions on reincarnation?”
“Yes,” he replied, as he eyed the book suspiciously. “Wait a minute. What religion is this?”
“We’re the Hare Kṛṣṇas.”
At once he put his hands out in front of him and said with firm conviction: “I don’t want any
cookies!”
“Good,” I said, “because I don’t have any. But what’s wrong with Hare Kṛṣṇa cookies? I’ve been
eating them for over twenty-five years.”
“All I know is that whenever any of my friends eat your cookies, their lives change. I don’t need
that.”
“What do you mean by ‘change.’”
“I don’t know . . . they’re just never the same.”
I just had to put my arms in the air and say, “Yes! They change in a good way.”
He laughed and agreed, and then he took a book and gave a nice donation.
I was high all day thinking of all the little cookie bombs that have been detonated in so many of the
conditioned souls’ hearts around the world, and how those souls are now waiting for the next step. We
have to give them these books come hell or high water.
* * *
Śrīdāmā Dāsa
I was distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books from a stall in Malad Station, Mumbai. I would make
announcements and people would come and take books. Then a strange thing happened. As I was
making my announcement, a middle-aged man came to the stall and began staring at me. I stopped
speaking, turned to him, and said, “Sir, please take this Bhagavad-gītā. It’s very nice.”
He ignored me. Seeing his indifference, I turned back to my announcement. He didn’t move.
Meanwhile a few men came over and I convinced two of them to take books.
100
The man continued standing with folded arms, looking at me quizzically. “Look, sir,” I said, “these
books are the best investment you’ll ever make. They describe Lord Kṛṣṇa’s instructions and pastimes
accurately, in modern language. Please take one.”
He smiled, looked at me pityingly, and said, “What is the use of these books to me? These are my
līlās—I am God! I have created this entire cosmos, I am maintaining it, and I will destroy it. The world
runs under my order!”
I shook my head and smiled, thinking, “What depths of ignorance!” I left him alone in his illusory
world and continued my announcements. More people came, and I preached to them about the
Māyāvāda philosophy and how foolish ordinary humans think they are God. More and more people took
the books, but that man stayed there, immersed in his illusion of grandeur. Then suddenly my mike
stopped working. All my attempts to mend it failed.
The man was still standing with his royal airs when I, surrounded by a crowd of prospective
customers, turned to him and said, “O sir, you claim to be God, the creator of this universe. By your
orders the world is working. So please, can you fix this microphone for me? It shouldn’t be a problem
for you.”
The man gladly accepted the mike and began fiddling with its various components. I turned to my
customers and preached. Ten minutes passed. Even after twisting and pulling and banging the mike, the
man could not elicit even a squeak. “Are you done, sir?” I asked him.
Shamefacedly he handed me the mike. “Sorry,” he replied.
“Please understand,” I said, “you’re living in a fool’s paradise. Don’t think that you are God; you’re
simply a servant of God. This is our real position. We are parts and parcels of the Lord and cannot claim
to be equal to Him in any way. So please give up your misconceptions and take one of these books.”
The man nodded, and after some further discussion he departed with a Kṛṣṇa book and a Bhagavad-
gītā.
* * *
Śrīdhara Dāsa
Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted us to preach to students, which I like to do because they can be very
intelligent. While going door to door distributing books, I knocked on one door and a physics student
answered. After my presentation he started to laugh, saying, “Come on, who believes in yoga and
reincarnation? I think—”
“Who cares what you think?” I interrupted. “I hate to disappoint you, but you’re not the center of the
universe; the sun is not orbiting around you.”
He just stood and silently said, “Okay, which books do you recommend for me?” He took two. I
have a rasa with students: somehow they like to hear someone with a straight and firm attitude.
* * *
At the airport, one of the supervisors was famous for his anger. Somehow one day he stopped to ask
me about a vegetarian cookbook. He didn’t want to hear about anything else, especially chanting. He
just wanted to lose some weight by eating a vegetarian diet for awhile. He loved his meat and had to
have it—five hamburgers at a time—but just for a short time, to lose weight, he wanted to eat only a
vegetarian diet. So I gave him The Higher Taste. I also gave him some prasādam, which he loved.
101
The next time I saw him he told me that over the last week he had lost ten pounds and that he was
having some “strange experiences.” He had seen a deer on the road, but instead of thinking of shooting it
(his usual response), he started driving real slow so as to not scare it or hit it. He said he was seeing it as
a living entity. His consciousness, he told me, was changing. His perspectives were different from
before. He was shocked and said, “How is this possible!?”
Another week passed, and this time when he saw me he told me he was really surprised that now the
very idea of ever eating meat again repulsed him. He was seeing everything very differently. While we
were talking, other airport supervisors would come by to talk to him. They expressed shock that we had
“gotten” him. By this time he was preaching to them how his whole consciousness was changing, how
his whole outlook on life was opening up.
After three weeks of his eating only a vegetarian diet, his wife brought home a hamburger for him.
But he didn’t want it at all. As he stared at it, though, he thought he’d better not waste it. So he ate it—
and got sick as a dog. All night he was throwing up and had diarrhea. Then he knew: that was it, no
more meat.
So now he’s still coming along, getting a lot into spiritual philosophy and even chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa
a little bit. He even stops strangers in the airport and preaches to them to get a book. What a change!
Prasādam kī jaya! The Higher Taste kī jaya!
————————————————
A man in his sixties stopped when I approached him, but when I offered him the Bhagavad-gītā he
pushed it away, saying, “No, I’m into science. I like books that tell of the future.”
“So,” I said, “I’ll tell you the future. Look at this picture,” and I showed him the changing-bodies
illustration in the Bhagavad-gītā, pointing to where he was—one of the older men going down. Then I
pointed to the dead man and said, “And here’s your future!” He really changed then. He excitedly
grabbed the book and said, “Okay, okay, I’ll take it.”
————————————————
Another time I was training a new bhaktin. We were standing next to a bank of pay phones at the
airport distributing books. A businessman in his thirties could hear us talking to customers while he
talked on the phone. This went on for a half an hour. Periodically I said to him, “Next it’s your turn to
get a book, right after you get off the phone.” He would laugh a little and nod. When he finally hung up
the phone and was preparing to leave, I said, “Excuse me, we waited especially for you. We would have
left by now, but you look like you would appreciate this knowledge. On top of that, I’m training a new
girl and she’s really shy and having a hard time. Can you be kind to her and let her practice with you?
Be kind. You’re a professional businessman and know how hard it can be to make sales. So help her out;
let her practice.”
He softened up and said, “OK, but I’m not going to take a book.”
So I had the bhaktin put the book in his hands. “Now open it up,” I told her. “Tell him a few things
about the book.” She did, and I kept butting in to preach to him. The next thing you know I was telling
him, “Your life is useless; you’re wasting your time. You need to get into self-realization.” I asked him,
“How’s your relationship with your wife?” His jaw dropped, and before he could answer I continued:
“I’m sure you’re bored with each other by now.” His eyes got big, confirming it. I asked, “Is she at all
philosophical?”
“Not really.”
“Well, you have to inspire her. That’s your duty as her husband. Not just to enjoy her until you get
so bored with her you trade her in, which may happen, by the way.” He was amazed how I got right into
102
his life and was preaching to him—nothing like what he expected. He turned to the bhaktin and said,
“Listen to her. I’m doing this for your benefit. Listen carefully. She’s good.”
I kept speaking to him, “Yes, you need to work toward self-realization and you’d better start now, or
else you and your wife will eventually break up. But then the same thing will happen again with the next
woman, till you learn.”
I kept on trying to encourage him to take a book. Then he said, “OK, you’re good; I’ll take one.
Which one do you recommend? Something I can understand and practice. Tell me what I should stop
doing in my life so I can understand this knowledge, and also what I should do to understand.”
I gave him some suggestions, and he took a couple of books and prasādam. Then when he was
leaving he said, “I used to live near one of your temples years ago and would see the devotees chanting
all the time. I like you people.”
* * *
Vāsudeva Dāsa (Padayātrā in Slovenia)
I went to a house as our parade passed by and asked a man on a balcony whether he was interested in
yoga and meditation.
“No,” he said, “but my wife is. Knock on the door.”
She answered the door and I showed her the books. She said, “I really want to take your books, but I
have no money.”
“Would your husband buy the books for you?” I asked.
“Oh no, are you kidding? If I even ask him, he will throw a fit.”
So I thought, “Might as well try.” I went out again to where he was and said, “Your wife has no
money. Would you like to buy her these nice books?”
He said “OK” and gave me 5,000 tollars ($30).
When I handed the lady her books, she said, “It’s a miracle. I’m shocked. It’s truly a miracle. You
Hare Kṛṣṇa people have changed his heart.”
* * *
Vijaya Dāsa
I was speaking to a student about the Bhagavad-gītā—that it explains things like meditation, karma,
time, nature, the soul, and God.
“Do you believe in God?” I asked him.
“No,” he said, “I’m an atheist.”
“OK, then this book is especially for you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it will clear up some of your misconceptions.” To my surprise he then gave a donation and
took a Bhagavad-gītā.
————————————————
As I distributed books at Orange Coast College in Los Angeles a man came up to my table and asked
about the books on display. A Muslim, he said to me, “My family would be very upset if I were to
accept these books.”
103
I said, “God is more important than your family. ‘Bhagavad-gītā’ means ‘The Song of God.’ It tells
us how to know Him and love Him.”
We talked a little longer. A very nice man, he then went on to his classes.
The next day he came back and said, “I’m so happy to see you again. I didn’t think you’d be here
again today. You won’t believe what happened. Last night before I went to sleep I was thinking about
what you had said about God being more important than my family and how true that statement is. Then
I went to sleep and had a dream. My family members had all become evil and very cruel to me. I was
shocked. Then this book, the Bhagavad-gītā, appeared in the dream—glowing! It was so beautiful.”
“You see?” I said. “This is a clear sign from God that He wants you to read this book.”
Somehow, he was still reluctant.
Then I said, “You want to read this book—you, the soul—and God wants you to read it, but your
mind is the problem.”
At that he said, “You’re right. I’ll take it.”
We talked for quite some time after that and I got his e-mail. We’ll be in touch. A special soul.
————————————————
A lady came up to my book table and said, “Oh, Hare Kṛṣṇa, right?”
I said, “Yes, I’m a member of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.”
Then she went on to tell me the amazing way she became very favorable to our society. Earlier in
her life she had been a Jehovah’s Witness for fourteen years. One of the things the leaders of the
Jehovah’s Witnesses do at their meetings is tell all the members about how bad all the other religious
groups are. They would especially knock the devotees, claiming that the Bhagavad-gītā is all about war
and violence, that the people at the top of the Hare Kṛṣṇa organization are getting all the money the
ordinary devotees collect, etc., etc. “If you ever see a Hare Kṛṣṇa,” they would warn, “avoid him like the
plague.”
“After all this criticism,” she said, “I thought, ‘Let me look into these Hare Kṛṣṇa people. Maybe
they have something more than what I have here.’ So I got some books and read them and visited some
centers and talked with some devotees, and I found the philosophy to be very practical and the devotees
to be very warm and friendly.”
At this point I became pretty ecstatic. Here were the Jehovah’s Witness leaders trying so hard to
keep their people away from Kṛṣṇa, but it backfired: she gave up Jehovah’s Witness and now had an
attraction to Kṛṣṇa. We both laughed at how ironic it was. She then very happily bought the Bhagavad-
gītā to give to a friend—she already had one.
————————————————
While distributing books in the shopping area of Dublin I went back to my box of books to get
another Bhagavad-gītā and overheard a lady say jokingly to Māyeśvara Prabhu, my saṅkīrtana partner:
“If I buy this book, my husband will kill me.”
Hearing that, I stuck my head into the conversation and said, “Your husband can’t kill you because
you’re eternal.” Then I went to distribute.
A short time later Māyeśvara came to me and said, “It’s good you said that. She wasn’t going to take
the book, but when you said that, she started thinking about her daughter, who had recently died. ‘Now I
know she’s actually not dead,’ she said, ‘but that she’s living somewhere else. This is such good news.’
Then she bought the book.”
————————————————
104
In the early 80s Mr. Khemraj Shah was under tremendous stress at his job in a middle-sized Indian
city. His colleagues were plotting against him, and his promotions and even his job were at stake. He
needed to identify his enemies and checkmate them. He decided to read the Bhagavad-gītā and find out
how to defeat his enemies. After reading the first chapter, he identified with Arjuna, who didn’t want to
fight but who was on a mission to stop his enemies. The second chapter was interesting, and when he
finished the fourth he doubted whether he was doing the right thing by plotting against his coworkers.
By the time he finished the Bhagavad-gītā he didn’t care if he received a promotion or not. He became a
devotee and has been one for the past twenty-five years.
* * *
Vrajendra-nandana Dāsa
I was speaking to a young man at the LA airport. All of a sudden a Christian woman came and
interrupted me, telling him that Jesus is the truth and the light and that the Hare Kṛṣṇas were of the devil.
Because of her diatribe the young man left without buying a book. I mildly rebuked the lady and she
left. But ten minutes later she came back and asked to see one of the books. I handed her a Light of the
Bhāgavata. She sat down nearby, looking through the book. Miraculously, she came back a few
moments later, apologizing to me profusely and telling me how wonderful the book was. She gave ten
dollars and walked away very happy. I was shocked.
* * *
Bhakta Amit
The following event took place during an ISKCON Youth Services yātrā to Naimiṣāraṇya and
Ayodhyā, arranged by Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnātha Mandir, Chowpatty.
Our train from Chowpatti to the yātrā halted at Ratlam Junction. Since the stop lasted more than
twenty minutes, devotees left the train and gathered on the platform to perform harināma saṅkīrtana. It
was boisterous, with two hundred young men singing and dancing. Many waved to the bewildered
onlookers, and some, like Murgesh Prabhu, pulled favorable members of the audience right into the
dancing party. Some liked it so much that they danced with us till we had to get back onto the train.
Many of us distributed books in the train and on the platform. Sporting a full head of hair because of
my school and work, I entered one compartment and showed books to a young man who looked like a
business executive.
“Are you mad!?” he shouted. “Give up this nonsense. These people will make you shaven-headed!”
I explained that I was an engineering student and had plans to enter household life and continue
practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and nobody was pressuring me to join the brahmacārī āśrama and give
up my job and family, much less my hair.
“No,” he persisted, “you have become mad like them. You are too young for it. You should enjoy
life, earn money, eat, drink, and be merry. Give up all this.”
I tried reasoning with him, but he became more and more aggressive. I decided to change tactics.
Whether he took a book or not, I had to represent ISKCON in the correct light.
I said, “You are talking so much about success in material life, but success in any field is possible
when you have controlled your mind and senses. Do you have control over them?”
He fumbled, “No.”
For the first time I was able to puncture his over-confident demeanor.
105
“So what mantra of success are you trying to teach me? You are a slave to your mind and senses,
and a person with an uncontrolled mind can hardly be successful in any field of life. So if you want to be
successful and happy in life, read this book and learn to control your mind and senses.”
He was still confused.
“Sir,” I said as I pointed to the harināma party outside, “look there. We have a group of two hundred
boys, of which a hundred twenty are engineers and forty are doctors. Do you think they are all fools?
Not only are they good students and professionals, but they are also perfect devotees. They balance the
material and the spiritual side because they read these books. So don’t hesitate. Take one and you’ll
never regret it.”
“I don’t have faith in these shaven-headed people,” he said, “but what you’re saying makes lots of
sense to me. OK, give me a book.”
As he handed me the money he said, “I don’t know why I am taking this book. I don’t want it. But
what you are saying is affecting my heart. Something from inside is forcing me to buy this book.”
“Don’t worry,” I smiled, “your mind is afraid of losing its independence. But your intelligence
understands the benefit of the book.”
* * *
Bhakta Filip
In the course of distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books door to door in a Slovakian village, I entered a
butcher shop. A woman saw me in Vaiṣṇava clothes, with books in my hand, and immediately said, “I
don’t want any books. A salesman was here last week.”
“I’m not a salesman but a monk.” I showed her some books, but she wasn’t at all interested.
Then I told her, “Madam, it is very important for you to take these books.”
“Why?” she asked.
“You know, that you have this meat shop is not good.”
“But if I weren’t here, people would go hungry.”
“Well, I don’t think you will close the shop because of what I say, but please hear me out. All the
animals have some relationship with their owners, but they do not know they are being maintained just
to be killed. They are taking shelter, like children taking shelter of their mother. All the killing and pain
is so negative. So I think now you should do something positive, spiritually positive.”
She opened the cash register and gave a donation for two books.
Bhakta Mick
In Gorway, a town in western Ireland, I presented a book to a girl who seemed interested. But after I
had talked for a couple of minutes she said, “I’m not really convinced. Why should I take this book?”
“Well,” I said, “this book is just like a cake. I may say ‘This is a nice cake’ and you may say ‘No, I
don’t think so,’ but how will you know unless you taste it? So unless you take the book and read it,
you’ll never know how good it is.”
She replied, “You don’t know how relevant that example is. I work in a bakery. Every day people
come in and ask, ‘Is this one nice? Is this one nice?’ and it drives me crazy. How much is the book? I’ll
take it.”
[End of Chapter Four: A Change of Heart]
106
Chapter Five
The Saṅkīrtana Mind-Set
The most important factor determining our success on saṅkīrtana is our consciousness. More than
ninety percent of our ability to distribute books is in our consciousness. If we go out on saṅkīrtana with
a mood of service—to please Kṛṣṇa, to give Kṛṣṇa’s mercy to the conditioned souls, to please our
spiritual master—that is the right consciousness.
Proper consciousness on saṅkīrtana depends on our sādhana. If we hear our rounds attentively and
regularly and attentively read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, our consciousness will be on Kṛṣṇa. When we
chant our rounds we should try to keep our mind absorbed in the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s holy name. We
should train our mind to think of Kṛṣṇa.
From the example of Bhakti Tīrtha Swami I learned how to chant more attentively. When he would
chant and find that he was inattentive, he would back up on those beads and chant again. He said that
though it took him longer to chant his rounds the quality was better. When I heard that, I started
following his example, and it has helped me immensely in improving the quality of my japa. When the
quality of our japa improves, the overall quality of our service improves. When we chant japa we are
training the mind to think of Kṛṣṇa. The mind doesn’t want to chant. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī
Ṭhākura once said, “The mind is a nondevotee.” So we’re trying to convert our nondevotee mind into a
devotee. The mind is in the bhakta program. Also, Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (6.5), “The mind can
be our best friend or our worst enemy.” We’re trying to make it our friend. But to do that we have to
control the mind with our intelligence so we can hear the mantra.
The goal of our japa is to become absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, in a service mood toward Kṛṣṇa. The
intelligence is above the mind, so with our intelligence we have to control the mind and even preach to
it: “My dear mind, I know you don’t want to hear the names of Kṛṣṇa, but if you don’t hear them
attentively you will have to chant more, because then I’ll go back and chant on the beads you were
inattentive on.” Then the mind surrenders (sometimes)—but then of course it goes off track again. But
this is very good training for the rascal mind.
When we finish our rounds we should have the momentum of going on to think of Kṛṣṇa throughout
the day.
Another trick of Māyā is to let us use good sādhana to have a bigger book score on saṅkīrtana but
then induce us to relish the greater name and fame that result. What we should do is pray for the pure
desire to serve without interruption or material motivation. This is a high goal, but this is what we
should be aspiring for.
Another trick of Māyā and the mind is to infect us with the holier-than-thou mentality, in which we
think of the nondevotees as low-class karmīs. But Lord Caitanya is Patita-pāvana, the savior of the most
fallen, so that makes us more fallen than the karmīs because we were somehow chosen to be recipients
of Lord Caitanya’s mercy and not them. In His Śikṣāṣṭaka Lord Caitanya teaches that one should think
oneself lower than the straw in the street, i.e., lower than the people we’re approaching. Humility is so
important. In the early days of ISKCON devotees used some aggressive tactics, tricking people into
taking books and giving more money than they intended. But the result was that the movement got a bad
reputation and many devotees couldn’t keep distributing books. Ultimately it was a lose-lose situation.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said, “When will I go out to teach the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with
a humble heart?”
There is one verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that expresses the proper consciousness of a saṅkīrtana
devotee better than any other verse I’ve found. Svāyambhuva Manu speaks it to Dhruva Mahārāja:
108
Chapter 5: The Saṅkīrtana Mind-Set
titikṣayā karuṇayā
maitryā cākhila-jantuṣu
samatvena ca sarvātmā
bhagavān samprasīdati
“The Lord is very satisfied with His devotee when the devotee greets other people with tolerance,
compassion, friendship and equality.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.11.13)
The first quality is tolerance. Tolerance cannot be emphasized enough: it is the foundation upon
which book distribution stands. There is so much one has to tolerate on book distribution, the most
difficult being our own mind. Sometimes the mind retaliates and refuses to cooperate with the mission
of book distribution. The mind is selfish by nature. Wanting immediate gratification, it accepts what it
thinks will give it pleasure and rejects what it thinks will not. Saṅkīrtana is an austerity, so the mind is
not very fond of it. Kṛṣṇa says, “For one who has controlled the mind it is the best friend, but for one
who has failed to do so it is the worst enemy.” So we have to control the mind and tolerate its
complaints about the austerities of saṅkīrtana. By rising early, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa attentively,
following the morning program, and reading from the śāstras, we will have a good chance of controlling
the mind. But we have to also want to control it. As conditioned souls we have a tendency to give in to
the mind because it’s powerful. But then we lament. Better to surrender to Kṛṣṇa and take
encouragement from this statement of His in the Bhagavad-gītā: “No one is more dear to me than he
who distributes the knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā.” And Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that the best way to
control the mind is to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness:
The mind is restless, always desiring something. . . . So the best policy to control the mind is to
desire how to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. . . . This brain taxation—how to spread Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, how to convince people about Kṛṣṇa—if you go on making plans for spreading
Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then your mind is controlled. [Class on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.26.27,
Bombay, 4 January 1975]
So if we want to control our mind and fix it on Kṛṣṇa, there is no better way than to go out and try to
convince people to take Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. But to do that we have to be tolerant. As Śrīla
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī once said, “When Bhagavān is merciful to me, He arranges unlimited persons
to speak sour words in uncountable ways, simply to teach me tolerance. One who cannot learn to
tolerate the cavils of the world is ineligible to chant harināma.”
Another big challenge for the book distributor is tolerating rejection from people who aren’t
interested in what we have to offer. Nobody likes rejection; we all want people to agree with us, and
when they don’t it’s difficult, especially if one receives rejection after rejection over an extended period.
Then there is the weather—sometimes it’s very cold, sometimes it’s very hot. A devotee who stays on
saṅkīrtana for many years learns to be tolerant. It’s not theory any more. Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote to two
sannyāsīs: “If you are not tolerant and humble, you will not be able to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”
The next quality in this verse is compassion. We’ve already read in Chapter One how book
distribution is the pinnacle of compassion, but more can always be said about this quality. One reason
true compassion is rare is because as conditioned souls we are envious and compassion and envy are
diametrically opposed. Śrīla Prabhupāda once said that we can purify ourselves of envy by serving those
we envy. All our envy begins with our envy of Kṛṣṇa, because Kṛṣṇa has everything we could possibly
be envious of. The process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness arouses our intense desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, which
negates our envy of Him. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is a prayer begging Kṛṣṇa to allow us to serve Him
again with love. When we become free of this contamination of envy of Kṛṣṇa, our compassion can
manifest. The more we experience the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the more we will have
109
compassion on those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious. Otherwise, as long as we have envy in our hearts, we
won’t know what real compassion is.
The next quality is being friendly to everyone. Again, envy blocks this quality. The more we are
able to understand that we are the soul within and that everyone is a soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and
that we are all Kṛṣṇa’s servants, the more we can be friendly toward everyone and be free of the
obnoxious poison of envy. Then saṅkīrtana reaches a very pleasing level, where you feel that everyone
you approach is like an old friend. This is the reality: everyone is part of Kṛṣṇa’s family, and when we
approach people we’re inviting them back to the spiritual world, where Kṛṣṇa has His family. The books
are invitations for people to come back to their real home, where they will meet Kṛṣṇa, their best friend
and intimate relative.
The last quality in this verse is to see everyone equally, as a soul. This is the vision of reality. On
book distribution a devotee may be in a place where many people are passing by. In such a circumstance
we should use our common sense: if a middle-aged businessman and a young college student are both
passing by, obviously you approach the student. As it is said, “It’s hard to bend old branches.” But if
only the businessman is passing by, then you should approach him. Sometimes such a person will take a
book. For example, one day I was distributing in the LA airport and it was very slow. A businessman in
his fifties came toward me. He was wearing a thousand-dollar suit and looked really sharp. Usually such
men pay no attention to us. But there was no one else to approach, and so I approached him and showed
him the Bhagavad-gītā. I was surprised that he stopped and listened to my whole presentation. Then
when I asked for a donation he said, “You know, I’m really into these things, and you’d like me to give
you a donation? Sure, I’d love to.” I was so surprised. Saṅkīrtana is an adventure with a lot of pleasant
surprises.
As saṅkīrtana devotees, we should be satisfied to know that people are benefiting from receiving
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and that Kṛṣṇa is pleased. As Lord Vāmanadeva says in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(8.19.27):
yadṛcchā-lābha-tuṣṭasya
tejo viprasya vardhate
tat praśāmyaty asantoṣād
ambhasevāśuśukṣaṇiḥ
“A brāhmaṇa who is satisfied with whatever is providentially obtained is increasingly enlightened with
spiritual power, but the spiritual potency of a dissatisfied brāhmaṇa decreases, as fire diminishes in
potency when water is sprinkled upon it.”
Sometimes immature saṅkīrtana devotees push people to take a book. If people resist taking a book,
we can try to convince them in a nice way to take one, but if they still resist then we should thank them
for their time and go on to someone who may be more receptive. Vaiśeṣika Prabhu gives the example of
an unripe mango: If you want to have a nice, sweet, juicy mango to offer Kṛṣṇa but the mangoes on the
tree are green, then what do you do? Let them be until they ripen. Many people aren’t “ripe enough” to
take a book, so let them be and go to someone who can.
We should pray very intensely to be empowered to distribute books, but we should be satisfied with
whatever Kṛṣṇa arranges. Sometimes we can distribute a lot of books, and that is certainly nice service,
but sometimes we can’t distribute any books. At those difficult times we have to be tolerant. To tolerate
difficulty in Kṛṣṇa’s service is also service. Taror api sahiṣṇunā: Lord Caitanya is pleased if we tolerate
difficulties in His service. And it is at these times that we receive the most purification. We see how
Kṛṣṇa is in control and we are His menial servants.
One of the pitfalls a saṅkīrtana devotee can encounter is in becoming too competitive. Sometimes
the competition becomes the main focus and we forget why we’re out there: to help people. Competition
110
can get so intense that sometimes feelings of anger and envy arise. Śrīla Prabhupāda said even in the
spiritual world there is competition, but the competition is about who can please Kṛṣṇa the most.
Because we’re conditioned souls, we sometimes don’t appreciate other Vaiṣṇavas’ service. Some
devotees don’t report their individual scores just to avoid such unpleasant feelings of material
competition.
Lord Kapiladeva says we can perform devotional service in the mode of goodness, passion, or
ignorance. Similarly, one can distribute books in the mode of goodness, passion, or ignorance. If we go
out and are rude to people who don’t give a donation or give a small donation, or if we envy devotees
who are having success or envy nondevotees who are proud of their material position and won’t give to
our cause, or if when we have some success we think, “I’m the best saṅkīrtana devotee,” this is book
distribution in the mode of ignorance.
If people don’t give a donation, it’s Kṛṣṇa’s arrangement; nothing moves without the sanction of
Kṛṣṇa. People give a donation because Kṛṣṇa allows it; people don’t give a donation because He doesn’t
sanction it. If we see saṅkīrtana devotees having success, we should appreciate the sincere service
they’re rendering and pray to Kṛṣṇa that we also may one day please Him in the same way. Lord
Caitanya taught us to think oneself lower than the straw in the street, more tolerant than a tree, and ready
to offer all respects to others without desiring respect for oneself. If we have some success on book
distribution, we should not become proud but should think, “How kind Lord Caitanya is! I am so
insignificant, but still He is allowing me to be His instrument in spreading His glories. I don’t deserve
this mercy, but He is so kind.”
One who distributes books but has a separatist attitude, with a desire for material enjoyment, fame,
and recognition, is in the mode of passion. If we expect fame or opulence for distributing books, this is a
separatist mentality. If we want recognition from other devotees for our book distribution prowess,
instead desiring the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa, then instead of becoming purified we’re becoming contaminated
although we are doing the activity most pleasing to the Lord. Why? Because we’re doing it not for
Kṛṣṇa but to increase our false prestige. We’re using the so-called service of book distribution to enjoy.
These are subtle contaminations that we can overcome by being introspective and questioning ourselves:
“Am I doing this to please Kṛṣṇa? Or am I just using this service to subtly enjoy?”
Book distribution is in the mode of goodness when a devotee distributes books with the intention of
offering the results of his activities to Krsna in order to free himself from the clutches of fruitive
activities. He wants to be liberated. To do anything without any material motive is difficult because we
are conditioned to trying to enjoy the fruits of our actions. With practice, with knowledge of the
Absolute Truth, with detachment from sense gratification, and with devotion to Kṛṣṇa we can free
ourselves from attachment to the fruits of our actions. A nice aspect of book distribution is that our
material attachments become manifest right before our eyes. We see them as clear as day. And when we
do, we should pray to Kṛṣṇa to free us from them. Book distribution is very purifying to the heart.
There is also book distribution in a pure goodness, viśuddha-sattva. If we distribute books simply to
please Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s representative and to help the conditioned souls, that is book distribution in
the mode of pure goodness. Purity is the force. We should pray to Kṛṣṇa to be pure representatives of
Prabhupāda so that people will be inspired to receive this special mercy. We have the purest knowledge,
so it’s natural that we should have the purest people presenting this knowledge. Prabhupāda said, “In the
beginning they will laugh at us, then they will hate us, then they will love us.” If we distribute with a
pure motive—to give Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others and to please Kṛṣṇa and his representatives, they
will appreciate the purity, and from that they will come to love us. This will happen if with great
sincerity we pray to be free of our old enemies: attachment, lust, greed, anger, etc., and go out to the
people to give them an opportunity to meet Śrīla Prabhupāda and Kṛṣṇa, their long-lost friends.
Finally, we should always be truthful on book distribution. Śrīla Prabhupāda once said, “We should
be adored as perfectly honest.” And Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.38), “Of those who seek
111
victory, I am morality.” If we are strictly ethical on saṅkīrtana, surely we will be victorious. To be
honest is not an easy thing. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja was famous because he never told a lie. If someone is
famous because he never told a lie, that doesn’t say much for everyone else. I remember hearing about
this incident: A lady who was very favorable to the movement once saw a devotee selling paraphernalia
and books. When she went up to him, he tried to sell her some paraphernalia. She wasn’t interested in
buying what he had. But she asked if he was a Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee. He said, “Well, they believe some of
the things we believe,” and he said a few other things that made her scratch her head. When she saw his
beads and understood he was a devotee, she asked if he knew where the temple was. A little
embarrassed, he told her. She was quite surprised that he wasn’t up front about who he was. Whenever
we are asked who we are, we should tell them, with pride: “Yes, I am a Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee.” We see
how Śrīla Prabhupāda always walked with his head held high, showing everyone he was proud to be a
servant of Kṛṣṇa.
* * *
The basic principle of religion is truthfulness, and the ultimate goal of all religions is to satisfy the
Lord. In this Age of Kali, the greatest common formula of sacrifice is the saṅkīrtana-yajña. That is the
opinion of the experts who know how to propagate the process of yajña. Lord Caitanya preached this
method of yajña, and it is understood that the sacrificial method of saṅkīrtana-yajña may be performed
anywhere and everywhere in order to drive away the personality of Kali and save human society from
falling prey to the influence of the age.
* * *
The devotee is never satisfied, thinking, “This is the limit of my devotional service.” The more he
engages in the service of the Lord, the more service he wants to give. This is the position of a devotee.
* * *
Śrīla Prabhupāda Letter, 25 December 1972
So far this making some false story for collecting money or selling book, of course we may do
anything for Krishna, but that is supposed to be reserved for very advanced experts in Krishna
Consciousness; they know how to catch the big fish without themselves getting wet. So it is not very
much advisable to make lies just to sell book. If we simply stick to describing how wonderful is Krishna,
then whatever we may lie or exaggerate, that will not be lie! But other things, lies, they will not help us
to train ourselves in truthfulness. Lie to some, not to others, that is not a good philosophy. Rather the
brahmanas are always truthful, even to their enemies. There is sufficient merit in our books that if you
simply describe them sincerely to anyone, they will buy. That art you must develop, not art of lying.
Convince them to give by your preaching the Absolute Truth, not by tricking, that is more mature stage
of development of Krishna Consciousness.
* * *
112
Śrīla Prabhupāda Letter, 27 November 1971
I especially want that my books and literatures should be distributed profusely, but so far I
understand this is not being done very perfectly. So I want that you all my students shall very vigorously
try for this book distribution. Do not hesitate to use your American and European brains to increase.
That is Krishna’s special gift to you, now use it.
* * *
Śrīla Prabhupāda Letter, 22 April 1972
Krishna is not as much concerned with what we give to Him as how much we are keeping back for
ourselves. There is the story of Kholaveca Sridhara, a devotee of Lord Caitanya, who although he was a
very poor man, gave half of his meager income for worshiping Mother Ganges, and by so doing, he
greatly pleased the Lord. It is not so much important the quantity of books that we distribute, but that we
serve Krishna as best we can, and depend on Him for the results. Transcendental competition is nice, but
it should not come to the point of making us lose our Krishna consciousness. When you have these
feelings, do not mistake it for enviousness, but take it to be an indirect appreciation of the service done
by your other God-brothers. This is spiritual. In the material world, when someone surpasses us in some
way we become angry and plan how to stop him, but in the spiritual world when someone does some
better service we think, “Oh, he has done so nicely. Let me help him to execute his service.’’ So we
should always endeavor to keep this attitude, and serve Lord Krishna to the best of our ability. That will
make one advance in spiritual life.
* * *
Śrīla Prabhupāda Lecture, 14 November 1972
So this preaching work, this Kṛṣṇa conscious preaching work, we must be very cautious that those
who are preachers, they must be pure Vaiṣṇavas. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam, not for money sake, not for
reputation sake, but only for serving Kṛṣṇa. This is pure Vaiṣṇavism. One has to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, not for
any other reason. So this preaching work should be taken by pure Vaiṣṇava, and if the śāstric
injunctions, if they are presented as they are, surely there will be effect. It has been proved and it is
being proved. So this process we should adopt, and the success of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is
assured.
* * *
Śrīla Prabhupāda Morning Walk, 28 October 1975
Anyone who has no information of Kṛṣṇa, who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he’s a rascal. That’s all. That
we must know. That is definite. There is no mistaking it. But if you say to people you’re preaching to,
“You are rascal; there is no mistaking it,” then you cannot preach.
If you directly call a rascal a rascal, he’ll be angry. To give good instruction to a fool rascal will
increase his anger, that’s all. Then you’ll not be able to preach. So you have to become very humble,
tṛṇād api sunīcena, humbler than the grass. Just like everyone is trampling over the grass. It doesn’t
protest, “Why you are going, keeping your leg on my head?” But that is the . . . Tṛṇād api su-nīcena. Go
on trampling. Hundreds and hundreds of people are trampling over the grass; it doesn’t protest. Tṛṇād
api su-nīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā. The tree is standing. You sit down. When there is scorching heat, you
113
The Treasure of the Bṛhat Mṛdaṅg
a
take pleasure by sitting down under the shade. But the reward is that you cut the branches. That is their
reward. He gives you shelter, and you cut the branch. You cut the whole tree. This is your gratefulness.
You see? Because we are rascals, we do not know what is gratefulness. They are taking milk from the
cow and killing. . . .
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu advises, taror api sahiṣṇunā—tolerant, humbler than the grass. Amāninā
mānadena. Don’t expect any honor for your person, but to the others give honor: “Oh, you are most
exalted person,” although he’s a rascal. What can be done? Otherwise you cannot preach. If you call a
rascal a rascal, immediately your preaching will be stopped. So you have to say that “You are the
greatest intelligent man, sādhu, most honored. The only request is that you forget what you have
learned. That’s all. And take this.” In this way preaching practical. Otherwise it is not possible.
Everyone is thinking he is the most exalted personality, scientist, philosopher, great man. That is
material disease. Actually he is being kicked every moment by the urges of the senses, and he is thinking
he is very great man. Go-dāsa. Go means senses. He is always, I mean, curbed down by the sense urges,
and he is thinking “independent.” Independent means servant of the senses. This is going on.
So you have to understand the real position of the world, and if you want to preach, then you have to
be humbler than the tree, humbler than the grass, tolerant than the tree and . . . We know everyone is
rascal; still, you have to give him honor. Then it will be possible to say something. Otherwise it is very
difficult. We have to deal with all rascals, fools, rogues, ruffians, no good qualifications. You must
know these things. You are dealing with all rascals. So if we call them directly “rascal,” they will be
angry. Your preaching will not be successful. So follow the principles enunciated by Prabodhānanda
Sarasvatī and Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
* * *
Just as faith is the essence of devotional service, faith is also the essence of book distribution.
Devotees can approach book distribution in two ways: with faith in their own abilities or with faith in
Kṛṣṇa’s ability to empower them.
If we have faith in our own abilities, then we must depend on our karma. If our propensity is to be a
good salesman or -woman, then we may be able to sell many books. But if such a salesperson is not
humble and devoted, he may fall down by identifying his material ability with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If
we don’t have much inherent ability to sell, then our results will be more limited. But if those with less
knack or nature for selling, upon hearing how others distribute a hundred books a day, say “I could
never do that,” they also fall down. That is because they identify material ability with Kṛṣṇa
consciousness.
The key is to have faith in Kṛṣṇa’s ability to empower anyone. If by one’s karma one is able to sell
books easily, one should have faith that Kṛṣṇa’s empowerment is already there, and one should seek to
increase that empowerment by pure desire and by being a pure instrument.
If one does not have the karma to sell, one should have faith that Kṛṣṇa can do anything. That then
allows Kṛṣṇa’s empowerment to become manifest. That means not getting in the way. How, when, and
to what degree that empowerment takes place is up to Kṛṣṇa. There is no rigid formula that will
automatically empower you to distribute many books. But your proper mentality will attract Krsna to
empower you to do so.
So let us take to heart Kṛṣṇa’s instruction at Bhagavad-gītā 18.57: “In all activities just depend upon
Me and work always under My protection. In such devotional service, be fully conscious of Me.” Then
by His grace we will be successful in our effort to glorify Him and distribute many books. Just don’t let
ability or lack of ability get in the way. He is the ability in man, and His ability is unlimited.
114
—————————————
In the mid 70’s I was doing the Prabhupāda marathon at the Chicago airport. One afternoon we
devotees were so intoxicated by distributing books that we decided to show that one doesn’t have to
speak to sell books, that book distribution just depends on our state of consciousness. So we didn’t
speak.
Just after loading my book bag with twenty mahā books, I tapped a man on the arm and looked him
in the eye. He stopped, expecting me to say something. I didn’t. I put a book in his hand, pointed at
Prabhupāda’s picture, to the Sanskrit inside, and then up to the sky, indicating that the books were meant
to elevate you. I remember being absorbed in the desire to give out books, and after looking deep into
his eyes again, I slapped my pocket, indicating he should give a donation. He did.
He was a young businessman, obviously heavily stressed out and floundering in the world of
consumerism. He held the book appreciatively. As he started to go I held his arm. I wanted him to get
more mercy. We locked eyes for a minute, and in my mind I said, “These books will give your life
meaning.” And I stuck another two books in his hand. Now he had three books. Again I tapped my
pocket. Again he gave a donation.
I opened one of the books and pointed to a part of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purport and had him read it. I
watched his face. It was obvious Prabhupāda was speaking to him. I tapped his arms and smiled at him,
and he smiled at me. Although standing in the middle of the busiest airport in the world, we were
somewhere else, in a different land where there was no stress, no noise—our own world of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. Then he looked at the other books I was carrying and I knew he wanted more. I gave him
a few more books. He gave another donation. By now the total was past $40.
To impress upon the man what was reality and what was illusion, I waved nonchalantly at the bustle
about us and pressed my forefinger to his heart, indicating the soul. I looked at him and thought, “You
are not this body. You are spirit soul.” He understood. He smiled appreciatively. We then shook hands,
and as he turned to go it was as if he was leaving the realm of peace for the world of anxiety. For a
minute he hesitated. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to remain in that realm of consciousness in which
our exchange had taken place. He had been happy. I saw there were tears in his eyes. I touched his hand
and tapped the books saying in my mind, “It’s all in the books. Don’t worry.” He nodded, shook my
hand, and left.
Neither he nor I had spoken a word, yet we were communicating fully. It was one of many such
experiences that afternoon. I was convinced that success in book distribution depends upon our state of
consciousness—making soul-to-soul contact with people is the most effective way to sell books. We
need to be in the consciousness that we are not this body, that we are Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual messengers, and
that our mission is to distribute the mercy. Give! Give! Give! That is our dharma: Give Kṛṣṇa to others.
* * *
Bhakta Dāsa (ACBSP)
In the middle of 1972 Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote me a letter. At that time, there was no “plainclothes”
saṅkīrtana. Everyone wore dhotīs, saris, and tilaka and told people, “We’re from Hare Kṛṣṇa. Please
read a book about Kṛṣṇa.”
In the letter Śrīla Prabhupāda told me, “Make sure you sell books by preaching, not by cheating.”
115
I was taken aback. I thought, “What does he mean by this word ‘cheating’?” I wrote and asked him,
“Śrīla Prabhupāda, in your letter to me you wrote, ‘Make sure you sell books by preaching, not by
cheating.’ What exactly do you mean?”
His reply came on May 2, 1972:
So far the meaning of the word “cheating,’’ there are only three things to be known: that Krishna
is the Supreme Enjoyer, the Supreme Proprietor of everything, and the Supreme Friend of
everyone, and we say that honesty is acting upon the knowledge of these three facts. So if one is
always acting under these three facts, knowing Krishna to be the Supreme Proprietor, Enjoyer,
and Friend, then he is truly honest, and if one is not acting in this knowledge, then he is always
cheating or being dishonest. So if you apply this to your techniques for selling literature to
persons in the Sankirtana party, then you will understand what is the meaning of the word
“cheating.’’
* * *
So many good qualities develop in devotees who engage in this process of working with faith in
Kṛṣṇa and transferring their faith to other people. Book distribution is itself an act of faith; otherwise,
why would you bother? You wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t a complete act of faith. Many times when I am
on saṅkīrtana I ask, “Why am I here? Why am I doing this?” And I realize that if we didn’t believe in
the power of the holy name that is written in these books and in the power, the flavor, of Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s personality as it comes through his purports, and if we didn’t appreciate how, by divine
arrangement, these books have come down to us so beautifully, we wouldn’t have the inspiration to go
out on saṅkīrtana, to go out on book distribution. This is our basic impetus. I meet with many
saṅkīrtana devotees, and I become inspired to see how they become inspired themselves.
* * *
Ratneśvarī Devī Dāsī (ACBSP)
In the early 1970’s Jayānanda Prabhu would take us out on TSKP, truckloads of women in the van at
separate times. If we were sometimes hesitant to get out of the van, there was a nice story he’d tell us:
“You know, the cow doesn’t discriminate. As long as there’s some grass, any pasture is fine and the cow
will be happy. Similarly, as long as there are some conditioned souls, we should not be hesitant but
should just approach them.”
* * *
Vṛndarāṇī Devī Dāsī
While in Atlanta, I had the privilege of accompanying Jīva Goswami Dāsa Prabhu once a week on
book distribution. We distributed downtown on Luckie Street. I learned a lot from him about book
distribution. He always said, “Don’t worry what people might say or think about you. You know in your
116
heart that they really need these books. Suppose you’re a doctor and your patient needs a certain
medicine. Even though it tastes bitter, you still make sure he takes it. Similarly, even though people
don’t want to take the books, we know they’re the only medicine for their disease of illusion, and so we
must never feel dejected and with compassion always approach people with this knowledge.” I often
remind myself of his words when I need motivation to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.
On one occasion I saw him talking with great enthusiasm to a homeless lady. He later told me that
she took a book from him. She only had three dollars, but she gave him two for the book. I was quite
surprised that a homeless person would do that. A few days later the same homeless lady came back to
our book table. I really didn’t want to be bothered by her (since she already had a book and was
homeless), and I was trying to focus on approaching new people.
But she just kept staring at me, so I asked her what she wanted. She said she wanted change for a
twenty-dollar bill. I asked Jīva Goswami Prabhu if he had any change and then gave her two tens. Now
comes the most amazing part. She immediately handed me back one of the tens and said, “You’re all so
nice, so I want to give you this for the book I got the other day.”
My heart stopped for a second and I felt sooo bad for judging her as I had. Later I pondered over the
incident and told myself to never judge anyone by external appearances while distributing books. I
thought: “Aren’t we all homeless? This material world is not really our true home, so what is the real
difference between that lady and me? That I have a house?” Then it hit me. The real difference is that
she didn’t think twice about giving away fifty percent of her income for that day to Kṛṣṇa, whereas I
think about my mortgage and all my other bills before giving to Kṛṣṇa.
* * *
Chowpatti Temple Book Distribution
Often a book distributor develops a sixth sense by which to judge a prospective customer. The way a
person listens to the announcement, the way he looks at the devotee and books, his body language—all
contain subtle signals an expert book distributor can perceive and pursue to distribute a book. Often how
a person looks speaks volumes—whether he’s intelligent, worried, spaced out, jolly, curious, suffering,
etc. But sometimes looks can be deceiving.
One day Pañca Pāṇḍava Prabhu was distributing books on the local trains in Mumbai. He made his
announcement and showed the books to the commuters, and a few of them took books. Then he stood by
the exit door, preparing to disembark at the next station. Suddenly a man entered the car and almost
stumbled into him. His clothes were disheveled and dirty, his hair was unkempt, his face was unshaven,
and his breath reeked of alcohol. Nearby passengers cursed and moved away. Pañca Pāṇḍava cringed at
his sight and tried to move around him, but the man blocked the way.
“Hey, show me that book you have!” he demanded.
Pañca Pāṇḍava thought, “Should I show a book to this drunkard? Is he sober enough to recognize the
importance of these sacred books? Will he respect them? What will the other passengers think if I speak
to him?” Not sure what to do, Pañca Pāṇḍava stood still.
“Don’t you hear me, man? I’m interested in these books of God. Show me one.”
Pañca Pāṇḍava still had doubts: “Does he have any money to pay for the books?” he thought. “What
if he takes the book and runs away? What will I do, fight with this low-class man in a public place?”
The man seemed to read Pañca Pāṇḍava’s mind. “You think I have no money? Look!” And he pulled
out a wad of notes and shook them in the air. “How much does your book cost?”
Taken aback, Pañca Pāṇḍava could only mutter, “Twenty rupees.”
“That’s all?” the man said as he pulled out a twenty-rupee note and thumped it into Pañca Pāṇḍava’s
palm. “Give me my book,” the man demanded.
117
Pañca Pāṇḍava handed him a small book. The man raised the book close to his eyes and then
touched it to his forehead. “I told you I like books of God. See how beautiful Lord Kṛṣṇa looks! OK.”
Holding the prized possession close to his heart, the man fumbled his way out of the train at the next
station. The entire incident proved to Pañca Pāṇḍava that he should never judge a person by his looks.
As the saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Lord Caitanya’s mercy flows freely to both the
materially qualified and the materially unqualified. So you never know who may be the next recipient of
His causeless mercy. But one thing’s for sure: looks are definitely not the criterion for receiving it.
* * *
Manohara Dāsa
One day a new devotee was trying to distribute books but was very timid. I tried to get him to talk to
the people, but he was very nervous and shy. So I told him to just give a book to the next person who
came along and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So he gave a book to an elderly lady and started chanting the Hare
Kṛṣṇa mantra. The lady looked at him and asked what he had said. He replied, “I’m praying to God that
you take the book.”
“Oh, then I must take it,” she replied and gave a nice donation The devotee thus became inspired,
and the books began to fly.
* * *
Rūpa-Ragunātha Dāsa
We all have our chalked-out services we perform for the pleasure of Guru and Kṛṣṇa, and so
sometimes, when we see other services that need to be done immediately, we may avoid the
engagement. We may think, “I am a saṅkīrtana devotee,” or “I am a cook,” or “I am a pūjārī. I am so
busy that I have no time to answer the phone or greet some guests at the temple.”
But according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.18.44, we become first-class devotees when we know what
service needs to be done and we do it automatically. Here are some examples of how “doing the
needful” often yields surprising results.
One day I was about to leave for book distribution when an Indian couple walked into the temple.
My misguided mind told me, “It’s not your duty to take care of them. You have a very important
mission at hand, so let the temple devotees look after them.” Then I thought," No, at least greet them, be
friendly, and give them prasādam.”
I said, “Hare Kṛṣṇa, nice to meet you.” Immediately the man said he wanted to send a Gītā to a
friend and would pay for it. I gave him a Gītā and was going to ask him for twenty dollars but stopped
myself. “No,” I thought, “let me see what he gives.” He pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and said, “Keep the
change.” So I gave him a Quest for Enlightenment and we were both in ecstasy!
Another day I was preparing to go out when the phone in the temple lobby rang. After defeating my
mind, which said, “It’s the job of the receptionist,” I picked up the receiver and said “Hare Kṛṣṇa.” An
Indian gentleman responded, saying he wanted to give $100 for our work. The next day I met him and
he gave the $100, so I gave him some books.
Another time I saw two Indian ladies walking out of the temple after taking darśana of the Deities.
No one was talking to them, and they hadn’t gotten prasādam. I asked them to wait and rushed off to get
milk sweets, garlands, and a few small books. I gave them the items and tried to be very personal with
them. The mother gave a donation and thanked me for the kindness with great sincerity. Receiving
Kṛṣṇa’s mercy brought tears to her eyes.
118
Even if we don’t possess much purity, if we try to show some spiritual care to all those who come in
touch with the Society and give them the potent medicine of books and prasādam, they can easily have a
change of heart. It is essential to befriend our guests by being personal with them and showing them
kindness. Because of our impersonal culture, many of them don’t even know they should meet devotees
and get prasādam at the temple.
If we show this personalism and mercy, it could mean the difference between their returning
regularly or not coming back for a long time, if ever, since they did not feel touched by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.
* * *
Śrīmān Kṛṣṇa Dasa
Advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness means developing humility. Kṛṣṇa is attracted to the devotees’
humility because by this humility we can always depend on Kṛṣṇa. When we distribute books, even the
tenth-class men of Kali-yuga will just brush us off, thinking us imbeciles who can’t get a job. Book
distribution forces us to be humble: while approaching people, we can’t hide behind a curtain and
imagine we are so meek and humble. No imagining. Kṛṣṇa will force us to be humble on saṅkīrtana. It
doesn’t matter if we do big or not; there’s always a special purification that comes from book
distribution.
* * *
Tulasi Devī Dāsī
I was training up a bhaktin on book distribution. The morning before we started I stressed to her that
no matter how rude people may be to us we should never be nasty back. We should always be kind and
tolerant, wishing them a nice day and offering them a prasādam cookie. We should understand that
we’re just a scapegoat for their problems and frustrations. “If we always try to be kind, understanding
how they’re suffering and that it’s not us they’re angry at but their own problems, their hearts will
change. I just try to be kind even if a person is nasty to me, and often that person will come back later
and apologize and even take a book.”
During the day when I wasn’t around, she had to deal with just such a circumstance. “A really mean,
nasty man came up to me,” she told me later. “He was shouting and using vulgar language. Part of me
wanted to smack him, and another part wanted to just break down and cry. But then I remembered what
you told me this morning, and even though it was so difficult I just smiled, wished him a good day, and
offered him a sweet, which he nastily refused. Then he left. But a half hour later he ran up to me and
begged for forgiveness. He apologized for being so nasty and said it wasn’t my fault, and that in spite of
his being so rude to me I had been so kind and he had never experienced such a thing before. He
couldn’t stop apologizing and ended up buying a book.”
* * *
Vijaya Dāsa
One of the most important qualities to cultivate for successful book distribution is a positive attitude.
Śrīla Prabhupāda gave this example: Once a man gave ashes to a sādhu doing mādhukarī. The sādhu
sincerely thanked him and was turning to leave when the man said, “Why did you thank me? I gave you
ashes.”
119
The sādhu replied, “Because you have begun the process of giving.”
Sometimes when we distribute books people give us very small donations. We should understand
that this may be the first time they’ve given service to Kṛṣṇa in many lifetimes, so we should thankfully
accept whatever they give.
In Moscow Ambarīṣa Prabhu, an unassuming and humble devotee, has been one of the steadiest
book distributors for many years. Every day before going on book distribution he recites the poem Śrīla
Prabhupāda composed at Boston Pier in 1965, expressing feelings of helplessness and deep compassion
for the fallen souls. Ambarīṣa Prabhu tries to enter into that mood before going out to engage in Śrīla
Prabhupāda’s mission. Several other book distributors in Moscow have also adopted this practice.
The translation of some of the verses follows:
My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have
brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me.
But I guess You have some business here; otherwise why would You bring me to this terrible
place? Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion.
Absorbed in material life, they think themselves very happy and satisfied, and therefore they
have no taste for the transcendental message of Vāsudeva. I do not know how they will be able
to understand it. But I know that Your causeless mercy can make anything possible, because You
are the most expert mystic.
How will they understand the mellows of devotional service? O Lord, I am simply praying
for Your mercy so that I will be able to convince them about Your message. All living entities
have come under the control of the illusory energy by Your will, and therefore, if You like, by
Your will they can also be released from the clutches of illusion. I wish that You may deliver
them. Therefore if You so desire their deliverance, then only will they be able to understand
Your message.
How will I make them understand this message of Kṛṣṇa consciousness? I am very
unfortunate, unqualified, and the most fallen. Therefore I am seeking Your benediction so that I
can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own.
Somehow or other, O Lord, You have brought me here to speak about You. Now, my Lord, it
is up to You to make me a success or failure, as You like.
O spiritual master of all the worlds! I can simply repeat Your message. So if You like, You
can make my power of speaking suitable for their understanding. Only by Your causeless mercy
will my words become pure.
I am sure that when this transcendental message penetrates their hearts they will certainly
feel gladdened and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life.
O Lord, I am just like a puppet in Your hands. So if You have brought me here to dance, then
make me dance, make me dance, O Lord, make me dance as You like.
I have no devotion, nor do I have any knowledge, but I have strong faith in the holy name of
Kṛṣṇa. I have been designated as Bhaktivedanta, and now, if You like, You can fulfill the real
purport of Bhaktivedanta.
—————————————
Book distribution means depending on Kṛṣṇa. He’s in control. We can control a little, but Kṛṣṇa is
Parameśvara, the Supreme Controller. Saṅkīrtana is a quick way to realize this aspect of the Absolute
Truth. One of my favorite verses to remember on saṅkīrtana is the one starting upadraṣṭānumantā ca
(Bhagavad-gītā 13.23). Upadraṣṭā indicates that Kṛṣṇa is the overseer, and anumantā indicates He is the
120
permitter. No one can take a book without Kṛṣṇa’s sanction, and similarly no one can give a donation
without His sanction. When one has this understanding and is detached, then wonderful things happen.
People sense the saṅkīrtana devotee’s confidence and sincerity. We simply want to be Kṛṣṇa’s
instruments, puppets in His hands, completely dependent on Him, accepting whatever happens as His
arrangement. As Kṛṣṇa says at Bhagavad-gītā 18.57, “In all activities just depend on Me and always
work under My protection.”
Book distribution trains us to depend on Kṛṣṇa in all circumstances because we have to depend on
him to give out His message successfully. Sometimes it’s difficult to distribute books, but a seasoned
book distributor will continue trying to distribute despite the difficulty, praying to Kṛṣṇa to purify him
and allow the conditioned souls to receive a book. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.19) Kṛṣṇa says, “I withhold
and send forth the rain.” Similarly, when we are on book distribution it’s amazing how sometimes it’s so
difficult to distribute books but at other times many books go out in a short time. Kṛṣṇa withholds the
people who will take books and also sends forth the people who will take books, according to the purity
of our consciousness.
[End of Chapter Five: The Saṅkīrtana Mind-set]
121
Chapter Six
Contact Saṅkīrtana: Harvesting the Fruits
Introduction
It is very rare for someone to become a devotee. With the ills of Kali-yuga so all-pervasive, even to
find someone interested in spiritual life is rare. There are those special times, however, when we meet
people who are seriously interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When we find those special souls, we
shouldn’t just let them go and wish them good luck. We should get their e-mail address and phone
number. It’s so easy now to stay in contact with people through the Internet—Facebook, e-mail, etc. We
should take advantage of this facility. I have over eight hundred e-mail addresses of students I’ve met on
college campuses. Every few weeks I send something to them. After every e-mail I receive some
appreciative e-mails from them. All the people on my list also have the Bhagavad-gītā, so quite often
they will write me asking questions about the Gītā or another book they’ve received from me or bought
online or at the temple. With really interested people I also get their phone numbers and call them
regularly. It’s a little more personal.
Śrīla Prabhupāda would sometimes use the phrase “fan the spark.” If you’re trying to start a fire by
rubbing sticks together, as soon as a spark appears you have to fan it, and then gradually a fire blazes up.
Similarly, as soon as we see that someone is showing a slight interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we have
to fan that spark of interest. If we do it nicely, the fire of desire for Kṛṣṇa becomes manifest in that
person’s heart and he or she will seek out further association with devotees.
Ratna-bhūṣaṇa Dāsa, a friend of mine, told me what helped him come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness: A
devotee who’d contacted him sent him prasādam regularly. That really touched his heart, and his tongue
appreciated it as well.
Vaiśeṣika Prabhu sends nice people he meets postcards when he travels. There is nothing better than
being personal with people.
Jayapatāka Swami told me that he was once at a pandal program in India to which the leaders of
many spiritual groups had been invited to speak. He overheard one leader say something to his friend
after seeing Mahārāja: “Oh no, the Hare Kṛṣṇas are here.” The friend replied, “No, the Hare Kṛṣṇas are
great. They get people started on the spiritual path, and then we take them.” Then and there Mahārāja
decided he would do more to help people stay with Kṛṣṇa consciousness once they showed some
interest. So he started the Bhakti-vṛkṣa programs. Now there are Bhakti-vṛkṣa groups all over the world.
Contact saṅkīrtana is an aspect of our preaching where there’s lots of room for improvement.
* * *
Śrīla Prabhupāda Lecture, 9 December 1975, Vṛndāvana.
One who is inquisitive to understand the absolute truth—he should be given chance. Just like there is
a little fire. Fan it. Fanning, fanning, fanning, and it becomes a big fire. So our process is that. Anyone,
we pick up anyone, if these persons take shelter of a pure devotee of the Lord, then they become purified
by following the injunction of the spiritual master.
* * *
122
Chapter 6: Contact Saṅkīrtana
His Holiness Śrīdhara Swami
The following letter arrived at the Buenos Aires temple in May of 2001. It was addressed to His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
May 3, 2001
Dear Sir,
I need your help. I’m from Cordoba. Many years ago, in the city, a young boy gave me a
book: “Srimad Bhagavatam.” I read it and I knew that God had decided something for me. A lot
of years have passed, and life has put me in many difficult situations. Again, and magically,
another book came to me: “Bhagavad-Gita As It Is,” written by you. In the same way “The
Science of Self-Realization” appeared. You are my guru and I love you. I have an altar with
Kṛṣṇa’s, Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s, and your photographs.
My life is different. I feel great spirituality, but I need to continue reading, and I ask you for
the rest of the books. Please let me know your new address. I want to meet with a group that
feels what I’m feeling, and go on practicing with happiness. I also need spiritual guidance, and
just you can give me the light.
Thank you very much,
Hare Krishna.
—————————————
I suspect there are thousands more like him out there. If we could only keep in touch with people
from the start. When people read these books their lives change, and they need association and guidance.
Watering the seeds is just as important as planting them. I don’t think many of us could have made
real advancement without the association of devotees. We have to push on contact saṅkīrtana. We have
to develop some method to keep in touch with favorable people who receive a book—over the phone,
through e-mail, or in person, or by a combination of all three.
We need a program to help people take up a process of gradual evolution in their spiritual lives.
Everything could be standardized and simplified for the book distributors. They could get names by
some system and hand them over to the congregational preachers or some entity in between
congregational preaching and direct book distribution. Everyone who gets a book and gives us contact
info could get a thank-you letter and an invitation to a temple restaurant. They could also get a BBT
catalog and a toll-free number they could call if they had questions. They could get a postage-paid
ISKCON-addressed postcard with a survey on how they liked the book and what level of interest they
had. So many possibilities are there when we are ready to do something.
* * *
Kṛpāmoya Dāsa (ACBSP)
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement reaches out to others with its message. Part of the movement is
engaged in “broadcasting,” i.e., disseminating information widely, and part of the movement is engaged
in “cultivation,” tending the seeds of Kṛṣṇa consciousness planted previously that have sprouted and
require further attention. The business of “preaching” must include both these essential actions. Just as a
farmer can’t reap a harvest if he hasn’t both sown seeds and cultivated his crops, so devotees cannot
fulfill their mission of helping new people become Kṛṣṇa conscious unless they both plant the seeds of
123
bhakti and tend to the cultivation of the fortunate souls in whose fertile hearts the seeds have begun to
sprout.
Although it is a fact that many people in the history of our movement have come to Kṛṣṇa
consciousness rather spontaneously, and with hardly any prompting at all, it would be wrong to assume
that the majority of our future members will join us in the same fashion. It is the business of the present
members to go and find the future members. So we have a task ahead of us if this movement is to keep
moving. And any campaign to create an effect within the minds of thinking people, and especially to
bring about change, must be composed of carefully planned stages.
After the initial event to create public interest, the next stage of any outreach campaign is to meet up
individually—one person at a time—with those who are the most interested. Discussion of philosophy
and the ethics, values, and life choices that naturally flow from philosophy is very important. And it’s
important that it’s done individually with a person and that you provide plenty of time for listening.
People like certain things about the Hare Kṛṣṇas. There are also things they find vaguely
uncomfortable. There will be some other things they find quite objectionable. Every person will have
different items on their list of “likes, dislikes, and objectionables,” and you need to know what those are.
Ideally, your relationship with someone should progress through stages of friendship, and the level
of trust should increase to the point when they feel comfortable revealing to you their doubts about the
Vaiṣṇava beliefs and practices. At this point doubts are good, and the strongly felt and somewhat
animated expression of those doubts even more so. This is not the time for you to express your
reluctance to listen to someone’s doubts or—worse still—to criticize them for being disrespectful of
those beliefs you hold dear. This is the time to actively invite them to describe any contradictions they
feel exist between what they hold to be true and what you’re telling them.
Many people, no matter how sincere they are, just cannot do this in a room filled with people,
even people who are fellow newcomers to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In Britain it would be regarded as quite
rude to begin arguing with someone about religious matters, and many people would be filled with fear
at the mere thought of expressing themselves so strongly in public.
After meeting interested people individually over some time, it may be good to bring together three
or four people for a small dinner party with a light kīrtana, discussion, and prasādam. If they all feel
comfortable in each other’s company, then you can hold the same function again. At some stage a small
but important shift in consciousness will take place, where the members feel they have become a
“group.“ The next important stage is when the existing members feel they are ready and enthusiastic to
accept new members. These new members should, of course, already have been through at least a few
hours of one-on-one discussion, so that they know what they’re joining and are well prepared for it.
* * *
Tejiyas Dāsa (ACBSP)
One of the things, if not the main thing, that deeply impressed me about Śrīla Prabhupāda was his
unconditional acceptance of each person he encountered and his immediate and spontaneous treatment
of that person as being vitally significant to him.
Put simply, if you want someone to be the way you want them to be, you need to see them as being
significant and special as a person separate from their material qualities, but if you do not see special
and admirable qualities, and do not like the person, what chance will there be of real affection and real
friendship and service and love? How could someone love someone they did not even like? Being a
devotee, or a servant of a devotee, one will learn to offer respect, to accept wholeheartedly every living
being, and to see their intrinsic worth as part of Kṛṣṇa and their potentiality as a devotee. One will then
admire their specific qualities, become attracted to them, and desire to interact with them by service.
124
This should be the natural form of relationship that is produced, not out of the mind, but out of the heart
of one who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Although you cannot take Kṛṣṇa consciousness out of a second of
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s life, he did not relate to us from the head or the mind or the intelligence, but he
related to us from the heart. Heart to heart. Because he was pure, he really enjoyed meeting each person
and dealing with them on a person-to-person basis.
* * *
Jaya Govinda Dāsa
Iraq—As a Christian, Chaplain L. was real big on charity. Service to God meant service to man, so I
decided that that was the angle from which I would bring him around to Kṛṣṇa. After all, the best way to
preach to someone is through the medium of their own beliefs, for they have no arguments against them.
Sure enough, the topic of charity came up, as it always did, at our next discussion group. The
chaplain brought forth various excerpts from the Bible on the importance of charity work, as if to
suggest that charity work isn’t an important tenet of our Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy. Little did he know.
After he was done I read this purport to him from Bhagavad-gītā 5:25:
Only a person who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for
all living entities. When a person is in knowledge that Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of everything,
then, when he acts in that spirit, he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to
forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend.
Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest
welfare work. One cannot be engaged in such first-class welfare work without being liberated in
the Supreme. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Kṛṣṇa. He has no
doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love.
A person engaged only in ministering to the physical welfare of human society cannot
factually help anyone. Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory.
The real cause of one’s difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one’s
forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord. When a man is fully conscious of his
relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he is actually a liberated soul, although he may be in the material
tabernacle.
He asked, “Well, what can you really do besides just loving your fellow brother and sister and trying
to share with them the ‘good word.’ I mean, realistically, what can you do besides just telling people
about God?”
So, there it was, the challenge. I replied, “Meet me in front of the PX [military store] in an hour and
I’ll show you. Bring some Bibles.”
An hour later the chaplain and I met at our destination. He carried a stack of Bibles, I a stack of
Bhagavad-gītās and some small books. I proposed we stand there for an hour and distribute the books,
alternating between Bibles and Gītās. He accepted the challenge, and so began Camp Anaconda’s first
book distribution marathon, which ended up lasting well beyond the proposed hour.
As I watched the chaplain distributing Prabhupāda’s Gītā, I was simply amazed and awed at what
Prabhupāda had accomplished. Who would ever have thought that a Christian minister would be
distributing Vedic knowledge in Iraq during a war? And what would I be doing if the devotees had never
found me? I’d probably be sitting there laughing at that “silly guy giving out those silly books.” The
Captain did not realize the extreme importance of what he was doing, for he had just saved himself.
125
I also alternated between the Bibles and Gītās, adding a small book with each Bible. Periodically, I’d
turn and check on the chaplain, and with each book he handed out his smile grew bigger and brighter.
He was getting a taste of ecstasy, and I was humbled by it. By the end we had distributed all our books,
which included a dozen hard Gītās and a dozen small books. The chaplain rambled on and on about how
that was the greatest charity work he had done in Iraq. Indeed it was.
He then told me that if I wanted I could set up a book table outside his office, which many people
frequented daily. This was one more preaching avenue that Kṛṣṇa opened up. From then on I referred to
the chaplain as Captain Saṅkīrtana, and he was proud of it.
* * *
Bhakta Dave
For years I worked as a full-time “pioneer” for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, doing house-to-house
ministry. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are one of the most successful groups at this type of preaching.
One thing I note in ISKCON is that though we give ourselves a big pat on the back for book
distribution, we are poor at follow-up. This is a serious failing. Part of the reason is that most books are
distributed on the street with little regard for follow-up. But why not a leaflet carefully placed in the
book telling of upcoming events at a nearby center? This simple step would be very helpful. Why did I
first go to the temple? Because I found an invitation card in the book I’d bought.
When Jehovah’s Witnesses meet someone who’s interested, they take note of the person’s name and
contact info, the points raised during the discussion, and any facts the person would like to share
concerning family and friends. This personal interest is a good basis for long-term cultivation.
Something we should do as devotees is ask a person about his strengths and skills, how he or she can
they be engaged in service. This is vital and, again, often overlooked. The devotees who introduced me
to Kṛṣṇa consciousness were very skillful at this aspect of contact saṅkīrtana. They made me feel
wanted and a part of ISKCON.
Finally, the Jehovah’s Witnesses didn’t keep track of individual book scores. Yes, the local
congregation kept records, but there was no focus on high individual book scores. Those who were
honored were the preachers who helped bring people into the faith.
ISKCON has more to offer than the Jehovah’s Witnesses, but we could learn from them and from
other faiths about practical application of preaching skills.
* * *
Bhakta Edward
Building and maintaining a database of contacts is an essential first step. How many people do we
meet who are interested but who never move forward in their Kṛṣṇa consciousness because we fail to get
their contact info?
The second step is to follow up with the people we contact—to cultivate them and build up a
favorable relationship. This can be done by phone calls, emails, texting, newsletters, home visits, house
programs, inviting them to the temple for programs, and any other way we can give them favorable
devotee association and help them feel connected to Kṛṣṇa.
The third step is that when someone actually becomes convinced about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we
need to engage them in some appropriate service. They are now committed devotees, and if they don’t
get devotional service they will begin to get bored and lose enthusiasm. Therefore at this point it’s very
126
important to engage them in bhakti-vṛkṣa groups so they get service and proper attention. A few people
may find engagement directly in the temple, but even they are usually part of a bhakti-vṛkṣa group.
If you follow this system, you will be very successful. We should gather the names and addresses of
all the favorable people we come in contact with, and then we should establish some cultivation program
to follow up with them. Here’s an example from my own life:
I had a very inspiring experience one night when Rūpa-Raghunātha Prabhu and I were going door-
to-door in an upmarket area of Adelaide, Australia. We split up to cover opposite ends of the street, and
soon I came upon the door of a stately house. As I spoke on the intercom, I fully expected to be rebuked
by its highbrow occupants. But the door opened after I had said I was their local Hare Kṛṣṇa monk and
that we were out meeting the intellectual community to discuss spirituality.
A woman and her young daughter greeted me and, startled by my tilaka and robes, explained that
they had never seen a Hare Kṛṣṇa before. It was the young girl who had opened the door, but her
mother, Jane, was happy to have me there and invited me in. After she had introduced me to several
other members of her family (her husband was still at work), I presented the Bhagavad-gītā and three
other books. They all seemed happy as they picked up the books and looked through them while I did
my best to explain our Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy.
Jane was very receptive and announced that she would take all the books. I was ecstatic, and when
she asked if they were all the books I had, I felt I was seeing Kṛṣṇa’s mercy I action. I told her I didn’t
have any more books to give her, but I suggested she could have the Swami and other devotees visit her
home and do a program. But she replied that her husband would be very much against the idea. She
thanked me for the books, though, and I left her with a schedule of our evening Loft Preaching
workshops.
The following week I called to see how she was, and she explained that her family commitments had
not permitted her to come to our evening workshops. But she asked if there was any way she could see
the Swami during the day. With that, a meeting was arranged at the temple, and Jane drove up in her
shiny Mercedes the very next day. I introduced her to Bhaktisiddhānta Mahārāja and Rūpa-Raghunātha,
and we all had a nectarean afternoon. Jane enjoyed over three hours of transcendental enlightenment
consisting of preaching, prasādam, and kīrtana. She thought the temple was beautiful and said that she
could feel something special about the Deities (Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Śyāmasundara). Mahārāja taught her how
to chant japa and recommended two rounds a day to start.
Indeed, Jane was a special soul. A lawyer raised in an atheistic family, she had grown unsatisfied
with material life and begun questioning everything. Her husband was a prominent Australian
businessman, and she herself ranked among the wealthiest women in Adelaide, yet neither of them were
happy. Jane revealed her heart to us as we sat in Mahārāja’s room. We explained to her how she could
add Kṛṣṇa to her life without dropping all her material affairs. As she left the temple to pick up her
children from school, she was smiling ear to ear and carrying a package with her new japa beads, bead
bag, and a photo of the Deities.
From this example we clearly see that even if one has everything materially, the real value lies in
Kṛṣṇa. Whereas material opulence is usually a hindrance to spiritual life, we found that Jane was able to
use her material facilities to carry on from where she had left off in a previous life and start on the path
back to her real home.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!
[End of Chapter Six: Contact Saṅkīrtana]
127
Chapter Seven
Determination on Saìkértana
Throughout history sincere servants of God have met opposition. Millions of years ago
Hiraëyakaçipu tried to kill his son Prahläda Mahäräja, a five-year-old boy who was fully God
conscious, because he defied his father and was preaching Kåñëa consciousness to his classmates.
Jesus Christ was crucified because he preached God consciousness. And the Muslim ruler in
Bengal ordered Haridäsa Öhäkura executed because he refused to stop chanting Hare Kåñëa,
but Lord Caitanya protected him and he was unharmed. More recently, in the 1970s and 80s,
Hare Kåñëa devotees in the Soviet Union faced arrest, imprisonment, torture, and even death for
practicing and propagating their faith.
By Kåñëa’s grace it’s rare to hear of such extreme attempts to oppose Kåñëa consciousness
today, but that doesn’t mean we don’t face opposition. The main opposition comes from our own
mind and senses. The mind will come up with so many reasons why you shouldn’t distribute books:
“People don’t appreciate them.” “The service is too difficult.” “I’m not strong enough to do this
service.” “Hardly anyone becomes a devotee from book distribution anyway, so why waste time?”
“Devotees are supposed to spread peace and joy, but I’m disturbing so many people.” These are
some of objections that come from our own contaminated mind.
To overcome these objections from the mind, we must train it. In the purport to Bhagavad-gétä
17.16, Çréla Prabhupäda writes, “[The mind] should be so trained that it can be always thinking
of doing good for others.” There is no greater good than to give Kåñëa to others. For millions of
lifetimes the conditioned souls have been suffering the miseries of material life. Now we can stop
that cycle by getting them to take a book, or at least start them on the bhakti path, which will
ultimately take them beyond the life of miseries. Obviously most will not take, but some will. A
few visit Tiffany’s and buy diamonds, while many visit the mall to buy trinkets. But does that mean
diamonds aren’t valuable? No, they’re the most valuable. But few can pay the price. Similarly,
few can pay the price of pure bhakti—giving up sense gratification—but some fortunate few can.
They’re out there; we just have to make ourselves available. To do that we have to control the
mind and senses, the main opposition to spreading the glories of Kåñëa.
As mentioned above, we will also sometimes experience external opposition to our activities
of book distribution. In the early days of our Society, devotees would sometimes be put in jail
because of distributing books. Also, people of other beliefs would sometimes disturb the devotees’
efforts to distribute books. That still goes on occasionally.
Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura said, “I have been shoved around in this world.
Without giving the world similar shoves, neither can its ignorance be broken nor its people
attracted to the lotus feet of Çré Caitanya. Those who do not get severely rough-handled by the
world cannot worship the Lord.”
Queen Kunté prayed for difficulties because they would give her a chance to take full shelter
of Kåñëa, and by taking shelter of Kåñëa she would see Him, and by seeing Kåñëa she would no
longer see the repetition of birth and death. But on book distribution we don’t have to pray for
difficulties: they automatically come. Kåñëa is so kind. If we are sincere, difficulties will increase
our devotion, not discourage us, and thus we will grow stronger. When we meet opposition we
should pray for strength and sincerity, and certainly Kåñëa will answer our prayers. He’s good at
that.
When Çréla Prabhupäda would hear of opposition, he would take it as a favorable sign, as proof
that the materialists were seeing us as a serious threat to their materialistic way of life. Otherwise,
why would they try to stop us? He once said, “If they knew when I came what I was going to
128
Chapter 7: Determination on Saìkértana
accomplish later, they would have killed me.”

In the Caitanya-caritämåta (Ädi 14.1) Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja writes:
kathaïcana småte yasmin

duñkaraà sukaraà bhavet
vismåte viparétaà syät
çré-caitanyaà namämi tam
“Things that are very difficult to do become easy to execute if one somehow or other simply
remembers Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu. But if one does not remember Him, even easy things
become very difficult. To this Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu I offer my respectful obeisances.” If we
take shelter of Lord Caitanya and are tolerant and patient, we will see amazing things happen—we
will see difficulties disappear. Here’s an example from my own life: For many years I have been
distributing books at universities from a table. Once I had just set up my table at the campus’s
“free-speech area.” Most campuses have something like that because in the USA we have the
first amendment right of freedom of religion and freedom of speech. But this time, right after
I’d set up my table and was getting ready to distribute, a security guard came over and told me I
had to get permission to set up the table. I had to comply. Now, getting permission from a college
administration to set up a book table usually entails a lengthy process of finding a favorable student
to set up a club, registering the club, and so on—in other words, lots of red tape. But I thought,
“Let me at least try.” As I walked to the administration building I constantly chanted the verse
quoted above to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya. I went to the school president’s office and asked
the secretary if I could speak to her. She said, “No problem.” Five minutes later the president
came out and asked what I wanted. I said, “I’d like to set up a table on the campus and distribute
Bhagavad-gétäs.”
“Sure, no problem, go right ahead.” she replied.
I was shocked. Then the secretary said, “You see, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?”
The way she said it was kind of mystical, as if Lord Caitanya were speaking through her, telling
me, “You see, simply shelter of Me and I’ll help you.”
One of the main difficulties in book distribution is staying enthusiastic and positive despite
getting so many “No’s.” Kåñëa directly deals with this problem in a pastime where He instructs
His friends in Våndävana. Once when the cowherd boys were all feeling hungry, Kåñëa told them
to go to some brähmaëas who were performing a sacrifice nearby and ask them for food. The
boys did so, but the brähmaëas just ignored them. When they returned to Kåñëa crestfallen, the
Lord explained that one should never be discouraged while begging. Çréla Prabhupäda describes
the scene this way: “After hearing their statements, the Supreme Personality of Godhead smiled.
He told them that they should not be sorry for being refused by the brähmaëas, because that is
the way of begging. He convinced them that one who is engaged in collecting or begging should
not think that he will be successful everywhere. He may be unsuccessful in some places, but that
should not be cause for disappointment.”
In fact, the rejection we experience on book distribution is actually good for us: it helps us
become detached from the result. In the Bhagavad-gétä (5.20) Kåñëa says:
na prahåñyet priyaà präpya

nodvijet präpya cäpriyam
sthira-buddhir asammüòho
brahma-vid brahmaëi sthitaù
129
The Treasure of the Båhat-mådaìga
“A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining
something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of
God, is already situated in transcendence.”
We should not be disturbed when the results don’t come, nor should we become overly joyful
when we achieve exceptional results. Let’s say I get a big donation. I may become really happy
and think, “Boy! Was I empowered that time! I’m so sincere.” But the flip side of that happiness
is the distress I will feel when the inevitable rejections come. I remember once in Miami a devotee
approached a man who was very interested and gave a substantial donation. The devotee became
so happy that he started dancing and shouting “Haribol!” But then it became difficult for him to
distribute and he lamented. Jubilation and lamentation—they go hand in hand.
If success comes, we should see it as Kåñëa’s mercy, thinking, “I have no ability. He is the
ability in man.” And if the good result does not come, that is also Kåñëa’s mercy. We should try
just to be good instruments and distribute as many books as possible. The result will be that we
will get the mercy of Kåñëa. We will actually feel satisfied. Kåñëa says in the Bhagavad-gétä (4.31):
näyaà loko ’sty ayajïasya

kuto ’nyaù kuru-sattama
“O best of the Kuru dynasty, without sacrifice one can never live happily on this planet or in this
life: what then of the next?” Sacrifice entails austerity, so in order to be satisfied, undergoing the
austerities of the saìkértana-yajïa is essential.
But book distribution is an austerity only in the beginning. Eventually it becomes the most
ecstatic experience. Book distribution is by far the most ecstatic experience I have ever had. When
you feel that you are just a soul approaching other souls to help them in the most profound way,
and that Kåñëa is overseeing the whole encounter, it just becomes so wonderful.
Another interesting point is illustrated by one of Kåñëa’s many pastimes. When Kåñëa was in
Hastinäpura to negotiate peace with the Kurus, he visited Vidura. Vidura didn’t want Kåñëa to go
to the assembly of the Kurus because Vidura knew they wouldn’t take Kåñëa’s advice. The Lord
then said to Vidura, “The wise have said that if a person attempts a virtuous act with all sincerity
but fails, he will still receive the merit of that act.” Even if you fail to distribute a book to someone,
you still get the merit. By performing this austerity we can only benefit.
In the following excerpts from two morning walks in Melbourne, Çréla Prabhupäda explains
the value of anxiety and determination on book distribution:
Devotee: When we are distributing books, Çréla Prabhupäda, and we are not doing so good
and we are in anxiety, that is also spiritual?
Prabhupäda: For selling books, anxiety is Kåñëa anxiety. If you become very anxious how
to sell more books, that is Kåñëa anxiety. That is not trade anxiety; that is Kåñëa anxiety.
Devotee: So some [devotees] say, “When I go on saìkértana to sell books I become in too
much anxiety if I’m not doing well, so I’d rather not do it.”
Prabhupäda: No, that is Kåñëa anxiety. He does not know. Let him know that that is Kåñëa
anxiety. Yaçodä, Mother Yaçodä, became mother of Kåñëa so that she would always remain
in anxiety for Kåñëa, whether Kåñëa is safe. That is mother’s anxiety. Therefore she became
mother. How to become in Kåñëa anxiety? This philosophy nobody knows. Everyone takes
Kåñëa as the father. Father means I’m anxietyless: “Father, You supply my wants.” And to
become father of Kåñëa means to purchase anxiety for Kåñëa. This philosophy they do not
130
know. [Morning Walk, 26 April 1976, Melbourne]
.....
Prabhupäda: No, that is missionary activities, that they do not understand but you have to
make them understand. They are not calling you, “I am suffering, please come,” but it is
your business to go and let them know that “You are suffering; You take this method.” That
is the way of becoming very quickly recognized by Kåñëa. Otherwise, if you think, “They
are not understanding; what is the use of going there? Let me sleep,” that is not good. They
are not understanding; still, you have to go. Then Kåñëa will take that “He is laboring so
hard for My sake.” Never mind he is successful. It doesn’t matter. But you are working
hard for Kåñëa. That is noted down. So our business is to be recognized by Kåñëa. Whether
one man is converted or not converted, that is not our business. We shall try our best. But
Kåñëa must see that I am giving service to Kåñëa. That’s all. That is wanted. Not that you
have to judge that you have approached so many men, nobody became Kåñëa conscious.
That doesn’t matter. But you have gone there. You have endeavored your sincere effort.
That is recognized by Kåñëa. That is the order of Caitanya Mahäprabhu. [Morning Walk,
20 May 1975, Melbourne]
Sometimes there is even opposition from devotees. When Prabhupäda was here there was a
senior devotee in charge of a yäträ who took the devotees off book distribution because he said
the book distributors were disturbing the public. Prabhupäda’s response was “If you have a better
way then show it, but don’t stop book distribution.”
Another idea among some devotees is “We are kaniñöha-adhikärés, so who will take us seriously?
Better we go to Våndävana, do bhajan, get purified, and then go out and preach. What good will
we do if we are still under the modes of material nature? No one will listen to us.” However, this is
not what Çréla Prabhupäda taught us. He knew we were kaniñöha-adhikärés, but he still sent us out
on book distribution. He said, “You will be recognized by Kåñëa by this book distribution.” Çréla
Prabhupäda wanted everyone to get a book. In a famous letter he wrote:
There is no doubt about it, to distribute books is our most important activity. The temple
is a place not for eating and sleeping, but as a base from which we send out our soldiers to
fight with maya. Fight with maya means to drop thousand and millions of books into the lap
of the conditioned souls. Just like during war time the Bombs are raining from the sky like
anything. [Letter to Rameçvara, 3 August 1973]
When we go out on book distribution, not only are the people who take one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books benefited, but we are also benefited because we are distributing the message Kåñëa came
to give the world. Çréla Prabhupäda was so much into book distribution that during his last days
on this planet the only letters he wanted to hear read to him were ones that contained the book-
distribution scores—and not just the temple scores but every individual score. Prabhupäda knew
that people would benefit by reading his books, and therefore he stressed it. He once wrote to all
temples: “I’ll visit the temple that is distributing the most books.”
In the last paragraph of the last chapter of Kåñëa book he writes, “There is no need to be
envious of the devotees who are engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord. We have practical
experience of being advised by the so-called bäbäjés in Våndävana that there is no need to preach
131
and that it is better to live in Våndävana in a solitary place and chant the holy name.”
Some say, “We don’t say ‘Don’t go out and preach,’ but we say ‘Go to Våndävana and chant
the holy names, and when you are purified go and preach.” But who’s to say when one is purified
enough to preach? To his disciples Prabhupäda instructed, “Throughout the year distribute books,
and then once a year go to Mäyäpur and Våndävana. Become inspired there and go back to preach.”
In a lecture on 5 January 1976, he said, “Our first business is this book distribution. There is
no need of any other business. If this book distribution is managed properly, pushed on with great
enthusiasm and determination, and at the same time if our men keep spiritually strong, then the
whole world will become Kåñëa conscious.”
Prabhupäda never instructed any of his disciples to stay in Våndävana and just chant and get
purified, and to then go out and preach.
Regarding your question, actually it is a fact that ultimately everyone should preach and
distribute books if they want to please me in the best way. Book distribution must be given
stress always. If you do this sincerely, it is a fact that Kåñëa will supply everything else
required. I blindly follow my guru maharaj. I do not know what is the result. So I am
stressing on this point of book distribution. He told me this personally.
Book distribution is bhagavata marga and temple worship is pancaratriki viddhi. Both
are important for cultivating Vaisnavism but comparatively speaking bhagavata marga is
more important than pancaratriki viddhi. As far as possible both should go on in parallel
lines but still bhagavata marga is more important than the other. So you are all intelligent
boys, so you should judge the desire of my guru maharaj and help me in that way. [Letter
December 6, 1974]
* * *
Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 4.187
[Translation:] “This is the natural result of intense love of Godhead. The devotee does not
consider personal inconveniences or impediments. In all circumstances he wants to serve the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
[Purport:] It is natural for those who have developed intense love for Kåñëa not to care for
personal inconvenience and impediments. Such devotees are simply determined to execute the
order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, the spiritual master. In all
circumstances, even amidst the greatest dangers, they undeviatingly carry on with the greatest
determination. This definitely proves the intense love of the servitor. As stated in Çrémad-
Bhägavatam (10.14.8), tat te ’nukampäà su-samékñamäëaù: those who seriously desire to get free
from the clutches of material existence, who have developed intense love for Kåñëa, are worthy
candidates for going back home, back to Godhead. An intense lover of Kåñëa does not care for
any number of material discomforts, scarcity, impediments or unhappiness. It is said that when
one sees apparent unhappiness or distress in a perfect Vaiñëava, it is not at all unhappiness for
him; rather, it is transcendental bliss. In the Çikñäñöaka (8), Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu has also
instructed, äçliñya vä päda-ratäà pinañöu mäm. The intense lover of Kåñëa is never deviated from
his service, despite all difficulties and impediments brought before him.
* * *
132
Caitanya-caritämåta, Antya-lélä 1.3–4, purport
If one wants to benefit the entire world, he will certainly find persons like hogs and pigs who
will put forward many impediments. That is natural. But if a devotee seeks shelter at the lotus feet
of the Six Gosvämés, the merciful Gosvämés will certainly give the Lord’s servitor all protection.
It is not astonishing that impediments are placed before those who are spreading the Kåñëa
consciousness movement all over the world. Nevertheless, if we adhere to the lotus feet of the Six
Gosvämés and pray for their mercy, all impediments will be annihilated, and the transcendental
devotional desire to serve the Supreme Lord will be fulfilled.
* * *
Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.1.4, purport
Forgetful men do not know the right path for peace and prosperity. However, the sages know
it well, and therefore for the good of all men they are always anxious to perform acts which may
bring about peace in the world. They are sincere friends to all living entities, and at the risk of
great personal inconvenience they are always engaged in the service of the Lord for the good of
all people.
* * *
The favorable conditions for discharging devotional service are that one should be very
enthusiastic in serving the Lord. The Lord in His form of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu wanted the cult
of devotional service to the Lord to be preached all over the world, in every nook and corner, and
therefore a pure devotee’s duty is to discharge this order as far as possible. Every devotee should
be very enthusiastic, not only in performing his daily rituals of devotional service but in trying to
preach the cult peacefully by following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya. If he is not superficially
successful in such an attempt, he should not be deterred from the discharge of his duty. Success or
failure has no meaning for a pure devotee because he is a soldier in the field. Preaching the cult of
devotional service is something like declaring war against materialistic life.
* * *
Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has left behind Him Çrémad-Bhägavatam and
Bhagavad-gétä. Not referring to these authorized scriptures, rascals take shelter of man-made
scriptures and try to compete with Lord Kåñëa. That is the greatest difficulty one encounters when
trying to promote spiritual consciousness in human society. The Kåñëa consciousness movement is
trying its best to bring people back to Kåñëa consciousness in its pure form, but the päñaëòés and
atheists, who are cheaters, are so numerous that sometimes we become perplexed and wonder
how to push this movement forward. In any case, we cannot accept the unauthorized ways of
so-called incarnations, gods, cheaters, and bluffers, who are described here as crows, vultures,
133
buzzards, and herons.
* * *
To spread the Kåñëa consciousness movement, devotees have to face many dangers and
impediments all over the world, but a faithful servant who preaches with great devotion to the
Lord must know that Lord Nåsiàhadeva is always his protector.
* * *
The Kåñëa consciousness movement is not very popular with the karmés because this movement
recommends that one refrain from illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling, and intoxication. These are
restrictions that karmés very much dislike. Nonetheless, in the presence of so many enemies, this
movement is progressing, going forward without impediments. If the devotees continue to spread
this movement, dedicating life and soul to the lotus feet of Kåñëa, no one will be able to check it.
The movement will go forward without limits. Chant Hare Kåñëa!
* * *
[O]ne must constantly be engaged in various activities, and the hard labor involved is certainly
an austerity. Similarly, the hard labor involved in preaching, preparing literature, preaching to
atheistic men, and distributing literature door to door is of course an austerity (tapo-yuktena).
Tapo divyaà putrakä. Such austerity is necessary. Yena sattvaà çuddhyet. By such austerity
in devotional service, one is purified of material existence (kämän çanair jahau). Indeed, such
austerity leads one to the constitutional position of devotional service. In this way one can give up
material desires, and as soon as one is freed from material desires, he is free from the repetition of
birth and death, old age and disease.
* * *
A devotee desires only that he may execute devotional service undisturbed. Actually we see,
however, that even during the presence of Kåñëa, when Nanda Mahäräja and the other cowherd
men had the Supreme Personality of Godhead in their presence, there were disturbances. Of
course, in every case Kåñëa came out victorious. The instruction we may derive from this is that
we should not be disturbed by so-called disturbances. There have been so many disturbances to
our Kåñëa consciousness movement, but we cannot give up our forward march. On the contrary,
people are receiving this movement very enthusiastically all over the world, and they are purchasing
literature about Kåñëa consciousness with redoubled energy. Thus there are both encouragements
134
and disturbances. This was so even in Kåñëa’s time.
* * *
Çréla Prabhupäda letter to Jagadéça, 27 March 1972
I am so glad to hear how you are expanding the book distribution program so rapidly. The
more this literature is read and distributed, the more the world will be filled with auspicity. Please
continue this program with ever-increasing enthusiasm and this will please my Guru Maharaja
very much.
If we simply repeat this philosophy exactly as it is, without any misrepresentation or adulteration,
then this movement will never be checked, and we will conquer the world. So please train up all
these boys and girls in the philosophy and brahminical culture and they will become useful tools
in the hands of Lord Kåñëa for saving all the fallen souls in this age.
* * *
Çréla Prabhupäda letter to Uttamaçloka, 11 December 1975
Europe and America are in great danger, this Hare Kåñëa movement is enveloping them.
The Sankirtana devotees are very very dear to Kåñëa. Because you are doing the field work of
book distribution, Kåñëa has immediately recognized them as true servants. Just like during war
time, a farm boy or ordinary clerk who goes to fight for his country on the front immediately
becomes a national hero for his sincere effort. So Kåñëa immediately recognizes a preacher of
Kåñëa consciousness who takes all risks to deliver his message.
Comment by Vijaya Däsa
In this letter Prabhupäda states that going out to distribute books is a risk. What is the
risk? The risk is that on book distribution you’re on the front lines in the battle against
Mäyä, and naturally she’ll try to bring her enemy down. There are many instances of book
distributors becoming seduced by the opposite sex, both male and female. Women have
expressed their selfish material interest in me many times on saìkértana, but by Kåñëa’s
mercy I haven’t been deterred from my determination to distribute Prabhupäda’s books.
On the other side, devotees are often verbally and sometimes even physically attacked
by someone thickly covered by the modes of nature. But we have to carry on despite all
temptations and opposition that may come on our path. This is determination. As Çréla
Prabhupäda said, “Do not be disturbed by so-called disturbances; continue the forward
march.”
* * *
Çréla Prabhupäda letter to German disciples, 6 May 1977
My dear beloved disciples,

Please accept my blessings. I know that over the past years you have suffered so many
135
tribulations to push forward Kåñëa consciousness in Germany. But this has not stopped you from
your determination to serve the cause of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. A devotee is pleased when
there is difficulty, for in these difficulties he is forced to remember Kåñëa. We cannot expect
that the people of Kali-yuga will welcome our attempt to spread Kåñëa consciousness. It is just
like a lunatic asylum: The patients are running around madly and when the doctor tries to give
them treatment, they insist that they are not crazy. Sometimes the patient even strikes the doctor.
So our task is like that. We cannot stand to see people suffering due to ignorance. What is that
ignorance? They do not know that they are not their body. This Kåñëa consciousness movement
is meant to deliver people to the proper understanding that they are not their body, that they are
pure spirit soul. We may or may not be appreciated, that is not our concern. We must execute the
order of Çré Caitanya Mahaprabhu which is:
yare dekha, tare kaha krsna-upadesa

amara ajnaya guru hana tara ei desa
“Whomever you meet, instruct them to follow the orders of Çré Kåñëa as they are given in the
Bhagavad-gita and Çrémad-Bhagavatam. In this way by My order become a spiritual master and
try to liberate everyone in this land.”
So our business is to satisfy the acaryas and Kåñëa. If they are pleased then we know our work
is successful.
Go on spreading the sankirtana movement more and more. I am only one person, but because
all of you have kindly cooperated with me, this movement has now become a success all over the
world. Be assured that there is no more direct way to preach than to distribute Kåñëa conscious
books. Whoever gets a book is benefited. If he reads the book he is benefited still more, or if he
gives the book to someone else for reading, both he and the other person are benefited. Even if
one does not read the book but simply holds it and sees it, he is benefited. If he simply gives small
donation towards the work of Kåñëa consciousness he is benefited. And anyone who distributes
these transcendental literatures, he is also benefited. Therefore sankirtana is the prime benediction
for the age:
krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam sangopangastra-parsadam

yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah
Hoping this meets you all well.

Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
* * *
Çréla Prabhupäda morning walk, 19 February 1976, Mäyäpur
Prabhupäda: This preaching work is a great fight, struggle.

Devotee: It is very big struggle.
Prabhupäda: So you are all soldiers. Even if you lay down your life by fighting, you are recognized
by Kåñëa. Kåñëa will see that “This devotee has laid down his life.” So let us go on fighting. Even
we die, what is that? We are going back to Godhead. A Vaiñëava, either he lives or dies, he is
136
under the protection of Kåñëa.
* * *
Çréla Prabhupäda Lélä: “A Visit to Boston”
“What if people don’t want to hear our message?” Pradyumna asked.

“The people might not understand our message, but Kåñëa will be pleased,” Prabhupäda
replied. “And that is our mission. They thought Jesus Christ’s mission was stopped. They killed
him. But his mission was attained. He preached three years only, but so many followers. He
pleased Kåñëa. We must not be disappointed that no one is hearing Kåñëa consciousness. We will
say it to the moon and stars and all directions. We will cry in the wilderness, because Kåñëa is
everywhere. We want to get a certificate from Kåñëa that ‘This man has done something for Me.’
Not popularity. If a pack of asses says you are good, what is that? We have to please Kåñëa’s senses
with purified senses.”
* * *
His Holiness Bhakti Vikäsa Swami
While hearing book distribution scores being read out at ISKCON’s Moscow center, I was
surprised that an especially appreciative cheer went up when the name of Nitya Kåñëa Prabhu
was announced, as his score was not among the highest. On inquiry I discovered that Nitya Kåñëa
Prabhu was the blind devotee I had seen a few times at ISKCON Moscow, and that he somehow or
other goes out alone daily for book distribution, either to apartment blocks or on the streets, and
that, unaided, every day he also cleans the shoe rack at the entrance to the temple.
* * *
His Holiness Bhaktisiddhänta Swami
One day the Los Angeles book distribution crew went to one of the Warp Tour concerts near
San Diego, and after the cars had all come in and there was a lull of several hours, Bhågupati
Prabhu and I decided to visit a devotee named Rädhänätha Däsa, who had become a disciple of
Çréla Prabhupäda at the age of sixteen.
Rädhänätha lived off the beaten path up in the mountains next to the Cleveland National
Forest, near a cluster of Indian reservations. For twenty years he had been nearly paralyzed from
the neck down, and he maneuvered about within his field of service in a motorized semibed/
wheelchair.
Our plan was to do a home program after the concert and give some association to this devotee,
ministering to whatever congregation he could muster up at his house. Then we would leave the
following day. Honestly speaking, I wasn’t so keen about this foray into the wild. It had been a
long day and I was tired, but Bhågupati kept tricking and pushing me, and, surprisingly, what
transpired became an unforgettable event.
By talking to him before the program, we realized that we were conversing with a highly
determined sage living in house custom-made for handicapped habitation. Behind him was a
complete arsenal of Çréla Prabhupäda books, videos, and tapes and a complementary array of
137
computer paraphernalia. Seeing his condition amidst all this, we kept thinking, “What keeps him
pushing on despite the obstacles? Why not just hang up the holster, go to the holy dhäma, and hear
and chant until departure time?” The reason for his focus was that he had a unique addiction: he
was obsessed with the distribution of Prabhupäda’s books and contact cultivation.
Anyone who saw the struggles this devotee underwent in accomplishing ordinary bodily affairs,
and also saw that despite such obstacles he still distributed Çréla Prabhupäda’s books daily, would
become ashamed of all the excuses he had come up with to avoid book distribution in his own life.
Without any financial support he went out six days a week, alternating between different Target
department stores. He sat next to the entrance selling flowers and presenting various petitions for
people to sign concerning the environment or local interests (any solicitation was illegal unless
one was in a booth). When the right person came up, he would sneak the Bhagavad-gétä into the
exchange. He could tell who was receptive with such accuracy that everyone he presented the Gétä
to took a book, and in this way he would distribute from fifteen to twenty books in a six-hour day.
The store managers would occasionally try to stand in front of him and break up his sales because
they just didn’t want him there, but he was “legal and determined,” and eventually they resigned
themselves to the fact that he was there to stay.
Rädhänätha Prabhu’s condition acted like a natural screen that attracted persons of real
character, persons who related with him, admired him, and were not condescending. Through
email he nourished his special friends, and they would visit him and render service. He gave Gétä
classes once a week on his day off, with up to half a dozen visitors attending. People might first
visit him because of his environmental concerns and his nonthreatening presence, but in time
they would become entwined within a captivating web of bhakti. The appearance of the book
bhägavata followed by the exemplary person bhägavata softened hearts, and soon these “Friends
of Kåñëa” were ready to be brought to the more traditional grounds, the local San Diego temple.
Here we have the proof of where character attracts character. Bhågupati and I were astonished
at how Kåñëa had unveiled before us such a rare sample of a flourishing bhakti group in the middle
of nowhere. Here was another example of how the seeds of the books can sprout and develop into
the blossoms of bhakti when carefully cultivated in the field of the heart
The next morning Nåsiàha Däsa, Rädhänätha’s able caregiver, gave us a tour of the grounds,
which had perfect facilities to accommodate Rädhänätha’s special needs. Then Nåsiàha whipped
up “the green drink,” a veggie juice mix that was Rädhänätha’s breakfast, and next Nåsiàha
prepared the beat-up Ford Econoline van for saìkértana. As he pushed Rädhänätha along a
makeshift ramp of rickety planks into the waiting chariot, Rädhänätha offered a few final words
to Bhågupati and me, who were basking amidst the mountain scenery (it was our day off, after all).
Wearing his helmetlike beanie, he nonchalantly waved to us as he was jostled along the ramp and
then secured in the vehicle. I felt like I was watching a sädhu whose actions said to me, “All right,
enough is enough, now it’s time to get back to the ecstasy of preaching work. Someday you’ll get
such a taste.”
Bhågupati and I stood there with gaping mouths. So few devotees were coming out to see
him at his remote location, and yet even though the world-number-one Çréla Prabhupäda disciple
doing book distribution and a sidekick swami had come out to visit him, he just gave us a wave
and, maintaining his schedule, left us standing there as he went out on book distribution! As the
rundown van maneuvered along the dirt road and then went out of sight, and the resulting dust
particles sparkled in the morning sun and settled around us, our mouths were still open.
His Grace Rädhänätha Prabhu ké jaya!
* * *
138
His Holiness Hridayänanda däsa Goswami
Due to the false ego, one may find book distribution difficult, but don’t give up the book
distribution, give up the false ego. The difficulties one undergoes in one’s service are the price one
pays for pure devotional service.
* * *
His Holiness Çivaräma Swami
Cold weather, sore feet, an aching back, and indifferent people are some of the hardships we
accept to distribute books. That service pleases Gaura and Prabhupäda the most. We do what they
want. This attitude is the fertile soil in which love grows. Every book is watering your seed of love.
Be patient, determined, and tolerant. One day Kåñëa’s blessings will come and it will have all been
more than worthwhile.
_________________________________________
Book distribution is not easy. At least I did not find it so. And in my years in ISKCON I have
found only a few devotees who did it without strain. For most devotees it requires self-discipline
and sacrifice. But then that is what yajïa, saìkértana-yajïa, is all about. For those who persevere
despite the difficulties, there is a wonderful reward to be had during the day and at the end of the
day: the confidence of knowing, without doubt, that whatever the result, your energies were fully
utilized in pleasing guru and Kåñëa in the best possible way. The best possible way. And the result
of that sacrifice is often an inner bliss that jïänés and yogés can never hope to taste.
In the winter, a major difficulty saìkértana devotees experience in the north is the cold. In
Montreal, where minus 20C (-4F was the average winter temperature, saìkértana devotees would
just freeze permanently for the winter, and in the spring we would thaw out. I recall standing under
a warm shower one spring evening and feeling the sensation of touch returning to my hands. It
had not fully been there for a few months. But the austerity was worth it, because it had attracted
Lord Caitanya’s mercy.
Here is an example of such reciprocation from Lord Caitanya:
I was in front of a store in Winnipeg, where minus 20 was a warm winter day. Because I was
doing well, I couldn’t use gloves, since I was always taking money and giving change. Then my
hands froze stiff—I couldn’t move them. I prayed to Lord Caitanya, “How can I distribute books
if I can’t move my fingers?” All of a sudden I felt a warmth enter my hands; they thawed and the
fingers unlocked. It was like that all day long. It was wonderful. It was a miracle. I was so elated
that I just laughed while selling books. I was experiencing how the Lord protects His devotee. I
thought, “Let me always suffer all kinds of hardships, but let me always feel the mercy of Lord
Caitanya, and let me try not to get in the way of Lord Caitanya’s mercy.”
______________________________
There are hardships in doing saìkértana, but tolerating those hardships is as much service as the
distribution of books. This material world is a place of difficulty. By continuing to do saìkértana
despite the difficulties, we will find that the dualities of happiness and distress diminish. With this
139
vision there are no obstacles to book distribution, just different steps to perfection and Kåñëa. See
the snow, cold, fatigue, hunger, rejection, and criticism in this way, and you will see Kåñëa always.
* * *
Maëidhara Däsa (ACBSP)
In the early 70s I was distributing in a town in South Germany called Freiburg. Late in the
afternoon I heard screams coming from down the street, and soon I saw a totally insane man
running around half naked and beating people at random with a large leather belt that had a big
buckle at the end. I made my way out of there, but since I was in a dhoté the lunatic easily spotted
me and made his way toward me. Being a new bhakta, I thought this might be my first test of faith,
so I turned my back to him and handed a book to the next lady passing by. He jumped me from
behind and threw me to the ground.
As I lay there on my back looking up at his crazy face, I saw that he had raised his arm and was
about to strike me with the big buckle at the end of the belt. “Namas te narasiàhäya!” I screamed
as loud as I could, and continued reciting the Nåsiàha prayers at the top of my lungs.
An amazing thing happened. The man couldn’t bring his arm down; it was as if he were
paralyzed. He couldn’t move—he couldn’t hit me and he couldn’t go anywhere. He just stood over
me shouting “Stop it!” But I didn’t stop reciting the prayers, and Lord Nåsiàhadeva wouldn’t let
him move.
After a few moments a police van rolled up and screeched to a halt. Five policemen jumped
out, grabbed the madman, dragged him off, and stuck him into the van. Then they drove off the
way they came. The whole incident was over in a few minutes.
I stood up, collected the books that had fallen on the ground, and announced to the people
who had gathered to watch, as if at some sort of circus performance, that “The show is over. We
thank you for the applause, and here we have these wonderful books for you to take home.” Some
people laughed, and some indeed bought a book, thinking “A praying monk lying in front of a
monster trying to attack him but not able to, and then being rescued by the police, was a rather
unusual event and worth giving a donation to find out what it’s all about.”
________________________________
Çréla Prabhupäda once said, “Work now, samädhi later.” Without austerity, there is no nectar
and no taste. But actually, what kind of austerity is this book distribution? Can it be compared
to the austerity of the karmés and vikarmés, who work so hard but are never satisfied? Can it be
compared to the horrifying association they get and to the karmic reactions that will eventually
hunt them down? The book distributors’ austerity is minor if you compare them. Another question
to ask is, Where is that company which allows its workers to try out a job, and even if they don’t
produce any result right away they will be well fed and housed and encouraged to try the job
again the next day? That’s not how the material world works, as any hard-working family man can
confirm. Many of our new book distributors would be fired in one week at an ordinary job.
Finally, success on saìkértana does not depend on the number of books distributed but on
the sincere effort of the devotee to please the Supreme Lord. As the ultimate manager of His
“firm,” He never forgets even the smallest service rendered by His devotee. That fact can be easily
140
experienced on saìkértana. And out of this realization grows the devotee’s gratitude toward the
Supreme Lord, and this gratitude enthuses him to serve more and more. Then Kåñëa gives him
this realization: “Where is the austerity on saìkértana? If I understand that my eternal nature and
the eternal nature of everyone else is to be a servant of Kåñëa, it is simply bliss to go soul to soul
every day to help them understand who they are.” Saìkértana is austere only when we think we’re
the material body.
* * *
Premärnava Däsa
A young woman on the periphery of our Stockholm congregation came into the boutique
at our downtown Hare Kåñëa Center to buy something. She mentioned to me that she had just
returned home from India, where she had seen ISKCON devotees on the street in Delhi selling
books in the 45-degree-Celsius(113-Fahrenheit) heat.
This reminded me of a passage in Çréla Prabhupäda-lélämåta, from the chapter entitled “New
Delhi—Crying Alone in the Wilderness”:
Summer came, and the 110-degree heat made it almost intolerable to spend time out
of doors. Hot, dust-laden winds blew in the city streets. Streetside hawkers closed their
businesses during the day. In early May, during 112-degree heat, a man collapsed in the
street and died of heatstroke. But Abhay ignored the heat and the ordinary limitations of
the body.
One day while delivering Back to Godhead to various addresses in the city, Abhay
suddenly began reeling, half unconscious, overcome by the heat. At that very moment,
an acquaintance of his, a man he had approached during his preaching, happened to be
passing by in his car, and he took Abhay to a doctor. The doctor diagnosed him as a victim
of heatstroke and ordered him to rest.
Comment by Vijaya Däsa
It’s good to remember this story when we’re having a difficult time on book distribution.
Çréla Prabhupäda was ready to give his life to help people enter the path of Kåñëa consciousness.
Because he did give his life to help us, we are participating in this most sublime process of bhakti-
yoga. To show him our gratitude, we should follow in his footsteps and try to give as much of our
life as we can to help others start on the royal path back to Godhead. Book distribution can be
difficult. But this difficulty is called “the fire of ordeal.” To purify gold one must heat it until all
the impurities come out; same with ghee. Saìkértana is like that: when we go on book distribution,
we get purified until the only desire left in our heart is the desire to serve Kåñëa. So any difficulty
we experience on saìkértana is very good—it’s purifying. When there is difficulty, what do you do?
You take shelter of Kåñëa.
In America there is a saying that “There are no atheists in the foxholes.” When a war is going
on, the infantry soldiers dig ditches and hunker down in them to avoid the bullets flying over their
heads. Practically all the soldiers are praying to God because they’re in great danger. So difficulties
undertaken in the service of Kåñëa are good. As Queen Kunté prayed, “O Lord, please give me
difficulties again and again.” Why? Today people would think she should see a psychiatrist. But
the reason she prays that way is because difficulties undertaken in Kåñëa’s service force us to take
141
shelter of Him.
The Bhägavatam contains a fascinating historical account of a devotee king named Rantideva.
Once he fasted for forty-eight days. He was just getting ready to break his fast when a brähmaëa
came in and said, “O king, I’m hungry. Please, can you feed me?”
The king replied, “Yes, yes, please come.” And he fed him sumptuously.
Rantideva was again getting ready to break his fast when a çüdra appeared on the scene and
said, “O king, I’m really hungry. Can you please feed me?”
The king replied, ‘Yes, yes, please come,” and he fed him sumptuously.
Again Rantideva prepared to break his fast, but just then another man entered, surrounded by
his dogs. He said, “O king, I and my company of dogs are very hungry. Please give us something
to eat.”
“Sure, please come,” said Rantideva, and then with great respect he gave the remaining food
to the man and his dogs.
At that point all that was left was enough water for one person, but when Rantideva prepared
to drink it, a caëòäla arrived and said, “O king, although I’m lowborn, kindly give me some water
to drink.”
Aggrieved at the pitiable words of the caëòäla, the king replied, “Certainly,” and gave him the
last of his water to drink.
Then the king made a very powerful statement:
I do not pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for the eight perfections of mystic
yoga, nor for salvation from repeated birth and death. I want only to stay among all the
living entities and suffer all distresses on their behalf, so that they may be freed from
suffering. [Çrémad-Bhägavatam 9.21.12]
When I first read this I thought, “That’s an amazing statement, and something a saìkértana
devotee can meditate on and imbibe.” This is actually the mood of a devotee preacher. Preaching
is difficult, but this difficulty is for a great cause, namely, to deliver the conditioned souls from
the deep well of material existence. So although book distribution may be difficult, it is a glorious
difficulty. Austerity is the wealth of the brähmaëas. Book distribution can be very austere, but
this is good—it’s medicine for the soul. If everyone we approached took a book and gave a
nice donation, where would the austerity be? Where would the purification be? It’s good that
it’s austere. As Çréla Prabhupäda once said, “For one who desires a comfortable life in Kåñëa
consciousness, advancement is very slow.”
Çréla Prabhupäda has left us a mission: to help others become free of suffering. The other part
of the mission he gave us is internal—to become purified and advance in Kåñëa consciousness.
Çréla Prabhupäda said that 99% of our advancement in spiritual life comes from chanting Hare
Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
Chanting the mahä-mantra is the internal cleansing. And chanting this mantra gives us the çakti
necessary to succeed in the external mission of book distribution and so many other services.
* * *
Sureça Däsa (ACBSP)
In the beginning we sold Kåñëa books door to door. I remember one day I went out and at
every door I sold a book. The secret to being a successful book distributor, I found, was to be an
142
avid reader of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.

But when I first started, all the other devotees were selling books quite easily but I couldn’t sell
any. I tried everything. Then I remembered reading in The Nectar of Devotion that if we truly wish
to earn Kåñëa’s service, we must cry for it. As an experiment, I went to a place in the temple where
no one would see or hear me (so I wouldn’t be branded as a fake), and cried again and again for
permission to sell Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Gradually, day by day, I was permitted to sell some
books.
One day I was selling books door to door in the Hollywood Hills when I came to a house way
out in the woods. Before ringing the doorbell I said a prayer admitting that I was completely
unqualified for serving Çréla Prabhupäda. I frankly admitted I didn’t have any ability to speak
effectively or to properly represent the Kåñëa consciousness movement. I begged to be empowered
to say something significant and to continue being allowed to sell Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. I rang
the doorbell, and an elderly woman answered the door. She burst into tears when she saw me. She
said that she was old and practically invalid but that she had been begging Kåñëa to send a devotee
to her home because, being way out in the woods, she couldn’t visit our temple. She bought all my
books.
On another day I met a hippie in the hills near Santa Cruz. I tried to sell him a Nectar of
Devotion, but he was broke and had no money for the book. I continued selling door to door for
the next several hours and collected a little extra money to pay for his book. I hitchhiked several
miles back to his house and gave him the NOD. It touched him so much that I would care about
him and give him that book that he read it, later moved into the temple, became an initiated
disciple, and eventually took brähmaëa initiation.
* * *
Vaiçeñika Däsa (ACBSP)
Sometimes devotees are afraid to go out on book distribution because they think so many
horrible things may happen, but if we overcome the tricks of the mind and just go out, we’ll find
that so many wonderful things will happen.
* * *
Nidrä Devé Däsé (ACBSP)
There may be some discomfort for the gross and subtle body by distributing books, but the
spiritual pleasures are very relishable. As soon as we try to get off the bodily/mental platform,
tolerate, and make the mind a friend, then we taste the nectar of how our soul and other souls
feel happy in a Kåñëa conscious exchange (a glimpse of loving exchange appears. What is so-
called poisonous in the beginning is nectar in the end. Why not engage in some tapasya for the
sake of doing the highest welfare work? It is worth some austerity to save ourselves and others
from drowning. It may seem difficult to help others and keep ourselves afloat at the same time,
but when we and the souls again begin to experience real life (after eons of drowning in material
consciousness, we feel relief and can appreciate the higher taste that comes from engaging in
austerity for the pleasure of Guru-Gauräìga.
* * *
143
Aiçvarya Däsa
Sometimes in movies something appears out of the bottom of the screen that surprises the
audience. In my movie I’m talking to a couple of big Texas boys, one of whom is wearing a
“Rancid” T-shirt, when all of a sudden out of the bottom of my screen comes a humongous dark
brown chicken. For some reason I had missed it when I had approached them; otherwise I would
not have. The unholy thing careers up, barely missing me, and sticks to Rancid-priya’s face. As the
Neanderthal man is ferociously gorging himself on his freshly killed dinosaur chicken leg, I brace
myself to somehow or other keep his concentration focused on the main task at hand. To add to
the torture, his friend now reveals the poor creature’s other galactic limb, and they both engage
in ravening the kill. But somehow or other, even though their oral cavities are fully engaged,
their eyes remain focused on me, and while still banqueting they manage to eventually pass over
donations.
Later on Rancid-priya happens on by and enthusiastically thanks me for the book. At that time
I am engaging one hesitant lady, and Rancid-priya gloriously says, “It’s a great book! Get it.” Thus
he becomes the missing link that helps her decide to also take a book. Progressive!
* * *
Aja Govinda Däsa
We were distributing books in Boise, Idaho, downtown. Three of us. Every Wednesday there’s
a “live after five” concert there. We tried about fifty people but nobody would even listen. We
were very much disheartened. Almost everyone was drunk. We prayed hard to Rädhäräëé for Her
blessings. Then miracles started happening—one book after another was going out. All of us were
engaged, talking to different people. We were busy distributing and at the same time trying to hide
what we were doing from the security personnel, who were patrolling the event.
Suddenly a policewoman called me over. Her face looked tough. I prayed to Rädhäräëé and
also to Lord Nåsiàhadeva, who never fails to protect His devotees. She gruffly asked, “What are
you doing? What do you have in your hands?”
Almost trembling and collecting all my strength, I boldly said, “We’re Hare Kåñëas. We’re
distributing these transcendental books for the benefit of mankind. These books will save humanity
from suffering in the cycle of repeated birth and death.”
As I looked into her eyes, they softened, and to my surprise she said, “Yes, you can distribute
these books without fear.”
Since that day, on the authority of this policewoman, whom Çrématé Rädhäräëé sent to endorse
and encourage our book distribution, we boldly and freely distribute books in downtown concerts.
All glories to Rädhäräëé, who sent Her messenger to help us! Devotees of ISKCON, please do
not fear or hesitate. From my personal experience I can assure you that Çrématé Rädhäräëé is with
us.
* * *
Ambaréña Däsa (Russia)
Positively, we can see from history that Jesus Christ personally spread his teachings for only
144
a short time and gathered a few followers, and people really started to join a few hundred years
later. Negatively, Karl Marx tried to spread his teachings but was not at all successful, but years
after he died a big movement manifested, unfortunately.
We don’t know what the ultimate result will be of Çréla Prabhupäda’s going to the West, starting
ISKCON, and writing his books, and of all the books that have been distributed since then. In our
lifetimes we may not see what Kåñëa arranges. Our duty is simply to carry out the order of Lord
Caitanya to instruct all the people we meet about the teachings of Lord Kåñëa in the Bhagavad-
gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam. This is what will liberate them and us.
* * *
Candraçekhara Äcärya Däsa
I once asked Padmanäbha Prabhu, a veteran traveling book distributor of more than twenty
years, from the Juhu Beach temple, “What is the secret to doing book distribution for all these
years?”
“We are servants of Kåñëa,” he replied, “so that means service. Çréla Prabhupäda once said that
the most important service is book distribution. And Kåñëa says in the Bhagavad-gétä that one who
preaches His message is the most dear to Him. So guru and Kåñëa are saying this.” He added: “The
reason why I am still doing TSKP is because I always pray to Lord Kåñëa and Lord Nåsiàhadeva
that I can keep doing this service. I have seen so many devotees come and go. I’ve seen so many
problems with the van drivers, with the party, with the police—but I’ve always prayed to stay in
this service, and I’m still at it!”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Ayodhyä Däsa, a devotee of Indian descent, joined ISKCON in 1976 in Detroit and was
initiated by Çréla Prabhupäda in 1977. While in Detroit he distributed books while serving in the
life membership department. But for many years he wanted to go to Våndävana. In 1995 Kåñëa
made the arrangement. That year his brother-in-law passed away in India, and he was asked to
attend the funeral ceremony because he was the only surviving male in the family. He took the
opportunity to visit Våndävana. He loved Våndävana and decided he would move there.
Déna Bandhu Prabhu told Ayodhyä that Prabhupäda wanted his books distributed on the
trains, and Déna Bandhu encouraged him to try it. He did, and though he didn’t distribute many
books, he got a taste for book distribution. He was also going shop to shop in Våndävana and
various nearby towns, but then he started distributing exclusively on the trains. He liked the trains
for three reasons: one, because the people had lakñmé; two, because they were sitting there with
nothing to do; and three, because there were different people every day. He began traveling from
Mathurä to Delhi and back every day.
Every morning he looks forward to going out again to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
He doesn’t take a day off. He even goes out on Janmäñöamé—and he’s 76 years old! But in the
summer he goes to the West because it’s so hot in India and his wife and family are there. He’s
especially inspired by Çréla Prabhupäda’s statement “If you want to please me, then distribute
my books.” Upon hearing that for the first time, he thought, “This is something I can do. There
are not many other things I can do, so it’s Kåñëa’s mercy that I can do something that is pleasing
to Prabhupäda and Kåñëa.” Ayodhyä Prabhu likes to recall how he sold a Çrémad-Bhägavatam
volume to an Indian gentleman who was later initiated as Rasaräja Prabhu, one of the leaders of
145
the Bhaktivedanta Institute.

When Ayodhyä distributes the Bhagavad-gétä he tells the person, “This Bhagavad-gétä is no
ordinary book. Although it is five thousand years old, it is still famous all over the world, and
although so many Bhagavad-gétäs had been translated into other languages and read all over the
world before this one, no one became a devotee of Kåñëa. But this Bhagavad-gétä As It Is has made
thousands of devotees of Kåñëa all over the world.”
Sometimes he tells the customer, “I don’t think you are going to buy this book, but at least
look at the quality of the printing and the artwork.” When they look at the nice quality of the
book, they quite often buy it. Reverse psychology. Ayodhyä Prabhu says, “To distribute books
is not easy. You have to be humble, tolerant, and patient. Once I showed a book to a Muslim. I
was detached, but I was trying. The man said, ‘I’m a Muslim. I’m not interested in this book. But
because of your gentle behavior, I will buy this book from you.’”
Ayodhyä Prabhu has dedicated his life to book distribution and wants other devotees to also
get the mercy by distributing books. He says, “Devotees who retire can go to India or anywhere
and distribute books. What good is playing with the grandchildren and all that? To distribute
books is austere, but it is also very sweet. The austerity brings the satisfaction. Book distribution
is very nice. Prabhupäda once said, ‘You can hire a cook, you can hire a püjäré, you can hire a
cleaner, but a preacher you cannot hire, because that comes from the heart.’”
* * *
Chowpatti, India
Madhu Priyä Mätäjé had a simple and effective formula. She would always carry several
Bhagavad-gétäs with her each time she stepped out of her apartment. While in the elevator,
coming down from and going up to her tenth-floor residence, she never lost a chance to preach and
show books to whoever was in the elevator with her. The unsuspecting residents of the building
were simply wonderstruck at the simple but terse message she persuasively conveyed in just a few
seconds. Often her cogent plea compelled them to take a book. During these brief sojourns in the
lift, she would unfailingly distribute two or three Bhagavad-gétäs each time she went out, thereby
transmitting Çréla Prabhupäda’s mercy in a unique way.
On one occasion she and a devotee friend went to the nearby Mahälakñmé temple. They stood
at the entrance during a torrid noontime and approached many in the crowd, but their attempts to
distribute books were unsuccessful. As hours passed, the apathy of the huge crowd and the sultry
weather sank their morale. Desperately, Madhu Priyä said aloud, to no one in particular: “No one
seems to be understanding the value of these books. Life is passing away. These books alone can
bring respite to the suffering souls.” A handicapped beggar, who had been quietly observing the
duo, became more interested. As the mätäjés began to take the surging crowd to task, this beggar
became convinced of their message. After collecting all the loose change he had accumulated
throughout the day, he had just enough money for one book. Without the slightest hesitation he
paid up and took a copy. As he left, he cheerfully promised to study the Bhagavad-gétä.
Reminiscing about these ecstatic experiences, Madhu Priyä concludes that the keys to her
success on book distribution are perseverance and sincere prayers to guru. With all humility she
said, “If a simple housewife like me, with no special qualifications, can become an active book
distributor, then anyone can take part in this transcendental saìkértana.”
* * *
146
Gokula-lélä Devé Däsé
While speaking with a boy who’d recently taken up bhakti-yoga, I realized how important
purity and Vaiñëava character are for distributing Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and inspiring people
to take up devotional service.
The boy was named Anchal. He had recently come to New Zealand from India, supposedly to
further his studies but actually to meet his guru. He related to me how four months after his arrival
here he had met a brahmacäré distributing books on the street in Auckland. He had thought to
himself, “If this person is really spiritual, a lover of God, then even if I provoke him he will surely
be very patient and display his saintly character.” Anchal described how he had tried to provoke
the devotee this way and that, but how the devotee had remained very patient with him and
never lost his cool. Anchal was so impressed with the brahmacäré that he thought, “I’ve never met
anyone so wonderful in my life!” Soon thereafter Anchal met Devämåta Swami, and during their
first meeting he accepted him as his guru. Anchal is now chanting sixteen rounds.
Good character is the most important factor in distributing Kåñëa consciousness—more than
our joking ability, our hairstyle, the spot we’re given to distribute in, some new saìkértana lines,
etc. We don’t know the future of those we meet on saìkértana, and so we should always display the
highest Vaiñëava behavior, even if someone tries to provoke us.
* * *
Govinda Däsa
Some of the most exciting book distribution incidents have taken place at the Mumbai Central
Railway station. It all began in the mid 80s, when book distribution as a part of regular service in
the temple was in its nascent stage. With very few devotees distributing, nobody had ever thought
of going to the railway station. One day Kåñëänanda Prabhu decided to take the initiative and told
me to accompany him.
I had just joined the temple. As a teenager coming from a small town, I found the big city
overwhelming. I was definitely nervous, and one glance at the confident, smart-looking men of
Mumbai, always on the move, really put me off. I was convinced I couldn’t do book distribution.
Impossible.
But Kåñëänanda Prabhu was adamant. He was the temple commander, and since he had ordered
me to pack my book bag, I had no choice but to comply. For a new bhakta, there was no question
of personal likes or dislikes. As we reached the platform, Kåñëänanda Prabhu was in his element.
He tapped a traveler on the shoulder and introduced himself as a MSc. Mtech from the U.S.A. The
smart English-speaking sädhu fascinated all of them, and many took one of Prabhupäda’s books.
Well, he could distribute in that style with good success, but for me, this was a nightmare. My
worst fears came true when all of a sudden he put a few books in my hand and, after we’d entered
a train waiting to depart, pushed me inside a coach. “Go,” he said, “just give Prabhupäda’s books
to all. Come on!” As I heard his assertive and firm voice, I almost fainted. Kåñëänanda Prabhu
then went into another coach to distribute.
I trembled as I looked out at the passengers seated in my coach, with all eyes on me. I was on
the verge of tears. Not able to muster up enough strength, I gave up, went to a vacant seat in a
corner, and sat all alone, sighing. “Why is Kåñëa doing this to me?” I thought. “Please, Kåñëa, take
me out of this mess!”
147
With no one to share my tale of woe, I was miserable. Just then a complete stranger came
up to me, smiled, sat down next to me, and asked, “What do you have in your bag?” Clumsily
repositioning myself, I showed him the books. He exclaimed, “Oh! I know these books. They’re
wonderful!” And immediately he took a few big books and a dozen small books.
I was ecstatic. I ran looking for Kåñëänanda Prabhu, hardly able to contain my excitement.
Sharing my joy and seeing the sparkle in my eyes, he commented, “Your days are numbered. You
will be hooked on this.”
Today, two decades later, I am. And I’m not alone. Book distribution is one of the main
activities of the Chowpatti temple, with three bus parties going out during the winter marathon
and many devotees engaged full-time in book distribution.
* * *
Jayänanda Däsa
Once I was distributing books in Munich with Varäha Mürti Prabhu, a stalwart German book
distributor for many years. We were in the midst of several weeks of very successful distribution,
and on this particular day he was making an extra effort to distribute a hundred hardbound big
books.
As evening arrived and it began to get dark, Varäha had just about reached his goal (he had
distributed 97 big books). Then a big demon came and started following him around the shopping
street, breaking up any conversation Varäha tried to initiate. After several aborted attempts,
Varäha, in the mood of total dependence on Kåñëa (as well as a bit of transcendental frustration),
began to yell the Nåsiàhadeva mantras directly at this man.
Suddenly, from around the corner came Jähnavä Priyä Mätäjé, a disciple of Jayapatäka Swami.
Jähnavä Priyä is by no means small and timid. She’s at least six feet tall and has a very athletic
build. She also worked as an agent for the FBI in Atlanta. She came up and pushed this man across
the shopping street and began to chastise him very severely, enabling Varäha to finally escape and
distribute 103 hardbound books. All glories to our kñatriya mätäjés!
* * *
Karuëä-dhäriëé Devé Däsé
The bad days are just as valuable as the good days. Failure is the pillar of success. For strength,
be sure to chant your rounds from beginning to end, without interruption, before you go out. And
ask yourself, “Have I behaved pleasingly with the Vaiñëavas in my community?” Kåñëa is not
much inclined to help a devotee preach if that devotee does not interact with Vaiñëavas in a way
that pleases Him.
* * *
Lomäïcita Däsa
As on many other days, I was distributing door to door. But today it was already past noon
and I hadn’t distributed any books. So I prayed to Lord Kåñëa very intensely: “My Lord, I am
completely helpless, but with Your permission maybe I can distribute a few books to these people.”
148
When I rang the bell at the next door, a nice lady took two books. “Thank You, my Lord,”
I thought. At the next door a math instructor took four books. A few doors later I meet a very
interesting lady. She had already read The Path of Perfection and liked it very much. After a
pleasant talk and my presentation of the whole set, I asked her for a donation: “Some people give
100 euros,” I said. She then started to take out big bills—20 euros, another 20 euros, another 20
euros. As I watched I thought, “This is generous.” Then the lady puts out the fourth and also the
fifth bill—altogether 100 euros. “Yep, this is enough to give her more books,” I say to myself,
smiling within.
“This is all I have. Is it enough?” she asks.
“Yes, of course. Very generous of you. I didn’t expect so much. Just wait a moment and I will
bring you all the books.”
As I ran down the stairs I calculated in my head how many books I could give her for 100 euros:
one full set, three mini sets, plus one Bhagavad-gétä—altogether 19 books. Unbelievable!
I retrieved the books from the van, and as I carried them the stack reached above my head.
As I entered her apartment she said, “Oh, Santa Claus has come!” I described to her a little about
the books she was getting and told her she might want to give the three extra mini sets as presents
to friends. We separated in a completely transcendental atmosphere, wishing each other all the
best. I felt like I was flying in the air. This episode was all due to the mercy of all-merciful Çréla
Prabhupäda and Çré Kåñëa. Quite often they amaze me.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
It was around noon when I came to big house surrounded by a high fence with locked iron
gates. I rang the bell, hoping someone would come to the gates. Usually in this kind of circumstance
people kick you out from a “safe” distance, but I was counting on the mercy of guru, Kåñëa, and
the Vaiñëavas, and especially Çréla Prabhupäda. Finally a big woman opened the door at the top
of some stairs and shouted, “What do you want?”
I shouted back, “Delivery! Today everyone receives something.”
She came down the stairs and I presented the books to her through the bars of the gates, which
remained locked. After a short conversation she took a Bhagavad-gétä and a Bhägavatam 1.1.
I continued along the street and stopped a passing car. The driver smiled as I made my pitch,
and the conversation revealed that the lady whom I had last visited was his wife. I offered him
more books, and he took the Bhägavatam 1.2.
But the tale is not over yet. In the evening he parked his car right in from of me in another part
of town, and so we met again. I asked him if his wife was happy with the books, and he nodded
with a smile. He said he wanted some more books for his son. “No problem,” I said, and off we
went to his store to transact some transcendental business.
In this way Lord Kåñëa showed this family His mercy three times in a single day.
* * *
Madhumaìgala Däsa
One day I was distributing Çréla Prabhupäda’s books on Garnet Avenue in San Diego, a few
blocks from the temple and a few blocks from the beach. This avenue is frequented daily by
throngs of tourists and those born to shop. There are many surfing stores, pizza takeouts, bars,
149
restaurants, and tattoo parlors. Just about everyone ignored me, saying “No money” or “I’m in a
hurry.” . . . Frustrating for me.
Then at one corner I approached a serious-looking young man wearing a worn-out leather
jacket. He also ignored me, but after he passed me I called to him in desperation: “Don’t go; yes,
I’m calling you.”
He turned around, and if looks could kill I think I would have been dead.
“You talking to me? What you want?” He came right up to me, glaring.
For a second I thought, “This guy is going to give it to me straight in my face.” I replied, “Look,
I know it hasn’t been easy for you, I know there have been times when you’ve been crying inside.
I’m not trying to patronize you. What I am saying to you, I am saying out of compassion. It is the
material energy that is causing all the problems in your life.”
To my astonishment, he looked down and then looked up at me and nodded. I showed him the
books, and he told me he had seen them and already had some. I asked him, “When was the last
time a person said ‘I love you’ to you?”
He became silent, looked up, and said sadly, “About three years ago.”
“Well, I love you very much,” I said, and gave him a big hug while whispering in his ear: “You
are a very special soul. Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare
Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare!”
He told me I was right, and with a warm smile he said, “I think I’ll take that one,” pointing to
Çré Éçopaniñad. I gave him an invitation to the Sunday program and told him I looked forward to
seeing him again.
We should take the compassion Çréla Prabhupäda has kindly bestowed upon us and give it to
the fallen, conditioned souls. Then we will be recognized by Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu and will
make progress toward going home, back to Godhead. Çréla Prabhupäda ké jaya!
____________________________
When I’m struggling and only a few people are taking Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, I often pray
in desperation for Prabhupäda’s mercy. In that mood I’ll introduce myself and say, “My spiritual
master has told me to distribute these books. He told me that if I distribute these books sincerely
to whomever I meet, I will attain spiritual perfection. I’m just sincerely trying to follow his orders
to the best of my ability.”
Often, upon hearing what I say the person will become interested in Çréla Prabhupäda’s books,
take some, and give a nice donation.
Often I’ll turn to the back cover and show them Çréla Prabhupäda’s picture and say, “This
is my spiritual grandfather. In these books he has presented Kåñëa as the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. These books have made people from all over the world devotees of Kåñëa.” Many
people like to hear that and automatically become interested in Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Then
I’ll say, “Is it not wonderful that two people who do not know each other from a bar of soap can
be the best of friends? Today you and I have proved to the rest of the world that friendship costs
nothing. Would the world not be a better place if more people could be like you and me?” They
agree and become very sincere. After I have given them Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, I give them a
big hug and whisper into their ears, “How did you become such a special spirit soul?”
Each fortunate person who takes one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books is a very rare soul. I try to
show my appreciation for the little service they have done for him.
150
* * *
Oàkära Däsa
I was distributing books in the LA airport on a Monday and it had become really tough for
me. For some reason the rest of the saìkértana team did well but I really struggled. Every day that
week I went out to the airport, and distribution kept getting more and more difficult, until Saturday
came. On Saturday nobody would even talk to me. I became very frustrated and felt miserable. I
was having the poignant realization of how I completely lacked the qualification to even attempt
to engage in Çré Kåñëa’s service. I felt like I wanted to die because my body was useless for serving
Kåñëa, but I knew I would go to the lower planets to suffer more if I left my body like that.
Feeling like a riven cloud, I asked Kåñëa from the bottom of my heart to have mercy on me.
The next person I saw I approached, and he actually showed some interest! I showed him the
Bhagavad-gétä and asked for a donation. He asked if he could have the book and I told him, “Of
course!” I was so excited he was even talking to me that I would have given him the book for free.
He pulled a bill out of his wallet and handed it to me. Without looking I put it right in my pocket.
I was so happy that I also gave him a Quest for Enlightenment, a Çré Éçopaniñad, and an invitation
card.
After he departed and was some distance away, I wondered what he had given me. I pulled the
note out of my pocket and saw that it was a $20 bill, but there was something inside. I unfolded the
bill to see another 20. I could tell there was still one more bill there, and so I took a look and saw
yet another 20! “Kåñëa is so kind,” I thought, “our best well-wisher.”
The next person I saw I approached, and he eagerly took a book and gave $20. The next person
did the same. I was in Vaikuëöha! The rest of the day I looked for people to give books to, and
everyone gave a nice donation until I ran out of books.
The next day I realized why all this had happened. Siddhänta Prabhu had been reading from
his memories book during breakfast when he read a story from Bhakta Däsa. At the time he was a
temple president and was noticing that he was having a hard time remembering Kåñëa throughout
his service. He had to travel somewhere and noticed he was able to remember Kåñëa better while
traveling. So he wrote Çréla Prabhupäda asking if it was better to do more service for Kåñëa and
remember Him less, or to do less service for Kåñëa and remember Him more. Çréla Prabhupäda
replied that it is our mission to remember Kåñëa as much as possible. But Bhakta Däsa should not
quit being temple president. Rather, he should realize that he had no qualification to be president
and to beg Kåñëa to give him the qualification to properly execute his service. In that way he would
remember Kåñëa at all times.
I realized then that I was not thinking of Kåñëa enough the previous week, and that that was
why I was having so much difficulty. As soon as I started turning to Kåñëa, then Kåñëa reciprocated
wonderfully. After hearing that story from Siddhänta, I meditated on those instructions during
saìkértana and had a blissful day. We must always remember Kåñëa and never forget Him. After
all, this is the Kåñëa consciousness movement!
* * *
Prabodhänanda Däsa
It had been a most disappointing day. We had been trying to distribute books for more than
two hours without anyone even looking at a single book, let alone taking one. It was becoming
151
more austere as temperatures soared in the summer heat of Mumbai.

Now it was late afternoon and we were exhausted. We began praying intensely, desperately
hoping our bags would lose some weight, for we’d been dragging them through the dense crowd
of passengers for quite a long time now. Just as we were planning to call it a day, I picked up two
SSRs and desperately ran toward two young men seated near a window. I placed the books in their
hands and told them about them. They didn’t even bother to give me a second look, absorbed as
they were in conversation. Dejected, with one final burst of energy I frantically turned the pages
and pointed to a picture of Çréla Prabhupäda. “Do you know who he is? He’s Çréla Prabhupäda.
He gave his life for you and me. He is your real friend.”
What we couldn’t do for so long, Çréla Prabhupäda did in a moment.
As they gazed at Çréla Prabhupäda’s picture, they simultaneously drew out money from their
wallets and bought the two SSRs, all the while inquiring about “the Swami.”
I learned an essential lesson: It’s Çréla Prabhupäda’s intense desire and compassion to deliver
the fallen souls that make people take these books, while we are nothing more than his simple
instruments. As this truth dawned on me, I regained my zest for distribution, and a till-then
disappointing afternoon ended in a most satisfying and ecstatic day of book distribution.
* * *
Saïjaya Däsa
I remember when I went out on book distribution for the first time alone. My mind gave me
a hard time, but I tried to do it for the pleasure of Çréla Prabhupäda, Çré Çré Nitäi-Gaurasundara,
Çré Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa, and Their devotees. For a long time no one responded. But I knew that if I
persisted Kåñëa would surely reciprocate. Also, we were told that we should not be attached to
the results: “Just perform your duty.” Karmaëy evädhikäras te mä phaleñu kadäcana: “You have
a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you’re not entitled to the fruits of action.” Saìkértana
is the practical means of applying this philosophy.
We learn many things during book distribution. We see how Kåñëa’s mercy flows. We may
think that a certain person surely won’t take a book—but he takes one and gives a nice donation.
On book distribution we have to approach people in a very humble state of mind, disregarding
their bodily designation and just seeing everyone as a spirit soul. We have to present each book as
an offering to the Paramätmä sitting within the person’s heart. We have to pray to the Paramätmä
to please inspire the person to take a book.
Humility means to work boldly for Kåñëa—to have confidence that we’re offering people the
highest of all things. And then just see how Kåñëa reciprocates! Initially book distribution may
be very difficult, but somehow Kåñëa helps. Just blissfully present the book to as many people
as possible. Do not get disturbed if someone shuns you or insults you or starts blaspheming. Just
ignore them and approach the innocent ones. As His Holiness Tamäl Krishna Goswami once
said, “We do not have the potency of Çré Nityänanda Prabhu or Çréla Haridäsa Öhäkura or Çréla
Prabhupäda to convince the most fallen.”
Try to convince, but stay away from arguments, because if you argue then passion and ignorance
may overcome you. His Holiness Kavicandra Swami once said, “Book distribution is like cycling
uphill. The moment you lose enthusiasm, you glide downwards. So it is a constant ecstatic struggle.
The more people you approach, the higher the probability of quality people taking a book from
you.”
152
* * *
Sthänu Däsa
I was distributing in a small town named Yambol, Bulgaria. I had been running all day with
a big bag full of books, but I’d distributed only one or two books. My mind was very disturbed
because it was soooo difficult.
Then I had a realization: “The problem is in my consciousness.”
Completely exhausted at the end of the day, I stood in front of a restaurant in the center of
town and prayed to Kåñëa: “Please forgive me for my lack of proper consciousness and help me be
Your surrendered instrument in this restaurant.”
The two security guards were very compassionate when they saw me lugging around my bag
of books, so they each purchased one and let me in. But they said, “Here no one will take a book;
the customers are not very philosophical.”
“Let me try.”
At the first table an old couple took two Bhägavatam volumes. At the second table a group of
people took a whole set of books—thirteen in all! I was in ecstasy seeing Kåñëa’s mercy in action.
Table three took three books. Within a few minutes I distributed more than thirty books. As I
looked over the restaurant, I saw that everyone was looking through the books and talking about
the beautiful pictures. It become a Vaikuëöha restaurant!
Now all I had left was a set of thirteen books. I approached a strange-looking man who said
he was a magician. He offered me a seat at his table and some herbal tea. Then he asked me to
explain the books. I quickly told him what was in every one of them. Then he thought a moment
and said, “These books are very dangerous! You must stop distributing them!”
“Thank you for the tea, but I’ll go on with my service. Goodbye.” I quickly arose from my
seat, remembering some verses from the sixteenth chapter of the Gétä about the qualities of the
demons.
There was one more table left, but the people there had no interest.
As I was about to leave, the magician came up to me and asked, “Hey, boy, how much do all
the books cost?” I told him the price, and to my surprise he paid it and took all thirteen books,
saying, “I will make a war with you guys, so I want to study the enemy.”
“Good luck!” I replied happily and left.
This all happened fifteen years ago, and we never heard from the magician. There was no war
against our movement; I think Kåñëa tricked him.
Kåñëa is amazing! We just have to surrender and allow Him to use us as an instrument: nimitta-
mätraà bhava savya-säcin (Bhagavad-gétä 11.33.
* * *
While I was distributing books in the airport in North Carolina, a man came up while I was
speaking to someone and disrupted the conversation. He was so nasty and obnoxious—criticizing
and using foul language—that the person I was speaking to left.
Then the man became even more obnoxious. He was so loud that everyone in the airport lobby
and at the ticket counter, gift shop, and restaurant was looking. A real foulmouth. I considered
leaving, but then I thought, “This is a really good spot and if I leave I’ll miss out on some good
153
distribution.” So I decided to just sorta deal with him humorously.

One thing that came out in between his insults and blasphemy was how he didn’t believe in
reincarnation and we did. So, with a lot of people now watching, I decided to tease him about that:
“I wonder what you’re going to be in your next life,” I said to him with a smile.
To my surprise, he started softening up when he saw I wasn’t intimidated by him. Then I got
him to eat a cookie, after he’d first refused it, saying I was probably trying to kill him. Suddenly he
took it and began to munch, cussing at me between bites.
Then all of a sudden he started revealing his mind. “A few months ago my best friend since
childhood was killed in a car accident. And a couple of weeks ago I had a dream. My friend came
to me and told me not to worry—he’d been reincarnated. He assured me he was alive and happy.
I asked him where he was and what he was doing. He told me he was living in a beautiful forest
with a big meadow. In the morning he would wake up and eat a healthy, natural breakfast. Then
he would go for a walk and sometimes a run, getting a lot of fresh air and exercise in the beautiful
meadow, with the early-morning sun beaming down and the birds singing. He then said, ‘Don’t
worry about me. I’m happily living in Canada. I’ve been reincarnated as a moose.’”
After the man told me about this dream, he looked bewildered—obviously because our belief in
reincarnation was the main thing he was agitated about, along with our being “cheaters,” “frauds,”
etc. So I said to him, “The reason you’re objecting so much to reincarnation is because you don’t
want to face the fact that you’re responsible for all your activities—the law of karma. Your dream
was no accident; your friend was trying to help you, and ultimately God is trying to help you.”
Suddenly, to the amazement of me and all the onlookers, he bought a book! But even as he
walked away, book in hand, his conflicted ideas and emotions came out: “Cheating! . . . Really,
that’s what happened to my friend?” He was pretty blissful by then.
Whew! What a scene! Afterward, many employees and passengers and even a policeman came
and apologized that I had to be confronted with such a low-class horrible person.
And the story’s not over yet. To my surprise, the person I was speaking to when the horrible
man came and interrupted us came through the airport again two weeks later and apologized for
leaving suddenly. I then showed him the books, and he took a few.
Book distribution is a constant adventure.
* * *
Uddhava Däsa
It was September 15, 2000, when we assembled our phalanx of book-distributing warriors one
block away from the site where the Sydney Summer Olympics would be held. Tens of thousands
of people would attend this carnival celebrating bodily consciousness.
Rüpa Raghunätha Prabhu, Australia’s Bhéñmadeva of saìkértana, led the advance because
he was the most experienced and was the only one who had been to an Olympics before. I felt
excited as I observed our little saìkértana army all ready to give up their (material) lives for Çréla
Prabhupäda. The assembled warriors included the small but dangerous Hrémän Kåñëa Prabhu,
the young and enthusiastic gurukuli Mädhavendra Puré Prabhu, the stunned-in-ecstasy Stambha
Bhäva Prabhu, the silent but transcendentally aggressive Çästra-kåta Prabhu, the mahä-ratha Rüpa
Raghunätha Prabhu with his faithful sidekick, Amåtänanda Prabhu, and myself.
A continuous stream of out-of-control sense enjoyers made their way from the train station
to the carnival grounds. We decided that Sergeant Stambha and Mad Maddy would give them
some purification before they even got into the stadium, while Rüpa, Hrémän, Çästra, and I would
154
infiltrate behind enemy lines. I wondered, “How on earth will we get in unnoticed with all these
book trolleys.” Suddenly I realized I had no real faith in Kåñëa. Any real devotee knows that with
the help of Yogamäyä Väsudeva snuck Baby Kåñëa out of Kaàsa’s prison right under the guards’
noses and safely carried Him all the way to Vraja. So, taking shelter of Kåñëa, with our fully loaded
trolleys we just followed the crowds in, purchased our tickets, and entered through the front gate,
straight past all the guards. We were too obvious to be discovered! So we stashed our ammunition
behind the soft drink machines and dove right into the nectar, distributing to the masses.
The battle was joined. I had never seen anything like it before in my life! Thousands of
conditioned souls were flooded into the stadium. The roadway we were on was about twenty
meters wide and was totally packed with people! So Hrémän and I just went mad. I felt like I was
on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra! Bang! “Please take a book, please give a donation.” Duck and
weave, slash and dash. Bang! “Please take, please help!” The boxes were emptying so fast we had
to call Stambha outside the gates to bring us more ammunition.
After some time Mädhavendra Puré bought a ticket and joined us because it had died down
outside. Every now and then a security guard would stroll past and I would hide behind the vendors.
Once when I was getting more books from behind the soft drink machines I saw a security guard
looking curiously at my boxes. So I just pretended I knew nothing of the boxes and walked straight
past him. Then there was one of those moments: I looked back at him and saw he was looking right
at me! But I easily played the part of an ignorant pleasure-seeker while Kåñëa’s yogamäyä potency
covered him. The guards didn’t cause us any problems for a few more hours.
Then Çästra-kåta arrived on the scene and told us how he’d been caught and escorted out of
the grounds by two guards playing good cop, bad cop. Çästra had been distributing with Rüpa
somewhere on the other side of the grounds and had returned to retrieve his books.
Soon Rüpa also arrived because their cover had been blown on the other side. Four of us
were now distributing in the same area, and the crowds were dying down, so the envious shop
owners could easily see our enthusiasm as we took all their customers’ money and gave it to Kåñëa.
Eventually the security guards caught on. They came to our five trolleys lined up behind the drink
machines and kindly but sternly ordered us all to leave.
On the way I preached to the guard giving us a royal escort out of the grounds. He was a nice
guy. He explained that even though he liked our mission, the shop owners had complained, and
so he had to bust us.
It was still very busy outside, so we all continued to distribute there. Then a guard came flying
over in his little golf buggy. “You can’t do that anywhere near the grounds,” he barked. “You must
go.”
So we walked around the corner and waited for Stambha Bhäva to bring the car. I just couldn’t
help myself—I kept trying to distribute Prabhupäda’s books. There were a few taxi drivers standing
beside one of their taxis, talking. I approached them. They were Middle Eastern. I said, “These
books will help the crazy people you pick up at night.” One driver told the other to take the books.
The other said, “OK, I’ll take the Bhagavad-gétä and Perfect Escape, and I’ll leave them in my cab
for the people to read.“
Just after he gave a donation another security guard came running over and said, “We have
cameras everywhere. You must stop or I will fine you.”
“We’re just waiting for our ride and will be gone soon.”
The guard left. When he was out of sight I quickly ran across the road and distributed one more
Gétä to an Indian taxi driver just as our books were being loaded into our car. All the cab drivers
were favorable to us and told us the guards had been rude to them. They also told us some good
spots we could distribute. We all jumped into the saìkértana chariot and made a swift getaway
155
after distributing hundreds of books.

What an amazing battle! Fighting for Kåñëa on the battlefield of book distribution is the most
exciting way to engage the fighting propensity.
* * *
Väsudeva Datta Däsa (TSKP Slovenia)
I was so ill that I couldn’t go out on saìkértana. I felt completely useless. I thought, “I’m just
spacing out here in the temple like a ghost. I have no desire to go out.” Then I realized that every
day on saìkértana is very special and is actually the mercy of Lord Caitanya. So I started to pray
like anything: “Please, Kåñëa, allow me to do saìkértana. Please give me the desire to go out.”
An hour later Mågendra Prabhu asked me if I would join him the next day at an event where
many vegetarian groups from around country would gather. Mågendra Prabhu would make
propaganda for his vegetarian courses and distribute halvä, and I would have a book stall. I agreed
wholeheartedly, seeing this opportunity as an answer to my prayer.
The organizers forbade any religious books, so we were supposed to have only cookbooks at
the stall. But we put Bhagavad-gétäs and some Çrémad-Bhägavatam volumes on the table also.
No one objected. People were mad after halvä throughout the course of the morning and early
afternoon, and they also took a lot of cookbooks and a few Bhagavad-gétäs.
But then at one point late in the afternoon all the visitors became very excited and started to
look in one direction. I noticed a crowd of photographers snapping pictures, and also some TV
cameras. Mågendra shouted, “Look! President Drnovsek is over there and is coming toward us.”
We had already distributed all the halavä. What to do? I was the only devotee in dhoté and tilaka,
and the president came right up to me and shook my hand. He told me he knew of our prasädam
distribution in the country. Then Mågendra Prabhu introduced his project of vegetarian cooking
classes. We apologized to the president for not having any halavä to offer him. “I know all about
halavä,” he replied in a jolly mood. “It’s great that you’ve distributed all the halavä to the other
guests.”
We were all laughing, and the onlookers were amazed at how relaxed the president was with
the devotees. We conversed a few minutes more, and then he told his secretary that he would
like to have our cookbook. He explained that he’d already gotten our Bhagavad-gétä on another
occasion. So I took the cookbook, called Krishna’s Kitchen, and an SSR and gave them to the
president as a gift. Reporters snapped photos as he happily thanked us. Then he proceeded further
into the fair without stopping at any other stall. He just went to the main stage, where he prepared
to give a speech in support of vegetarianism, since he is a vegetarian. But then suddenly rain
started pouring down and the whole function came to an end. So we packed up our things and
went back to the temple.
The next day Mågendra received a phone call from the president’s office. It was his secretary.
She said that they were very impressed by our presentation, and that she would like to enroll in
Mågendra’s cooking class. She also said that the president would like come and take lunch at our
temple.
Lord Kåñëa is really amazing. A few days earlier I had felt completely useless, unable to do
saìkértana. I desperately prayed to Çré Çré Païca-tattva to somehow or other engage me in their
preaching mission. And then the next day Kåñëa sent the president of Slovenia to our book stall!
Kåñëa is really God and can do anything if we take shelter of Him.
156
* * *
Vijaya Däsa
A few years ago I learned firsthand that distributing books in Ukraine is difficult because the
people are very poor. The average worker makes about $50 a month. At that time Ukraine had
one traveling party, with five devotees who traveled around the country in a twenty-one-year-
old Russian station wagon. I was amazed to hear of the austerities they had to undergo. When it
rained, which was quite often, all five devotees slept in the car. And even when the weather was
clear, one slept outside while four slept inside. I asked the saìkértana leader, “Why don’t you get
a van?”
“We pray for one every day,” he replied. I promised I would get a van for them, and by the
mercy of Kåñëa and some nice devotee donors, two years later they had a nice saìkértana vehicle.
One of the devotees on this party is a doctor, who shortly after beginning his medical practice
received a book from a devotee. After understanding that the body is just a dress for the soul and
that the soul is who we really are, he thought, “Why should I be so concerned with helping the
body? Better I help cure the root of the problem—the diseased soul.” Another devotee on this
party used to be a detective on the police force. Now he’s the saìkértana leader.
_______________________________
In the USA we have a government that is as corrupt as any, probably more so. But our Constitution
contains something called the Bill of Rights, which consists of the first ten amendments, and the
first one of these contains a statement that is very encouraging for all saìkértana devotees in the
USA: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech. . . .” Sometimes, however, the authorities at
the colleges I visit forget this amendment. I like to remind them.
At one college I set up a table with Bhagavad-gétäs, JSDs, SSRs, and several other books.
After awhile an administrator approached the table and said, “Our policy is that you have to buy
a permit to sell books on this campus. So you’ll have to pack up and leave. Now!”
I said, “This is not private property. This is public property, on which we have the right to
exercise our first amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Therefore you
can’t tell me to leave. However, if you can convince a policeman that what I’m doing is illegal, then
I’ll certainly leave. If a policeman does ask me to leave, however, then my lawyer will contact your
lawyer and you may very well find yourself in court.”
“Oh, okay,” she replied meekly.
I never heard from her again.
Every day I distributed around thirty books to the students at that college. As per my usual
practice, I got the email address of any student who took a book and added it to my email list.
Yesterday I received an email from a student at that college who said, “Your letters are a great
inspiration to me. I always look forward to reading them.”
All glories to the American founding fathers who wrote the First Amendment!
_____________________________
When we go on book distribution, we’re declaring war on Mäyä. Just as fighting in a shooting
war is dangerous, so going on book distribution can be spiritually dangerous, Sometimes book
157
distributors are tested by Mäyä, and if they fail the test they become her victims. So we have to be
careful, just as a man on a battlefield has to be very careful, remaining alert to the threats of an
enemy who can attack at any moment.
Once a brahmacäré who was distributing books met a nice lady who was interested in Kåñëa
consciousness. He got her email address and kept in touch with her for several years. Then one
day he left the temple without saying a word to anyone. Later the devotees learned that he’d run
off with that lady and given up Kåñëa consciousness. Two years later he came back to visit the
devotees and admitted that he’d made a mistake. He had married the lady, but a year and a half
later they’d divorced.
That we go on distributing books year after year, during both the hard times and the nectar
times, is a sign of love. A devotee who does this is sure to receive the mercy of Kåñëa. As Çréla
Prabhupäda writes in his purport to Çrémad-Bhägavatam 2.9.24:
In executing penance, one must be determined to return home, back to Godhead, and
must decide to undergo all types of tribulations for that end. Even for material prosperity,
name and fame, one has to undergo severe types of penance; otherwise no one can become
an important figure in this material world. Why, then, are there severe types of penance
for the perfection of devotional service? An easygoing life and attainment of perfection
in transcendental realization cannot go together. The Lord is more clever than any living
entity; therefore He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service. The
order is received from the Lord, either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master,
and to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance. One who
follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord’s mercy.
* * *
Bhakta Ari
I took blessings from Cäru-candra Prabhu, a leading North American book distributor, and
launched into my best, most enthusiastic book distribution session I can remember. For half an
hour down in our home base, the Broadway-Lafayette subway station in New York City, I was in
the flow. And then—Kåñëa just pulled the plug.
I couldn’t understand why. I didn’t feel particularly prideful or independent-minded. I
was grateful and happy to be serving Çréla Prabhupäda. But for whatever reason, my torment
continued. I began to suffer more and more from the pain of rejection, and from the contrast with
my previous success.
I wondered whether in Kåñëa consciousness there was such a thing as suffering without
meaning. Wasn’t that the difference between material and spiritual suffering? But alas, I could
not understand why Kåñëa was treating me in this seemingly arbitrary way. Kåñëaaa! How could I
approach people with any kind of confidence when I could predict exactly what words of rejection
each one was going to say before he even opened his mouth? I felt stymied.
After a while my friend Doyal Gauräìga Prabhu showed up on the scene. When he asked me
how I was doing, I told him the truth, but by then my attitude had subtly shifted. Bewilderment
and frustration had turned to acceptance and realization. It occurred to me that for the last forty-
five minutes or so I’d not really minded the suffering. I’d somehow entered a kind of liberated
state without my even noticing! Delighted and enlivened, I told Doyal Gauräìga how I felt that
158
Kåñëa had been working on me, sculpting me without my slightest awareness.

My results remained as meager as before, but my consciousness had cleaned up. By Kåñëa’s
special mercy I felt a kind of tranquil acceptance that I appreciated all the more because of my
previous distress. Then suddenly, again Kåñëa pulled the plug! Dissatisfaction and anxiety began
to subtly seep through the cracks of my consciousness. And as they reached a crescendo, I called
out with fervor, “Kåñëaaa! No one wants Your books out here! No one! What am I supposed to
do? You can compel people to take them better than I. But You’re not doing anything. Kåñëaaa!
Is this really what You want?”
Just after this outburst I approached a young bearded man who had an air of hipness. “Hey,”
I said, “I’m from Long Island. Where’re you from?”
“Alabama.”
“We’re just showing these books to nice folks. Check it out. It’s a classic of Eastern wisdom.
You’ve heard of karma, right? What goes around comes around? These ideas originate in this
book. Thoreau and Emerson said this book changed their lives. Gandhi said it gave him inspiration
in his darkest hour. I’m a monk. My name’s Ari. What’s yours?”
We spoke for but a moment before he exclaimed, “You know, I’ve been looking for this.” He
took a Gétä and gave me a generous donation. As he walked into the train that had arrived on
the platform, he turned to me slightly and said, “What you’re doing—it’s not easy.” He paused a
moment. “Keep doing it.”
And then the train swept him away.
My jaw dropped, but I wasn’t surprised. It’s said in saìkértana circles that if you perform the
service long enough you meet Kåñëa out there. It’s unavoidable.
* * *
Bhakta Uddhava
In the heart of Sydney’s hustle and bustle, with all my might I was trying to distribute Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books. After half an hour, nothing was happening. I could hardly even get someone
to stop, let alone take a book.
Heavily governed by the mode of passion, I was losing my enthusiasm, and I still had the whole
day ahead of me. So I cried out loudly, “Kåñëa! Help me! Nityänanda! Gauräìga!!” Many people
turned to look, startled.
I felt instant relief and kept trying.
Five minutes later a nice Nepalese student stopped. “Tapai Neapalio?” (“Are you from
Nepal?”), I said. He took a Bhagavad-gétä and gave me his contact info. As we were talking I
heard a voice from behind me: “Maharaja!” a man said while tapping me on the shoulder. I turned
around and he shoved a note into my hand. “Oh, thank you,” I said as I took what I thought
was a $5 bill. (For the record, I’m not a Mahäräja. I’m not even initiated yet. Just däsa-däsa-
anudäsa.) It’s quite common here in Australia that people just walk up to us and give a donation
out of appreciation for the Hare Kåñëa movement. I took a second look at the note. It was $100! I
couldn’t believe it. This had never happened to me before.
I tried to show my appreciation by giving him a stack of books, but he firmly declined and said
he had all the books already. He was carrying a gun on his belt and wearing a uniform indicating
that he was a security guard who helped transport money from banks, etc., in armored vehicles.
I begged him to please take something and gave him a copy of Searching for Vedic India, a book
by my gurudeva, His Holiness Devämåta Swami, who I’m aspiring to take initiation from. When
159
he saw the name of the author he was satisfied, as if he’d heard him speak before. He was a very
mysterious man. I’d never seen him before. He was like an undercover devotee or a demigod or
something. He accepted the book, respectfully said goodbye, and left me and the Nepalese student
at a loss for words.
The student asked me, “How did that happen?”
Right then I realized how, and so I told him that it was because I cried out to Kåñëa to help
about five minutes earlier.
So Kåñëa gave me some encouragement by sending both the nice Nepalese student and the
kind donor. The rest of the day was wonderful: I drowned in the waves of saìkértana nectar.
We are not alone on the streets. Whether we are having an easy time or a difficult time, Kåñëa
is right there with us, and whatever happens is all for our purification and the upliftment of the
conditioned souls.
End of Chapter Seven: Determination on Saìkértana
160
161
Chapter Eight
Ecstatic Encounters
Book distribution is my favorite activity. I love it. It really does give one a higher taste. Everyone
wants to experience happiness, and what I’ve found is that the greatest happiness can be found
in distributing books. I’ve experienced by far the happiest moments of my life while distributing
books. Some devotees have been distributing books for over forty years because they enjoy giving
Kåñëa to others; they know how much the people benefit and how much they themselves benefit.
We meet so many interesting people who appreciate Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Many devotees
I’ve spoken to who used to be book distributors say that the best years of their life were when they
were distributing Prabhupäda’s books. One may ask, “Why is that?” After all, book distribution
is not easy. So few devotees are able to stay with it over the long haul. So why is it so universally
appreciated by those who’ve done it? Because you really feel you’re doing the right thing when
distributing books. You experience the purification and the positive reciprocation with the people
and with Kåñëa. To do it you have to be sincere and devoted, and you have to have exemplary
sädhana. Sure, book distribution may be painful in the beginning, but as Kåñëa says in the
Bhagavad-gétä (18.37, 38), “That which is like poison in the beginning and nectar in the end is
happiness in the mood of goodness. That which is like nectar in the beginning and poison in the
end is happiness in the mood of passion.” Sometimes devotees do book distribution for only a
short time and thus experience only the “poison” part, but if they were to continue they would
experience the nectar part as well.
When I joined in Miami in 1978, the main activity was book distribution. The temple was
vibrant with activity, all based on book distribution. There was life and the temple was attractive.
I feel greatly blessed by Kåñëa that right at the beginning of my devotional life I was introduced to
book distribution—and the greater blessing is that I’m still doing it.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé has written a beautiful verse in which one gopé tells another that if
she wants to enjoy family life she should not go to see Govinda on a beautiful moonlit night at
Keçéghäöa. Similarly, if you want to enjoy material life, then don’t go out on book distribution
regularly, because you’ll lose your taste for material sense gratification by getting the higher taste
of giving Kåñëa to others.
Here are some accounts of ecstatic encounters devotees around the world have experienced
on book distribution.
* * *
His Holiness Indradyumna Swami
Poland—We had chanted on the beach in the morning, but around noon it began raining,
bringing an end to the longest period of good weather on the coast in living memory. Everyone on
the beach had to find shelter, but even though the skies cleared in the late afternoon, no one went
back there.
They all came to the Festival of India.
Every tourist in town must have come. I was sure of that because, as on the beach, it was
difficult to walk through the festival grounds. People were everywhere—the restaurant, the shops,
the booths, crowded in front of the stage. Of particular interest was our towering Ratha-yäträ cart,
which we had placed near the stage. Toward evening we put a light inside the canopy, making
the cart look like a gigantic lantern. It was a real crowd-pleaser. People lined up to get photos of
162
Chapter 8: Ecstatic Encounters
themselves taken in front of it.
At one point I noticed a man standing in front of the cart, looking at it, shaking his head as if
in disbelief. I wondered what he might be thinking, so I went up to him with Räma Acyuta Däsa.
“Is there some problem, sir?” I asked.
He kept his eyes fixed on the huge cart. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s the real thing. It’s a
Ratha-yäträ cart.”
I was surprised he even knew the right name. “How do you know what a Ratha-yäträ cart is?”
I asked.
He turned to me for a brief moment and then looked back at the cart. “Nine years ago I worked
in a coal mine in the south,” he said. “It was a dismal job, and dangerous too. Once some of my
colleagues were killed when a mine shaft caved in. I didn’t go back into that black hole again. I quit
my job and stayed home, praying to God to deliver me from this horrible world.
“One day I decided to go to the town library and look for books about spiritual life. As I searched
through the shelves, I found the Caitanya-caritämåta, translated by Bhaktivedanta Swami. There
were nine volumes. I glanced through the first one, but I couldn’t understand a thing. I decided to
check it out anyway and take it home. When I went to the desk, the librarian smiled. She said the
book had been there for years and I was the first person to take it out.
“I was desperate for spiritual knowledge, and I read the book over and over. Gradually I
began to understand it. Two weeks later, I went back for the second volume, and a week later,
for the third. I didn’t do anything but read day and night. After several months I had read all nine
volumes at least twice.
“I learned a lot. I was amazed by Lord Caitanya, an incarnation of God. And there was the
explanation of the five ways to love God. I had never imagined that spiritual life could be so
profound, so deep.
“My favorite part was the description of the Ratha-yäträ festival, where Caitanya sang and
danced with His people. I lamented that I had been born too late to take part in those historic
times.
“Sometimes Swami mentioned a movement that was spreading all over the world, a movement
whose followers sang Hare Kåñëa, as Caitanya did. I wrote to the addresses in the books but never
received a reply. I prayed to God to help me find the movement, but to no avail.
“Then this morning, as I lay on the beach after a swim, I suddenly heard people singing Hare
Kåñëa. I sat up with a start. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There must have been a hundred people,
many with drums and cymbals. It was as if the books I’d read about Caitanya were coming to life.
“But one thing confused me: there was no Ratha-yäträ cart. For this to be real, there had to
be a Ratha-yäträ cart. At first I thought you people were doing a theatrical performance, but
then I thought, ‘Maybe this is the movement the Swami wrote about. Is God finally answering my
prayers?’
“I took an invitation, and when it started to rain I went back to my hotel. I was waiting anxiously
for the festival to begin. When the time came, I walked quickly from my hotel. When I came near
the festival site and heard the singing, I started to run, and I soon found myself at the entrance. But
there was such a crowd! I couldn’t see anything. I pushed my way through the people and made it
onto the field.
“I was stunned by it all: the colorful tents, the big stage, the singing. But was it real? Was it
Caitanya’s movement? Then suddenly, to my amazement, I saw the Ratha-yäträ cart. I walked
over here and touched it. The Lord has answered my prayers. I have found Caitanya’s movement.”
Several devotees had gathered to listen, and when he finished we were all speechless. I was
overwhelmed by his story and the mercy of Lord Caitanya.
163
He was still looking at the cart. “Excuse me if I seem a little emotional,” he said. “I hope you
understand.”
“I do understand,” I said.
He turned to me with tears in his eyes. “What do I do now?” he said slowly.
I took his hand. “You weren’t born too late,” I said. “You’ve come at the perfect time. You can
help us spread this movement. The saints say that Lord Caitanya is present wherever His devotees
are serving Him.”
rathärüòhasyäräd adhipadavi néläcala-pater

adabhra-premormi-sphurita-naöanolläsa-vivaçaù
sa-harñaà gäyadbhiù parivåta-tanur vaiñëava-janaiù
sa caitanyaù kià me punar api dåçor yäsyati padam
“Çré Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced down the main road in great ecstasy before Lord Jagannätha,
the master of Néläcala, who was sitting on His car. Overwhelmed by the transcendental bliss of
dancing, and surrounded by Vaiñëavas who sang the holy names, He manifested waves of ecstatic
love of Godhead. Will He again become visible before the path of my eyes?”
* * *
When a devotee distributes books, Kåñëa, who is within the heart of the book distributor, is
most pleased, and as His pleasure potency expands through the devotee’s heart, that potency
intoxicates him with its effects.
I’m sure all book distributors have felt the intoxicating effects of saìkértana bliss. On occasion
I was also fortunate enough to be blessed in this way. It didn’t happen every day, but when it did,
I found it difficult to stop saìkértana. Although I may have been tired, I had to do just one more
book, to get one more blessing from Kåñëa. And that phrase — “Just one more” — became a
saìkértana mantra. When a saìkértana party was ready to go back to the temple, there was always
one devotee floating in bliss who would say, “Just one more.” Sometimes we waited for him, and
sometimes we just left him behind, knowing he would stop only when he became too tired or ran
out of books.
One Saturday in Montreal the devotees left me behind. I had to do just one more book. It
felt too good to stop. There is no happiness like the happiness a devotee feels when Kåñëa and
Prabhupäda are pleased with him. I was walking on clouds.
I wandered the shopping streets on this pleasant summer evening, selling books until all the
shops closed. But the taste of book distribution was so addictive that I had to do just one more.
I went into a large hotel lobby and sold books until they threw me out. I went into another hotel
and went door to door until I got caught. Back on the street, I thought, “Where will I go now?” I
was standing on a street with many popular nightclubs and bars, and since by that time it was after
8 pm, the area started to fill up. So I walked around selling books to people going to or leaving the
clubs.
The nature of saìkértana bliss is that whoever you speak to can also taste it. So as I approached
couples who were already intoxicated from drinking, they would also feel some of what I was
feeling, and that was almost all they needed to buy a book.
By eleven o’clock I was down to a few Bhägavatam volumes (Second Canto). I approached a
164
group of maybe four well-dressed couples. They were all drunk. I stopped them and placed all my
books in their hands. Lord Caitanya must have thought of Jagäi and Mädhäi at that moment, since
I felt such a surge of happiness that I just stood in the middle of the group, rocking on my heels,
smiling at them.
At first they laughed and looked at the books. I was just standing there beaming as they
exchanged amused glances, until one of them asked, “Are you high on something?” Everyone
laughed. Then they all started asking the same question, which brought me back to my senses. I
replied, “I’m high on the natural happiness of the soul, which comes through yoga. Read about it
in these books. Please give a donation.” They bought all the books, and with nothing to sell I went
back to the temple. It was past midnight.
Since Sunday was a day of rest and the Love Feast, it became my habit to stay out till midnight
on Saturdays to do “just one more.” When we did airports, almost every day was like Saturday.
When we lay down at night and noticed one devotee hadn’t returned from saìkértana, we knew he
was blissed out, walking around in the terminal doing “just one more.”
––––––––––––––––––––––––––
[The following is excerpted from an homage Çivaräma Swami wrote for Çréla Prabhupäda’s 1994
Vyäsa-püjä book.]
Dear Çréla Prabhupäda,

Please accept my humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to you on the
celebration of your appearance day.
While planning a composition for your offering, I was attending to my regular correspondence.
One letter stood out among the others. I enclose it here, translated into English, for your pleasure.
Dear Çivaräma Swami,

Hare Kåñëa. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Çréla Prabhupäda. I
hope you do not mind my writing to you. I have never written to a spiritual master before.
You do not know me. My name is Bhaktin Dora and I live in Pecs [Hungary]. I am 14 years
old, and I live at home with my mother and older sister.
In 1992 I went to the Hare Krishna Festival with a friend. I was not very interested, but I
enjoyed the chanting and dancing at the end. After it was over I bought a book, The Science
of Self-Realization. I do not know why—generally I never read. I think it was because of
the chanting.
I took the book home and forgot about it. One day my mother found it and was very
angry with me. She thought that I was reading this kind of thing. You see, our family
members are all very strict Catholics. They thought Kåñëa consciousness was some kind of
“brainwashing.” Actually, I wasn’t reading the book—I had forgotten all about it. Somehow
it just “appeared.” Anyway, my mother was going to throw it away.
My grandmother, who is 68, was in the kitchen at that time. She lives in the apartment
upstairs. She came in and took the book. She looked at it and scolded me in a very heavy
way. I thought that that would be the end of it. I did not mind so much, as I was in a lot of
mäyä at the time.
About a week later I overheard a conversation between my mother and grandmother.
Granny was saying that this was not some ordinary book. She said that what Prabhupäda
was saying is what Jesus Christ said and that Kåñëa is God. I was very surprised. She said
165
that we should listen to what Prabhupäda said and chant Hare Kåñëa because that was the
religion for this age. There was a lot talk about how Christianity was no more, and no one
was following the Bible, but what Prabhupäda had said was pure and perfect.
Things really took a turn from there. One day my grandmother visited the näma-haööa
center here and began to chant on beads. She also began to buy Prabhupäda’s books one
by one. She was spending her whole pension on buying what she called the “beautiful,
holy Bhägavatam.” Sometimes she could only afford to eat potatoes, but she kept buying
the books. The devotees even came to her flat and helped her set up an altar. When I
went upstairs, they had taken all her old pictures down, and there were Kåñëa pictures
everywhere.
That was really the beginning. One night granny had a dream about Prabhupäda.
Something really amazing happened to her then. I don’t know what it was, but she began
to get very enthusiastic. Next she began to get the whole family involved—I mean, not just
me and my mother and sister, but her two sons, their wives and six children, as well as her
brothers, sisters, and relatives. Before she used to carry a Bible with her and quote Jesus
Christ. Now she has a Bhagavad-gétä and quotes “the good Lord Prabhupäda.” She has
become a veritable transcendental terror. Everyone in the family has to chant at least one
round a day. In addition, Granny has made everyone become a vegetarian, including my
dog Sikra, and we offer our food to a picture of Prabhupäda and Lord Caitanya.
Now I am also getting out of mäyä and chanting and reading a little also. Where I go
to school my friends inquire about Kåñëa, as they know I am a devotee. The whole family
goes to the näma-haööa—all sixteen of us. During the Christmas Marathon we all tried to
distribute Prabhupäda’s books. Even Granny would take books with her to the market and
sell them to the vendors. Everyone is afraid of her because she is fearless. They all think she
has gone crazy, but she doesn’t care.
Now she is saving to go to Budapest to see the newly installed Deities. She has heard that
Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityänanda “have come to Hungary” and are being worshiped in
Budapest by the devotees. She says she wants to see God just once in this life.
At this year’s Hare Kåñëa festival you spoke to the guests after the kértana. You must
remember my grandmother because she came and sat right beside you and asked so many
questions. At the end, when you stood to leave, she even kissed your hand. Remember? I
also wanted to ask a question, but I was shy. Could I please ask you now? I hope you do
not mind, Mahäräja.
I want to know what kind of man Çréla Prabhupäda was. He must be so dear to Kåñëa to
have spread this message all over the world. What are these books that changed my family
so much? How is it possible that he can speak so powerfully through them? You must feel
very fortunate to be his disciple. How great a man he is! Sometimes when my granny chants
in front of a picture of Kåñëa, she cries. How does Prabhupäda do that? I want to cry like
that too. Granny dreams of Prabhupäda, and sometimes she talks to his picture. Although
it says on the cover of the book that he passed away, is Prabhupäda really dead, or is he still
alive? Do you think I can meet him some day?
I’m sorry that I’ve gone on so. I would like to be a good devotee one day and help you
and Prabhupäda spread Kåñëa consciousness. Please could you answer my questions?
Your servant,
Bhaktin Dora
166
- - - - - - -
Çréla Prabhupäda, this is one letter, from one girl who came in contact with you through one
of your books. How many millions of such souls are there who have yet to write, who are directly
experiencing your mercy daily, who read your books with implicit faith, whom you talk to in
dreams and pictures, whose lives you change abruptly and reward with tears when chanting the
holy name? How many people cross the boundaries of rules and regulations by the strong boat of
your mercy and practice and taste Kåñëa consciousness in a realm beyond logic and argument? I
think these people are meeting you every day.
* * *
Praghoña Däsa (ACBSP)
In his purport to Caitanya-caritämåta Madhya 24.277, Çréla Prabhupäda writes:
When a touchstone touches iron, it turns the iron to gold. Parvata Muni called Närada Muni
a touchstone because by his touch the hunter, who was the lowest among men, became
an elevated and perfect Vaiñëava. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura said that the position of
a Vaiñëava can be tested by seeing how good a touchstone he is—that is, by seeing how
many Vaiñëavas he has made during his life. A Vaiñëava should be a touchstone so that
he can convert others to Vaiñëavism by his preaching, even though people may be fallen
like the hunter. There are many so-called advanced devotees who sit in a secluded place
for their personal benefit. They do not go out to preach and convert others into Vaiñëavas,
and therefore they certainly cannot be called sparça-maëi, advanced devotees. Kaniñöha-
adhikäré devotees cannot turn others into Vaiñëavas, but a madhyama-adhikäré Vaiñëava
can do so by preaching. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu advised His followers to increase the
numbers of Vaiñëavas.
yäre dekha, täre kaha ‘kåñëa’-upadeça

ämära äjïäya guru haïä tära’ ei deça
(Cc. Madhya 7.128)
It is Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s wish that everyone should become a Vaiñëava and guru.
Following the instructions of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and His disciplic succession, one
can become a spiritual master, for the process is very easy. One can go everywhere and
anywhere to preach the instructions of Kåñëa. The Bhagavad-gétä is Kåñëa’s instructions;
therefore the duty of every Vaiñëava is to travel and preach the Bhagavad-gétä, either in
his country or a foreign country. This is the test of sparça-maëi, following in the footsteps
of Närada Muni.
Last Christmas I gave a copy of Beyond Birth and Death to a very senior lady while on saìkértana
at Rockefeller Center in New York City. She was no less than 75 years old. She was with her family
and was clearly experiencing ill health. Her hair was gone, and she wore a cap to cover her head.
Ignoring the balance of the group for a moment, I asked her, “Are you presently confronted with
167
the difficulties of cancer and the side effects of chemo?”
She was somewhat taken aback but instantly smiled and said, “Yes, I am.”
“Been there, done that,” I said softly, smiling. “I can relate.” Then jokingly I said, “You up for
a little skating?” (There’s a famous skating rink at Rockefeller Center.) “My treat, of course. We
could have them put on ‘Bolero’ and do our best imitation of Torville and Dean! We win, we go
to Disneyland! Together!”
She laughed at my suggestion, but she was clearly loving the attention!
Her family kept walking, but she stayed. I said, “I’ve heard it through the grapevine that you
want this Christmas to be extra special.”
“You bet!” she instantly shot back. “Could be my last!”
“At least in this body, eh?” I replied.
Then without any prompting she opened her coat and showed me that she had lost her breast
and an arm to surgery during the treatment, as well as two ribs.
I said, “Well in my opinion, after years of marriage, breasts and arms can be overrated.”
She fell in love with me on the spot!
I then got serious, not wanting to waste her trip to NY with idle chatter. Taking the cue she’d
handed me, I said, “Speaking of this body, I’m going to make this Christmas special for you. Here’s
something beyond special.” I handed her a copy of Çréla Prabhupäda’s Beyond Birth and Death
and said, “This very book was my savior while I went through my own confrontation with cancer.”
Her eyes widened like a child’s.
I gave her a brief synopsis of the book and asked her sweetly to please try to read it as soon as
possible.
“Ok,” I said, “we better cut this short, or I’m gonna be arrested for excessive flirting with a
Gorgeous Granny. They’re pretty strict about that here in the Big Apple, darlin’.”
She was ready to elope with me if I’d asked her!
We hugged like dear friends and she walked off with a beautiful smile.
One would think this encounter ended there, right?
Nope, it gets infinitely better.
Two hours later I’m working away, talking with an interested group, when I look to my left and
who’s standing there patiently, waiting for me to finish?
Yep, Gorgeous Granny.
I cut my work short with the group I was with, turned, and said, “Couldn’t stay away, eh? You
bring your skates?”
But she was not laughing. She said, “I’m so deeply grateful to you for this book. I read it cover
to cover in the last two hours, sitting in Dean and Deluca’s restaurant. My family thought I was
losing it. I told them they should just go do their shopping and I would be there when they got
back. I cannot tell you how much this book has affected me.”
Then she very humbly said, “I do not have long in this world. How do you pronounce this word
for God? KER-SNA?”
I said, “KRISH-NA. It’s the oldest and most wonderful name of God. It is His actual name. In
the spiritual world, everyone calls Him that. It means ‘The most beautiful person’ in every way.”
“Oh, that is just marvelous,” she said. “Just marvelous!”
Then she said something that I will never forget until the day I leave this world.
“Will Kåñëa accept me when I leave this world? Do you think He will welcome me?”
I did not hesitate. I opened the book and showed her the last paragraph, which begins with
this sentence: “Merely by chanting [the Holy Name], one can enjoy all the benefits of the personal
association of the Lord.”
168
I then turned her attention to the mahä-mantra, which Çréla Prabhupäda gives in the book in
numerous places.
I said, “So from now on every day try to remember to recite this very simple mantra, or prayer,
and Kåñëa will indeed accept you. Not just when you leave your body, but right now.” Then I
chanted the whole mantra with her and she smiled like my son Väëé when he beats me at checkers.
I tapped her on the head with affection and said, “Consider yourself accepted!”
She was ecstatic!
If I had a dollar for every experience like this that the saìkértana devotees have had over the
years, right now I would be sitting on the banks of the Gaìgä in Mäyäpur, without a financial care
in the world!
We must all pray that we never miss a single golden opportunity to bring the fallen souls into
even the briefest contact with Lord Kåñëa’s Holy Name and His most wonderful and amazing
touchstone, His Divine Grace Çréla Prabhupäda, through his books. Just as one sneeze on the
subway can set in motion an entire epidemic, so one recitation of the name of Lord Kåñëa by any
devotee or one distributed book can set in motion a sequence of events of “epidemic” proportions,
which even the most faithful could scarcely believe.
* * *
Aiçvarya Däsa
Christmas Eve in the malls is pure, unalloyed passion. Too much of the mode of passion can
bring a person to the lowest common denominator. At this point something interesting happens.
A couple of short snippets:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Mathurädhéça hands two books to a normal-looking couple and explains them. The boy tells
him, “I’m lost.” When Mathurä offers that these books will help him, the girl stands up and affirms
sincerely, “He’s lost! Which is the best book for him?” He got a Journey of Self-Discovery to point
him in the right direction.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
I stopped a couple from Santa Cruz and handed them a Light of the Bhägavata. The girl told
me her friend had the book and was very attached to it. She clung on to it too. The boy also knew
the book and asked me if I’ve heard of The Nectar of Instruction. It happened that I had that
book in my bag, and when I handed it to him he held it to his heart and, with a tear in his eye,
loudly proclaimed to everyone within earshot: “This is the best book in the world!” The Nectar of
Instruction! He had had it before and had consulted it during all his times of woe. It had remained
with him for years, but somehow he’d recently lost it. Now he’d been reunited with his old friend.
In all the years I’ve distributed books, I’ve never seen anyone react to a book with that much
emotion.
Maybe that’s why I keep coming back to this service of distributing books. Maybe that’s why
this service is more important to me than all my troubles and problems.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––
169
Not Christmas eve . . .
–––––––––––––––––––––––––
It’s all in the Holy Names. If I could make the Holy Name my only shelter, then my life would
be successful. Everything else is circumstantial.
But circumstances happen! And favorable circumstances are affected by how Kåñëa conscious
we are. Among many subconclusions, we can logically deduce that since Kåñëa knows past, present,
and future, and since serving Kåñëa brings us knowledge, it will naturally follow that devotional
service includes knowledge of all times. Get this . . .
At the end of a particularly exhilarating day of book distribution in Thessaloniki (the second
largest city in Greece), Tära Prabhu was wandering in bliss toward the van. It’s hard to describe
this kind of bliss to someone who has not distributed books, for it’s a special ecstasy that’s organic
to this particular type of sacrifice.
Amazing things happen, and so it happened that on this particular evening one chubby, joyful,
local Thessalonikian walked across our hero’s path. What does one in the trance of ecstasy do
when such things occur? The answer: loudly call out the Holy Name of the Lord in an animated
way, which, as uttered by Tära, sounded like the Greek word for “Excuse me!”
When such things happen, it is almost like one can see the future, as Kåñëa mercifully gives his
servant the ability to see what is going to happen and, as in this case, what has happened in the
past.
Vasilis turned, put his arms up in the air, and roared his approval and recognition: “Hey!”
He walked over to Tära, shook hands, and after a moment of contemplation asked the obvious
question: “So, where do I know you from?”
“What do you mean, ‘Where do you know me from?’? I was your uncle Louie in our last life.”
In order to fully appreciate the sweet exchange that is about to take place, you have to imagine
Tära engaging his famous New York Italian accent in the Lord’s eternal service.
Vasilis began to recollect: “Oh, yeah, that’s right, Uncle Louie.”
It is truly amazing how by the mercy of a devotee one can see right through the fog of illusion
and grasp the eternality of the soul. At this point Tära (Uncle Louie) initiated the following past-
life–regression session:
“Yeah, we were close in our last life. You remember Italy?”
“That must be why I love spaghetti so much in this lifetime,” Vasilis stated.
“Yeah, of course. You remember—we were partners in crime there. We were in the mob
together.”
Vasilis began to see the logic in this. “It’s all now making sense. When The Godfather came out
on DVD, I ran to the store to buy it. Now, meeting you, I can understand why I was so attracted
to Italian things. They sure were the good old days, huh Louie?”
“So what are you doing this lifetime?” asked Louie.
“Well, I’ve been doing a lot of writing. I’m a writer. And what are you up to?”
“Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve been living in India as a monk for many years. I’ve been
teaching Eastern philosophy and meditation. I came back to see you because I had to give you one
of these books.”
“No kidding!” exclaimed Vasilis. “I’ve been studying a lot of religious books myself lately. I’ve
studied books from all different traditions.”
At this point Vasilis thought it proper to give some charity and take a book. After all, you don’t
170
meet Uncle Louie every lifetime. “It was great to meet you again,” he proclaimed before returning
to Greece.
Tära was soon talking with a lady from Macedonia about a book, but during the conversation
her friend Maria showed up. Luckily, at that time Tära was still employing his New York Italian
accent, and so Uncle Louie was easily channeled to the rescue.
“Well, it’s about time you got here! You finally showed up back here to get the book.”
The Macedonian lady’s friend looked curious and asked, “You know me?”
“Maria, right?” Tära suggested. (Lucky guess!)
“Yes, I’m Maria. How did you know my name?”
“What do you mean ‘How did I know your name?’? You don’t recognize me?”
“No.”
“Anyway, don’t worry about it. I’ll forgive you this time.”
In case you were wondering, Uncle Louie is the same Louie that Tära Prabhu would remind
people about in the Los Angeles airport. Tära would hand someone a book and tell him to pass
it on to Louie. He’s the same Louie that one person became very emotional about after being
reminded of his Uncle Louie by Tära. In tears he asked, “How did you know my Uncle Louie just
died and I’m on the way to his funeral?”
So Louie has performed exceptional devotional service over the years, and he was not ready
to retire just yet.
“So, where do we know each other from?” asked Maria.
“I was your Uncle Louie in the last lifetime. You don’t recognize me? What’s the matter with
you? Anyway, keep the book. We’re just asking a small donation today.”
Both ladies took books with smiles on their faces, but Maria just had to add, “You’re really
scaring me, you know that?”
So throw out those old astrology books. Give away those past-life–regression videos. If you
want to really know about the past, present, and future, pick up your old book bag and get out
there. Uncle Louie’s still waiting for you!
* * *
Caitanya-lélä Devé Däsé
I was distributing books in a small parking lot and looked at my watch. Still twenty
minutes to go, and I had only two Kåñëa books left in my bag. It had been a good day, I
thought. Little did I know how special it was about to become . . .
A young man approached and I presented him with a book. He was interested and
without a word gave me twenty euros. I began asking him some questions, and he opened
up. He said he’d had Bhagavad-gétä As It Is for fifteen years and studied it regularly. He’d
also bought several other books by Çréla Prabhupäda online. But he’d never seen a devotee
before we’d met! He was a dentist in search of the purpose of life. Çréla Prabhupäda books
were his only reading matter.
Then I had an idea. “You know,” I said, “you can’t imagine what I have for you—
the greatest literary work in the world: a full set of Çrémad-Bhägavatams.” As I explained
the Bhägavatam to him, his eyes became wider and wider. We both went to the van, and
when I opened the box containing the Bhägavatam set its radiance made the gray parking
lot effulgent. I said to my new friend, “I know you’re vegetarian, but are you also offering
171
your food to Kåñëa?”
“Oh, yes. I have pictures of Lord Caitanya and Kåñëa on my altar.”
I was shocked. We were both laughing out of happiness. Then I said, “You know, I have
another set of books called the Caitanya-caritämåta. Çréla Prabhupäda told us it is the postgraduate
study after the Çrémad-Bhägavatam.”
“Really? Yes, yes I will take all of them!”
As a present I gave him some other books he didn’t have yet. I also gave him the
telephone number of a devotee living nearby and the address of the nearest temple.
Çréla Prabhupäda does miracles. His books alone are making devotees. We just have
to go out and find them.
* * *
I was standing on the street at the entrance of a very large and busy electronics/music/book
store in Paris called “La FNAC.” One young man with a ponytail walked by me, heading inside
the store. I stopped him and showed him a Çrémad-Bhägavatam volume. His eyes widened and he
exclaimed, “I can’t believe this! I can’t believe it! I was just going into this store to buy a copy of
the Rämäyaëa! I’m very, very much interested in Hare Kåñëa. In fact, I met you guys sometime
back in Scotland. Then I also saw you in Peru. I’m going to India in a month, and I have a lot of
questions I want to ask.”
Sure enough, Keveen, who is half American, bought three books. As a gift I gave him the DVD
documentary of the installation of the Mäyäpur Païca-tattva deities. I also invited him to visit us
at the Mäyäpur festival in late February. Keveen wrote me the following words a few days later:
“Dear Chandra, I’ll be in India on the 24th in Bombay, then bumming around with my bike. I
hope I’ll get the opportunity to cycle to your place [Mäyäpur] and enjoy your rich spiritual life. Ps:
I have started the first book you gave me. Wow dude; it’s great!”
* * *
Carñaëé Devé Däsé
New Age people love the term synchronicity. It means when two related incidents happen
apparently by coincidence in a short space of time. I had this experience while doing book
distribution in Broome, a small tourist town up in the isolated northwest of Australia.
While going door-to-door with Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, I entered a New Age gift store and,
as I do wherever I go, displayed the books to the manager and told her a bit about them. Being
quite spiritually inclined, she was interested and picked them up to get a better look. When she
picked up the Bhagavad-gétä and turned it over, she gasped in surprise. “I know about this man!”
she exclaimed, looking at the picture of Çréla Prabhupäda. “I read about him just last night in a
book about ascended masters!” She had a bit of trouble pronouncing Çréla Prabhupäda’s name,
but she remembered quite a bit about his life and proceeded to tell me what she could remember—
especially how he had come to the West to preach, to fulfill the order of his spiritual master. She
was so excited about the “synchronicity,” the apparent coincidence of me turning up with Çréla
172
Prabhupäda’s books so soon after she had been reading about him, and she was so convinced that
it was an auspicious spiritual sign, that she purchased everything I was carrying, six books!
* * *
Cärucandra Däsa
Once at the Los Angeles Airport I stopped two young girls. One of them had a nose ring, so I
asked her, “Do you know where nose rings originated?”
“India?” she ventured.
“Yes, very good,” I replied, “but I have the suitable philosophy to go with the nose ring,” and
I handed her and her friend copies of SSR. When they opened the books they saw the saàsära
picture and enthusiastically told me they had this picture on a wall in their room (they were
roommates). When I explained to them what the book was about they were completely in ecstasy,
but since they had no cash they asked me if I accepted checks and I said yes. While one girl looked
in her backpack for the checkbook, the other wanted to see the other books I had with me. So I
showed her all eight books I had, and she wanted all of them. I told her the price was around $50.
She asked me which books she should read first, and I told her the exact sequence to read the
books, which she carefully wrote down.
After they’d received the books, one of the girls asked me which mantras I was chanting.
“Well, since I’m a Hare Kåñëa monk, I chant the Hare Kåñëa mantra.”
“I chant om,” she replied.
I opened the Çrémad-Bhägavatam and showed her the first verse, with the om in oà namo
bhagavate väsudevaya, and explained to her the meaning of om: “Oh my Lord!”
She was overwhelmed to hear that. She wanted to know which other mantras she could chant,
and I said, “The best mantra is the Hare Kåñëa mantra: Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa,
Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.”
She began jumping up and down in ecstasy and shouted: “I always wanted to chant Hare
Kåñëa!”
I was startled, to say the least.
She gave me her name and address and I promised to mail her a tape with a recording of the
mahä-mantra on it and to keep in contact with her and her friend. They walked away blissed out,
with a stack of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
* * *
Jagannätha Däsa
I was walking down a street in downtown Kansas City when I suddenly felt an incredible force
inside me, pushing me to give a book to a woman walking on my left. I handed her a Science of
Self-Realization and told her what the book was about. She said, “Sure I’ll buy this book. Let me
give you a donation.” As she handed me five dollars she said, “Actually, I’m a Christian, see? [She
pointed to a little cross hanging around her neck.] I was just praying to Jesus that I want to love
God more than anything else in my life. At that time I felt a more intense connection with God
than I’ve ever felt in my life. I thought, ‘What’s going to happen next?’ Then I walked out here
and you handed me this book!”
173
––––––––––––––––––––––––
I was having a really tough time, having gotten forty cold no’s in a row. I thought, “I can’t go on;
this is too difficult.” But I fought the current of my mind and just kept going, depending on Kåñëa’s
mercy. Just then I saw a new-age–looking lady pushing a shopping cart out of a supermarket.
Thinking “She’ll never take a book,” I walked right past her. Suddenly I heard her call out, “Hey,
let me see what you have there.” I turned around, walked a few steps, and handed her an SSR.
She’d caught me so off guard that I forgot my mantra: “Uh, um,” I stammered, “it’s about yoga.”
“Great!” she said. “I’ve been wanting to read a book like this.” She then handed me twenty
dollars and told me to keep the change. “God bless you for what you’re doing.”
I smiled to myself as she drove away, marveling at Kåñëa’s arrangement. I learned something
there: Don’t judge a book by its cover.
* * *
Karuëä-dhäriné Devé Däsé
There is a lot of fun and realization in book distribution. Quite often students come to our
table to take books, and some offer comments. “This picture is sooo beautiful,” one girl said,
about the painting of Kåñëa and Arjuna on the cover of the Gétä. Another said, “I got a Science
of Self-Realization and loved that book. Which book should I read next?” Once a boy said, “‘As
soon as a man is born, he dies at every moment.’ When I read that it blew me away!” Then, calling
his friend’s attention to Çréla Prabhupäda’s picture on the back of the Gétä, he said, “Man, this is
the guy who wrote that! He is so cool.” Still another student said, “I read your Higher Taste, and
it changed my whole life.”
* * *
Lélä-Mädhava Däsa
I was distributing on a sidewalk at an intersection in Barcelona, Spain. Every day I would try
to stop the same young lady, but she would ignore me. One day I walked with her a few meters,
pleading with her in a friendly way: “Come on! Just take one book!” Pointing to the Teachings of
Queen Kunté I was holding, I said, “Here, please take the teachings of the queen!”
But to no avail; she wouldn’t stop.
However, the next day when I saw here she humbly approached me and asked, “Can I buy the
Teachings of Queen Kunté?”
Surprised, I replied, “How did you know the name of the queen?”
I clearly remembered not having mentioned Queen Kunté’s name to her but saying only “Please
take the teachings of the queen.” But here she was, asking explicitly for the Teachings of Queen
Kunté. She replied, “Actually, I had a dream of this Queen Kunté last night. She told me, ‘Go buy
my book from that man.’” Queen Kunté ké jaya!
The young lady gave such a nice donation that I also handed her a Bhagavad-gétä. When she
saw it, she exclaimed, “The Bhagavad-gétä! I can’t believe it! My boyfriend has been telling me
about this book for a whole year!” Then I showed her all the books I had. She gave even more
174
lakñmé and ended up buying my entire selection.
Book distribution is mystical.
* * *
Madhumaìgala Däsa
Kampala, Uganda—The sun was blazing hot on this day in Kampala (it’s right on the equator),
and a knew it was going to be a particularly slow day. Sure enough, after more than an hour I
had distributed only three of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. I entered a small sporting goods shop
and introduced myself to a young Indian man who looked to be the propietor. “Are you from
Kampala,” I asked.
“No, I’m originally from Punjab, in India.”
I noticed he was wearing a silver band on his wrist, the kind that Sikhs wear. I pointed to the
wristband and said, “Oh, I see you’re a kñatriya, a warrior.” He nodded in affirmation. I showed
him Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, which he looked at with great interest. I said, “These books are not
about religion. Religion tells you what to do. These books tell you who you are and how you can
live a life true to your real self.”
“Can you tell me my future?” he asked. “I’ve always wanted someone to tell me my future.”
“Show me your hand,” I said. When he did so I pointed to the lines on his palm and said, “You
see that line? It tells your future. I will tell you your future.” I took a book out of my cart and put a
Teachings of Lord Caitanya in front of him on the counter. “This is your future. This book is about
Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Do you know who He is?”
He nodded yes.
“If you read this book, study it, take it into your heart, follow its teachings and principles,
and apply them in your daily life, your future will be that you’ll go back to Vaikuëöha and live
eternally with Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. You’ll never have to come back to this temporary
material world.” I pointed outside the door and said, “That’s not our real home, this place so full
of miseries. Read this book and your future will be to go back home, back to Godhead.”
He opened up the cash drawer and gave me a 20,000-Ugandan-shilling note (worth about
US$10). “Raise your arms,” I said to him. He did so and I said, “Now repeat after me: Jaya Çré
Kåñëa Caitanya, Prabhu Nityänanda, Çré Advaita, Gadädhara, Çrévasädi Gaura Bhakta Vånda!”
He repeated the names as he looked at me with wide eyes. I started chanting Hare Kåñëa and
dancing and took his hands. He danced with me as we both laughed.
I told him, “You must have been a devotee in your last life. You see, all your life you’ve been
waiting for someone to tell you your future, and now you know your future. It’s described in the
book I’ve given you. The seed has been planted in your heart. Your material life is over. You’re
on your way back to the spiritual sky!” I embraced him and chanted in his ear: “Hare Kåñëa, Hare
Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.”
He exclaimed, “Jaya Çré Kåñëa!”
Our most auspicious future is in Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Each and every page we read is a
step back home, back to Godhead.
* * *
Oàkära Dasa
175
At a Coachella music festival I decided to stay late on Sunday night, through the end of the
show, till about midnight, when all eighty-five thousand people leave the venue at once. This
is known as “the blow-out.” I told the other members of our saìkértana team of my plan, and
Parameçvara Prabhu and Bhakta Joe volunteered to stay late with me. Neither Parameçvara nor
Bhakta Joe had had much experience with the blow-out. We were all a little nervous, being on our
own, but we wanted to do something extra for Kåñëa.
Once the blow-out stampede started, I was doing as Bhakta Phil had trained me to do a year
earlier: I stood close to the gates where the people were flooding out of the stadium and offered
the books like a newspaper vendor on a street corner. “Check it out! Cool books on yoga and
meditation!” Sometimes people would take right there, and others would hear me and then come
up a little later.
Yet I was having a really tough time. “What’s the use?” I thought. “Nobody’s taking. I’m so
insignificant and incompetent. But still, these people have gone through so many countless lives
before getting this human life, and they’re simply squandering it. Let me at least give them a
chance” I knew I couldn’t give up.
So, by the mercy of Lord Nåsiàhadeva, I took shelter of Him. With one big book in each hand,
I began loudly singing the Nåsiàha prayers. With my eyes closed, meditating on the beautiful
form of Çré Çré Lakñmé-Nåsiàha as I sang, I felt someone touch the book. As I turned and looked,
someone asked me what this book was all about. I gave a brief explanation and they gave twenty
dollars for the book! I grabbed another book and started singing again. When I got to “Jaya
Prahläda Mahäräja!” two more people came up to me and took some more books. Feeling inspired,
I grabbed some more books and started singing again. This time four people came, and they all
got books. When I ask for a donation, I never ask for an amount. I always say, “Just give from the
heart; do the best you can.” So one person was only going to give one dollar, even though he had
many tens and twenties. As he was fumbling in his wallet to pull the one out, I meditated on how
merciful Lakñmé-devé is to Kåñëa’s aspiring devotees. The person then immediately went for a ten
and said, “How about one of these instead?”
The rest of the night I spent in ecstasy as I sang for the Lord. Kåñëa was so kind to give me
such a slight glimpse of what it means to depend on Him. On my own I couldn’t do anything, but
when I depended on Kåñëa, so many books went out with ease. Before I knew it it was two in the
morning, so we called it a day—a big day for Kåñëa.
* * *
Parameçvara Däsa
One guy I apprached was really tuned in. He touched the book and flipped out, saying, “The
vibration is unbelievable.”
“That’s because your touching God,” I replied. He gave a nice donation.
* * *
Rakñit Däsa
176
I offered a book to a young man and he said, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any money. Actually
I want to buy a book, but unfortunately I can’t.” These are standard excuses offered by many
reluctant people during book distribution.
I was therefore surprised when a half hour later I heard him calling to me from behind. As he
approached, I saw he was panting and sweating, having run a long distance.
“Take it easy; don’t get excited,” I said to him. As I calmed him down he caught his breath and
said, “Please give me a copy of all the books you have.”
“But earlier you said you didn’t have any money,” I said, surprised at his newfound eagerness.
“Well, I liked them so much when you showed them to me that I ran to my older brother’s
house and got these rupees from him.”
That’s not all. After he bought the books he pleaded with us to let him join us in distributing.
He begain running from person to person, showing them books, just as I was doing. This was his
first encounter with the Hare Kåñëas, and he was hooked on book distribution right away.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Mahad, a small town on the Konkan belt of Western India, has a few thriving industries. One
Birla-group company looked prosperous and seemed a good prospect for our bus party. As I
initiated the formalities, I was pleasantly surprised at the warmth and courtesy exuding from
the company employees, especially the general manager. I was curious, as he had revealed his
orthodox Catholic upbringing. I humbly put forward our request for permission to put up book
tables and distribute Vedic books on the company premises. Not only did he instantly agree, but
he also volunteered to provide whatever help we needed in our efforts to distribute the Bhagavad-
gétä at their establishment. He spoke excitedly about why he wanted us there: “A few weeks ago,
in our company’s housing colony, an elderly resident breathed his last. A few minutes before the
end, his eldest son, desiring to read the Bhagavad-gétä to him, asked his neighbors for a copy. They
didn’t have one. Panicking, he ran to each of the sixty houses, but surprisingly no one had a copy
of this most sacred book. Finally, as a last resort he came to me, knowing fully well that a Catholic
house is the most unlikely place to find a Bhagavad-gétä. But to his great elation, I had not one but
two copies of Bhagavad-gétä As it Is. He grabbed one, ran to his departing father, and read Kåñëa’s
immortal words and Çréla Prabhupäda’s hope-giving purports to his father as he left the world. To
me, Çréla Prabhupäda’s presentation of the Gétä is the most lucid, and it’s the one I always give as
a gift. It will be great if all our employees can now avail themselves of this treasure you provide.”
We were only too glad to comply, and not surprisingly, the book distribution scores at this
company were some of the best we’ve ever had.
* * *
Rüpa-Raghunätha Däsa
Sydney, Australia
It was Monday morning. I had to do some banking and other errands. It was nearly
lunchtime, so I went home for an early lunch, thinking I would go on book distribution after
lunch.
But Kåñëa had other plans.
A young lady knocked on the door, taking a survey. I answered her questions in two
177
minutes and then invited her in for prasädam. She happily agreed.
Afterwards I showed her some books. She became so mesmerized — asking questions
and reading the books — that she forgot the time. Before either of us noticed, it was 5pm
and she had been getting the mercy for 4 hours! Realizing she was late to meet her boss, she
bought an SSR and a Your Ever Well-Wisher, expressed an interest to come back, and left.
I thought I would spend what was left of the day with my wife and newborn child.
But Kåñëa did not seem to like this idea. I had to buy some groceries, so I drove to the store.
But as soon as I jumped out of the van, people started to approach me. (This is the benefit
of dressing in dhoté and kurtä and having Hare Kåñëa signs on the side of your van.) The
first couple asked me about programs and bought a big First Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
a Your Ever Well-Wisher, and some neckbeads, all for $50. The lady in the car next to me
said she had been vegetarian her whole life. She bought a Gétä, a Your Ever Well-Wisher,
and a cookbook for $40. Then a lady approached me saying she wanted to speak to me
when I was free. It turned out she ran the Fitness First shop close by. She bought three
cookbooks and a Your Ever Well-Wisher for $100 and then said, “I could display a variety
of philosophy books and cookbooks for sale in my shop.”
Moral: we should see every situation as an opportunity to give the conditioned souls
the wonderful gifts of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
* * *
Çästra-kåta Däsa
I was advised by a health specialist to go to a sauna and sweat, so I went to a pool near the Los
Angeles temple, where I reside. I was sitting in the sauna with a friend; it was full.
All of a sudden an African-American man in his late 40s addressed me: “Excuse me. Can I ask
you a question? Do you know Sanskrit?”
“I don’t speak it,” I replied, “but I’m learning.” I asked him his name and he told me it was
Matt, and then I asked him why he cares about Sanskrit.
“I’m reading the Bhagavad-gétä,” he replied, “and there are many words I can’t pronounce, so
I’m asking any Indian I come across if they can help me with my pronunciation.”
I said, “I teach the Bhagavad-gétä at the nearby Hare Kåñëa temple, and I can surely help you
with your pronunciation.” Matt was sooo happy to hear that. I couldn’t believe I had met him, and
he couldn’t believe he’d met me. We were both in ecstasy.
Then Matt started saying some names from the Gétä: Kurukñetra, Saïjaya, Madhusüdana, etc.
“Your pronunciation is great,” I told him. “You’re a natural. Must be from your past life.” We
both laughed.
When I asked him whose Gétä he was reading, he told me it was Paramahamsa Yogananda’s.
So I explained to him who Çréla Prabhupäda was and how his amazing commentary on the Gétä
explains that we’re all individual souls, that Kåñëa is also an individual, and that Kåñëa is after our
love, nothing else.
By now everyone in the sauna was listening to our conversation. All of a sudden a man asked,
“What’s the main religion in India?” I told him it was the Hindu religion, and then he asked, “What’s
the name of God in India?” I told him “Kåñëa.” Another guy said, “I just became vegetarian and I
love Indian food.” So I told him about our Govinda’s Buffet at the temple. Another guy asked me
if I teach yoga. I told him that I teach bhakti-yoga and that others in our community teach haöha-
178
yoga and that I could introduce him to them.
In this way everyone in the sauna was so enthusiastic to find out about Kåñëa! It was amazing. I
was feeling dehydrated and exhausted from the heat, but the questions were so good that I prayed
to Kåñëa for more energy.
Matt asked me if I could introduce him to a guru. I told him that my gurudeva would be visiting
LA in a few weeks and that I could arrange a meeting with him, and that there are many other
gurus also. Matt was so happy to hear that.
Finally, with great enthusiasm Matt asked me where he could find Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. I
told him I had some in my car that I could give him right away.
So I ran to my car and got him a Science of Self-Realization, and we exchanged emails and
phone numbers. Matt was so happy that he gave me a big bear hug and said, “My friend, you have
no idea how much our meeting and this book [The Science of Self-Realization] mean to me at this
point in my life. I’m so grateful, so grateful.” He was speaking so loud that everyone in our section
of the gym was looking at me.
brahmäëòa bhramite kona bhägyavän jéva

guru-kåñëa-prasäde päya bhakti-latä-béja
“After wandering throughout the universe, by the mercy of both Kåñëa and the spiritual master a
fortunate person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
I was distributing books with Sachitanoy Prabhu at the University of California in Irvine when
I saw a young lady nearby sitting and reading something. I looked closely and to my surprise saw
she was reading Kåñëa, the Reservoir of Pleasure. I saw that she had a huge smile on her face.
She finished the pamplet, and as she was leaving I asked her, “Did you like what you were
reading?”
She was surprised that I knew what she was reading and said, “Yes, I did, every word that the
author wrote made sense, and I really want to get more books by him.”
“Well,” I said, “today is your lucky day because I have about five titles by the same author in
this bag I’m carrying.”
She showed so much excitement and surprise that I brought out all the titles I had and she gave
me a $20 donation for them.
After the exchange I asked her where she’d gotten the pamphlet. I thought she must have
gotten it from Sachitanoy, but to my surprise she said she’d gotten it ages ago and just kept it in
her bag. She’d just seen it that day and decided to read it while I was next to her. Paramätmä does
it again.
* * *
Sthänu Däsa
I was the chairman of our brähmaëas’ council and saìkértana leader of our small
yäträ in Sofia, Bulgaria. I was so busy that I could rarely go out and distribue books myself,
and when I did so it was only for a short time. I began to think, “What kind of example
am I setting for the other devotees with my paltry book scores?” It happened that World
179
Enlightenment Day was coming up, so I thought, “At least let me call up some devotees I
know and invite them to participate in that enlivening day. I’ll also distribute some books
myself, and then everyone can come to the temple in the evening and have a big feast.”
One of my calls was to Bhaktin Galya, but to my surprise, when I called I found that
the Galya I had reached was another Galya, from the city of Varna, which was more than
five hundred km from Sofia! I spoke to her about Prabhupäda’s books, and even though it
was the wrong Galya I invited her to join us for World Enlightenment Day.
She replied very enthusiastically, “We are five families, and we want all of Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books!” She ordered five full sets of Çrémad-Bhägavatams, Bhagavad-gétäs, Kåñëa books, and a
few others. I was shocked. All together Galya’s people purchased ninety-five mahä big books!
The next day I took a train ride for eight hours, delivered the books, and returned to Sofia in
the evening amazed by Kåñëa’s unlimited mercy. It was not a telephone mistake— there are no
mistakes—it was Kåñëa’s arrangement. Unbelievable: I call a lady by “mistake” and she ends up
buying ninety-five books!
* * *
Väsudeva Datta Däsa
Recently we did saìkértana in my hometown in Slovenia. Before going there, I had to go

through a strenuous purification of my mind. My false ego was flipping out: “What will happen if
I meet this relative and that professor or exgirlfriend?! How will all these people react when they
see me in this strange dress selling books?!”
I preached to myself that this was all nonsense and the mental platform. Actually, I was forced
to go much deeper and ask, “Who am I? What I am doing?” I got a nice realization that I am
not really spiritually advanced. So I prayed to Guru and the Païca-tattva like anything to please
remove this bodily concept of life.
Then I surrendered and “jumped into the ocean,” going directly into the center of my “sweet
hometown.” By the mercy of Guru and Kåñëa, all the people were very nice. I went door to door.
Many people immediately recognized me and invited me in; they usually took a book or two as
“old friends.” One heavy professor from my high school was very surprised when he opened the
door. I told him, “Dear sir, this is for you. To repay you for my being so naughty in high school.”
The professor immediately went for some lakñmé and took the book. He was so moved that he
shook my hand and thanked me. Actually, most of my exprofessors took Bhagavad-gétäs; many of
them thought I’d come just to see them.
At first I was afraid of how people who knew me would react, but soon I saw that their
familiarity with me was an advantage on book distribution. After awhile the Lord gave me even
more mercy and courage, and I started saying a new mantra to all the people I didn’t know: “Are
you from this town?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must know my mother Ida, who works at the government office.” (Everyone knows
my mother.)
Usually this would melt their hearts. They would remember me when I was small, holding my
mother by the hand. When they would be most excited I would just smile and give them a book.
How could they refuse!?
In this way I did saìkértana for a full week in my hometown. These were some of the most
180
blissful days in my saìkértana career. Many people asked me to please visit them again and spend
a little more time with them. So I’m planning to go back and take them some prasädam, incense,
and more books.
Doing saìkértana in my hometown left a great impression on my heart. I feel that Guru and
Kåñëa blessed me to more deeply identify myself as a devotee of Kåñëa. Since that time I’ve worn
only dhoté and kurtä, even to visit my parents’ home. And they accept me as a devotee.
Back home, back to Godhead (our real home), ké jaya!
* * *
Vijaya Dasa
I was on a harinäma in Bonn, Germany, about a forty-five-minute drive from Koln. Seventy
devotees attended this transcendental gathering, and I really have to say it was ecstatic. The very
blissful sannyäsés Çacénandana Swami and Bhaktibhüñaëa Swami were leading the way. While
staying in one place for awhile I noticed two ladies trying to chant but not quite making it, so
I went over to them and gave them a couple of mantra cards. While they were chanting very
enthusiastically, I thought, “These inspired souls should get some books.” They were just as
enthusiastic to get the books as they were to chant the mantra. Just after we finished the exchange,
the party began leaving, and one of the ladies said, “Hey, they’re leaving; we have to catch up!”
And off they went, leaving me behind to distribute a couple of more books to other onlookers.
Then I rushed to catch up, to catch the mercy of the age, the holy name of Kåñëa.
———————————————————
While I was distributing books at the Los Angeles airport, a lady came up to me and asked,
“Where is Kåñëa from?”
“Goloka Våndävana,” I replied, “a planet far beyond this material universe.” Then I showed
her the Bhagavad-gétä.
“Is that the Bhagavad-gétä?” she eagerly asked. “I would like to have the Bhagavad-gétä and
give you a donation.”
It turns out that one of her good friends had just become a devotee. The lady was going through
some hard times and wanted something that would give her some guidance. She received the
greatest guide, Kåñëa. It’s not every day that someone we stop asks, “Where is Kåñëa from?”
—————————————————————-
During one of my visits to Kansas City, Mürti Däsa, a saìkértana devotee there, told me that
the rock band called Phish was coming to town, and he invited me to distribute books at the
concert. I knew that this band would attract more than thirty thousand people and that a lot of
books could be distributed. Hearing of this event brought back memories of years gone by, when
during the summer we had as many as ten vans traveling around the US distributing books at
concerts such as these. Sometimes there would be twenty-five devotees traveling around with one
concert tour, and thousands of books would be distributed in one day. Thinking of all these fond
memories, I decided to go. I also thought it would be a good idea if all the devotees in the temple
came along, since there would be so many people. I gave a saìkértana talk, and they all went out
181
to get and give some mercy.
At the concert, books were being distributed so easily that a couple of times people came up
to me asking what I had, and after I’d explained what they were about, they enthusiastically gave
donations and took books. The last person I spoke to had a perfect çikhä. I said with a smile, “We
have the same hair style,” and showed him mine. I told him that in India people offer respects to
saintly people who wear çikhäs because they’re a sign of renunciation. “So, if you’re feeling you’re
not getting enough respect here, just go to India with your çikhä.” He laughed, took the book, and
gave a nice donation along with a bear hug.
At the end of the day, all the devotees were excited and enlivened by all the books they’d
distributed. Some had had their best day ever. As the devotees moved the empty book boxes
around to find places to sit, I said, “One of the most pleasant sounds for a saìkértana devotee is
the sound of empty book boxes being moved about.” At the Boston temple in the 1970s, after the
Çréla Prabhupäda marathon was over on December 31st, the devotees would get all the empty
book boxes and, just before the last ärati, place them in the temple room as an offering to Kåñëa.
Kåñëa likes empty book boxes also.
–––––––––––––––––––––
I tried to stop a guy at a festival in Washington, D.C., by putting my hand out to shake his as he
was walking by, but he kept going. I kept my hand out, and he also kept his out but kept walking.
We both had our hands out to shake, but because he kept walking our hands were getting further
and further apart, till we were separated by about twenty feet. Finally I called to him, “Hey, don’t
leave me hanging here!” Then he saw the cover of the book I was showing with my other hand—
The Journey of Self-Discovery — and came back. He shook my hand and said, “That could be
interesting.” I showed him the book, and he liked it so much he gave $20.
––––––––––––––––––––
A man came up to my table and saw the Bhagavad-gétä and said, “Were you people just in
Minnesota? I saw this book there last month.”
“I wasn’t there, but some of my friends were. Did you get the book from them?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Well, then I think it’s no accident that this book is in front of you again. It may be a good idea
to look into it.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing that I’m seeing it again. All right, I’ll take it.”
––––––––––––––––––––––––
One fellow at a shopping mall in Denton came along and I handed him a Çré Éçopaniñad to look
at. He turned it over and began reading the copy: “The Sanskrit words Çré Éçopaniñad mean ‘the
knowledge that brings one nearer to the Supreme Person, Kåñëa.’” When he read the Lord’s holy
name he gazed off in the distance thoughtfully and said, “‘Kåñëa.’ Hmmm, where have I heard
that before? ‘Kåñëa.’ Sounds familiar, but I just can’t put my finger on it ‘Kåñëa.’” After he’d said
“Kåñëa” for the third time, he’d undergone so much purification that he readily handed me a $10
bill, allowing me to give him a Bhagavad-gétä along with the Éço. He strolled off, reading as he
walked, totally absorbed in Kåñëa’s association. “Kåñëa.” Hmm.
182
––––––––––––––––––––––––––
While distributing books in the Los Angeles Airport, I approached an Indian gentleman and
presented him with the Bhagavad-gétä. After I’d shown him some of the text and a few illustrations,
he said, “Now I have something to show you.” He then reached into his bag and brought out—a
Bible!
“That’s fantastic!” I said.
He then showed me how much of it he’d read and told me he was finding it quite interesting.
“Look at the symmetry,” I said. “I’m American, you’re Indian. I’m showing you the Bhagavad-
gétä, you’re showing me the Bible. I’ve read the Bible, but have you read the Gétä?”
“No, I haven’t,” he confessed.
“Then this is your opportunity to read the most important book of India.” With enthusiasm he
took the Gétä and gave a nice donation.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
I approached a man and his wife. He looked to be at least six feet five inches (over two meters).
Big! Usually these big guys just shrug us off when we apporach them. I approached him anyway.
I presented the Bhagavad-gétä to him and he said, “Not interested, but she is,” referring to his
wife. I then showed the book to her. When she saw it her eyes opened wide and she exclaimed, “I
can’t believe it! Just yesterday my yoga teacher said to me, ‘If you ever get the chance, read the
Bhagavad-gétä.’ And now you’re offering it to me! This is amazing.”
“You know there are no accidents, right?” I said.
“Yes, I’m realizing that more and more every day. Can I give you a donation for this.”
She then gave a nice donation and received her Bhagavad-gétä and a card inviting her to the
temple.
***
Yaçodeva Däsa
Central Train Station, Sydney, Australia . . .

We were behind enemy lines in the train station complex, dropping bombs in the
form of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books with a haphazard frenzy. Like timed explosives, they
were killing the materialistic tendencies of every conditioned soul who ventured near.
Sentries deployed, motion sensors fully activated, acquiring target . . .
A young couple who just finished high school: The girl likes yoga, the boy likes
Buddha. Too easy . . . They both get a book. Now their sense gratification is doomed
because it’s only a matter of time before the book blows up, shattering the curtain of mäyä.
No one is spared from the saìkértana missiles raining like fire on a world inundated
by illusion!
I’ve apprehended a tall, dark man with aviator sunglasses and a rigid disposition.
A few moments into the interrogation reveals that he’s a Christian pretending to be an
innocent inquirer. Two-timing double agent spy! I was just about to retreat from the battle
when I noticed in the reflection of his sunglasses that there were three armed security
183
guards with even more rigid dispositions waiting behind me. I knew that if they caught
me I’d be forced to swear allegiance to their totalitarian regime or face removal from the
stronghold. Desperate times call for desperate measures . . .
I turn up the heat on the Christian and raise my voice considerably: “God is a person!
He has form! He has qualities! He has activities!”
The security guards are apprehensive. I can see in the reflection of the sunglasses
that they’re too scared to enter such a heated discussion. Meanwhile, the Christian thinks I
must have very deep convictions, since I’m looking directly into his eyes with such intensity!
Time for the secret weapon . . .
“We don’t care about heaven or hell! Nothing can stop us from serving Lord Kåñëa!”
The guards are backing off. They must be thinking, “Either he’s crazy or he’s a Hare
Kåñëa. Best to leave him be.”
Now for the coup de grâce. With a bright smile I hand the Christian the Bhagavad-gétä and
employ Rämadasa Prabhu’s perfect tactical maneuver:
“Please take one. Christians always give the best donations.”
Either his heart had been melted or his intelligence bewildered because he eagerly
gave twenty dollars and took the book.
“I can see you’re very, very convinced,” he said. “Thank you so much.”
Another perfect casualty, smothered by Prabhupäda’s mercy.
Saìkértana is so much fun.
* * *
Bhakta Eben
I was distributing at an Ozzfest concert in Virginia. I approached a car to show the occupants
some of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. As they were checking out the literature, a girl in the front seat
began to tell me a story she was reminded of by seeing the books.
She told me that the previous July 4th she’d been in Washington, D.C., at the National Mall
and had seen these guys in dresses dancing around chanting and playing “bongo drums.” I realized
she’d been at the DC Ratha-yäträ and said to her: “Ok, I confess. We Hare Kåñëas are the guilty
party. Did you like the festival?”
At that she got really excited and told me she’d hung out there for about an hour and was
totally amazed by the chanting and dancing and the whole vibe of the scene. She even had a piece
of prasädam cake but put it down after one bite because she felt like she was tripping on drugs
from eating it. Must have been some pretty potent prasädam!
Meanwhile all her friends in the car were listening in and getting very excited as the conversation
got more animated. She then got even more animated and told me “I even climbed up onto the
altar and fanned—” Just then I opened one of the books and showed her a picture of Prabhupäda.
“That’s him!” she shouted. “I fanned him!”
Everyone in the car went nuts, but then I had to tell her that it wasn’t Çréla Prabhupäda himself
but a lifelike statue. Still, doing some service for the pure devotee had its effect, and everyone in
the car went home with one of Prabhupäda’s books and an invitation to visit the festival again next
4th of July.
* * *
184
Bhakta Edward (Perth, Australia)
I was out on books when I met a young guy who, like many of today’s youth, was completely
uninterested in being part of the materialistic society but hadn’t yet been introduced to the
alternative Çréla Prabhupäda has so mercifully provided. I put a copy of Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.1 in
his hand and began explaining the authenticity of it by pointing out the original Sanskrit and word-
for-word translation. He immediately became very enlivened and started telling me about his own
sädhana. He explained how he was into t’ai chi, haöha-yoga, and a few other practices I wasn’t
familiar with. Then he said that his new yoga teacher was teaching him something called “go-run-
ga meditation” and that he found it especially good for keeping his mind focused. Surprised and
delighted, I asked him to repeat the special word for me. With a slight air of mysticism he replied,
“Goooo-Ruun-Gaaa.”
Needless to say, the transaction got really sweet after that. For a while he was trying to convince
me that I should try it myself. I asked him what this meditation involved, and he explained that
he was taught to chant the word “go-run-ga” over and over again and try to fix his mind on the
sound vibration. I asked him if he knew what “gorunga” meant and he was slightly embarrassed
to admit he didn’t. What nectar it was to flip the pages of the book he was holding to a bright,
shining picture of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and let him hear the good news. When he saw Lord
Caitanya’s picture, his face lit up as if he’d just seen a long-lost friend. He then asked what other
books I had, so I showed him a Light of the Bhägavata, for which he was more than happy to give
a nice donation. Then I watched him walk away with a look on his face that revealed he knew he
had just purchased something very significant for his life.
* * *
End of Chapter Eight: Ecstatic Encounters
185
186
Chapter Nine
Familiar with Kåñëa
Quite often we meet people who know something about the Kåñëa consciousness movement
and are favorable. Which is understandable, since we have a nice movement: our philosophy is
sublime, we have great prasädam, and the devotees are ladies and gentlemen (most of them). This
latter feature is one of the reasons I joined.
I remember when I first went to the temple in Miami. I was so excited—I’d read the Bhagavad-
gétä and was chanting. From performing these two services I was, by the mercy of Kåñëa, quite
blissful. So I wanted to meet the devotees and see the temple so much. When I did meet them I
wasn’t disappointed. They were wonderful. What impressed me the most was their speech.
Nondevotees also recognize the devotees special speech, as the following incident will show.
Before coming to the temple I wasn’t wearing glasses, though I needed them. My previous pair
had broken, and since I felt I’d entered into a life of detachment, I didn’t bother replacing them.
As in every temple, during the Çrémad-Bhägavatam class devotees would chant the verse of the
day by reading it off a chalkboard. One day one of the senior devotees encouraged me to also
chant the verse, but I couldn’t read it without glasses. I told him this, and later he told me I should
get some. So I called up the optometrist and made an appointment to have my eyes checked for a
pair of glasses. After we’d made the appointment she asked me, “Are you a Hare Kåñëa?”
“Yes,” I replied. “How did you know?”
“You people are all so mellow.”
After she said that I thought, “I joined the right movement.” The speech of the devotees had
impressed me the most, and by their association maybe a little of it had already rubbed off on me.
There were two million people in Miami, but the optometrist’s secretary was able to know I was
a devotee just by hearing my voice. She had become familiar with the devotees by hearing their
voices. When I went to the optometrist I showed her some of our books and she eagerly took
some, saying, “Maybe if I read these books, I’ll also become mellow.”
* * *
In 1992 I met a lady with her two young daughters in a parking lot in San Francisco. I showed
her the Bhagavad-gétä, and when she saw the picture of Çréla Prabhupäda she said, “Oh, I saw
this man once!” I politely told her that maybe she was mistaking him for someone else, since Çréla
Prabhupäda had passed away many years ago. But she insisted: “No, I met him. I was six years
old. My parents were hippies in the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco. It was so wild at that
time, in 1967, that my parents would forget to feed me and my sister. So she and I would often go to
the Hare Kåñëa temple and eat your wonderful vegetarian food. I specially remember one young
lady—she was sooooo nice to me and my sister; her name was Melanie. So one day your spiritual
master arrived from New York. I remember the temple room was full of incense and people. He
came in and sat down and chanted for a while, and then he spoke to us a little bit. I remember it
very vividly. Just by my speaking to you, all these memories are coming back.”
Then this nice lady showed the picture of Çréla Prabhupäda in the book to her little daughter
and told her, “You see, this is Swamiji.” She then gave me $30 for the Gétä and told me I could
visit her at her home any time.
A few weeks later I saw Mälaté Devé Däsé (an early disciple of Çréla Prabhupäda who is now on
187
the GBC) in Arizona. I knew that she had been in San Francisco in the early days. When I asked
her what her legal name was, sure enough, she told me it was Melanie.
How wonderful it is that twenty-five years later a woman who was then six years old still
remembered the name of a Hare Kåñëa devotee who was “sooooo nice to me and my sister.”
Twenty-five years later she bought the Bhagavad-gétä!
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
While doing door to door in a university dormitory in Montpellier, France, I knocked at one
door and a young lady opened. When I showed her the books, she said, “Oh, my boyfriend is really
into Kåñëa.”
Sometimes, we hear things like “Oh, my friend is really into India,” or “My friend is really into
Eastern philosophy,” or “My friend is really into meditation and yoga,” but rarely do we hear,
“My friend is into Kåñëa.” She added, “His room is two doors down. Let’s go see him.”
Sure enough, when Lionel opened the door, I immediately noticed half a dozen BBT posters
of Rädhä-Kåñëa on his walls.
“How could this be?” I thought. “We have no devotees in this area. Nobody has distributed
books here in ages.”
He invited me in and told me his story. A few months earlier he’d gone to Pune, India, on a
school project. While visiting New Delhi he’d seen an ISKCON saìkértana van parked on the side
of the street with its back open wide and a book table displaying Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. He
approached the van and bought several books, including an English-language Kåñëa book, which I
noticed on his shelf. Now he was back in nowhere-land in southern France, but his room was filled
with BBT posters (which he’d also bought at the saìkértana van), as well as Prabhupäda’s books.
This proves yet again that although there may be no devotees in a particular geographical
location, Çréla Prabhupäda’s books have a transcendental mind of their own, being nondifferent
from the supremely independent Lord, and they go where they choose to go. I realized, “Whoa—
books are being distributed to French people with or without book distributors in France!”
It made me think of Çréla Prabhupäda’s statement, “It cannot stop. It is too late. The books are
already distributed!” All glories to the båhat-mådaìga!
* * *
Cärucandra Däsa
Once at LAX I approached a hippie with a beard and long hair. He was kind of aggressive and
asked me gruffly, “What you got there?”
“I’m a monk,” I replied, “and these are books on yoga and meditation.”
As soon as he saw the books he changed completely and asked if I was a Hare Kåñëa. I said
yes, and he told me that he’d come in contact with devotees fifteen years earlier but had lost touch.
I showed him the books and told him what they were all about, and he was completely
enthralled. He wanted to see all the books I had, and when I showed him Your Ever Well-wisher
he returned the other two books and told me that that was the book he wanted. He gave me a nice
donation and I gave him two books.
Then he told me that he had had a serious car accident a couple of years earlier and couldn’t
concentrate properly since then, but that as soon as he thought of Kåñëa his mind was completely
fixed. When he told me that, I remembered I had some extra japa beads with me. I pulled them
188
Chapter 9: Familiar with Kåñëa
out, complete with bead bag, and as soon as he saw them he firmly asked, “How much does that
cost?”
I asked him for another small donation, which he willingly gave, and I showed him how to
chant on the beads with his hand in the bead bag. Then he walked away through the middle of
LAX, heading toward his gate to catch his plane, with a couple of books in his left hand and his
right hand in his bead bag, chanting Hare Kåñëa.
* * *
Chowpatti Book Distribution Party
Often a new book distributor thinks he or she needs to know many techniques to impress the
customer and make the sale. Some basic knowledge of the operation may be needed, but the most
important ingredient of success is the willingness to go out. Success and failure are in the hands of
Kåñëa, as revealed by this story narrated by Gaur Kértana Prabhu, a member of the bus party of Çré
Çré Rädhä-Gopénätha Mandir, Chowpatty:
During a December marathon we went to an area with lots of textile mills. We were distributing
sets of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books on credit: the workers would simply signed their names and the
payment was later deducted from their salary. Each set had a Kåñëa book, a Bhagavad-gétä, an
SSR, and some medium and small books. We were doing nicely when one day we reached a special
company. “O Mahäräjas, welcome, welcome,” exclaimed the chief security officer upon seeing
us. He was a tall, well-built man in his mid-thirties, with a big moustache and triple stars on his
uniform. He introduced himself as Mohan Singh.
We showed him our permission letter and our books. He was delighted to see our books and
was the first one to sign and take a set. He said to his secretary, “O Bhairon Singh, keep these
books in my office and bring hot tea for the Mahäräjas.”
“No, sir, we don’t take tea.”
“What! No tea? No problem. Milk is ok?”
We said yes and he ordered fruits and milk for us.
“Don’t worry, Mahäräja, I will make sure everyone takes your books,” he said, and then he set
our table right inside the exit route. We couldn’t have asked for a better spot.
The siren blew, announcing the end of the shift. We were ready with our sets and credit book.
As soon as the masses of workers arrived, we began our announcements, but drowning out all our
voices was the lone voice of our new friend, Mohan Singh.
“O Sohan,” he boomed, “O Bhagwat, O Billu, come and take these books. Very nice. Keep
them carefully at home.” The booming, authoritative voice of Mohan Singh stopped the workers
and pulled them to our table. When anyone showed no interest, Mohan Singh ridiculed him to
such an extent that he couldn’t even stand there. Then Mohan Singh did the unthinkable.
“O Bhairon Singh, lock the gate. Don’t let anyone out without a set.” The burly, mustached
Bhairon Singh jumped at the order, locked the gate, and allowed only those who had the sets
to leave. The empty-handed workers stood in a corner while the proud owners of sets gleefully
displayed their newly acquired treasure before them, thus changing the minds of many who were
planning not to buy.
The pace was frantic. Jagannäth Prabhu, Çré Caitanya Prabhu, our driver Sunil Prabhu, and I
were just ripping open carton after carton. Mahänand Prabhu and Mohan Singh were simultaneously
making entries in two credit books while Païcapäëòava Prabhu stood on top of the table shouting
189
at the top of his voice. We didn’t even bother to pack the books. We just counted out the books
before the customer and handed him a plastic bag to pack them himself. The workers stood in line
and simply came, said their name, and signed the credit book.
In two hours we did 220 sets, i.e., 440 mahä-big books plus many more.
Later Mohan Singh told us his story. In his youth he had left home to join the ashram of a
bäbä who lived near his village, but after his father died he had to return home to take care of his
family. “When I saw you,” he said, “I remembered my earlier days. I thought, ‘I couldn’t lead the
renounced life then, but at least let me help these sädhus.’ And when I saw your books about Kåñëa,
I was convinced you are working for the right cause.”
* * *
Devaké-nandana Däsa
I went right into the heart of the Sydney with Beyond Birth and Death. Who wouldn’t be
interested in such a book? I approached a girl from England. She said that before she came to
Australia she had met a devotee from Scotland who was distributing books in England to collect
donations for milk. She purchased a book from him. She also got a book from me. Then she asked
me what the word is that devotees try to get people to say. I said Hare Kåñëa, but she said, “No,
it’s ‘Gauräìga’!” Then she very loudly exclaimed “Gauraìga!” and was on her way.
How amazing! I’m on a street in Sydney, Australia, the land down under, and a lady from
England is chanting “Gauräìga!”, which she learned from a Scottish devotee. How amazing! The
Holy Name will surely be sung and heard in every town and village.
* * *
Dhanusakhi Däsa
Once I met a very interesting Christian, whose story of how he came to Kåñëa proves the
potency of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
He was a leader of the Seventh Day Adventists, but he was very favorable toward Çréla
Prabhupäda and his books. Several times he even defended the books from his fanatical
godbrothers, who claimed they were sectarian, dangerous, etc. Most amazing is his story:
Five years before I met him he was a chronic drunkard and was suffering from cancer. He
happened to get a Bhagavad-gétä and a Çrémad-Bhägavatam, First Canto, part one. He read them
very carefully and was inspired to change his life completely. The first step was to begin meditating
on the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra (he even repeated it before me). Then he became a vegetarian,
got married, and stopped drinking. After some time he met the Seventh Day Adventists and
became one of their followers, but all the time Çréla Prabhupäda’s books remained his guides (as
he said: “God is speaking in the Bhagavad-gétä!”). After some time he visited his doctor, who was
amazed: his body was without any trace of cancer! “Why are you so astonished?” he asked his
doctor. “God is the greatest doctor.”
He has a Lithuanian friend who also reads our books and also was a bit into the Seventh
Day Adventist theories. He became mentally ill and was put into a lunatic asylum. One day
our protagonist visited his friend and suggested he take up meditation. “Chant the Hare Kåñëa
mantra,” he advised, “don’t take any of their medicines, and you’ll be cured.” His friend did as he
was told, and after several days the doctors began to complain that he wasn’t taking his medicines
190
and was just chanting this strange mantra the whole day.
After some time the doctors checked him, and to their surprise his disease had been cured
without any medication. After being released from the lunatic asylum, he asked, “How can I
progress in spiritual life without the help of a spiritual master? Don’t I need a spiritual master?”
“Go to the Hare Kåñëa temple in Vilnius [Lithuania],” our Christian hero replied. “The people
there will help you.”
* * *
Dhruva Däsa
Lamenting a little from recently having had surgery and being a little restricted in my
movements, I stayed back at the temple as the other saìkértana devotees went out for the first
day of the marathon. I tried to content myself with other services. Then the phone rang, and
the gentleman on the other end asked if we had any sets of Çrémad-Bhägavatam and Caitanya-
caritämåta available!
“Yes” I told him. “In three days you could have both sets.”
“My mother died recently, and I have plenty of money to buy the books. I’ve been living on the
streets for the last three years, and every day I’ve been chanting Hare Kåñëa to help me with my
alcoholism.” He’d been reading a volume of the Caitanya-caritämåta that a devotee had donated
to a local library, and now he was ready to read the remaining volumes. During the days after I
placed his order with the BBT, he rang me five times asking if the books had arrived yet.
Yesterday I drove an hour and forty-five minutes to his home to deliver the books. He had
purchased a brand new bookcase for them, and I happily placed them there. He truly felt as if the
Lord had come to his home to help him. Thankfully, he lives near Govinda’s Cafe, and now has a
full set of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and beads to chant on.
* * *
Madhumaìgala Däsa
As I walked along the busy street with many shops, I saw a short lady approaching wearing
dark glasses and a patterned blanket jacket. She looked like she was in a time-warp from the
hippie era. I went up to her and said, “Good day. Can I ask you a question please? How did you
become such a peaceful person? I’m a traveling monk and have been sent to give you these,” and
I handed her several of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Pointing to a golden OM sign hanging around
her neck, I asked, “Where did you get that from? It’s amazing.”
She told me that she was a follower of Çivänanda. As she looked through Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books she asked me, “Who sent you?”
“Çréla Prabhupäda,” I replied.
“Oh, I know Çréla Prabhupäda. I’ve met him and spoken to him.”
A bolt of electricity ran through my body.
“Where did you meet Çréla Prabhupäda?”
“Back in 1966 I and several others picked him up in Manhattan and took him to Dr. Mishra’s
Ananda Ashram for a program.”
“I’m indeed fortunate to have met you! It’s so rare to meet someone who’s had direct association
with Çréla Prabhupäda.”
191
“Oh, these are Hare Kåñëa books. I know the devotees.” Then she began to glorify them. She
told me that she was from Montreal and that she sometimes went to the center there. She thanked
me and took a Dharma: The Way of Transcendence, giving me a donation and her card.
Çréla Prabhupäda ké jaya! Direct memories of Çréla Prabhupäda never die in the hearts and
minds of those fortunate souls who have met him. He lives forever with them, bestowing his mercy
upon them through his teachings.
* * *
Oàkära Däsa
I had to pick up my spiritual master from the airport and do a few other things, so I was only
able to distribute books for a couple of hours. I prayed to Kåñëa that I could do a full day’s worth
of books in this time. By the mercy of my spiritual master, just about everyone I met was eager
for a book. One of the first persons I met was a nice young man from New Zealand. He was
very interested in the Gétä and at the slightest hint of a donation he gave $50. I told him about
the ISKCON centers we have all over the world and instructed him in the chanting of the mahä-
mantra. I also gave him an SSR and told him, “I want you to have this one also because you are
such a nice person.” After that he was smiling from ear to ear. I’ve been finding great inspiration
on saìkértana from teaching people how to pronounce the mahä-mantra and chant japa. I can feel
Lord Caitanya’s reciprocation when I take the extra time to share this with the nice people I meet.
Later in the evening I met a group of Indians living in Bali, Indonesia. One person on the
fringe took an SSR and gave a donation. So, feeling encouraged, I approached the core of the
group. I ended up talking with the guy who spoke English the best, and it turned out he was
the most interested also. He gave a donation and took an SSR. Three other people also gave
donations when they saw him give one. The interested fellow who took an SSR was intrigued how
a Westerner could be interested in “Hindu” teachings and also know more about the subject than
he did, although he was a Hindu. I politely explained that what we practice is not Hinduism but
Vaiñëavism. One of the other guys piped up and said, “Yeah, this Hare Kåñëa stuff is the pure
form. This is where the real potency is.”
I felt very enlivened to hear this, and we talked for about twenty minutes. I emphasized to them
the importance of chanting the mahä-mantra and told them how, since they are from Bhärata-
bhümi, it is their responsibility to take up Kåñëa consciousness very seriously. One of them was so
inspired by the talk that he gave another donation. Another said that he had been drifting away
from his Hindu roots but that now he felt very inspired to seek out the Hare Kåñëas when he
returned to Bali. He said, “Who knows, I may shave my head and wear tilaka and dhoté when I go
back!”
* * *
Taruë Kåñëa Dasa
Once I met a lady on book distribution who told me an amazing story. She had been to our
temples in the seventies and seen Çréla Prabhupäda. Although she was not practicing Kåñëa
consciousness, she still had great affection for Çréla Prabhupäda. In fact, she had tears in her eyes
when talking about him.
She told me that once she was living in Brazil with devotees in an area that was very dangerous
192
because of being infested with many poisonous snakes that would sometimes bite and kill people.
One night as she was lying down to take rest in the äçrama, with everyone else asleep, she suddenly
saw a huge snake enter the room and slither among the sleeping devotees. She was petrified and
didn’t know what to do. She stared at the snake as it meandered among the sleeping devotees
and made its way up to their small altar at the end of the room. It then mounted the altar and
went straight for Çréla Prabhupäda’s picture, around which it lovingly wrapped itself, leaving only
space for the lady to see Prabhupäda’s face. There the snake remained there for some time, until
it uncoiled itself and left the room.
After telling me this story the lady gave me ten pounds, took a book, and smilingly went on
her way.
* * *
Vijaya Däsa
I was distributing in Boston and saw a young man approaching with his mother and father. He
looked like a prime candidate for receiving one of Prabhupäda’s books, but it wasn’t likely he’d
get one with his mother and father guarding him. He was walking a step behind them, so after
the parents walked by I whispered to him, “Excuse me.” He came over and I showed him the
Bhagavad-gétä. The parents, noticing that their son was no longer with them, stopped and looked
back at us. I thought, “That’s the end of this engagement.”
But when the father saw the book he exclaimed, “Oh, the Bhagavad-gétä!” I couldn’t have said
it with more affection. What a surprise! I called the parents over and showed all of them the book.
Then I asked the young man for a donation. He said, “I have no money.” But the father said, “I
would be happy to give a donation for such a nice book.” You never know in whose heart faith in
Kåñëa will manifest.
When we go out on saìkértana, it’s very common to meet people who’ve already had some
contact with devotees, and usually a very nice exchange ensues. But sometimes meet people who
are familiar with us but are unfavorable.
Once I was distributing in the Miami airport with several other devotees when a man saw us
and basically went nuts. He started shouting at us and calling us all kinds of names. After a minute
or so he went on his way.
But he wasn’t through with us. He watched us distribute, and after a person had received a
book he would approached him and ask if he wanted it. After he found a person who didn’t want
the book, he asked him for it, walked over to us, and ripped it up in front of us. After he did that
a second time I couldn’t take it anymore. I went and found a friend of mine in the airport and told
him what was happening. He said, “Show me where he is.” I brought him over and the person
ripping up books immediately walked over to my friend and said, “Don’t buy a book from him!
they’re with a cult!”
At that, my friend pulled out his police badge (he was an undercover policeman!) and told the
man, “You have five seconds to get out of my sight and leave these people alone, or I’m going to
arrest you for disturbing the peace!” The man’s jaw dropped and he left the area in a big hurry.
The undercover cop, who had many of our books, was familiar with us, and so was the envious
man. One benefited and the other got his appropriate reactions.
193
One of the best places in the world to distribute books is in the holiest place in the world,
Våndävana. Many devotees distribute books in front of the temple and get very good results. I also
do it when I visit the dhäma. It’s interesting to distributing books to vraja-väsés. Who knows who
these pious, fortunate souls are? Only Kåñëa? Another interesting thing is that when we distribute
books in the West, people come up with all kinds of excuses to not take a book: “It’s too heavy,”
“No money,” “I’ll be back,” No time,” etc. But in Våndävana the people would mostly say, “I’ll
come back and get one after darçana of Rädhä-Çyämasundara.” What can you say to that but
“Jaya!”
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
I was distributing at Venice Beach, in Los Angeles. It was one of those nectar days when you
meet a lot of nice people who happily take a book and give a donation. Then to top it off, when I
got back to the temple a devotee approached me and asked if he could have a word with me. He
went on to tell me a pretty amazing event that had recently taken place:
A few gurukulés and a friend of theirs named Ryan went to have some fun by diving into a river
from a rather high cliff. At one point Ryan jumped off the cliff, was pulled under, and started to be
swiftly pulled toward a waterfall. No one saw him coming up, so the devotees rushed down to the
river to try to help. Suddenly a devotee named Räma saw him come up. When Ryan saw Räma,
he raised his arm and called out, “Räma, save me! Räma, save me!” Then Ryan was pulled under,
never to be seen again. He left this world calling out “Räma, save me!”
Before Ryan had gone for his fatal swim, he had asked a devotee to hold $60 for him. After
Ryan’s sudden demise, the devotee who had the $60 thought it would be best if the money could
be used in Kåñëa’s service, so he gave it to a temple devotee. The devotee who told me about this
incredible event is the one who was given the $60. He gave me the $60 and asked that it be used
to distribute books. If I met a sincere person who wanted a book but couldn’t afford one, I should
give it to him and tell him, “This is for you in memory of a very fortunate soul named Ryan.”
Fortunate because he left this world calling out “Räma, save me!
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
We were early at a Nine Inch Nails music concert in Atlanta, waiting for the people to arrive.
Suddenly a car pulled up and a man got out. He was huge, sporting tattoos all over his arms and
wearing a muscle shirt. He looked like a member of a motorcycle gang.
Since there was no one else around, despite his rough appearance I decided to see if he was a
candidate for receiving Lord Caitanya’s mercy.
I approached him with my opening line: “Hey, how are you? I’m from California; where’re you
from?”
“I’m from Atlanta.”
“Well here, check this out.” I handed him the Bhagavad-gétä and then showed him the pictures
while briefly explaining each one. When I got to the picture of the cow-man slaughtering the man-
cow, he said, “Ugra-karma!”
“How do you know those words?” I asked.
“I used to be in a band in Scandinavia. That was the name of the band.”
“So you’re a little familiar with these books?”
“Yes, and I’d love to have the Bhagavad-gétä.”
194
He then gave a nice donation, and I invited him to the temple.
We never know who is a candidate for the mercy of Lord Gauräìga.
* * *
Tulasé Devé Däsé
I approached a lady whose brother and sister-in-law are devotees in the Brooklyn temple.
After we’d talked for a few minutes, she told me what really impressed her: “When my brother
and his wife joined the temple, they couldn’t keep their big dog in the temple, so they left it with
me, our mother, and our little brother in North Carolina. But the dog immediately ran away, and
for days no one could find him. They looked everywhere. Then my little brother figured it out.
He went into the forest loudly singing ‘Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa’ just as my brother and his wife
would. Then lo and behold, the dog started barking and ran to him. So now everyone has to chant
Hare Kåñëa or the dog becomes miserable and runs away.”
She was impressed. This experience helped her get some realization of our philosophy. The
dog is not a dog but a spirit soul, and chanting Hare Kåñëa is not material. She bought a book and
a music CD, which she said she was going to play for the dog. She also took some prasädam for
herself and her devotee dog.
* * *
Bhakta Ricardo
In the midst of a really crazy day at the airport, I approached a man in his mid twenties who
told me, “Get lost!” I still showed him the cover of The Science of Self-Realization as he was
walking away, and when he saw it he stopped immediately. He came back to me and humbly
asked, “Are you a Hare Kåñëa?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Oh, please forgive me. Let me tell you something. When I was about nine years old, my dad
began taking me to your Sunday Feast every week. He liked you guys a lot. A few years later he
died, but the last day I spent with my dad was a Sunday, and when we walked out of the temple
room after the feast, he affectionately grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me straight in the face,
and told me, ‘When you grow up, whenever you see a Hare Kåñëa, you offer your respects to him
because they are really good people.’ I never forgot this instruction of my father’s, although I’ve
never been to a temple since. Since my father was a good man and he liked you people, I really
respect you guys.”
“Have you read any of our books?” I asked.
“No,” he replied.
“Would you like to?”
He happily said yes and bought The Science of Self-Realization and Your Ever Well-Wisher for
twenty dollars, and promised he would go to the Denver temple for the Sunday Feasts.
* * *
Bhakta Tim
195
I was distributing books in Melbourne, just outside the Food for Life center. I saw a man in
his early 30’s approaching, so I called him over. His name was Christian, and in the course of our
exchange he told me that he’d been associating with devotees for about fourteen years via Gopal’s,
Food for Life, the temple, etc. I asked, “How did you first came into contact with the devotees.”
He replied, “I used to be interested in martial arts, weightlifting, and so on. I would show off
my strength by ripping thick telephone books in half. One day I found a softbound book called
The Science of Self-Realization and thought, ‘Ha, this book will be easy to rip.’ Then with all my
strength I tried to rip the book in two—but I couldn’t! Even with all my might I couldn’t slightly
rip the pages of that book. Finally I realized it wasn’t an ordinary book, so I began to read it. That
was the beginning of my Kåñëa consciousness.”
After relaying this story, Christian noticed I had a Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Part One, with me.
“You have some of the cantos with you?” he asked.
“Yes, you’ve read some before?
“Parts one and two,” he replied.
“Well, how about getting a full set?
“All right.”
I arranged to meet Christian after the weekend and show him a set of Bhägavatams. He was
excited when I met him on Monday, and he agreed to make a hundred-dollar deposit and pay
$100 monthly until he’d paid for the full set. He also expressed interest in reading the Caitanya-
caritämåta because his mother had just read the Bhagavad-gétä and was thinking about Kåñëa
consciousness more seriously.
I like book distribution because you never know who you’re going to meet. Each exchange
always deepens my understanding that Prabhupäda’s books are deeply affecting society’s
consciousness.
End of Chapter Nine: Familiar with Kåñëa
196
197
Chapter Ten
The Marathon
The marathon began “by accident” in 1972. A few days before Christmas, the devotees in
Los Angeles had enormous results, which prompted them to spend more time on saìkértana.
Every night they would stay out till around midnight, and in three days they distributed over
17,000 pieces of literature. Astounding. Never before had so many books been distributed in three
days. Çréla Prabhupäda was very pleased by such big results and encouraged them every year in
“the marathon.” The year-end big push for book distribution became known as “the Christmas
Marathon” because it occurred around Christmastime, but so many places in the world don’t
celebrate Christmas, nor do we, so the GBC renamed it “the Prabhupäda Marathon.”
The Prabhupäda Marathon is a time to become absorbed in the mission of Lord Caitanya,
which is to give Kåñëa to others. People are buying more gifts than at any other time of the year,
and what better gift is there than one of Prabhupäda’s books?
Often when I distribute books people ask, “Why are you doing this?” I tell them, “The only
thing lacking in society is wisdom. That’s why I’m distributing these books. We’re on a mission
to increase wisdom in society.” Everyone appreciates this statement because they know it’s so
true, and then they usually take a book. The devotees’ motto is sarve sukhino bhavantu “May
everyone be happy.” We’re on a marathon to relieve the suffering of the people and give them an
opportunity to experience the happiness of the soul’s connection to Kåñëa.
Lord Caitanya was in so much anxiety about the suffering condition of the people that he said to
Haridäsa Öhäkura, “My dear Haridäsa, in this Age of Kali most people are bereft of Vedic culture,
and therefore they are called yavanas. They’re concerned only with killing cows and brahminical
culture. In this way they all engage in sinful acts.”
Haridäsa Öhäkura replied, “My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety.”
Prabhupäda’s purport: “This is service. Everyone should adopt the cause of Çré Caitanya
Mahaprabhu to try to relieve Him from the anxiety He feels. This is actually service to the Lord.
One who tries to relieve Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s anxiety for the fallen souls is certainly a most
dear and confidential devotee of the Lord.”
Happy are the saìkértana devotees to whom Prabhupäda Marathons come unsought, opening
for them the doors to the spiritual world!
At the start of the marathon the mind and senses may not appreciate it so much, but after a
while you’ll find that even they’re into it. After you’ve been in the fire for a few days, you may be
surprised to find that as you’re taking lunch prasädam your mind will say, “Hurry up! So many
people are going by who could be getting books!” This is a common occurrence with Bhågupati
Prabhu, who while taking prasädam near his distribution spot will sometimes see a receptive-
looking person walking by, put down his plate of prasädam, sell him a book, and then return to his
prasädam sevä.
Or, when you’re out distributing books and your attention gets diverted by something like a
TV playing in a store window, your purified mind will chastise you, “You nonsense! Why are you
wasting your time with that garbage when we’ve got more important business to attend to?!” The
marathon intensifies our desire to be strict.
In a letter Prabhupäda said, “Our first business is this book distribution. There is no need of
any other business. If this book distribution is managed properly, pushed on with great enthusiasm
and determination, and at the same time if our men keep spiritually strong, then the whole world
will become Kåñëa conscious.”
In this letter Prabhupäda gives us the key to success: staying spiritually strong. Purity is the
198
Chapter 10: The Marathon
force. It is this purity that inspires the people to take a book, and it is this purity that allows the
book distributor to continue year after year, marathon after marathon.
Recently I came across a sentence in the purport to to Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.13.55 that was
very inspiring. There Çréla Prabhupäda says of the pure devotee, “His so-called material body
does not exist, being surcharged with the spiritual current of the Lord’s identical interest.” If we
can make our interests one with Kåñëa’s interests, one of which is to disseminate transcendental
knowledge throughout society, then we’ve crossed over the ocean of material existence.
One nice thing about our transcendental book distribution competition is that everyone is a
winner. If someone goes out to distribute books and gives everything he or she has, although they
may not come in first, second, or third place and may not produce much result, they get the reward
of Kåñëa’s satisfaction and thus their own, and everyone wins.
Another nice aspect of the marathon is that due to prolonged absorption in book distribution
one’s realizations about book distribution increase, and thus one’s determination to distribute
throughout the year also increases.
Because Çréla Prabhupäda’s books contain the combined teachings of Kåñëa and His pure
servant, they’re very attractive, like diamonds set in gold. The pure teachings in these books are
helping more and more people appreciate the Kåñëa consciousness movement. I met a man who
said, “If a book has something in it about Kåñëa consciousness, I’m for it.” An hour later I handed
a man the Bhagavad-gétä. He held it in his hands with great respect and said, “Ah, the Bhagavad-
gétä.” Responding to his mood, I kind of stood back, looked admiringly at the book, and said,
“Yes, the famous Bhagavad-gétä.” Then he said, “What a great book of wisdom.” I agreed: “Yes,
wisdom—the only thing lacking in society.” He had often heard of the Bhagavad-gétä and had read
excerpts from it, but he’d never actually owned one. Now he was very happy he did.
Daivé-çakti Devé Däsé had an exchange with Prabhupäda that placed her in what you could say
was a “Lifetime Marathon” to distribute books. She said, “Once in Mäyäpur I told Prabhupäda
that wherever we go in India, as soon as I open one of his books a whole crowd of people gathers
because his books are the most beautiful books in the world. Prabhupäda lit up with such a
wonderful smile; at that moment it was as if I finally understood what koöé-candra [millions of
moons] meant—Prabhupäda’s smile was so effulgent. He then lifted his hand and said, ‘Wherever
she goes she must distribute my books.’ He then showered me with a lifetime of instructions on
book distribution, which I am daily trying to fulfill. He told me to see that his books are distributed
in the schools and libraries in India, and in the embassies. He told me to see that his books
are stocked and distributed in Mäyäpur and Våndävana. He told me to lecture in the colleges,
explaining that because we are foreigners everyone will want to hear us speak. He then called for
his secretary, Brahmänanda Swami, and asked him to read the inventory of books that had just
arrived in Bombay. After hearing the list, Prabhupäda said, ‘Let us see if she can clear the stock!’
So I am still trying to clear the stock, and it keeps filling up. It is a transcendental anxiety.”
* * *
His Holiness Bhakti Chäru Swami
The instructions of Çré Caitanya Mahaprabhu are the most important message for this world,
and they have been presented in a most systematic and scientific way by Çréla Prabhupäda.
The world is facing immense degradation, which is leading to inconceivable misery. The only
solution to this problem is Kåñëa consciousness. Therefore, the distribution of Çréla Prabhupäda’s
199
books is of the utmost importance. From our own practical experience, we have seen how Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books have transformed our lives and freed us from the miserable influence of the
Age of Kali. This individual effect, if applied in a larger sphere, can grant inconceivable collective
results. It is therefore essential that the entire world has the opportunity to receive the mercy of
Çréla Prabhupäda, and the most effective way to deliver it is through Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
In Våndävana in 1977, when Çréla Prabhupäda was enacting his final pastimes, he appeared
very sick. For weeks on end he would eat practically nothing. Only once in a while would he take a
little fruit juice or diluted milk. But Tamäl Kåñëa Mahäräja, who was Çréla Prabhupäda’s secretary
at that time, used to read him the letters various devotees had written to him. Çréla Prabhupäda
would become very enlivened with the news of book distribution. During this time he said that
profuse distribution of his books “gives me life.” Tamal Kåñëa Mahäräja wrote to all the devotees
in all the temples of the world about how the news of book distribution was giving life to Çréla
Prabhupäda. And so to show their love for Çréla Prabhupäda the devotees started to distribute
books with renewed enthusiasm and dedication.
In this way I personally saw how dear book distribution was to Çréla Prabhupäda. You can
be sure that for him book distribution was the most important preaching work. He knew that
through book distribution the Kåñëa consciousness movement would spread. Çréla Prabhupäda’s
main concern was that this movement spread and that people take to Kåñëa consciousness and
become part of this movement. Therefore it is very enlivening to see how the devotees, to display
their love for Çréla Prabhupäda and their loyalty to him, are continuing to distribute his books.
Actually, the marathon time is a very special time for us. But we must remember that our
entire life is a marathon. We must distribute books not just during a particular time of the year but
but all year round.
Çréla Prabhupäda very emphatically taught us that book distribution is the best means to make
devotees. As someone gets one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books in his or her hands, that person has
the opportunity to recognize their eternal relationship with Kåñëa and become His devotee.
Çréla Prabhupäda is still present. It is not that because we cannot see him he is not here anymore.
Çréla Prabhupäda is here. We are not able to see him, but Prabhupäda is seeing us. And when he
sees that we are sincerely trying to distribute his books, that we are trying to make devotees, then
he becomes pleased. And when Çréla Prabhupäda becomes pleased, Kåñëa becomes pleased, and
that is the way we are going to make spiritual advancement.
Our main objective is to become good devotees. How? By developing our relationship with
Kåñëa. And our relationship with Kåñëa develops because of Çréla Prabhupäda’s pleasure. In this
connection Kåñëa says, “Those who say they are My devotees are not My devotees. Those who
are the devotees of My devotees are actually My devotees.” So when Çréla Prabhupäda is pleased,
Kåñëa will be pleased. If we therefore try to please Çréla Prabhupäda, knowing well what will
please him the most, knowing well that the distribution of his books is going to give him the
greatest pleasure, and if we continue to distribute books, Çréla Prabhupäda will be pleased, and the
result will be that we will see that we are making rapid spiritual advancement.
In the history of ISKCON we have seen that those who regularly distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books generally don’t have many problems in their spiritual life. Those who don’t distribute Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books, who don’t preach Kåñëa consciousness, often have difficulties.
So please rest assured that Çréla Prabhupäda’s pleasure will enhance your spiritual advancement,
and that the best way to please Çréla Prabhupäda is to distribute his books.
I feel very happy that so many devotees have committed themselves to distributing Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books, and it goes without saying that while distributing books you experience joy.
So if you have experienced that joy, would you not want to experience that joy again and again?
200
So please continue to distribute books.
While you are distributing books, please cultivate those you are distributing books to. Often
we hear how people remember the book distributors. Some people remember, “At the time I met
the devotee, I didn’t really think much about the book, but because I was so impressed with that
person, I decided to take the book. And when I started to read the book, I saw how precious this
gift is.”
So please continue to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Please continue to please Çréla
Prabhupäda and make rapid spiritual advancement.
* * *
His Holiness Devämrita Swami
Sometimes one may wonder, “What is this all about? Why do we go through so much endeavor
for the book distribution marathon.” Sometimes devotees forget what this book distribution is all
about.
In every yuga there is some system of yajïa, performance of sacrifice for the pleasure of the
Supreme Lord. That yajïa is the scientific process for connecting with the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. And yajïas are performed regardless of the resources required. In the Age of Kali
we don’t have an unlimited quantity of valuable items to offer to the Supreme Lord. So therefore
we need to have some other kind of yajïa. Çréla Prabhupäda realized that this is the missing thing
in civilization today: some way to perform mass yajïa. In other words, the Vedic sacrifices aren’t
just for a few people; everyone is supposed to be involved. In previous yugas you had kings like
Rämacandra and Parékñit Mahäräja, and through their expert organization they made it so that
every kind of person in the kingdom could participate in the yajïa. The kñatriyas organized the
sacrifices, the brähmaëas performed them, the vaiçyas provided all the materials, and the çüdras
provided the labor. Now, where in the present society do you have an organized arrangement for
yajïa so that everyone can take part in it? That was Çréla Prabhupäda’s vision for this saìkértana
yajïa of book distribution: a system, an organized effort, for performing a yajïa that everyone
can participate in. Therefore there is the book production, which is the big, båhat mådaìga, and
now everyone has a chance to participate in that yajïa, or kértana caused by the båhat mådaìga.
Everyone has a chance to become involved in hearing Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, in distributing
Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, in encouraging others to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, and in
reading them. In this way we can produce a sanctified atmosphere throughout the whole world.
Yajïa is very simple in that it is an organized method for pleasing the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
What does it really mean that we are participating in yajïa? Kåñëa simply wants that we give
some effort and that we make a sacrifice. That is what makes Kåñëa consciousness very tasty:
the sacrifice. When you sacrifice something for the Supreme Lord, you get to taste the nectar of
Kåñëa consciousness. The understanding of yajïa is that yajïa must be performed. Yajïa vai viñëu
(sacrifice for the satisfaction of Viñëu), and everything else works from that. The extraordinary
potency of what is going on is that everyone is involved in Vedic sacrifice as Çréla Prabhupäda
desired.
It is not that book distribution is some activity of a bygone era. It is not that it is just something
we go through the motions doing because Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Distribute books.” No, it is
actually the topmost method for pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
201
Both Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura and Çréla Prabhupäda wanted book distribution
to be performed in an organized way for the benefit of the whole world. One can practice Kåñëa
consciousness just for oneself. One can simply become concerned with “What about my own
nectar? What about my own rasa?” But that is not what Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura
had in mind. It is not what Çréla Prabhupäda had in mind. Their plan is that we get Kåñëa by giving
Kåñëa to others in as much of an organized way as possible. That is what Çréla Prabhupäda desired.
Sometimes we may look at this organized effort and think, “Ah, the real nectar will be when I will
be just reading about Rädhä and Kåñëa.” That is nectar, but you won’t taste it unless you satisfy
the äcäryas. In order to satisfy the äcäryas, we have to fulfill their wishes. So this saìkértana-
yajïa—this book distribution, this organized effort—is a humble attempt to satisfy the äcäryas.
So don’t become too familiar with it, thinking, “Ah, another year, another marathon. Here we go
again, everyone scurrying about, making all these arrangements. Ah, I’ve seen it all before.” You
may have seen it all before, but are you really seeing what is happening with spiritual vision? That
should be our prayer for the marathon and all the time: “How can I actually see what Kåñëa is
doing, what Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu is doing?”
Of course, even one who does the marathon mechanically will get some credit. There is no
doubt about that. But if you really want to taste the depth of the book distribution nectar, you
must beg the Supreme Lord, “Please give me a vision of what is really going on from Your point
of view.” That is what makes the marathon exciting.
When someone cares for you, they are very happy when you ask them, “Please let me see
how You are doing things.” So if you pray to Kåñëa, “Please let me see how You are doing things
through this saìkértana-yajïa,” Kåñëa will be very happy and let you have a vision of what is going
on. In this way we can perform the saìkértana service in a way that we will be fully enlivened. That
opportunity is always there.
But sometimes we do not enter into the saìkértana-yajïa fully in terms of begging Lord Caitanya.
You may just take it in a mechanical way: “I’ll give this one a book, that one a book.” Still you
will get credit; we don’t criticize devotees who just go out and hand people books without thinking
deeply about it. They will get credit. They will satisfy Kåñëa. But there are different degrees of
satisfaction, and you do not have to be a full-time devotee to taste the deeper realizations of
saìkértana. You simply have to beg Kåñëa. He is very eager to show you what is going on. Why?
Because the more people who see what is going on in the saìkértana-yajïa, the more the flood of
love of Godhead increases. And it is such a taste that you won’t forget it for your whole life! So it
is in Kåñëa’s interest to give you a vision of what is going on, but you have to ask for it. If you don’t
ask, you may not get it.
Of course, Lord Caitanya can give you such a vision even if you don’t ask. But it is much
quicker if you ask. You should beg Kåñëa, “Let me get an insight into how Lord Caitanya is doing
things. What is the real secret of this book distribution? Why did Çréla Prabhupäda insist upon it
so much?” Don’t say, “Haven’t people gotten enough books already? We’ve distributed millions
of books in America, and so what?” This is a material analysis. I don’t think you’ll hear it coming
from any of the äcäryas in our line. No. We are distributing books because we please Kåñëa’s
senses by doing so; that’s it. We can do that better and better, wider and wider, but still the basic
fact is there: we are distributing books to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Occasionally someone would ask Çréla Prabhupäda, “What is the goal of chanting Hare Kåñëa?”
He would answer, “The goal of chanting Hare Kåñëa is to chant more Hare Kåñëa.” The means is
the same as the end. Similarly, why do we distribute books? We distribute books so that we can
distribute more books. It is our prayer that the people get one book and that they’ll then want
another book and another book and another book, and that some of them will join and become
202
book distributors themselves.
* * *
His Holiness Giriräj Swami
In the course of service to the spiritual master, to Çréla Prabhupäda, we are sometimes placed
in situations that are not very congenial for our material comfort. But in those situations we may
feel the connection with the spiritual master even more, and when we do, we feel even more
ecstatic in Kåñëa consciousness than when we are in more comfortable situations.
Last year His Holiness Çacénandana Swami gave a beautiful talk in which he made an especially
powerful point: When you receive an order from the spiritual master and try to execute it, wonderful
things happen—Kåñëa works. In his book The Art of Transformation, Mahäräja states,
Do something in your devotional service for Kåñëa. Take a little risk. Stay away from your
laukika-çraddhä, the worldly çraddhä based on sensual experience and what other people
say. Trust in the scriptures. You will see that wonders can happen. I want to tell you about
one of these wonders. Devotees told me, “Go out and distribute books!”
I thought, “No, please not this service. Any other, but not this, please. I joined very
young, and I am a little sensitive. I can’t meet with these tigers and lions on the street.”
“No, no, have a little faith,” said the devotees. “If you surrender to Kåñëa, He will
give you whatever you need and maintain what you have.” And I remember I did so. I
distributed books, and Kåñëa came to help.
In different parts of the world many devotees are taking risks to further the Kåñëa consciousness
movement. And some countries may not be favorable to Çréla Prabhupäda’s mission. Still, the
devotees are meeting so many people who otherwise would not have been exposed to this process,
and they are inducing them to chant the holy names of Lord Kåñëa. Many of these people are
becoming kåñëa-bhaktas. For their sake, devotees sacrifice their personal comfort. And they take
risks, risking even their very lives.
These things are actually going on right now. So if you take the mission of the spiritual master
to heart and take risks for the mission of the spiritual master, Kåñëa will help in wonderful ways
that you would never expect.
And Kåñëa will provide. I am reminded of my godbrother Amogha-lélä Prabhu. After being a
brahmacäré for many years, he got married and had to support his family. He got a PhD, and for
two or three years he taught as an adjunct professor. On the weekends he would distribute books
because that was still in him from his young brahmacäré days.
After a while he realized he was making more per day doing books than lecturing at the
university. And he liked the book distribution a lot more. So he finally decided, “Well, let’s skip
the professor business and just do book distribution.” At first his wife was a little skeptical because
she didn’t think it sounded very dignified, but he was making so much more money on the street
than he was as a professor, that she got into it. And he is always fired up. He is always fired up
because he is always preaching and distributing books.
So, during the December marathon we should try to come out of our comfort zones and take a
little risk and distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Just take a little risk for Çréla Prabhupäda, for
Lord Kåñëa, and the results will be all-auspicious and glorious.
203
* * *
His Holiness Mahäviñëu Swami
One evening during the marathon I was distributing door to door in Reservoir Hills, a wealthy,
high-security residential area of Durban, South Africa. By chance I knocked on the door of the
house where the gentleman lives who donates all of Çré Çré Rädhä-Rädhänätha’s daily fruits
from his chain of supermarkets. I sat and talked with him for about half an hour. He already had
everything—BTGs, books, Life Membership, etc. I asked him to sponsor some Bhagavad-gétäs for
schoolchildren. He said that his brother did all the donating for the family’s company.
I took the brother’s name and later rang him up, and we arranged to meet at the temple one
morning. His brother was a devotee, and he agreed to sponsor a hundred Bhagavad-gétäs. Later he
sent the lakñmé for the Gétäs. That is how I got a hundred Bhagavad-gétäs sponsored. Those books
still have to be handed out to a particular school when we hold a program there. I certainly felt
like I was acting as Kåñëa’s instrument when I got those books sponsored, but I still hankered to
do straight books on the street again.
Going out on the street was a humbling and purifying experience for me, though, and the first
day was especially hard, since I was too shy to approach the people on the street. “Here comes
the guru!”, yet the shopkeeper ignores me purposely or is irritated I have come. He waves his
hand to put me off—“We already gave,” We have the books already,” “Please don’t bother us,”
or just “Get lost!” As my big ego was ground down by these common rebuffs, I began to feel
my connection with Çréla Prabhupäda strengthen. How many times had Çréla Prabhupäda been
rebuffed in India and the USA? I’m very fruitive: When someone takes a book I feel ecstatic and
confident and get more momentum to do more books, but when books don’t go out I start getting
introspective and begin praying. I oscillate between the two states. I’m still a saìkértana baby, but
I hope to grow up with more practice.
I was going out in devotee clothes and found that sometimes middle-aged people with white
hair had some natural trust in me because of my own white hairs. Once I met a rather distressed-
looking British tourist my age and got to talking with him. He was living in the Channel Islands,
avoiding the UK taxes. His sister had cancer and would die soon. I opened up the Gétä to the second
chapter and read him the translation about the soul giving up old bodies like worn-out clothes and
taking on new ones. After hearing a few more verses about the soul he became transformed. He
exclaimed, “I want that book! How much?” He gave me a hundred rands, and so I also gave him
a set of Kåñëa books. He gave me another hundred rands—“For you,” he said. He shook my hand
and thanked me very much for spending time to help him. When I came back to the temple, Bhakti
Caitanya Swami rewarded me with a cup of frozen yogurt.
* * *
His Holiness Niraïjana Swami
In previous years in Boston, when we used to go out on book distribution marathons, we

took all the empty boxes of the books that had been distributed and placed them in front of Çréla
Prabhupäda’s vyäsäsana. That was our offering to him. Every day we would come back and place
all the empty boxes in front of him. Once we filled up the whole temple room with empty boxes.
When devotees go out with a desire to somehow please Çréla Prabhupäda by distributing his
204
books, there is a certain special mercy that becomes manifest. Çréla Prabhupäda gives his extra
special mercy. In 1975 I was the saìkértana leader in Boston. We heard that Çréla Prabhupäda
had said, “The devotees who go out in vans and distribute my books get my extra special mercy.”
I was in ecstasy—I was going out every day in a van distributing books, and Çréla Prabhupäda
said, “They get extra special mercy.” I thought, “I’m already getting so much mercy, but Çréla
Prabhupäda said those who go out in vans get extra special mercy!” I remember making this my
meditation: “I want it—that extra special mercy! I gotta get it!!”
The day we heard that quote from Çréla Prabhupäda, I actually prayed to him, “Çréla Prabhupäda,
please don’t ever let me do anything else but simply be the leader of this saìkértana party in this
white Dodge van so that I can go out and distribute your books every day and get your extra
special mercy.” Of course, my service didn’t continue in that way forever—Kåñëa had some other
plans for me. But Çréla Prabhupäda will give that mercy.
For me book distribution was always very difficult. Right from the very first day I moved into
the temple, the very first engagement my temple president gave me was to go to Providence,
Rhodes Island, with a newspaper bag full of BTG magazines and stand in the middle of the sidewalk
and distribute them. It was so hard; I was so bewildered. But still I knew book distribution was
something very pleasing to Çréla Prabhupäda. And after all, hadn’t I come to Kåñëa consciousness
as a result of getting one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books?
For years I would struggle. Sometimes I would stand there with tears in my eyes; it was so
difficult I would literally cry. People would walk by me as I stood on a street corner and wonder,
“What’s going on with this guy?” I was not crying tears of ecstasy or tears of compassion. I was
crying because it was so difficult to face some stranger on the street and try to convince him to take
a book. But still I continued.
Sometimes I would stop and sit down on the curb. I wasn’t producing many results on book
distribution. Sometimes the temple president would bring me back to the temple and give me
some other engagement because it was just too difficult. Then I would say, “Let me try just one
more time,” and he would send me out again.
It was like that for a couple of years. And then I went out on traveling saìkértana, and I got a
realization that if I was going to stay a devotee I just had to continue distributing Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books. I thought, “This is my only hope. If I ever want to become a devotee and not turn into a
demon, book distribution is my only hope.” I prayed really hard to succeed on book distribution.
Then all of a sudden, on that very day, I got a phone call from the temple president: “I want
you to come back to the temple to cook.”
I thought, “What is this? How is it possible?” I said to him, “How can you do such a thing? I
have to distribute books; I have to.”
“No, you’re the only brähmaëa right now; we need a brähmaëa to cook for the Deities.”
I protested: “I won’t live; I won’t be able to survive. I have to do this.”
“Well, you’re not getting so many results.”
“I know I’m not getting so many results. But still, you don’t understand: I have to do this.”
But the temple president forced me to surrender, and I went back to the temple to cook.
As soon as I got back I found out that the temple president’s plan was for me to cook four
offerings a day. So I was in the kitchen for about ten hours a day, cooking. I had to cook breakfast
and lunch for all the devotees, make milk sweets, and prepare the afternoon fruit offering. I would
finish at around 4 in the afternoon. The temple president told me, “After you finish your duties in
the kitchen, you should go out on harinäma.” I thought, “How is it possible? How can I go out on
harinäma? If I have to go out, I have to go out to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. He brought
me back here to be a cook; all right, I’ll do my cooking, but instead of going out on harinäma I’ll
205
go out on book distribution.”
So before going down to the kitchen every day, I would take my karmé clothes to the basement.
After finishing cooking, I would change downstairs and then sneak out the back door so the temple
president wouldn’t see me. Then I would go out and distribute books for a couple of hours. I was
distributing in the most difficult place in all of Boston—Harvard Square. That’s where all the
Harvard students and professors would go. They were so puffed up. And so again I would find
myself on the street, crying. It was so difficult. But I forced myself to do it.
Then one day I had the most amazing experience. I’m sure every devotee who distributes books
has had such an experience; it wasn’t something new or unknown, or some mystery. Of course, it
is a mystery how Çréla Prabhupäda gives us so much mercy if we simply try to do something that
pleases him.
Anyway, while struggling to distribute books I suddenly got the most wonderful taste, a taste
I’d never experienced before. It was just so profound. As I stood in the middle of Harvard Square,
I felt so blissful just to have an opportunity to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. I came back
to the temple that night feeling so blissful. This was an experience I hadn’t had for years, and
it continued day after day. Till then saìkértana had usually been tears, misery, and suffering.
Sometimes I had lain awake all night, not wanting to go to sleep, because I knew that if I slept
the morning would come very fast and I would have to go out and distribute books again. So to
make the night last longer I would lie wide awake, looking at the ceiling. That is how difficult book
distribution was for me.
But then I got this taste. After that the temple president would see me walking through the
temple in the evening completely blissed out, and he would ask me, “Why are you so blissful?” I
didn’t want to tell him what I was doing, because I was supposed to be going out on harinäma. So
I told him, “It is very nice cooking for Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopévallabha.”
But after some time he found out that I was actually sneaking out and going on book distribution
every day. This was after about four or five weeks of my cooking and going out. So one day he
called me up to his office and said, “I found out why you’re so blissful. All right, I’ve decided to put
somebody else in the kitchen. Here are the keys to the van.” He not only gave me the keys to the
van, but he also gave me four devotees and said, “Now get out of here and go distribute books!”
That was it. I was gone the same day. We used to load so many books into that van that when
we left the temple there was no room to sleep in the van at night. The only way we could sleep in
the van was if we stopped somewhere and distributed enough books to open up enough space for
us to squeeze into the van at night. We filled up that whole van with books, left the temple, and
distributed books. I stayed out for years. And that was the white Dodge van I wanted to be the
leader of for the rest of my life. Kåñëa at least gave it to me for a few more years.
* * *
His Holiness Rädhänätha Swami
The internal substance of our movement will be recognized to the degree that the devotees
actually live by what Çréla Prabhupäda has taught us, and live by the example he has set. That is
where the real integrity will manifest. Prabhupäda wanted us to distribute his books by the millions.
The Prabhupäda marathon is the best time for us to focus on fulfilling his desire. How wonderful
it is that we have the opportunity to actually accept inconveniences, tolerate the dualities, and
approach every type of person to try to give them Kåñëa. That sacrifice is so dear to Kåñëa. So let
us distribute as many books as humanly possible.
206
* * *
As a saìkértana devotee, saìkértana leader, and temple president, I would read this poem to
myself and others to remind us of what winning in a marathon is really about: Continuing to do
your best, however you are doing. (It was written by a Dr. D. H. Groberg.)
The Race
A children’s race—young boys, young men—

How I remember well.
Excitement, sure! But also fear:
It wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope,

Each thought to win that race,
Or tie for first, or if not that,
At least take second place.
And fathers watched from off the side,

Each cheering for his son,
And each boy hoped to show his dad
That he would be the one
The whistle blew and off they went,

Young hearts and hopes afire,
To win and be the hero there
Was each young boy’s desire.
And one boy in particular,

Whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running in the lead and thought:
“My dad will be so proud!”
But as they speeded down the field,

Across a shallow dip,
The little boy who thought to win
Lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself,

His hands flew out to brace,
And mid the laughter of the crowd
207
He fell flat on his face.
So down he fell, and with him hope—

He couldn’t win it now—
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished
To disappear somehow.
But as he fell his dad stood up

And showed his anxious face,
Which to the boy so clearly said:
“Get up and win the race.”
He quickly rose, no damage done—
Behind a bit that’s all—
And ran with all his mind and might
To make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself—

To catch up and to win—
His mind went faster than his legs:
He slipped and fell again!
He wished then that he’d quit before

With only one disgrace.
“I’m hopeless as a runner now;
I shouldn’t try to race.”
But in the laughing crowd he searched

And found his father’s face;
That steady look that said again
“Get up and win the race!”
So up he jumped to try again—

Ten yards behind the last—
“If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought,
“I’ve got to move real fast.”
Exerting everything he had,

He gained eight or ten,
But trying hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again!
Defeat! He lay there silently—

A tear dropped from his eye—
“There’s no sense running anymore—
Three strikes: I’m out, why try!”
The will to rise had disappeared,
All hope had fled away.
208
So far behind, so error prone;
A loser all the way.
“I’ve lost, so what’s the use,” he thought,

“I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his dad,
Who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” an echo sounded low,

“Get up and take your place;
You were not meant for failure here.
Get up and win the race.”
“With borrowed will, get up,” it said,

“You haven’t lost at all,
For winning is no more than this:
To rise each time you fall.”
So up he rose to run once more,

And with a new commit,
He resolved that win or lose
At least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now—

The most he’d ever been—
Still he gave it all he had
And ran as though to win.
Three times he’d fallen, stumbling;

Three times he rose again;
Too far behind to hope to win,
He still ran to the end.
They cheered the winning runner

As he crossed the line first place,
Head high, and proud, and happy;
No falling, no disgrace.
But when the fallen youngster

Crossed the line last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer,
For finishing the race.
And even though he came in last
209
With head bowed low, unproud,
You would have thought he’d won the race
To listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said,

“I didn’t do too well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said.
“You rose each time you fell.”
And now when things seem dark and hard

And difficult to face,
The memory of that little boy
Helps me in my race.
For all of life is like that race,

With ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win
Is rise each time you fall.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Purity is attained by constantly chanting Hare Kåñëa, day and night—between every person
we approach, while honoring prasädam, before going to sleep, and, if possible, in our dreams.
Decoration of the altar is the books distributed: We must offer lotus garland upon lotus garland
of sold books to Kåñëa, by the hour. The regular offerings are the conditioned souls engaged and
saved. Their hearts’ devotion will be the great feast of bhoga that we offer. And the constant
abhiñeka will be our tears of happiness and sorrow, mixed with our exhaustion and exhilaration,
scented with our labor of love. Then Lord Caitanya will appear resplendent in our hearts, smile
sweetly, and say, “Thank you!” And lost in bliss, all the devotees will think, “Why has this marathon
come to an end!’
* * *
Bhåghupati Däsa (ACBSP)
In the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä Kåñëa encourages Arjuna to fight with these
words: “Therefore get up. Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a
flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasäcé, can
be but an instrument in the fight.” (BG 11.33)
When I was a new devotee, I used to hear other devotees say, “Just as Kåñëa says that the
soldiers are already put to death by His arrangement and that Arjuna can take the credit for killing
them, so the books are already distributed and we simply have to go out there and take the credit.”
This is the correct way to think.
Indeed, because it is the desire of Lord Caitanya, this movement has already spread throughout
the world. It is already successful. Now it is a question of who will get the credit. Kåñëa tells
Arjuna, “These guys are already put to death by My arrangement. If you surrender and fight, you
210
will get the credit for being the big hero of the battle. But if you decline to fight, I will arrange for
another devotee who is prepared to surrender to come forward and carry out My instruction, and
he is going to get the credit for winning the Battle of Kuruksetra instead of you. I am the doer, you
see? You are not the doer.”
In the same way, the books have already been distributed by Lord Chaitanya’s desire and
arrangement, and it is up to us, the devotees of the Kåñëa consciousness movement, to be but
instruments in this distribution.
Kåñëa goes on to say, “Droëa, Bhéñma, Jayadratha, Karëa, and other great warriors have
already been destroyed by Me. Therefore kill them and do not be disturbed. Simply fight, and you
will vanquish your enemies in battle.” (BG 11.34)
Similarly, we can say, “Simply go out and make the effort to distribute books, and you will
witness so many books going out and so many people becoming Kåñëa conscious.”
So those who really imbibe this marathon mindset will experience how wonderfully Kåñëa
reciprocates with them. One may not be the top distributor, but everyone who wholeheartedly
participates in the marathons will experience amazing reciprocation from Kåñëa. Indeed, anybody
who surrenders to the marathon will experience incredible things happening in their devotional
service.
Çréla Prabhupäda goes on to say I the purport to BG 11.34: “Every plan is made by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, but He is so kind and merciful to His devotees that He wants to give the
credit to His devotees who carry out His plan according to His desire.”
This is the nature of Kåñëa. Çréla Prabhupäda said that a father who has a BA from a university
wants to see his son receive an MA or a PhD. The father naturally wants to see his child surpass
him. If the person is not his child, if he’s someone who is not in an intimate loving relationship with
the father, the father will see him as a competitor who wants to surpass him. But if the person is his
son, the father will be pleased to see him surpass him. Kåñëa is that the Supreme Father. He has so
much affection for us, His cihldren, that He wants to see us surpass Him. Kåñëa did not want the
credit for being the hero of the Battle of Kuruksetra. He wanted Ajuna to become famous as the
hero. That is Kåñëa.
It’s the same thing with saìkértana. Lord Caitanya predicted that His name would be heard
in every town and village. Çréla Prabhupäda also said, “Print and distribute these books.” It is
therefore a foregone conclusion that the saìkértana mission will be successful. It is just a question
of who will get the credit. We simply have to come forward. With full faith that distributing books
is the desire of Lord Kåñëa, of Lord Caitanya, and of Çréla Prabhupäda, we should fully participate
in the whole marathon. Then it will be revealed to us how all these statements are actually true.
Statements like “the books have already been distributed” may sound unbelievable, but they
are true, and their accuracy will be revealed to us if we surrender. This is Kåñëa consciousness,
where we have to walk the talk. Then everything becomes revealed. As it is stated, ataù çré-kåñëa-
nämädi na bhaved grähyam indriyaiù. Kåñëa cannot be understood by the blunt material senses,
but He reveals Himself to the surrendred soul. With our mundane mind and senses we cannot
understand either how Lord Caitanya’s names will be chanted in every town and village on earth
or how Çréla Prabhupäda’s books have already been distributed and we simply have to go out
there and let Kåñëa work through us as His instruements. But when we surrender, Kåñëa reveals
the truth of all these statements to us. And then we understand.
At Bhagavad-gétä 18.55 Kåñëa says, bhaktyä mäm abhijänäti yävän yaç cäsmi tattvataù: “I am
understood in truth only by devotional service.” That is the point: All the realization is in the
service. The ecstasy is in the service. If we surrender to the service, Kåñëa reciprocates in such a
way that everything is clearly revealed. We then understand, “Oh, yes, it is all true.” But without
211
that surrender to the service, it remains ideas and words. It does not become a living reality for
us unless we actually make the decision to really surrender and participate wholeheartedly in the
actual process and activity of devotional service. If and when we do, we get the realization of what
the marathon actually is and what the mercy of the spiritual master and Lord Caitanya are.
* * *
Saìkértana—book distribution and harinäma—is where the rubber meets the road, so to
speak, in our collective efforts to share what we have all been given by His Divine Grace Çréla
Prabhupäda. That is where our philosophy ceases to be mere doctrine and becomes realized action.
Çréla Prabhupäda considered every soul on the planet absolutely significant because he knew our
eternal connection to the Lord Himself.
Serious in the extreme was how he took the task of transforming our unfortunate condition
to one of absolute good fortune. He did this one soul at a time. Each of us was individually made
eternally fortunate by Çréla Prabhupäda. There is a wonderful parable I have always loved that
illustrates Çréla Prabhupäda’s tenacious dtermination to make Kåñëa consciousness available to as
many as he possibly could.
One morning long ago an old man walked near the shore of the vast ocean. He was hobbled and
crooked, and even his breathing was labored. He looked up and noted that there were thousands
of starfish—large and small—stranded on he beach by the outgoing tide. They were too far from
the roiling waves to save themselves and faced suffocation, along with intense heat from quickly
rising sun. He began to slowly walk down the beach and, bending over painfully, pick up one
starfish at a time, walk to the shore, and then hurl the starfish back to the safety of the cool waves.
A young boy of ten spied the old-timer and studied his actions for some time. In due course he
approached the old man, who was so absorbed in the task at hand that he failed to notice the boy.
“Hey, mister, what’re you doing?” the boy queried.
The old man noted a slight smirk on the boy’s face and said, “What does it look like I’m doing?
I’m returning these starfish back to the sea before they all die here on the shore.”
The boy looked down the beach and saw stranded starfish as far as the eye could see.
“Hmppf!” puffed the lad. “Old man, I don’t want to discourage you, but did you happen to see
just how many of these critters there are out here?”
“What’s your point, young fella?” the old timer said as he paused to look the lad up and down.
“Well, do you really think what you’re doing is gonna make a difference?
The old man paused, looked at the boy with a twinkle in his eye, slowly bent over with a
groan, and picked up another starfish. He paused, then slowly walked to the shore, and hurled the
starfish out to sea as far as he could. He walked back to where the boy was standing, still staring in
disbelief at the efforts of the old man.
“Well,” the old man said, smiling wryly, “it sure made a difference to that one, didn’t it?!”
The boy smiled, nodded his head in agreement, and then bent over and joined the old man in
his efforts.
By spectacularly pushing on the mission of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Çréla Prabhupäda has
arranged for all the “stranded starfish” of this material world to be given the golden opportunity
of Kåñëa consciousness. He showed the example and set about saving us all—individually, one at
a time. Each of us has our own beautiful recollection of how we found the shelter of Lord Kåñëa,
Çréla Prabhupäda, and his devotees.
212
This shelter remains fully available to any sincere soul. Thousands are experiencing this shelter
all over the world, every day. Anyone can participate. Anyone can—like that young lad who took
to helping the old man rescue as many starfish as possible—roll up his or her sleeves and just dive
into the task “full bore” and help Çréla Prabhupäda in his efforts to make a difference in the lives
of as many souls as possible. Can’t you practically see His Divine Grace, with a twinkle in his
beautiful gaze, chuckling with delight as his books pass from our humble hands into the hands of
the suffering souls gasping and suffocating in this world due to ignorance?
During the marathons and nonmarathons, let us all keep our eyes fixed on the individual
standing directly in front of us on saìkértana. Let us “make a difference for at least that one.” Then
let us move to the next and again “make a difference for at least that one.” Then at the end of each
day we can tally up all those individuals for whom we made a difference and offer those results
to His Divine Grace Çréla Prabhupäda, knowing full well how much he will delight in our efforts.
And for those who are unable for whatever reason to participate directly in the Marathon,
my sincere suggestion is that you kindly go to your local temple president and ask him how you
can assist with the marathon in your local region. Remember, you too can help make a difference
for at least one soul during the marathon. Let nothing in your mind or another’s prevent you
from making that difference—for at least that one soul. Offer your time, your money, or your
assistance to the men and women going out each day during the marathon. Trust me, you will
make a difference, even if for only one soul. And remember, once upon a time in the not-too-
distant past, that one soul was you!
* * *
Worries about terrorism, escalating healthcare and living costs, global warming, nuclear
proliferation, and widespread violence are just a few of the concerns that plague people around
the world. People everywhere are looking for peace, prosperity, and happiness, but in Kali-yuga
these things are hard to find.
Fortunately, however, everyone can get relief from all material pangs by participating in Lord
Caitanya’s saìkértana movement. Saìkértana, the congregational chanting of the holy names and
the distribution of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, simultaneously cleanses one’s heart and vanquishes
suffering, while giving even beginners a taste of real happiness.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam tells us that the root of all worldly afflictions is forgetfulness of Kåñëa. The
remedy is saìkértana. Therefore Lord Caitanaya ordered every human being within this universe
to accept the process and to help Him spread it everywhere (Cc Ädi 9.36).
Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja describes the wonderful effects of saìkértana thus:
The fruit of love of Godhead distributed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu is such a great intoxicant
that anyone who eats it, filling his belly, immediately becomes maddened by it, and
automatically he chants, dances, laughs, and enjoys. When Çré Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the
great gardener, sees that people are chanting, dancing, and laughing and that some of them
are rolling on the floor and some are making loud humming sounds, He smiles with great
pleasure. [Cc Ädi 9.49–50]
Another muni, Karabhäjana, who lived thousands of years ago, described the importance of
saìkértana like this:
213
Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value
of this Age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age
all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of saìkértana. [SB 11.5.36]
Yet even with these benefits, devotees often find themselves too busy or distracted to personally
perform saìkértana. However, in December there’s a good opportunity for everyone to take part.
During the holidays, people tend to embrace—or at least ponder—spiritual values like
generosity and kindness. In this mood they more readily accept prasädam, books, and spiritual
association, and they reciprocate generously with donations and words of appreciation for our
work.
In addition, more people than usual come out of their homes and businesses at this time of year
to shop and to attend social events.
For these reasons, the Prabhupäda Book Distribution Marathon has endured for many decades.
Çréla Prabhupäda always took special notice of the book scores from around the world, and he
was particularly pleased to hear that his followers were increasing book sales and sending money
to the BBT. Clearly, he was also aware that December was an especially good month for selling
books. This is evident in the following response he wrote to Bali Mardan Prabhu, the president of
the New York temple in 1972, who had sent him a favorable saìkértana report. On December 31
Çréla Prabhupäda wrote:
Now December is finished and I think in your country this month is the best month for
spending, being the Christmas season, so I shall be anxious to see what was your books
distributed, your collection for December and what was your net savings. I note also that
your expenses have remained almost constant for so many months, except for the money
paid to book fund, which is increasing more and more, so that is the best system: pay to the
books fund larger and larger sums, keep other expenses constant as much as possible or
reduce.
Çréla Prabhupäda loved to hear that the devotees were distributing large numbers of his books
and he consistently encouraged them to sell more of them. He once wrote:
These books and magazines are our most important propaganda weapons to defeat the
ignorance of maya’s army, and the more we produce such literature and sell them profusely
all over the world, the more we shall deliver the world from the suicide course. [Letter to
Jayadvaita, 18 November 1972]
So, have some real fun and make your plans to distribute books, prasädam, and the holy
names. Organize your family, yourself, or your t emple, so that you’re ready for this once-a-year
opportunity.
* * *
Devaké-nandana Däsa
One of my fondest memories is of the 1994 Marathon. Nirguëa Däsa and I traveled in his van
214
around the southeast of the US for the month of December. It was very cold, with frequent snow
and icy rain. We would go to a town, find the WalMart or Kmart and distribute all day in the
cold till night. Then we would drive to the next town and try to find a hotel owned by an Indian
and plead with him to let us stay for free since we were American Vaiñëavas. Usually it worked.
On a few occasions they even brought out their Deities to show us. One man even had met Çréla
Prabhupäda in 1971 in Surat.
Nirguëa Prabhu was a very dear disciple of Çréla Prabhupäda who distributed books most of
his life. He left his body in 2007 in Mäyäpur, reuniting with him in the spiritual world. Nirguëa
Prabhu was one of the most inspiring devotees I eveer met. Without his association, I don’t think
I would’ve made it in Kåñëa consciousness.
One evening during the 1994 marathon, after Nirguëa and I had been out late distributing
in southeastern Kentucky, we found a motel and took rest. The next day was the coldest yet.
Our cooker wasn’t working, so we couldn’t cook. In the cold it’s important to have hot kichari
or something similar to keep you strong. Plus, the motel owner was harassing us to leave early
because someone wanted to rent the room.
We went to a laundromat and did some laundry while finishing our rounds, and I cooked up
some kichari outside on the sidewalk, using an electrical outlet I found out front. We finally took
prasädam about 2:00 and were ready for saìkértana around 2:30. We were sure we were going to
have a terrible day, considering how inauspiciously it had started and how late it was already. Plus
a mixtue of rain and snow was falling, and we were tired—it was near the end of December and
we’d already worked about twenty days straight.
Anyway, we got to the Walmart parking lot in a small town called London and started
distributing. We put our books in big plastic bags inside shopping carts, propped up an umbrella in
the cart, and approached people at their cars after they’d shopped. We didn’t expect to distribute
many books, but because we surrendered to Kåñëa despite all obstacles, miracles happened that
day. Almost everyone took a book.
I still remember the first guy I approached. I went to his truck and saw he had a big gun rack
in the back with a huge rifle mounted on it. His name was Elmer. I showed him the Bhagavad-gétä
and told him it was about meditation and ancient Indian knowledge. Some sort of light went on
in his primitive country brain, and he pulled out ten dollars and grabbed that Gétä like there was
no tomorrow. It pretty much went on like that until around 11 pm. I remember seeing Nirguëa
Prabhu blissfuly running around the parking lot with big boots on, all wrapped up in warm clothes.
By about ten thirty I had distributed 26 hardbound Gétäs and an assortment of small books. At
that point I was just too exhausted to continue and went back to the van. But Nirguëa was so fired
up that he went on for another half hour or so, and when he returned to the van he had distributed
44 hardbound Gétäs and had around $450. I remember driving around late trying to find a motel
and telling stories and laughing about the day’s events.
When I fully surrender on saìkértana like that I can’t think of anything that even compares.
Sometimes the nectar is so thick on saìkértana you can cut it with a knife.
* * *
Çyämananda Däsa
215
Giriräja Prabhu is a doctor who works in the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai. One day
during the Marathon he was distributing books during at the Vasai railway station. It was about
time to close the bookstall when he saw two gentlemen talking about the Hare Kåñëas distributing
books in public places. One man said loudly, “These people should not be allowed to preach
religion in public places. I wonder what their motivation is?” Upon hearing this remark, Giriräja
Prabhu felt a strong inner impulse to approach the man. So he took a set of Marathi Kåñëa books,
went over to the man, and said, “Sir, I am a doctor working at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital, and
all these people with me are respectable members of society. Our only motivation in setting up a
bookstall here after working hard for eight hours is to enable Lord Kåñëa to enter your house and
purify it.”
Giriräja’s straightforward statement surprised the man completely, and he said, “OK, I will
take a set, but I don’t have any money with me. Please come to my office.”
Giriräja Prabhu gladly walked to the man’s office, which turned out to be the office of the Chief
Superintendent of the Railway Police of Vasai Railway Station. Now Giriräja has full permission
for all book distribution in the man’s jurisdiction.
* * *
Vijaya Däsa
As followers of Çréla Prabhupäda, we have a great responsibility to help the conditioned souls
lost in the abyss of illusion. Marathons are an opportunity to set aside our ordinary course of
activities and help some unfortunate souls become fortunate. Many devotees in our movement are
mahärathi book distributors who have been distributing for years or even decades. All glories to
their service and determination! Other devotees have pressing responsibilities that make it difficult
for them give out the mercy in the form of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. It used to be (in the good old
days) that the Prabhupäda marathon was a special time when devotees who normally don’t go out
go out at least for some time—everyone would would spend some time directly distributing books.
How auspicious it would be if everyone in our movement would go out and distribute at least one
book a day during the month of December! In this way everyone can help the effort to bless the
conditioned souls by distributing Prabhupäda’s books, an activity he found so pleasing.
Book distribution is so nice, as this story will demonstrate. I was sitting at a table on the campus
of Los Angeles City College when a girl came to the table with her friend and asked excitedly:
“Do you have the book I lost two years ago?!” Not seeing it on the table, she started looking in
my box. “Yes! I see it!” As I flipped through the books in the box, I pulled out the one I thought
she was looking at. “No, no,” she said, “the silver one!” I pulled out a copy of Coming Back. She
grabbed it and started hugging it as she said, “Two years ago I got this book and was reading it. I
got half way through and then lost it. I was devastated—it’s sooo interesting.” I then showed her
the Bhagavad-gétä, for which she also enthusiastically gave a donation. Her friend got caught up in
her joy and bought a book as well.
* * *
Anonymous
216
Çréla Prabhupäda’s book distribution is a long-range program to bring as many conditioned
souls as possible back to Godhead. The more book distribution goes on, the more people will
understand Kåñëa. Planting the seed of bhakti-yoga is important work because it gives people a
chance to become Kåñëa conscious.
In past ages there were no books; there was only transcendental sound vibration. These sound
vibrations are still vibrating—they are eternal, and they do not deteriorate. Çréla Prabhupäda has
captured the transcendental sound vibration in his books. His books contain the same eternal
message that Kåñëa explained to Arjuna, that Çukadeva Gosvämé explained to Mahäräja Parékñit,
and that the other mahäjanas have explained to the devotees of the Lord since time immemorial.
When these deep concepts from Kåñëa go into the hearts of the living entities, the living entities
become absorbed little by little in love of Godhead.
Kåñëa’s pure devotee, Çréla Prabhupäda, said that simply by distributing his books we can
change the world. His words will not prove false. Kåñëa has proven time and time again that the
words of a pure devotee are always true. Kåñëa Himself always makes them true.
On a personal level, I have seen that whenever someone is having difficulties in his spiritual life,
if he goes out and distributes books, especially during the marathon, his whole life immediately
transforms into a blissful saìkértana-yajïa. Distributing books is so refreshing and relaxing, and it
frees one from intense mental problems because it is a transcendental activity. So by all means we
should wholeheartedly engage in the distribution of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books in the Prabhupäda
Marathons.
End of Chapter Ten: The Marathon
217
218
Chapter Eleven
Pleasant Surprises on Book Distribution
There are many surprises in this material world, where Mäyä has such a strong hold on society.
But the biggest surprise for Maya is that Çréla Prabhupäda came to the West and convinced thousands
of Westerners to give up there sinful lives and give their lives to Kåñëa. Çréla Prabhupäda himself
sometimes expressed surprise at the success he found. That some of this Society’s members who
had previously engaged in most sinful, abominable activities have gone out for decades to give this
transcendental knowledge to people all over the world is another big surprise. How fortunate we
are to have the opportunity to be Çréla Prabhupäda’s instruments in his mission of spreading Kåñëa
consciousness all over the world! It is certainly the mercy of Kåñëa.
Book distribution is filled with many pleasant surprises. We never know what Kåñëa is going
to arrange. This chapter tells of some interesting encounters people have had with Prabhupäda’s
books and introduces us to some of the many people whose hands they mysteriously end up in.
* * *
Morning Walk, June 5, 1976, Los Angeles
Dänavér: I’m in charge of the new bhakta program in Los Angeles. Yesterday a boy called up the
temple. He’s seventeen years old. He said, “Five years ago, when I was coming out of a store, I
received a Back to Godhead magazine. So I took it home and began reading it. I read six pages.
But my mother—she’s a strict Baptist—took it away. I couldn’t read it again. I never saw devotees
again until a few days ago.” Yesterday he came and joined the temple and became your disciple.
Çréla Prabhupäda: [chuckles]
Rämeçvara: Just by reading one word of your books.
Çréla Prabhupäda: What is that word?
Rämeçvara: Any word. [laughter] “Surrender to Kåñëa!” We are making almost ten devotees
every month. And they’re all coming from your books, from reading your books. Every one of
them.
Çréla Prabhupäda: Therefore I am insisting, “Spread books.”
Dänavér: Çréla Prabhupäda, there was one boy who just joined a few months ago—he had been
reading your books, and he came to join the temple. He had graduated from college and had been
to law school. We found out after some time that his father is Dr. Royal McClain, a very, very big
preacher in the South. He has his own television program. He is a very strict Christian, and his son
joined our movement. So the father calls up the son: “How could you desert our religion and join
this Kåñëa movement?” His son explained how he was actually feeling real love of God now for
the first time in his life.
Rämeçvara: He convinced his father that he should stay in our movement.
* * *
His Holiness Badrinäräyaë Swami
Once in San Diego a devotee was distributing small books in a parking lot. As he approached
219
a car he saw a young man sitting in the driver’s seat. When the devotee knocked on the window,
the man shouted, “Look, just leave me alone! Get outta here!”
The devotee went on his way, but then he thought, “This guy’s pretty bad off. He needs a
book.” So the devotee returned and stuck a small book under the windshield wiper.
Later the young man showed up at the San Diego temple and told this story:
“When the devotee saw me, I was very morose. I was frustrated about school and felt no
inspiration in life. My parents had sent me to a psychologist, but he was no help, and I became
even more depressed. I thought there must be something wrong with me. I saw how my friends
were so enthusiastic about going to school, getting jobs, making money. I concluded that everyone
else was okay and I was just messed up, a total failure.
“So I decided to kill myself. I ran a tube from the exhaust pipe through the trunk into my car,
rolled up the windows, and started the engine. I thought this would be a good way to end all my
misery and pain.
“The car was quickly filling up with carbon monoxide when someone walked up holding a big
stack of books on his arm and knocked on the window. I told him to get lost. I thought he was a
crazy fanatic—especially when he came back and put one of his books under my windshield wiper.
“But then I began to get bored and thought, ‘Well, what would be the harm if I read something
before I die?’ So I rolled down the window, reached out, and grabbed the little book. The title
looked interesting—Civilization and Transcendence. I started to read.
“In that book I found that Çréla Prabhupäda directly points out the defects of modern civilization
and gives people an alternative, the Kåñëa conscious way of life. Suddenly I realized, ‘Hey, I’m not
crazy. Everyone else is!’
“So I rolled down the windows, disconnected the tube from my exhaust, and drove home.
After reading the book cover to cover, I’ve come to the temple to become a devotee.” The young
man stayed in the temple and became a very nice devotee.
* * *
His Holiness Rasänanda Swami
I was distributing books on the buses in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I became very tired, so I stopped at
a bus stop and lay down on a bench for awhile. After a few minutes I heard a loud voice calling
from a bus that had stopped in front of me. It was so loud I was scared.
The driver said, “Hey, Hare Kåñëa, come on, what are you waiting for? Get on the bus and
distribute your books.” Then the driver said to the passengers, “Please help these Hare Kåñëa
people. They’re very nice.”
Almost everybody on that bus took books!
* * *
His Holiness Suhotra Swami
I was distributing door to door in the early 1970s, wearing dhoti, tilaka, and shaved head. I
knocked on a door and a man called from behind it: “Who are you?” I explained who I was and
why I was at the door. Then I heard a woman say, “Open the door. Let’s have a look at him.” In
an instant the door swung open with a bang and I found myself face to face with a man aiming a
220
Chapter 11: Pleasant Surprises on Book Distribution
revolver at my head! His wife hid behind him. I started preaching. Gradually the man lowered his
gun, and finally he gave me a donation for a Kåñëa book.
I was so happy because I had a great story to tell Viñëujana Mahäräja when I got back to the
bus!
* * *
Cäru Däsa (ACBSP)
Mom was a stern Christian. She made that very clear to me when I tried to stop her as she
walked with her daughter, who looked about fifteen. The daughter, however, adamantly declared
that she was not a Christian, and she asked me, “What are you guys doing out here?” After I
explained a little of what we are doing, she took a book, to the profound horror of Mom, who
couldn’t do anything about it.
* * *
One of my standard mottos is “The more you show, the more you sell.” In other words, the
books usually don’t sell themselves—you’ve got to show them to the people. But sometimes it
does happen.
Praghoña Prabhu was distributing in the airport. At one point he became tired and went to
take a little snap. As he rested, a person nudged him awake and asked, “Can I give you something
for the books you have here, stacked up next to you. I saw them and they look very interesting.”
Sometimes, without any effort on our part, the books sell themselves.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
There’s no experience quite like distributing a Bhagavad-gétä. The Bhagavad-gétä is unique

because it directly emanates from the lotus mouth of Çré Kåñëa. It attracts all kinds of people. It is
sufficient in itself for God realization.
gétä su-gétä kartavyä kim anyaiù çästra-vistaraiù

yä svayaà padmanäbhasya mukha-padmäd viniùsåtä
Because Bhagavad-gétä is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one need not
read any other Vedic literature. One need only attentively and regularly hear and read
Bhagavad-gétä. In the present age, people are so absorbed in mundane activities that it
is not possible for them to read all the Vedic literatures. But this is not necessary. This
one book, Bhagavad-gétä, will suffice, because it is the essence of all Vedic literatures and
especially because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Gétä-mähätmya 4)
In the San Francisco airport I was distributing books, mostly hardback Bhagavad-gétäs and
Bhagavad-gétä CD ROMs. I saw a couple of young men who looked to be in their mid or late
221
twenties. They were casually dressed in khaki pants and button-down shirts. “Java” badges dangled
from their carry-on bags, tipping me off that they were computer engineers (an easy guess, since
they were young, on business in San Francisco, and appeared to be from India).
I gave them each a Bhagavad-gétä CD ROM and told them that since Indian people already
know everything about the Bhagavad-gétä and most of them have one in their home, we’ve specially
produced this high-tech version of the Gétä for today’s Indians. In fact, I noted, it is perfect for the
modern Indian engineer.
I offered them my observation that in today’s world many people believe that if they could just
get hold of a million dollars they would become happy. But most people intuitively know this is not
true. The Bhagavad-gétä teaches, I continued, that real happiness comes from the re-awakening
of our spiritual nature through introspection. Finally, I informed them that we accept donations
to continue the work of spreading this knowledge around the world. They both happily—and
without hesitation—donated.
Before parting, I asked them what part of India they were from. “We’re actually not from
India,” one of them said with a slight smile. “We’re from Pakistan.” They were Muslims! He then
patted the Bhagavad-gétä CD ROM he had tucked under his arm and said, “This is important
work you’re doing. Thank you very much.”
———————————————
Distributing in the San Francisco airport, I met a woman from Australia. I stopped her and put
a book in her hands, but before I could say a word, she handed it back. She said she was tired from
flying and short of time, and with many apologies she hurried off toward her gate.
About thirty minutes later, as I continued distributing, I saw the woman again. She had come
back and was watching me from a few yards away as I distributed a book to a family headed for
the Philippines. She saw me give them a book and them hand me money and must have overheard
me say “God bless you!” as they walked away.
She came over to me and said, “Oh, I didn’t know that this was religious and that you were
taking donations.” She had five dollars ready in her hand, which she gave to me.
She told me that she was a Christian. She explained that when she got to her gate she realized
that she had more time than she thought and had asked an airport employee if there was a house
of worship inside the airport that she could visit.
The employee had sent her to the airport chapel, which happened to be near where I was
distributing. Then she said, “As I walked back toward you on my way to find the chapel, something
inside my heart told me, ‘Talk to the man with the books.’”
After she dutifully handed me the five dollars, I dutifully handed her a Light of the Bhägavata.
I saw her face change slightly when she saw Çréla Prabhupäda’s picture inside the front cover. She
squinted, showing uncertainty, and in a voice that seemed to beg me to convince her that looking
at the book wasn’t a sin, she asked, “Do you know that I’m a Christian?”
“That’s great!” I said. “Then you’ll love this book!” I explained that the subject of the book is
bhakti-yoga, which advocates that the ultimate purpose of a person’s life is to rediscover her pure
love for God. I told her that in bhakti-yoga the main process for the practitioner to reconnect with
God is by praying and by singing or praising God’s divine name. I went on to suggest that Jesus
taught the very same thing as does the Old Testament of the Bible.
By the mercy of the Lord in the heart (the same Lord who had directed this woman to come
back in my direction and give a donation), she began to accept what I was saying. (If you’ve met
any Christians on SKP over the years, you know I’m talking about something very rare.) We
222
talked for a while, and I ended up giving her The Science of Self-Realization to go with the Light
of the Bhägavata. At the end of our conversation we were both feeling blissful, as if something
life-changing had happened.
Book distribution is such a wonderful and mystical process. The act itself allows direct
communion with the Lord. It requires faith to stand out there, explaining to strangers why you
believe in the book and why they should believe in it too and why you don’t have “a normal job
like normal people.”
It’s not easy to get up and out the door. It requires faith to get out there and battle the mind
and the elements. But it’s worth it. Kåñëa does reciprocate.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
We have a program in Berlingham, California, in which once a month all the devotees in the
congregation observe a day called Bring a Friend on Saìkértana Day.
On one of these days I brought out a friend who hadn’t been out on book distribution in twenty
years. His name was Dayänidhi Prabhu. The first person he spoke to began arguing with him.
Finally the man shouted, “I’m God!”
Dayänidhi shouted back, “You can be godlike, but you cannot be God!”
And so it went, on and on . . . After a lot of heated talk, he left.
Twenty minutes later he came back, humbled, and said, “I take back every word I said. Can I
have one of those books?” He then took a Bhagavad-gétä and gave twenty-one dollars.
Dayänidhi, shocked, was inspired to continue swimming in the ocean of the nectar of book
distribution for the rest of the day.
* * *
Aiçvarya Däsa
While approaching many people on book distribution, I met Muhammad, possibly in his forties
and looking as if he’d been working hard all his life. When I placed a couple of books in his rough
hands, he looked up at me and told me straight up that he had a problem with religion. “I was
born in a Muslim family, but I also looked at other religions. I know about them all, but none are
for me.” Muhammad paused while he looked back down at the books in his hands. I stayed quiet.
What could I say in reply to a statement like that? Then Muhammad looked back up at me he
simply said, “But this intrigues me.” Somehow he was attracted to Kåñëa and took three books.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Jeff Baker was into Kåñëa—a little bit. He liked the food and the incense, and he thought the
kértana was pretty cool too. He had tried chanting on beads, but not for long. Jeff was an avid
reader with an inquiring mind, so he bought a copy of the Bhagavad-gétä As It Is and read bits of it
from time to time. As happens quite often, Jeff couldn’t get his head around the deeper aspects of
the teachings, and because there was no one nearby to answer his questions, he took the Gétä off
the shelf less and less frequently as the months went by. One September day he decided to clear
out all the old books he no longer read and take them to the charity book shop in town. The Gétä
was among them.
223
Eight months later, Jeff changed jobs and moved two hundred miles away to a big city, into
an apartment on the third floor of a complex. He happily settled into his new job and his new life.
Though he was still interested in Kåñëa a little bit, looking into Kåñëa consciousness was not very
high on his to-do list.
One Saturday he was looking out a window of his apartment, down into the parking lot below,
when he saw a neighbor emptying a box of old household items into a big trash bin. He spotted
some books among the trash, and thinking there might be a good read just being thrown away, he
went downstairs to have a look. While looking through the discarded books he discovered a copy
of Prabhupäda’s Bhagavad-gétä. Smiling to himself as he mused that maybe this was a sign from
Kåñëa that now was the right time for him to finally make an effort to read this book, Jeff grabbed
the Gétä and a couple of paperback novels and went upstairs.
When he sat down and opened the cover of the Gétä, his mouth fell open in amazement, for
there, penned on the first page, was his name: Jeff Baker! It was the very book he had donated
to the charity book shop so many months earlier! The person who threw it away must have lived
in the same town he had moved from, bought it at the shop, found it wasn’t for him, and thrown
it away. Now Jeff firmly decided it was time to read it. He thought, “After Kåñëa pulled that one,
how can I not read it?”
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
We enter the parking lot to find Eileen, who gives us our passes for the concert. But a guy
collecting $3 for parking confronts us. Ekacakra tells him we’re working at the concert. Our friend
gets a little stern and asks whom exactly we work for. He adds, “I’m sorry, guys, but I have to ask
these things to make sure.” I say, “We’re the Hare Kåñëas,” to which our friend spontaneously
throws up his hands, as if he’s just unnecessarily delayed the President of the US on his way to an
important meeting, and says “Oh, Ok. You should have told me that in the first place.” Was I just
dreaming, or are things changing?
A group of five girls comes out of the concert. When Parama approaches them and explains what
he’s doing, they all become very interested and ask many questions. But what kind of questions do
they ask poor old Parama? Whether he has sex or not, etc, etc. By the way, why is it that people
ask monks questions they would never dare ask anyone else? Parama eventually gets back on the
path of perfection and gets to the point: “Please take these books and give a donation.”
One of the ladies feels bad that she hasn’t any money, so she comes up with a startling plan:
she’ll help Parama distribute the books! She takes some small books, and off she goes. After
approaching a group of concert-goers and failing to get the message across, she tells Parama,
“Hey, this is a lot harder than it looks.” So in the mood of a seasoned book distributor she changes
tactics in midstream to get the upper hand. She approaches some boys and says, “These books
will give you good karma, so that in your next life you will get lots of girls.” The gentlemen begin
frantically diving into their pockets looking for cash but can muster up only a few coins. Then one
of them finds five dollars and gets the book.
So, she didn’t exactly present the book quite on its merits, but hey, she’s new. After all, the
boys got the book and she got the mercy of being a book distributor.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Kåñëa is working in hearts of all people, including, dare I say it, Buddhist monks. Actually,
these days Buddhism is so watered down that many of its adherents believe in God. Needless to
224
say, in their minds God is Buddha, and by a funny twist of fate they’re right.
While in Taiwan I was showing a Bhagavad-gétä to a Tibetan Buddhist monk. We were both
shaved up, standing at the edge of a parking lot—he in his traditional sleeveless kurtä and dark red
luëgi, I sporting a saffron dhoti with only a dark-brown woolen chaddar on top, wrapped over one
shoulder püjäré style. He had told me how he had escaped Tibet twelve years earlier by illegally
crossing the border into Nepal.
Since his escape he’d been traveling the world (avoiding China), doing the monk thing. He
was very respectful to the picture of Çréla Prabhupäda in the Gétä. For any Buddhist, the guru is
a big part of his life, and he will respect a guru from any tradition. Even though as personalists
we disagree on which rung of the back-to-Godhead ladder Buddhism sits, we can still find some
fundamental principles common to Vaiñëavas and Buddhists. So, when my Buddhist friend
respected Çréla Prabhupäda’s picture, I felt he was heading in a positive direction, and it became
really positive when he purchased one of Prabhupäda’s books.
It’s funny that in Taiwan most monks are in fact nuns. The nuns there also shave their heads,
wear the traditional gray robes worn by male monks, and receive respect from everyone—except
male monks. Apparently there is a lot of discrimination within the spiritual orders. So when one
Bhikkuni (female monk) reciprocated with me by buying a Science of Self-Realization and offering
me full obeisances, I reciprocated by offering obeisances too. She got up off the ground with a look
of complete surprise and then respectfully clutched Çréla Prabhupäda’s book even tighter. She was
deeply moved by that gesture.
The whole Western monk thing seemed very strange for the Taiwanese. Not only the monk
thing but also the style and color of Vaiñëava dress would throw them for a loop. They often
commented in that endearing Chinese English, “You look very special.” So even though Hinduism,
let alone Vaiñëavism, is very foreign in this part of Asia, I am sometimes surprised to see how far
and wide the Hare Kåñëa movement has penetrated all parts of the globe by the sincere efforts of
very special devotees.
* * *
Brajabihäré Däsa
At the Dadar railway station, the busiest in Mumbai, around eighty devotees competed with
hawkers for space on the bridge. With the constant announcements over the public address system
and thousands of Mumbaits rushing back home from work, it was a challenge to grab the attention
of the crowd. Historically it has been seen that the go-getters of Mumbai, always on the move,
hardly stop for anything, especially at the stations where catching their train is priority number
one.
But this was Gétä Jayanti, the anniversary of the day Kåñëa spoke the Bhagavad-gétä, and the
devotees were more inspired than ever to distribute the Lord’s sacred book. They’d strategically
stationed themselves all around the bridge, and each one was loudly calling out to the crowd,
imploring them to take a copy of the Bhagavad-gétä at a specially discounted price. Although
hundreds of billboards enticed and distracted the masses of commuters, the devotees bombarded
them with catchy phrases and slogans and attracted the attention of a few. As soon as a person
climbed the bridge, he would see a devotee imploring him to take a Bhagavad-gétä. If he would
refuse the first one, he would be confronted by another devotee just a few steps ahead, and then
another and another, until he descended the stairs from the bridge and came upon a book table
put up by the mätäjés, who were also calling out loudly to the hordes of commuters headed home.
225
Besides strategically placing themselves at the various parts of the bridge, devotees had also put
up four book tables—one each by the brahmacärés, congregational men, mätäjés, and boys of the
ISKCON Youth Sangha.
Dämodar Duläl Prabhu preached to one of the men hawking electronic gadgets. Convinced of
the importance of the Bhagavad-gétä, he packed up his table and joined the devotees in distributing
Çréla Prabhupäda’s books!
One man refused a book offered by a few devotees, but eventually he took a book at the last
table and revealed why: “I said to a few of your guys that I already have the book, but later I felt
guilty about lying to such nice, well-dressed, and well-mannered devotees. As I came down the
stairs I resolved: I will make up for my lies the next time I see one of you. As soon as I came down,
I saw you here , and I had to take a book.”
The event became glorious because it was spontaneous and no one planned or imagined
the way things turned out. Håñékeçänanda Prabhu announced that sales at all the book tables at
various corners in Mumbai that day should total up to 1008 Bhagavad-gétäs distributed. But Kåñëa
and Çréla Prabhupäda had other plans. Initially only a handful of devotees struggled at the book
tables, vying for space with many hawkers. Soon a few other devotees joined them, and then many
devotees returning home from work became inspired. They left other engagements and decided
to join the fun. This enthusiasm was contagious, and it was amazing to see the usually reticent and
shy devotees also shout loudly and preach enthusiastically. As the last train left for the night, the
total just at the Dadar train station on Gétä Jayanti day was 1,100 Bhagavad-gétäs!
As devotees packed up the tables at night, none of them had any voice left. The shouting
and preaching had left them ecstatically exhausted. Returning home, the devotees celebrate Çréla
Prabhupäda’s mercy, having seen first-hand that even in a crazy city like Mumbai, where traditional
values are fast eroding, Lord Kåñëa’s message still has takers.
* * *
Chowpatti Saìkértana
During book distribution in villages in India, we generally set up a stall by 7:30 a.m., and after
engaging the early-morning shoppers we move to the next village. In this way we cover four or five
villages a day.
One day we had good book distribution in a village. By 9 a.m. we were ready to leave. On the
way to the next big village there was a smaller one, which I decide to skip. “Better spend more
time in the bigger village,” I thought. While passing through the small village we came to the place
where the village people, under the guidance of their sarpanch (village head), were repairing the
road. I was surprised to see that the village was prosperous. As our bus approached, everyone
stopped work and began staring at us. Çréla Prabhupäda’s kértana tune was airing from the bus’s
public address system, the bus itself was brightly painted, and it was filled with cheerful devotees
enthusiastically having kértana. Everything was mesmerizing for simple village folk.
The sarpanch waved at us to stop.
“What do you have?” he asked.
“We distribute Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam,” I replied.
“Where will you set up your stall in our village?”
“We’re not setting up our stall here. We’re going to the next village. It’s bigger.”
“Are we so sinful that you are not stopping in our village? Please stop here. I will personally
226
come with you and help everyone take a book.”
He climbed onto our bus while the workers cleared heaps of mud from the road and made way
for our bus. As we slowly moved along, an eager crowd began to follow us. At the village market
we stopped the bus, and the sarpanch was the first person to take books, several volumes of the
Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
I immediately thought of the Gétä verse starting yad yad äcarati çreñöhas tat tad evetaro janaù:
“Whatever action great men do, common men follow.”
The sarpanch then requested everyone to buy a book. “If you don’t have any money,” he
declared, “I will lend you some. You can repay it tomorrow.” He lent around two thousand rupees
to the villagers, all of whom he knew personally.
In that village of around a hundred people, about 60% took books. I learned an important
lesson: never prejudge a place because of its material features. It was a small village with a large
heart.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The entrance at Malad Station in Mumbai is quite small, and our book table occupied a
prominent place there. In the late afternoon we witnessed a constant commotion of trains arriving
and then leaving after disgorging their hordes of commuters eager to race home after a day’s work.
Frustrated auto wallas spewed expletives all around. Honking two-wheelers and taxis blasted their
ear-splitting horns. In the narrow lanes just outside the station, haggling fruit sellers vied for space
and customers. Occasionally a constable would come running, waving his stick and blowing his
whistle to intervene in the frequent squabbles. With so many devotees standing near the gate
and ticket counter displaying the Bhagavad-gétä and trying to get the attention of the rushing
commuters, it was indeed an intense evening of book distribution.
Suddenly I turned to face a tall bearded fellow with unkempt hair and sullen eyes that were
staring straight through me. He pushed closer. I pulled back reflexively, repelled by his whole
persona as well as the stink of alcohol on his breath. His trousers looked like they’d seen a dozen
summers without being washed, and his shirt was jazzily incongruent with his dreary personality.
Wanting to avoid an embarrassing confrontation, I gave him a half-nervous smile, hoping he would
retrace his steps when he realized he wouldn’t get anything even remotely resembling what he was
looking for. But however much I tried to ignore, he kept inching forward.
“What could this drunkard possibly want from us?” As this thought raced across my mind, he
finally spoke up, “Sir, I want to thank you very much.”
His voice was too polite. Still suspicious, I paid no heed. He continued, “I’m a fugitive from a
nearby state, having three murder cases on my head.”
I was stunned to see him pull out a long dagger from inside his shirt. Before I could turn to the
other devotees, he broke down crying and said, “I was on my way to kill another man last night.
But as I came out of the station I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of so many devotees
chanting Hare Kåñëa and displaying Bhagavad-gétäs. Seeing all of you wearing beautiful tilaka and
displaying this book, I was struck numb and motionless. A few minutes later I went ahead with my
assigned task. As I picked a quarrel with my target, my standard practice, I found myself unable
to pull out my knife. A familiar voice pierced through my conscience and implored me to refrain
from the heinous act. The chanting of Hare Kåñëa constantly rand in my ears, and again and again
I kept recalling the blissfully smiling faces of all you devotees. I apologized to the man I had come
227
to kill and returned home. Since then I’ve been restless like never before. I finally mustered up
enough courage to come up to you and make this confession and thank you for stopping me from
committing a terrible sin.”
This was incredible! As devotees gathered around, we were simply wonderstruck by what the
man said. He then picked up a Gétä, but upon learning that it costs Rs 70/-, he reluctantly put it
back. He said he had only Rs 15/-, which he needed for his daily quota of liquor. I had to act fast.
If I let him walk off with his money, he was again going to engage in sin. I immediately gave him a
Laws of Nature and said it was only 15 rupees. He was happy to take the book and said he would
read it.
As we celebrated the remarkable encounter later that evening, we reflected upon the wonderful
gift Çréla Prabhupäda has given the whole world. We all assumed we’d seen the last of our reformed
drunkard and murderer. So three days later we were all pleasantly surprised to see him again at
our bookstall, this time looking sober, cheerful, fresh, and clean. He said he had indeed read
the Laws of Nature and promised to give up drinking, meat-eating, and other sinful habits. “I’m
convinced,” he said, “that I have to give up this sinful life of mine. I promise to mend my ways.
I’m immediately leaving for my hometown so I can surrender to the state police. After my term in
prison, I promise to lead a more responsible life and do good to myself and others. And for all this
I have you devotees to thank.”
This incident is not only uncommon and spectacular, but it also reveals the extent to which
Çréla Prabhupäda’s compassion can embrace the fallen souls, giving new hope and meaning to
their misguided lives. We don’t see such miracles daily, but we can rest assured that these books
have the potency to transform the whole human civilization and bring about a revolution in human
society. The least we can do is go out and present the books to all, hoping and praying that we will
be allowed to continue serving in this sacred mission.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Bhakta Rahul, a dentist, who is member of the Brahmacäré Trainee Group at the Çré Çré Rädhä-
Gopénätha Mandir in Chowpatty, recalls this interesting experience:
I was distributing books in the local trains when two men started making fun of me, mimicking
my announcement. I ignored them and tried to focus on the announcement. But when no one took
a book after the announcement and there was still time before we arrived at the next station, I
decided to have a talk with those fellows.
I went to them and held a Bhagavad-gétä before them. They giggled. One said to the other,
“You look,” and the other said, “No, no. You look.” They were mocking me again.
“Don’t worry” I said, “I’ll show both of you the book.”
I opened to the painting depicting hellish punishments for specific sins—how a meat-eater
is boiled in oil, a man who indulges in illicit sex must embrace a fiery woman’s body, and those
who indulge in intoxication and gambling must suffer similar horrifying punishments. I described
the meaning of the painting briefly, and the result was devastating. Their smiles evaporated, they
stared with unblinking eyes, and they became very serious. One of them took the Bhagavad-gétä
in his hands and turned a few pages, and the other paid the money.
Now it was my turn to smile.
* * *
228
Citralekhä Devé Däsé
I was in Auckland distributing books, feeling a little dazed from trying to catch people’s
attention as they rushed past me in every direction. I noticed two big, burly, rather simpleminded-
looking road workers standing near me, and thinking “After all, they’re spirit souls,” handed the
slightly smarter-looking one a book. He immediately refused, so I handed it to his friend, trying
to present it as simply and as interestingly as I could. He took the book and muttered, “This is
Indian?
“No, no this is not Indian; it’s for everyone. I’m French! Parlez vous francais? [Do you speak
French?]” He looked at me quizzically for a few moments as I said, “You know, this book is the
best book on earth. It gives the answers to all the questions of life in a very real and practical way,
and it helps you focus the mind.”
“Really?” he said.
“For sure! Otherwise why would I come to this cold, windy street?!”
“How much?”
“A donation with from heart.”
He pulls out $20. I give him another book and then hand a little book to his friend, saying,
“This one’s for you.”
The one who already has two books says, “No, it’s for me!” and hands me another $20. Then I
show him the Gétä and he says, “When will you be back?”
“On Thursday.”
“OK, I’ll come and get some more from you then.”
As he happily walked off with his three books, I reflected, “So much for my mundane vision!”
* * *
Dhruvänanda Däsa
I was working “cloak and dagger” inside a mall in New Papatoetoe, a suburb of Auckland. I
managed to stop an intense-looking Kiwi fellow who looked as if he’d just gotten out of prison
that very day. Despite his grisly appearance and demeanor, I managed engage him in a riveting
conversation about his religious sentiments. When I noticed the ominous black figure approaching
us from the side, I knew instantly he was a private security guard, a sworn enemy of honest
saìkértana devotees everywhere. He invited himself into our conversation and asked nicely that I
take the whole exchange outside, since I was not allowed to sell books inside the mall.
Much to my surprise, the grisly fellow snapped at him: “Hey, mate, we’re talking over here.
Why don’t you just sit down and wait until we’re finished!?” Our security-guard friend wasn’t
prepared to argue with such a tough fellow, so he sat down and patiently waited until the man
purchased a Çrémad-Bhägavatam volume and left. Although the guard was still a bit confused by
the whole ordeal, he escorted me out of the mall. As we we’re leaving, he told me that he was just
in the staff room reading Çréla Prabhupäda’s Éçopaniñad when the order came in for him to ask me
to leave. It turned out that he was a frequent visitor to the local ISKCON temple.
I told him about the importance of book distribution and asked if he’d like to give a donation
and take a book. He kindly contributed but refused to take another book because he already
owned most of Prabhupäda’s books already.
229
* * *
Dvijamaëi Gaura Däsa
One day during the 2010 fall semester at Louisiana State University, I learned from someone
who had no prior experience the proper mood for distributing transcendental books.
As I stood on campus late one afternoon, I prayed to Çré Gurudeva for inspiration to try harder
to give others Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Suddenly I noticed a fellow approaching wearing a tie-
dyed shirt and quickly recognized him as the same student who’d just taken a soft Gétä a few
minutes earlier. “Oh, great,” I thought, “he looks like he’s in the mood to chat. Can’t he see I’m
busy and it’s getting late?”
“Hey, any luck with those books?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Thanks again.” I turned away, hoping he would keep walking. Still, a voice
in my heart told me to remain open to talking to him. Maybe he would sincerely want to know
more about Kåñëa’s teachings.
“Why do you sell these books?” he asked. I told him, in a nutshell, the story of how I came to
Kåñëa consciousness.
Listening closely and holding the Bhagavad-gétä in his hand, he seemed confident and enlivened.
I learned that his name was Derek and that he studied nuclear physics. He had recently been
accepted into an elite program where he would be trained as a specialist for the Navy, a career that
would take him all over the world.
“Can I come along with you and help?” he proposed. By now I got it through my thick head
that this was Kåñëa’s plan. Perhaps I should try not to get in the way.
“Sure! Follow me and try to catch on.”
We walked into the student union, where I presented a book to a boy who listened to my
presentation but wasn’t interested. I assessed my attempt and told Derek my conclusion.
“If you stop them purposefully,” I explained, “they become more receptive.”
“Can I try that one?” Derek asked, smiling and pointing to the hardcover Bhagavad-gétä in my
hand. He took it and immediately approached the first person he saw standing by the cafeteria
entrance.
“Do you want to learn about Hare Kåñëa today?” he asked the young lady. She was quiet and
stand-offish. He continued: “This is an important book because it teaches the real religion. Even
the Catholic God comes from Hare Kåñëa, so this is the most original scripture, not the Bible.”
When she showed no interest and started to leave, he asked, “You have time to read the menu
posted on the wall, but not this great book?”
As she walked away, he didn’t seem at all disappointed but rather more enthusiastic to try
again.
“Where did you learn to preach like that?” I asked Derek.
“Well,” he replied, “the Baptists are more in-your-face than that, right? Why not tell the
people how it is?”
As we continued touring the premises, it seemed that each person Derek approached would
stop, at once become pleasant, and offer his or her attention. Stepping outside the student union,
Derek led us toward a young lady sipping a coffee she held in one hand while reading a book she
held in the other.
“This is Shannon,” he said to me. “Shannon, do you want to learn about Hare Kåñëa today?”
He quickly convinced her to hear my presentation and take a book. She gave a donation and
decided to join our newly formed preaching yäträ. The three of us ventured toward the student
230
apartments, stopping students along the way.
We met Derek’s roommate on his way to the gym and spoke to him about our books and the
importance of spiritual education. Our real religion, we explained, is to live simply, without artificial
“necessities,” to use our energy for God’s service, and to depend on God in all circumstances. He
agreed that this is how one learns to become honest and tolerant, and tears of appreciation welled
up in his eyes.
Next Derek stopped a Christian girl who claimed she was very devoted to studying only the
Bible. He told her that Hare Kåñëa is actually what she was searching for, and then he looked to
me for further explanation. I thanked her for worshiping the Lord and told her that the Bhagavad-
gétä would enrich her understanding of God’s personality, which would be a great service to Christ.
She agreed and gave a nice donation.
In this way, by the mercy of Çréla Prabhupäda, the books quickly found their way into the hands
of so many different types of students. What brought us together was the urgent desire of Derek to
wake up the sleeping souls at his school. We glimpsed the mood of Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s nagara-
saìkértana in Çré Navadvépa-dhäma: selfless, focused endeavor for spreading Kåñëa’s glories.
After Derek sold more books than I did, emptying my bag, he, Shannon, and I walked back to
the saìkértana bus and enjoyed some light prasädam and kértana, and I taught them how to chant
japa. At the end of the day, Derek and Shannon walked back to the campus in a blissful mood
while we drove away to the next engagement.
* * *
Ekeçvara Däsa
I had some time off from the shooting of Abhay Charan in London, so I went out with Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books on Carneby Street, near the Soho Street temple.
As I passed the corner I saw a couple sitting at a cafe, smoking cigarettes. They both looked to
be in their late forties, she dressed like a prostitute, all in black, and he dressed also in black, with
yellow teeth and looking like a junkie. Still, I showed them the books as I passed by.
“Can I ask you a question?” he said.
Fearfully, but depending on Kåñëa, I said, “Sure.”
“Do you sell these books or give them away?”
“We ask for donations for them.”
He smiled, relaxed, and said, “Actually, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda is my favorite.
I have almost all his books. I’ve been reading them for twenty years. I’m so happy that you’re
doing this work. Keep distributing these books to change the materialistic consciousness of the
people of this planet.” He gave me ten pounds and took A Second Chance. I was quite amazed.
This verse from the Caitanya-caritämåta (Ädi 7.2) came to mind: “In distributing love of
Godhead, Caitanya Mahäprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate
and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no
conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity, the members of the Païca-tattva distributed love
of Godhead.”
* * *
231
Håñékeçänanda Däsa
I was distributing with the Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopénätha Traveling bus party. I had gone to meet the
director of a company. The moment we entered his office, he gave us a look that said, “Why are
you here, wasting my time?” We cordially explained our purpose, and he took no time dismissing
us: “We’re not interested.”
Undaunted, I took out a laminated picture of Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopénätha and a packet of mahä-
prasädam cookies. “Sir, please accept these gifts. You can take your time deciding if you would
like some of our books. I will call you after a day or two.” I could see he wasn’t interested.
After a couple of days we ran out of companies, so I called the director who had given us the
cold shoulder. He shouted into the phone: “Hey, where are you?”
“I’m here in town,” I replied.
“Come over as soon as you can.”
I was shocked and told him I was on the way over.
When I entered his office he greeted me with a loud “Welcome!” and a big smile. He got up
from his chair and took me by hand to his desk. “Please do your program in my company. You can
start today.”
“Sir, it is late now. Can we come tomorrow?”
“You can come whenever you want. Whatever you need, just let me know. I will make all
arrangements.”
We thanked him and got up to leave, when he sheepishly asked, “Do you have some more
cookies?”
“Yes, of course. Here, please take some more.”
“You know, you have helped me so much,” he said as he held the packet of cookies to his
heart. “For the last five years my wife has been upset with me. I couldn’t please her in any way.
But the day before yesterday, when I went home and gave her the picture of Rädhä-Kåñëa you’d
given me, she became so happy. And when she tasted those cookies, she went wild. ‘I want more,
I want more. Please get them,’ she kept asking me. But I couldn’t contact you. Luckily you called
me up today. Now I will give her these cookies. Please tell me how I may acquire a bigger picture
of Rädhä and Kåñëa.” I was dumbstruck, and at last told him I would be back the next day.
The next morning we started our day of book distribution at his company. He stood next to
our book table and forced everyone in his company to buy the books. He also passed out a circular
we had prepared. And to top it off, he even arranged for us to distribute books at three other big
companies.
Now every time I visit that area I make sure I carry packets of cookies for him, and I continue
to distribute them to my other clients. You never know how Kåñëa will change their hearts.
* * *
Kanakäbja Däsa
This is a story about Çivätmä Prabhu, one of the veteran German book distributors.
One day while in his apartment in Hamburg, he suddenly collapsed. Fortunately, another
devotee was there and immediately called an ambulance. The emergency crew took him to the
hospital, where they found out he was suffering from too much sugar in the blood. When the
232
doctors saw his blood sugar level, they couldn’t believe it. They’d never heard of anyone surviving
with so much blood sugar. The doctors gathered around him and tried hard to save him (he was
in a coma). After some time he started to recover, and finally he woke up. There were a dozen
doctors around him, witnessing the miracle.
As soon as he woke up he started to preach. The doctors were amazed. He was preaching
full-bore, but since he was really weak he soon lost consciousness again. When he woke up the
second time, he continued preaching where he’d left off. The doctors and nurses couldn’t believe
it. He’d almost died, and now he was instructing them that they are not the body but spirit souls,
that there is God, karma, miseries of this material world, etc. Word soon spread throughout the
hospital. Everyone was coming to see him and hear from him, so he just went on preaching Kåñëa
consciousness.
After a couple of days he phoned the devotees to bring him a set of Çrémad-Bhägavatams.
The next morning, when the doctors came to see him, he asked them to reach under his bed and
pull out the box there. One by one he took out each volume of the Bhägavatam, opened it, and
explained its contents. This went on for half an hour, till he finished explaining all ten cantos. One
doctor immediately expressed his desire to have the set. He paid 700 Deutschmarks ($400) and
donated to him a machine to help regulate his blood sugar.
Çivätmä Prabhu recovered very quickly. As soon as he got some strength back, he asked the
staff in the hospital for some service. He wanted to help take care of the patients. “I’m a monk,”
he said, “and my duty is to help others.” He won the hearts of everyone. Many people started to
come to him daily and ask for guidance.
On the day of his departure from the hospital, the devotee who came to pick him up found
him in the garden surrounded by a lot of people, preaching. Everyone was so sorry he was leaving.
Many gave their address and requested him to visit them at their homes.
For a long time the doctors, nurses, other staff, and patients at that hospital in Hamburg will
definitely remember Çivätmä Prabhu, the wonderful Kåñëa monk who won their hearts.
* * *
Khela-tértha Däsa
I was distributing outside a supermarket in a little suburb of Auckland. I stopped a couple on

their way inside and asked, “Are you married?”
“No,” they said.
I put a Gétä in the guy’s hand, but his girlfriend didn’t want him to stop. She had an Indian
body, and he was Caucasian.
It turned out that he worked in the supermarket and was on his way back to work after lunch.
His interest in the Gétä was keeping him stationary for the time being, despite her urgent whispers
urging him to give the book back and continue on their way.
Then from out of the supermarket came a tall bearded guy pointing at me, descending on our
exchange. I thought it was a member of the staff coming to chase me from my position in front of
their store.
As he got closer he said, “Hey, do you remember me?”
And then I recognized him. It was Dave!
He and I had met a few times before in various parts of New Zealand, and he had gotten two
Gétäs, one for his family and one for himself. A really nice guy.
233
It turned out that Dave was the manager of the supermarket. He looked at his employee,
who was still standing there with a Gétä in one hand and his girlfriend tugging the other, and said,
“You should buy that book. It’s the best book you’ll ever read. The Hare Kåñëas have the best
philosophy, and if you go to their restaurants you’ll taste the love in the food.”
Of course, the boy was listening to every word his manager was saying, so he pulled out his
wallet and started to give some money for the book, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend, who
made sure he didn’t give too much. Then Dave said, “Give all you’ve got. I’ll give it back to you
before you finish work tonight.”
Then the happy boy and his unhappy girlfriend proceeded into the supermarket with the Gétä.
Dave told me he was regularly chanting. Then he said about his employee: “He is a good kid.
I always wanted him to read literature like the Gétä so he could become more spiritually minded.”
The best instruction a manager can give.
* * *
Mädhavendra Puré Däsa
Under the order of the landlord, a workman was renovating the backyard of our temple in
Auckland. The yard had become a mess of dirt and broken concrete, with piles of soil and stacks
of wood scattered about. The back laundry was now shared with a wall of tools and shovels. We
passed the workman each day at breakfast while using the back laundry area to wash our plates.
Other devotees and I engaged him in some small talk as we went by, and life went on as usual.
Sometimes we were in dhotés and sometimes in normal street attire, but the man acted as if it were
all normal.
Finally, after a few days the small talk ended and he asked us some serious questions. He was
curious about where we were going and what we were up to. Perhaps the frequent change of dress
had piqued his interest. I explained what we do—that we go to public areas and show people books
about the self, spiritual science, yoga, reincarnation, etc. He seemed quite appreciative. The usual
five seconds of conversation turned into five minutes. I was briefly answering all his questions and
praying to the Supersoul not to say anything stupid. He suggested that his friend was interested in
such things and so was he. I talked about our books, and he said he might have a read some time. I
was going to leave it at that and see if he was around the next morning, but then I thought, “Well,
he suggested it.”
I asked him if he wanted a book. “If you have any,” he said with a smile. I looked over my
shoulder at the seventy boxes of books concealed in the other room. I picked out a hardback Gétä
and a hardback SSR. He was excited to see them. I was thinking to give them to him as gifts, to
make a friendship, since he was keen to read them. But then he asked, “Can I give a donation?”
He was more than happy to give me $50.
It’s amazing how Kåñëa sent such a very special soul to renovate the saìkértana devotees’
backyard.
* * *
Muräri Gupta Däsa
Often when we book distributors return from book distribution we discuss our experiences
during prasädam. Also, at that time senior devotees give us tips about how to handle various
queries from the public. But sometimes people ask questions for which we are totally unprepared,
234
and then one has to really depend upon Lord Kåñëa.
Once I was making an announcement on a train about Kåñëa, the Reservoir of Pleasure when
a man asked for a book. He browsed through a few pages and then asked, “The book is OK, but
tell me how you were attracted toward the movement. After all, you said that you are a qualified
engineer; how could you have given everything up?”
I had been distributing in the midday heat for more than two hours. The jam-packed crowds
and stuffy environment, the loud and shrill noises of the train, and thirst and fatigue overpowered
my ability to formulate a detailed answer.
So I just blurted out, “I came because Kåñëa is all-attractive. He attracted me.”
The man thought for a while, nodded, and handed me the cash. The all-attractive Lord charmed
another person’s heart!
——————————————————————————————————————————
Another time on a train I had made an announcement and showed the books to the people and
was standing near the door to disembark at the next station. A well-dressed man approached. “I
have watched you people for quite some time,” he said. “I have no disagreement with your mission
or way of spreading your dharma, but one thing I want to know: You people have such shiny faces.
Just look at all these people,” he said pointing to the crowd sitting in the train. “How morose, sad,
and downtrodden they look! There is no joy on their faces. But your devotees have such shiny
faces. What is the secret of this?”
“Sir,” I replied, “the face is the index of mind. If the mind is happy and healthy and full of good
God-conscious thoughts, it the face will surely reflect that. Our minds are healthy because we read
these books. These books teach us about God and our relationship with him. Once we have built
that relationship, we are under the control of the Lord, and just as the Lord is all-effulgent, we also
get a touch of His mercy. So if you want to have the same shine, take this book and make your life
successful.” The man smiled and took Çréla Prabhupäda’s book.
* * *
Oàkära Däsa
I was distributing books at a college when I saw a man in a wheelchair. His body was very
contorted and he couldn’t speak. When I began approaching him, my mind said to me, “Don’t talk
to this guy. He probably won’t be able to understand anything.” But Kåñëa inspired me otherwise,
and by the time my mind began protesting, my body was already showing him the pictures in
Coming Back.
After I showed him the book, I asked if he could understand what I said. He proceeded to
laboriously punch buttons with his big toe on a keyboard mounted near his foot. Then a mechanical
voice said, “Yes, I can understand you.” Since he looked Hispanic, I asked if he could read English.
He punched a few more buttons and I heard a “Yes.” Then I asked if he was interested in the
book, and he said he was.
So he gave a small donation and asked me to put the book in his bag. Two years later he
received two more books from Karuëä-dhäriëé Devé Däsé. When he saw her he became excited
and went straight for her table.
Conclusion? We should always remember Lord Caitanya’s mood while distributing Kåñëa
consciousness, as stated in the Caitanya-caritämåta (Ädi 7.23): “In distributing love of Godhead,
235
Caitanya Mahäprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was
not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place.”
* * *
Oàkäranätha Däsa
The following ecstatic incident took place when I was on traveling book distribution with three
other devotees in northern Greece.
We would distribute throughout the day, and in the evening we would go on harinäma-
saìkértana. One evening a police patrol came and commanded us to stop chanting at once. They
took us to the police station, and for a long time they inspected all our belongings while we tried to
explain that we weren’t doing anything bad. After the inspection, they asked us to show them our
musical abilities. So we started to chant enthusiastically with all our musical instruments. Suddenly
all the policemen started to smile, and then they started to clap their hands, and at last they even
danced! Suddenly the whole situation turned favorable. At the end of the kértana they thanked us,
returned our books and CDs, and told us to carry on as we had been doing.
It appears they just wanted to hear us chant. Special police.
* * *
Païca-tattva Däsa
I was distributing in the Czech Republic, in a town near the Polish border, in a parking lot in
front of the local shopping center. After some time an older, nicely dressed man arrived in a big
luxury car. I approached him and briefly and politely introduced our books and the Prague center.
He quickly expressed appreciation for the books and gave a nice donation.
He disclosed that he knew Prague because until recently he had been working there as the
head of the biggest engineering establishment in the Czech republic, CKD. When I recognize
a cultured and serious man, I take a little time to explain more about the philosophy and our
activities with the hope that he will take more books or get more connected to the Society. So I
put the Bhagavad-gétä in his hands. After he looked at the Supreme Lord on the front cover of the
Gétä, driving His devotee Arjuna’s chariot as Pärtha-särathi, to my surprise he began to breathe
very heavily and lose his balance. When he began to clutch at my body, I asked him whether he
was epileptic and suffering fits. He mildly smiled and without a word collapsed to the ground. It all
happened very quickly. He lost consciousness and injured his head from the fall.
I had somebody call an ambulance and asked the gathering crowd to help. Then with the
assistance of another man I turned him on his back and did whatever I could. The man almost
stopped breathing, his face turned blue, and foam issued from his mouth. As his pulse grew weaker,
it was clear that the soul was leaving his body.
I was disturbed but at the same time happy. I knew that Kåñëa had bestowed His causeless
mercy upon that conditioned soul, who left his body under very auspicious circumstances. As
soon as I could see the ambulance coming, I left the scene to resume distributing books nearby.
I felt greatly inspired, so I began to directly preach to everybody about the temporary nature of
material life. I distributed a hundred big books that day. I couldn’t help glancing over to where the
doctors were trying to save the man’s life. After half an hour they gave up and placed the man’s
dead body in the ambulance and departed.
This incident starkly illustrates the ephemeralness of living in the material world, and at
236
the same time it attests to the unlimited mercy of the saìkértana movement. Although the man
who died had dedicated his whole life to ugra-karma and sinful activities, by the mercy of Lord
Caitanya he left his body smiling after performing devotional service, and with his attention fixed
on the Supreme Lord in the form of the Bhagavad-gétä, which he was holding with respect and
appreciation during the last moments of his life.
* * *
Pärtha-särathi Däsa
I was on patrol in Iraq when we came under sniper fire. Instantly we took cover. Since we
couldn’t move, I thought, “Might as well read the Gétä.” So I took out my pocket Bhagavad-gétä
and started to read. Next thing I know I had five soldiers around me, all huddled against a wall.
They listened intently as I read a verse out loud, and then they asked if I had any books with me
they could have. For some reason, that day I had put some small books in my assault pack. Within
seconds they were all grabbing them and putting the books in their pockets. You could see in their
eyes that they’d forgotten about the situation for a second and were happy to get this doorway to
the spiritual world. The next round of bullets struck near our position, starling us up out of our
reverie. I quickly gave them orders so we could push through the kill zone.
Just another blissful day of service!
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
I was sitting in my room at an army base in Iraq, reading Bhagavad-gétä As It Is, when someone
knocked on the door. I called out, “Come in,” and to my surprise an Indian gentleman entered.
He was there to fix something. He walked in and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the altar
with my Deities, and then he fell flat on the floor to pay obeisances.
He ran out and returned with thirty-six other people. They all bowed down and paid their
respects to my Deities. I took a chance and brought out a box of Bhagavad-gétäs. Before I could
finish asking if they’d like a book, they were all fighting over who would get into the box first!
Instantly every one of these good souls took Prabhupäda’s Gétä, and they all left with smiles
on their faces.
* * *
Çästra-kåt Dasa
In Parammatta, Sydney, a Westernized Indian lady came up to me while I was distributing and
said, “I want to buy a set of Çrémad-Bhägavatams. I almost fell over in shock. I couldn’t believe
that someone wanted a set while I was struggling to sell even one book.
I asked her how she knew about the Çrémad-Bhägavatam. She said I’d given her a Science of
Self-Realization a month earlier. She’d read it cover to cover and loved it. She had even become a
vegetarian and began chanting Hare Kåñëa!
So when she came to our Parammatta Feast the following Saturday she received her set of
Çrémad-Bhägavatams—despite the strong objections of her born-again Christian husband. She
even changed her son’s name from Joshua to Arjuna.
237
* * *
Subala Dasa
One Sunday morning I felt I wanted to do something valuable for guru and Kåñëa, so I took
a few books with me and went out to distribute in the old section of Stockholm. Because it was
Sunday and only ten o’clock in the morning, finding people was difficult.
Then I spotted Olof Palme, the Prime Minister of Sweden, out on his morning walk. I offered
him a book, saying that it was about the most essential questions of life and would be useful for
his career.
“I’m not so philosophical,” he replied. “Besides, I don’t even have any money with me.”
Still, he reached into his pockets, found a few coins, and gave them to me, and I gave him a
Çrémad-Bhägavatam volume.
Just in time. Two weeks later he was assassinated.
–––––––––––––––––––––––
Tära Däsa
A student comes along and looks at Çré Éçopaniñad.

He asks, “Is this about religion?”
“It is a science,” I reply.
Then he exclaims, “Don’t you know you have to accept Jesus Christ as your savior and read
the Bible?!”
I think, “Here we go with another Christian extremist.” But I stay on course and keep the
conversation going. We open the book to the Éçopaniñad to the invocation and read how the
Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete and how everything emanating from Him is a
completely perfect whole.
So he says, “If you do not accept Jesus you will go to hell. How is that perfect?”
Remembering something Prabhupäda said in one of his Bhägavatam classes, I reply, “We are
perfectly responsible for whatever we choose. That is the perfection. Although God does not
want to see us suffer in hell, he never interferes with our free will. We have to enjoy or suffer the
reactions of everything we choose to do. It is perfect justice.” Somehow that was the right thing to
say, and he handed me $5 and promised to read the Éçopaniñad.
It is really sweet to have the right words come to mind after one prays to Kåñëa to send them.
* * *
Tulasé Devé Däsé
A Christian man wearing a Jesus shirt refused to take a book in his hand and started in on his
Christian speech. I interrupted him politely with “Nice, praise the Lord.” Then I asked what his
name was. He said his name was Jay.
“Really? Wow! Do I have a wonderful story for you.” As I quickly got the Seventh Canto out
describing the story of Jaya and Vijaya, I said to him, “Do you know what your name means?”
“No.”
238
“It’s wonderful. It means ‘victory.’ Spiritual victory. And the names of the doorkeepers of
heaven are Jaya and Vijaya. That’s who you’re named after, and this book has the story.”
He really got enlivened and took the book in his hand. At that point I was able to preach
directly about the story. He really got into it and asked how much the book was. So his heart
melted, he eagerly gave a donation, took the book, and encouraged me in my preaching work.
* * *
Uddhava Däsa
In the heart of Sydney’s hustle and bustle, with all my might I was trying to distribute Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books. After half an hour, nothing was happening. I could hardly even get someone
to stop, let alone take a book. Heavily governed by the mode of passion, I was losing my enthusiasm,
and I still had the whole day ahead of me. So I cried out loudly, “Kåñëa! Help me! Nityänanda!
Gauräìga!!”
I felt instant relief and kept trying.
Five minutes later a nice Nepalese student stopped. “Tapai Neapalio [Are you from Nepal]?”
I said. He took a Bhagavad-gétä and my contact info. As we were talking, I heard a voice behind
me: “Mahäräja!” said a man while tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around and he shoved a
currency note in my hand. “Oh, thank you,” I said as I took what I thought was a $5 bill. (For the
record, I’m not a Mahäräja, but I am trying to be däsa däsa anudäsa.)
Here in Australia it’s quite common for people to just walk up to us and give a donation out
of appreciation for the Hare Kåñëa movement. I took a second look at the note—it was $100! I
couldn’t believe it. Never before had that happened to me. I tried to show my appreciation by
giving the man some books. But he gravely declined, saying he already had our books. He carried
a gun on his belt and wore an armed-guard uniform, indicating he was one of the security guards
who transport money to and from banks, etc., in armored vehicles. I begged him to please take
something and gave him a copy of Searching for Vedic India, by Devämåta Swami. When he saw
the name of the author, he seemed satisfied, as if he’d read something of his before or heard him
speak. He was a very mysterious man—like an undercover devotee or a demigod or something.
He respectfully said goodbye and left me and the Nepalese student at a loss for words.
At last the Nepalese student asked me, “How did that happen?” Right then I realized how, so
I told him that it was because I cried out to Kåñëa to help me about 5 minutes earlier.
So Kåñëa gave me some encouragement by sending both the nice Nepalese student and the
kind donor. The rest of the day I had a wonderful time, drowning in the waves of saìkértana
nectar. (Its a bit like mango juice.)
We are not alone on the streets. Whether we are having an easy time or a difficult time, Kåñëa
is right there with us, and its all for our purification.
* * *
Urukrama Däsa
I was going door to door in a posh office complex in southern Ukraine. I entered an office and
met a man who was very interested in reading the books. He was going through a change in his
life; so he wanted to know about God and give up all his bad habits. “But,” he said I can’t take the
books because today the President of Ukraine is coming to visit me in my office. We’ll be drinking
vodka, and I don’t want these spiritual books here when such things are going on. So come back in
239
a year and I’ll buy all your books and give you double what you usually charge.”
I was astonished: First, the president of the country was coming to visit him that day! Second,
the man wouldn’t take the books because of the impure activities that would be taking place in
his office. And finally, then he wanted me to come back after a whole year! Why a year? I tried
to gently convince him to maybe take the books the next day or at most after a week. Why wait a
year? But he was adamant.
So I agreed, gave him three sticks of incense, and left, thanking him for his interest.
I carefully recorded the date I had visited this man, and exactly one year later I went back to
his office, walking in with a full set of books in my arms. When he saw me he was so surprised
that he dropped the phone he was talking on. Then he picked it up and finished his phone
conversation, after which he expressed how happy he was to see me. He took all the books and
did as he promised, giving me double what is normally given. “And,” he told me, “the President
appreciated the incense.”
* * *
Vaikuëöha Dasa
As I showed a girl a book I told her it explains karma, reincarnation, life after death, and so on.
She wasn’t so interested, so I cut it short: “Everyone’s giving a donation.”
“Ok, I’ll take one” she said, much to y surprise. “I want you to know that I’m a Born Again
Christian and that the only reason I’m taking this book is so that whenever I get in an argument
with any of you I know what I’m talking about and can defeat you.”
Finally, an intelligent Christian—but she may have a hard time succeeding in her attempt.
* * *
Vedavyäsa Däsa
The Bhagavad-gétäs were going out at a brisk pace at Vancouver University. At one door a
lady student wasn’t interested, but then I heard some noise in the basement. I asked the lady at the
door, “Can you ask the person downstairs?”
The lady tried, but the person downstairs said, “Not interested.”
Then I heard someone speaking on the phone upstairs. I asked the lady, “Can you ask the man
upstairs?”
She seemed surprised that I asked again, but she tried anyway. The student upstairs said no,
but the person he was talking to on the phone asked his friend to ask me what the title of the book
was.
I said, “Bhagavad-gétä As It Is.”
He repeated the title to his friend on the cell phone, and then on behalf of his friend he asked
me, “Which edition?”
“Bhaktivedanta Book Trust,” I said, “with the original Sanskrit, word-for-word translation,
purports, and beautiful illustrations.”
He repeated this to his friend and then asked on his behalf: “How much?”
“$20.”
“SOLD!” he exclaimed.
240
Everyone laughed as we realized the man on the phone had sold the Bhagavad-gétä to his
friend. Then the man said, “But I have no money.”
The original lady then said, “I have money!” So she lent money to the man on the cell phone
to buy the Gétä for his friend.
Lord Caitanya has amazing mystical ways to bestow His mercy.
* * *
Vijaya Däsa
A guy came to my table and said, “Three years ago you showed me the Bhagavad-gétä. I really
wanted it and told you I would be right back with some money to get it. But when I returned, you
were gone. I have the money now and would like to get it.”
He got it: delayed book distribution.
——————————————————————————————————————————
I was showing the Bhagavad-gétä to a gentleman who expressed some interest but said he was a
Christian. He said, “If you can show me in this book where Jesus is praised, I’ll take it.” I showed
him Çréla Prabhupäda’s purport to 11.55: “There are many examples in history of devotees of the
Lord who risked their lives for the spreading of God consciousness. The favorite example is Lord
Jesus Christ. He was crucified by the nondevotees, but he sacrificed his life for the spreading of
God consciousness.”
“All right,” he said, “you got me,” and he took the book.
——————————————————————————————————————————
Two guys came to my table joking. One of them, Doug, said to me, “I think my friend Alex
here is ready to become a Hare Kåñëa.” Then Doug started chanting Hare Kåñëa. Going along
with their joke, I said, “No, I don’t think he’s ready yet. He’s got too many material desires.” Then
I got serious and started showing them the Bhagavad-gétä.
“You know,” Doug said “this is interesting, but I don’t have any money.”
“I can get it for you,” said Alex.
Alex gave $20. So I said, “You gave a nice donation; so you take one also.”
“No, I’m an atheist. I’d never read it.”
“Could you give it to a friend?”
“Yea, OK, I can do that.”
He took it, and as he was walking away he saw a man rushing to my table. So Alex said to him,
“Do you want this book?” And handed it to him. The guy couldn’t believe that someone had just
given him such a nice book.
Lord Caitanya is so amazing. Alex was an atheist, but he bought a Bhagavad-gétä for a friend
and distributed another one to a total stranger. An atheist became a book distributor.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
241
I was distributing at a concert when a ticket scalper walked by shouting, “Cheap tickets to the
next show! You guys want one?”
“No,” I said, “but I have a ticket for you back to the spiritual world.”
“Nah, I don’t want to go there.”
A few hours later the same person came by selling his tickets, and I asked him, “You’re sure
you don’t want a ticket to the spiritual world?”
“All right, let me see what ya got.”
The devotee in the van handed me a Bhagavad-gétä. I showed him the pictures and explained
how we’re all souls in the body, just passing through. I told him about karma and how if we act
properly then the soul can go back to the spiritual world. In other words, we’re the architects of
our future: we can go either up or down, or hang around here. After my presentation he said,
“This is a great book. I’d love to read it, and you know, you people are great. And who knows, the
next time I see you guys I may just join up.” He shook hands with all the devotees and gave a nice
donation. He now has his ticket back to the spiritual world.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
I was distributing books in Vienna. Walking around the area in front of the Austrian parliament
building, I offered books to many sophisticated and influential people. One middle-aged man in
the company of a few other people stopped to look at the Bhagavad-gétä.
“This is an ancient classic Sanskrit work of wisdom from India,” I told him. “We present this
knowledge to people suffering due to ignorance of their own identity.”
As we spoke, the man revealed his interest in karma, reincarnation, ancient wisdom, and
philosophy. He agreed to buy the book, gave a donation, and left with his group.
Afterwards I asked some passersby who the man was.
“He’s the president of Austria.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
I was distributing books at Saddleback College in California when a student came to my table.
I showed him the Bhagavad-gétä, and he was interested. While I was speaking to the student a man
came and listened to my presentation. After I explained some of the teachings of the book, I asked
for a donation from the student. He said he had no money.
Then listening man asked me, “Are you a Hare Kåñëa?”
“Yes I am.”
He turned to the student and said, “I’ll cover this for you.” He then gave me $20. Both the
student and I were surprised. Then I said to the student, “That man is your unknown friend.”
The student thanked him for his kindness, and the man replied, “These Hare Kåñëas are good
people, and they have a good philosophy.”
I offered a book to the man but he said he already had a copy of all the books I was displaying.
* * *
Vraja Vihärī Däsa
It was the fall of 1984, and our party had been distributing books at the State Fairgrounds in
242
Tampa, Florida, all day. We parked our van in a Days Inn parking lot for the night. Our party of
five brahmacärés was fast asleep in the van when we heard a loud voice over a megaphone: “All
right in there! Come out slowly with your hands raised!” I looked out the window and was shocked
to see the van surrounded by twelve police cars and about thirty officers with their guns drawn!
We emerged from the van squinting from the bright flashlights burning our eyes. The officers
began to frisk each one of us, though we were dressed only in gamshas.
“What are you doing here?” the officer in charge demanded.
“We’re distributing love of God in the form of books,” I explained.
“Prove it!”
I opened the van doors, thinking perhaps this was all a dream. I reached into one of the boxes,
pulled out a Bhagavad-gétä, and handed it to the officer in charge. He intently inspected the book,
then me, then the book again, until finally he broke the silence, declaring, “All glories to Çréla
Prabhupäda!” I was flabbergasted, as were his gun-toting subordinates and all my vanmates. At
this point I was sure I was dreaming!
The officer in charge then cheerfully explained: “I used to go to the University of Florida and
regularly ate the Kåñëa Lunch n campus. You practically put me through college. I even stayed
two days at the temple!”
Turning to his associates, he declared, “These are great books, and you should all buy one.”
On his order the officers began reaching for their wallets. About 80% of them took books. We
made almost $300!
Our new friend then apologized for disrupting our sleep. He explained that earlier that night
a gun store had been robbed, and the description of the getaway vehicle exactly matched our van.
I don’t think any of us slept again that night. It was certainly a most bizarre experience we went
through. But thanks to prasädam distribution, it turned into a great saìkértana success story.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In the summer of 1991 we went to Toronto to do book distribution. We stayed at the temple
and did a marathon for almost a month in downtown Toronto on Yonge Street, a great spot for
saìkértana in the summer. After the marathon we were on our way back into the US near Buffalo
when we got stopped at the border by the US officials. An officer demanded to see the contents of
our van. We opened the back and he started poking around inside. When he came upon a shelf that
held some of the books we would use for personal reading, he pulled out a Nectar of Devotion and
shouted to the other border officials, “Hey guys, come over here! This is the Nectar of Devotion!”
The way he said this, they must have thought he’d found the greatest treasure on earth.
The customs agent then told us he used to go to the temple in Buffalo in 1969 and had once
met Çréla Prabhupäda there and heard him give a lecture. He asked if he could make a donation
for the Nectar of Devotion and gave us $50. He told us he often would tell his colleagues about the
time he spent with the Kåñëas and Çréla Prabhupäda.
* * *
Bhakta Chris
I was distributing books outside the LA Forum, where the Smashing Pumpkins rock band was
to put on a show that night. It was my first day on saìkértana, and I was told to always keep moving
243
so as not to attract the attention of the security guards.
As I was distributing, I felt a tap on the shoulder and turned around to see a stern-looking
security guard ordering me to come with him. “I’ve done nothing wrong,” I desperately protested.
“I’m a monk distributing religious books.” But the guard wasn’t moved and made it clear I’d have
to follow him. We walked into the Forum, down a long aisle, into a corridor, and finally arrived at
a door. The guard opened the door and told me to go in. I thought, “O Kåñëa, I’m in big trouble
now.” So I stepped into the room, which was filled with marijuana smoke, and there were the four
members of the Smashing Pumpkins rock band! I couldn’t believe my eyes.
The lead singer greeted me heartily: “Hi, are you a Hare Kåñëa?”
“Sure,” I replied.
“You have any books with you?”
I showed him my books. He was very appreciative and asked, “How much?”
“We pass them out for a donation.”
Turning to his manager, he said “Give this gentleman a donation.”
Then he thanked me for the books and encouraged me to go out and continue distributing
them.
* * *
Bhakta Paul
It was our first day out on traveling saìkértana after we’d had a bit of a break at Bhaktivedanta
Manor. We pulled up in a car park in Norwich early in the morning and started our morning
program. Heavy rain poured down nonstop all through the morning program and prasädam.
Bhakta Ed and I prayed that the showers would stop so we could go out and distribute Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books nicely. “Dear Indra,” we prayed, “if you so desire, please stop the rain!”
When it came time to leave, the rain was still hammering down. Bhakta Ed said, “I’m just going
out anyway.” Literally the moment he put his foot out of the van, the rain miraculously stopped!
So we both headed out to the street. A few minutes into our walk to town, we entered a
pedestrian tunnel and I saw a man walking toward us. As he walked past he looked me in the eye
and said, “Now that you’re out, the rain has stopped.” I thought this was strange, since we were in
karmé clothes and had no tilaka.
Anyway, we proceeded into town and ended up having a really good day on saìkértana. Not a
drop of rain fell, and the sun even came out. It appeared that Lord Indra had heard our prayers.
But that’s not the end of the story.
When we got back to the van in the evening, I climbed in first and Ed followed. And guess
what—literally as soon as Ed shut the door behind him the heavens opened up and the heaviest
rain you can imagine began pouring from the skies, accompanied by thunder and high winds. But
now we were ensconced in our warm van honoring delicious prasädam.
———————————————-
Once when I was selling books on a street in Germany I showed a teacher The Journey of
Self-Discovery. He was skeptical and uninterested in the subject. But then a man in his mid sixties
riding a bicycle stopped and came over to us.
“Bhagavad-gétä?” he asked. “Çréla Prabhupäda’s books? These are very interesting.”
244
The teacher asked him, “Do you know these books?”
“Of course I know these books,” he said. “Who doesn’t know these books? Which one are you
holding? The Journey of Self-Discovery. That’s a wonderful book. It tells you everything about
yoga, karma, reincarnation, the science of self-realization—everything is in that book. You should
read it. You should buy the book. Give him a donation. He’s a nice boy.”
Then he told the teacher, “And you know what the best thing is? If you read these books you
understand who you are—that you are a spirit soul and a servant of God. Then when troubles
come and nothing works anymore—you’re fighting with your wife, your kids are rebelling, your
job is hell—you sit down and very calmly sing and meditate on the Hare Kåñëa mantra. You
know what happens then? Everything just turns very positive, very bright. You become happy and
ecstatic and just go right off into another realm. You become so happy you just take right off.”
The teacher was so surprised by the man’s conviction that he happily gave a donation for the
book and walked off as the older man took off on his bike.
Later the older man returned. I asked him, “You must know these books quite well, right?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve been reading them for eight years now. And every time I tell myself that
something has to change in my life, I go to the city and meet one of you guys and buy some new
books. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Show me what books you’ve got.”
I showed him the books I had. He bought two.
I told him we have temples and asked if he knew about the Hare Kåñëa movement.
“Temples?” he asked. “You mean like churches?”
He didn’t know about the temples. He thought we were just young idealists selling books. He
didn’t know there was a whole spiritual movement behind them. He was amazed to learn there is
a worldwide society in which people practice the philosophy taught in the books.
“You know,” he said, “nobody actually understands what is going on in this world. Just look
at these people, how they are madly running around trying to gratify their senses and be happy in
their material pursuits. Like animals, they have no aim in life. They simply know the pleasures of
eating, sleeping, and sex. They don’t know what’s going on. Don’t you find it difficult to speak to
them about the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gétä? Do you actually know what you’re doing here?
Do you know that you’re doing the most important work for the whole human society?”
I wanted to hear more, so I asked him, “Do you really think so? Do you really think the work
we’re doing here with these books is important?”
“Yes, yes,” he said. “This is very important—the most important thing you can do, more
important than breathing. You must give people these books so they can find out why they are
living, so they can get some sense into their life.”
The man left happily with his two new books, leaving me amazed at his conviction in the power
of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and the chanting of the Hare Kåñëa mantra.
End Chapter Eleven: Pleasant Surprises on Book Distribution
245
246
Chapter Twelve
Positive Preaching
“Even they touch [the book] and they read one line and says, ‘Oh, it is very nice,’ he makes a
step forward.”—Çréla Prabhupäda
During Çréla Prabhupäda’s time with us, sometimes a newspaper would print a slanderous
article about the devotees. When they would bring the article to Prabhupäda and complain,
Prabhupäda would ask, “How many names of Kåñëa are in the article?” The devotee would say
ten or twenty or whatever, and Prabhupäda would say, “Just see: so many people will now have
the opportunity to chant the names of Kåñëa and get purified.”
The lesson is that there is a positive way to see things that are apparently negative. Once a sage
doing mädhu-karé went to a house where a man opened the door and said, “Wait here. I’ll be right
back.” When he came back he gave the sädhu a handful of ashes. “Thank you very much,” said
the sädhu pleasantly.
The man was surprised. “Why are you thanking me? I’ve only given you ashes.”
“Because you’ve begun the process of giving.”
On saìkértana if a person gives us some change we may think, “What kind of donation is this?”
and not even accept it. But we should see the positive side. That person may not have done any
service for Kåñëa for millions of lifetimes, and now at last he or she is doing something. This is the
most important day in that person’s life. Appreciate it. Sometimes a person may give nothing but
just wish you luck, and by that wish they benefit. Çréla Prabhupäda once said, “If someone says
‘Good morning’ to a devotee, he’s began his devotional service.”
It is said that “First impressions are lasting impressions.” When we meet people, we have to
be a good example because we are representing Kåñëa and Çréla Prabhupäda. This point cannot
be overemphasized, because, more than we may realize, people are looking closely at how we act.
There is another saying in this regard: “Your actions are so loud that I can’t hear your words.” If
our actions are pure, that says a lot. An example: In the early 70s the devotees in Melbourne were
preparing for Ratha-yäträ. Suddenly a building next door caught fire. Three ladies were trapped
inside, shouting out a window for help. A devotee lady named Vaibhävé Devé Däsé told the male
devotees to grab the canopy for the ratha cart and run under the window. Ten devotees then
stretched the canopy out and told the ladies to jump. Although at first the ladies were reluctant,
they all jumped, one after another, and were saved. The next day the devotees’ heroic actions
were front-page news; the article explained that the devotees had used the sacred canopy for their
religious parade to save the ladies in danger. Actions speak louder than words. Çréla Prabhupäda
said, “Our devotees should be known as perfect gentlemen and ladies.”
* * *
From Çréla Prabhupäda Lélämåta, describing the appearance day of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté
Öhäkura in 1968 in Los Angeles.
After the feast the devotees followed Prabhupäda into his room. He sat at his desk and read
letters aloud to the small gathering of his disciples seated on the floor before him. The letters
were of appreciation. And these letters became Çréla Prabhupäda’s offering to his spiritual master.
Prabhupäda read aloud statements like “We really like chanting,” “We’re happy since we met
you,” “We’re trying to teach other people how to chant Hare Kåñëa”—simple sentiments.
247
Reading the letters, Prabhupäda became very happy. He then put the letters along with the
flowers before the picture of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté. Then looking at Nandaräëé, he
asked, “Have you become happy since you have been chanting Hare Kåñëa?”
“Oh, yes,” Nandaräëé replied, “my life is wonderful.”
Looking at the others, Prabhupäda asked, “And what about you? Do you feel more satisfied
since you have been chanting Hare Kåñëa?” They all answered yes.
“Then I have only one request,” Prabhupäda continued. “Whatever happiness you have felt,
you simply tell someone else about that. That is all you have to do. You don’t need to teach
anything. You don’t need to teach the philosophy. You just explain to people that because you
chant Hare Kåñëa you have become happy, and if they chant, they will become happy. Then I will
be satisfied, and my spiritual master will be satisfied.”
* * *
When distributing books, we should make as good an impression as possible on the people.
They should think all devotees are saints. After buying books, they should be so inspired that
they run home and immediately read what they’ve bought. Our books are about how people can
change their lives by becoming Kåñëa conscioius. Therefore saìkértana devotees must be prime
examples of perfect people. This is preaching— preaching by words and by example. To do this
nicely, rely on the Lord within, who will give you all intelligence.
When I met George Harrison, he said he had become interested in devotees because they were
on the streets chanting and selling books under any condition—rain, snow, hot sunshine. He knew
they could do this austerity only by getting a higher taste. Thus he respected devotees before he
even met them.
Saìkértana can be done regulary only by devotees who are getting the blissful higher taste from
their devotional practices and from the saìkértana itself. Both must be there.
Preaching begins by giving people faith. And faith grows from an appreciation of Kåñëa
consciousness. Therefore in our preaching, we must give people a favorable impression of us if
we want them to read the books, chant Hare Kåñëa, and finally make a commitment to becoming
devotees. Çréla Prabhupäda said, “We don’t want to irritate anyone, however. If he goes away by
your aggressive tactics, then you are nonsense and it is your failure. Neither you could sell a book,
neither he would remain. But if he buys a book, that is the real successful preaching.”
* * *
It’s important that we care for the people we meet. Some call this “customer care.” Over the
years, through my personal experience on book distribution I’ve come to realize more and more
the importance of how I deal with every person I meet. I think this is part of the self-realization
process in Kåñëa consciousness. We must realize the immense effect of everything that we do and
all that we think. We can understand this principle from Çrémad-Bhägavatam. In the Bhägavatam
Lord Åñabhadeva says, karmätmakaà yena çaréra-bandhaù: “If your mind is colored with fruitive
activity, you have to take another birth in the material world.”
As devotees, we should become more and more aware of the critical importance of all that we
248
Chapter 12: Positive Preaching
do and say. One of the gifts of going out on book distribution and interacting with people in this
transcendental way is that we can come to understand almost immediately how important it is to
deal with people in a gentle, transcendental, caring, loving way. And that in itself—that approach,
that mentality of going on saìkértana with the goal of making each person, as much as possible, a
completely satisfied individual when they go away, regardless of whether or not they take a book
or give anything—is actually a very exciting challenge. Also, this particular type of approach, this
particular type of mentality, in it of itself helps lift us to the transcendental realm.
There are a couple of practical things I’ve learned over the years in regard to customer care.
For instance, we know that there are mantras to introduce a book. For example, devotees often
say something like “This is a book on yoga and meditation. It helps you get free from stress and
anxiety.” It’s stated in the Gétä-mähätmya that one who carefully follows the instructions of the
Bhagavad-gétä will become free from all the miseries and anxieties of life. So this mantra exactly
follows çästra and is true. If you read any of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and follow the instructions
given there, you’ll become free from the miseries of life. So this is a perfectly bona fide mantra.
But there is also another type of mantra that I’ve been using. I call it an “exit mantra.” For
example, when I finish speaking with someone I look the person squarely in the eye, shake the
person’s hand, and tell him or her, “I want to thank you very much for taking your valuable time,
and I want to tell you what an honor it was to meet you.”
People really like that. Sometimes they’re miraculously affected. They may have originally
responded with something like “No, I’m not interested in this; I don’t want to give a donation; I’m
a Christian and I don’t believe in this.” I thank the preson from the bottom of my heart, telling
him, “I want to thank you very much for taking your valuable time, and I want to tell you how
much of an honor it was to meet you.” And while I’m saying that, I’m thinking of the verse in Çré
Éçopaniñad which says that we should see every living entity as a spiritual spark, and that a person
who sees like that has no anxiety or fear. This is the transcendental meditation on saìkértana.
And after my “exit mantra,” the same person who said “I’m not interested” sometimes comes
back a half hour later and tells me, “We would like to donate.” Several such experiences have
really had a heavy impact on me and made me realize that “Wow, everything we do and say,
and the way we do and say it, and even the way we think when we’re saying it and doing it, has a
distinct and definite impact on the people we’re speaking to.”
There is nothing more important than such customer care. Even big marketing directors
will tell you that there’s nothing more important for creating a lasting impression than a very
personal meeting between two people. All types of persuasion take place when two people have a
conversation. But in the end, it’s a person’s subtle qualities that change our minds, either positively
or negatively. Some statistics on the effects of projecting negative energy: Only 4% of dissatisfied
customers actually complain; 96% walk away quietly; 91% will never come back to that place; 68%
leave because they were treated indifferently. A dissatisfied customer will tell 8 to 10 people about
a bad experience. One in 5 will tell 20 other people. So these are some important considerations.
The positive side for us is that by going out in the public to preach, we have the perfect
opportunity to leave a wonderful impression with everyone we meet. There are so many ways to do
this. One way is to get into the habit of taking the extra time to make eye contact with the people,
to really appreciate something about them, to think of them as spirit souls, to say something nice
to them even when—especially when—they don’t want to give a donation, or especially when they
are indifferent to us. Give them a good feeling. This is yoga—remaining equipoised, keeping your
balance through spiritual vision and practice. This is the yoga of saìkértana, to come to this level.
Then we leave the atmosphere without harmful residue.
Otherwise, if you bring out some envy from your heart, or you feel personally motivated or
249
attached to a particular response from a person you meet, thinking “Why can’t he help so I can
have a better score?” you’ll leave a subtle toxic residue in the air, and that residue will get all over
you as well as on everyone around you. You create an environment by the way you think. So we
should try to come to this platform of saìkértana by practicing yoga. It will bring us to a new level
and is an exciting challenge.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
After stopping a couple of men who were originally from Taiwan, I put a book in the hands of
both of them and explained what the books were about. They asking many questions but seemed
dubious about taking the books or giving a donation. In the middle of my beseeching them to accept
the books, a middle-aged man rode up on a bicycle and intervened. Since he had approached so
suddenly, all three of us turned our attention to him. He looked at me and demanded, “Tell me
the difference between compassion and dispassion.”
Seeing no way out, I gave my best spontaneous definitions. “Compassion means to understand
the sufferings and enjoyments of others based on one’s own experience, and to reach out to help
them based on that realization. [Interestingly, I had just been studying verse 1.28 of the Bhagavad-
gétä a couple of days before, in which Çréla Prabhupäda discusses this very issue in his purport.]
Dispassion is the ability to maintain one’s equilibrium even when there’s cause for disturbance.
The ocean,” I continued, thinking of Gétä 2.70, “even while being filled by millions of rivers, keeps
its balance and does not overflow.” Our bicycle-riding quizmaster smiled and said, “Pretty good!”
He then looked at the two gentlemen holding the books and said, “You should get these books.”
They did!
* * *
Änakandundubhi Däsa
If I meet a nice person while on book distribution, I ask if he or she wants to be regularly
contacted. If they say “Yes,” I write them at least once a year. I bring them presents when I
visit them, as well as prasädam and more books. In other words, I act as their first guru (vartma-
pradarçaka) and sometimes as a çikñä-guru also. It is the duty of the book distributor! Always give
with love!
* * *
Chowpatti Saìkértana
A few years ago the Rädhä-Gopénätha Mandir hosted a very special guest—His Grace
Durgama Prabhu, a disciple of Çréla Prabhupäda since the early 1970s. During his three-week stay
in Mumbai, he inspired all the devotees with his steady and determined daily book distribution.
His day of book distribution started immediately after the morning Bhägavatam class, when he
would go to the book room and fill his bag with many books. At 1:30 p.m. he would be back for
lunch, and at 2:00 p.m. he was out again. Devotees were amazed to see that despite his advancing
age and the unfamiliarity of the Indian streets, he had an untiring zest for going out and preaching
to the conditioned souls. In Italy he could easily start up a conversation with a stranger because
250
of the familiar culture and language. But we thought that in India he would get lost in the huge
unfamiliar crowds.
In fact, however, he was perfectly comfortable meeting the simple Gujarati housewives, the
unsophisticated police constables, the pot-bellied bhaiyas selling päni-purés at the beach, and even
the young college students racing to and from school. One couldn’t miss his attractive smiling
visage as he greeted all with a warm “Hare Kåñëa.”
His Grace Narottama Prabhu, who had the opportunity to go out with him a few times, was
enthralled by his contagious enthusiasm. “It was difficult to keep pace with him,” remembered
Narottama. “Just when I thought Mumbai’s scorching heat had slowed him down, he would run to
a stranger across the street and greet him with a resounding ‘Hare Kåñëa.’ Invariably the person
would smile back, and Durgama Prabhu would instantly strike up a conversation as if with an old
friend. The man would usually leave with a Bhagavad-gétä or at least a small book, feeling happy
about the interaction.”
His Grace Nityänanda Prabhu also accompanied Durgama once and was deeply touched by his
humility and genuineness. Nityänanda remembers: “We went to the nearby residential colony. In
each house people were polite and courteous. This was highly unusual, because when I had gone
there on my own I had rarely attracted much sympathy from these people, who were annoyed at
me for disturbing their afternoon siesta. But Durgama Prabhu was most endearing to all, and in a
few houses we were even invited for lunch. I still cherish those sweet dealings of Durgama Prabhu
with people, whom we usually thoughtlessly brand as karmés and sense gratifiers.”
Near the end of his stay with us, Durgama Prabhu made a startling revelation: “In my thirty-
two years in the movement I have not met any envious blasphemers.” We were amazed, but we
understood why. Since he is kind to all and refuses to be intimidated by anyone, he never meets
with angry opposition. Even the most obstinate person confronting him will at most leave with
only a gentle refusal of a book offered.
And Durgama Prabhu topped it all off with an interesting confession: “Yes, there have been
occasional times when going out has been a drag. But I’ve learned that forcing oneself to be
enthusiastic pays off rich dividends. At such times Kåñëa is more merciful than ever and fills our
hearts with so much joy and contentment. I have no other desire but to continue serving my
beloved spiritual master by distributing his books till my last breath.”
* * *
Hrémän Kåñëa Däsa
By our good behavior we set an example for the world to follow. If people become inimical to
the Vaiñëavas and offend them, they will never get a chance to become devotees. Tolerate, tolerate,
tolerate, because the spiritual life of those who are rotting in this material world depends on our
tolerance, and so does ours. If we offend the people we meet and disturb them, our minds will
become distrubed also. More importantly, any foolish thing we do will result in our Society being
frowned upon: “Just see, they can’t walk their talk. What’s the use of all this high philosophy.”
Remember, we are representatives of the paramparä, and we certainly don’t want to make our
spiritual father and forefathers look bad because of our foolishness.
The good impression we leave people with will inspire the person’s Kåñëa consciousness. They
will advance from a favorable impression and will want to continue their connection. If we are
really concerned for their Kåñëa consciousness, we must try to have the best exchange possible.
After one favorable exchange, the person is more open to another exchange with a devotee. But
251
a negative exchange may prevent them from being open again, and they may share their negative
impression with friends and family, preventing others from bring open to Kåñëa consciousness.
* * *
Jaòu Öhäkura Däsa
In Mumbai I was distributing books on a train with Pitämbara Prabhu when I saw a man
reading a book. He was so absorbed that he just looked up for a split second to see what Pitämbara
was announcing and then went back to his book. I edged closer and saw that it was the bestseller
The Secret. I had read an article in BTG about this book. It is about how one can get whatever one
wants by desiring it so intensely that eventually the cosmos arranges it for us. Although the idea is
obviously ludicrous, the book is widely popular.
I went up to the man and said, “Excuse me sir, may I have a moment, please?”
He looked up.
“I see you’re very interested in this book. It’s nice to see someone so spiritual.”
He smiled.
“But,” I continued, “there’s a fundamental flaw in this book.”
“What’s that?”
“It ignores a very basic law of the cosmos—the law of karma. You see, so many people in this
world want things, some of them so desperately that they may even pray for them for years, and
yet they don’t get them. Do you know people like that?”
He pondered for a moment and then nodded in affirmation.
“Why don’t they get the things that they so badly want? Everyone wants happiness, and no
one wants distress. Yet we don’t get happiness all the time and we keep on getting distress. Who
decides this allocation of joy and sorrow? Is our quota of pain and pleasure destined by some
higher authority, or is it under our control?”
He was listening intently.
As I handed him The Laws of Nature I said, “Here’s a book that explains karma in a lucid and
simple way. It teaches you about the laws that bind us and the process that will free us. Give it a
try. It will teach you the real secret of success, and even give you a mantra for achieving it.”
He took the book, gave a donation, and asked for my phone number.
* * *
Jïäna-cakñus Däsa
On Saturday night harinäma saìkértana here in Kansas City, a family of three looked on with
delight as the devotees chanted and danced. I approached them and they greeted me warmly.
They told me that a week earlier they had seen a chanting party in Washington, D.C., with red,
white, and blue party streamers and sparkles. We talked for about fifteen minutes, lightheartedly
discussing the effects of the spiritual atmosphere. The father took a look at an Éçopaniñad and
asked his wife to hand me a donation. She gave seven dollars, and in turn I gave her a Higher Taste
and their daughter a Perfection of Yoga. The man told me he was a disc jockey at a radio station
in Lincoln, Nebraska. He wanted the devotees to come there and make a presentation of Kåñëa
consciousness movement on the air. They were so favorable.
The few days later the Kansas City temple received this letter:
252
To Whom it May Concern:
My husband and I were in Kansas City last weekend with our daughter and visited with
your group on Saturday while we were shopping at the Plaza. I just wanted to write a brief
note and let you know how much we enjoyed talking with a young man whose name, I
believe, is John. I believe he was originally from the Pittsburgh area and, as I understand,
has been with your group for several years.
Our children are being raised Catholic and attend Catholic schools. That being said, my
husband and I are very involved with our community in terms of raising cultural and ethnic
awareness. In addition, we take advantage of every opportunity to allow our children to
learn and grow from talking with people from other religious, racial, cultural, and ethnic
backgrounds and experiencing the rich interaction of these happenings along with attending
various cultural events, etc. Rather than preaching “tolerance,” which is such a politically
correct term these days, we truly embrace and celebrate diversity.
Our daughter, who was at first anxious and perhaps a bit scared to talk with the group,
soon discovered we were right when we told her there was nothing to be frightened of and
that those following Kåñëa Consciousness are peaceful people, warm and compassionate.
I hope our donation, albeit certainly not a large one, will assist your needs in some way.
Please share our sentiments with the young man we talked with. He represents your school
and your interests very well!
* * *
Géta-govinda Däsé
I met a nice girl on saìkértana. She said to me, “Oh, I remember you; I met you before. I was
thinking to go to your temple. Now I really want to go.”
I was surprised and went back to the temple with her. She was very friendly to all the devotees.
She stayed one night with us and the next day attended maìgala-ärati and chanted japa. Later that
day she went to college in a sari, wearing tilaka. She said, “All the devotees are so kind; I feel like
I’m in a family.”
She started visiting the temple every day. She told us she played the big pipe organ in her
church every Sunday, and she invited us to come visit the church and do Hare Kåñëa kértana there.
So we went to the church with mådaìga and karatälas. Everyone was so happy to see us. The
leader introduced us to everybody and then said, “Please do your music.” So we did kértana and
explained the Hare Kåñëa mantra. Everybody became so enlivened. Youngsters danced together
with us, and the older folks clapped their hands. One elderly lady said, “I’ve been coming to
church for many years, but I’ve never before experienced such a wonderful time.” She was in an
ecstatic mood.
A week later, while distributing books, I met a gentleman who said, “Oh, I know you. You
chanted in our church.” He was very favorable. Then he eagerly bought three Kåñëa books. This
group will invite us again.
Book distribution is sometimes nice and sometimes tough. But just keep going on. The purpose
of book distribution is to make devotees, purify ourselves, and please our beloved guru and Çréla
Prabhupäda. Transcendental book distribution ké jaya!!
253
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Dallas Indränuja Prabhu met a guy at a Whole Foods store. He was a musician, a vocalist.
He had read the Bhagavad-gétä and liked Arjuna, so he had then bought another book from us.
He was getting ready to perform in a concert, and so Indränuja Prabhu asked him if we could
distribute prasädam and books inside. He eagerly agreed. So we set up a table inside the concert
hall where we distributed books and prasädam pakoräs with tamarind chutney, along with other
delicacies, all sponsored by Kälachandjé’s restaurant.
The concert manager was so thankful to us. Everybody liked the prasädam—they came back
for seconds and thirds. The staff manager, the musician, the concert-goers . . . everybody thanked
us.
After the concert one of the managers announced on stage: “We would like to thank the Hare
Kåñëa devotees from Kälachandjé’s restaurant for bringing so much wonderful food and books.
Thank you.”
* * *
Khelä-tértha Däsa
We should try our best to assure that everyone walks away with a good impression. A famous
saying goes “There’s no second chance for a first impression.” Understanding this is so important.
Our meditation should be to bring people closer to Kåñëa. If a person doesn’t take a book the first
time around, maybe he or she will the next time or the time after that. We can slowly softening
their hearts through genuine care, concern, and detachment.
* * *
Madhumaìgala Däsa
In the mall where I was distributing, the shoppers were even more in the mode of passion than
usual, so I came up with a plan. From a distance I would look at them and start singing, “Smile
and you’ll feel much better! Smile and you’ll feel the difference!” As a shopper got close he’d
be surprised and start smiling as I shook his hand and continued singing, “You’re looking much
better, I can tell, I can tell.”
I’d introduce myself to him and tell him that I was a traveling monk, a happiness monk, and
that I was traveling all over the world spreading happiness wherever I go. Then: “Oh, and by the
way, I also have these happiness books.” I’d then give him a Chant and Be Happy and get him to
read the first paragraph. After he took the book I’d thank him and say, “Wouldn’t this world be a
happier place if more people could be like us?”
“Yes!”
As he left, when he got a few paces away I’d ask him to say Hare Kåñëa. “Hare Kåñëa!” would
come the reply.
Now that is real happiness: giving out Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and transforming lives! Çréla
Prabhupäda ké jaya!
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
254
In San Diego I passed by a tattoo shop and saw a young guy sitting on a bench at the entrance,
smoking a cigarette and reading a book. I said, “Hey, those tattoos are amazing. What’s that book
you’re reading?”
“It’s a book on Satanism.”
“Is it by Alister Crowley [a popular writer on Satanism and witchcraft]?”
“Nope.”
“How about Anton La Vey [founder of the Church of Satan in California]?”
“Yeah. Good guess.”
“Wow, that’s amazing! You must have a keen interest in the subject. Here, check out one of
these,” and I showed him a selection of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
He was really attracted to the pictures in the books.
“Would you like ont?” I asked.
“Sure,” he replied, and asked me for the hardcover book I’d showed him.
“Oh, you mean this one, Beyond Illusion and Doubt?”
He nodded and told me to hang on while he went inside to get some money.
After reading it hopefully he will go be beyond illusion, doubt Satan, and be on his way back
home, back to Godhead.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
At the seaside village of Muizenberg, a suburb of Cape Town, a young man approached me
wearing dreadlocks and a t-shirt printed with a picture of “the sacred herb.” On a leather thong
around his neck hung a small picture of Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia till 1974.
“Hi there, brother,” I greeted him, “I can see you’re an “ire man.” One love. Ja Kåñëa!” I gave
him a traditional Rasta greeting, which is normally “Ja,” and added “Kåñëa” to it. We did the
Rasta handshake greeting—top of the fist on top, then the bottom, fist to fist, and then taking the
right hand and touching the heart. This Rasta was really in the mode of goodness. Most Rastas I
meet are usually so out of from smoking their beloved sacred herb that I can hardly communicate
with them. We began to have a very enlivening conversation about the brotherhood of man, one
love, and Ja. I began explaining that Ja was the father of everyone and that we call Him Kåñëa.
I opened up the Chant and Be Happy I was holding and showed him the page showing various
names of God.
“Hey, brother,” he said, “I’ve read lots of these books. They’re really amazing. I have one of
these books in my bag; I carry it with me wherever I go.” He opened his bag and showed me a
well-thumbed SSR.
“Since you like Çréla Prabhupäda’s books so much,” I said, “I’m sure you’d like to take another
one.” I opened up my saìkértana bag as he looked for a donation. “What are you up to?” I asked.
“I’m on the way to see a buyer for the beadwork I sell.”
He gave me a donation and took a book. “Thanks,” he said, “I’m really looking forward to
reading it.”
Normally after I give someone a book I also give them a hug, but this Rasta gave me a hug
instead, and so tightly that I thought he was never going to let go—he was just bubbling over with
“one love.” I gave him another Rasta handshake and said, “Isn’t Ja Kåñëa amazing, brother?” and
said goodbye.
About three seconds after he left, I heard him calling. I turned around and saw him jump about
two feet in the air as he waved to me and shouted, “Yoooo, hey, one love Ja Kåñëa!”
255
* * *
Muniräja Däsa
It’s painful to see how the TV has become the guru for so many people. But sometimes TV
serves the saìkértana mission.
A few years ago a very positive TV program about the movement was broacast here in
Finland. Gopénätha Prabhu and his wife Rasaräëé Devé Däsé, along with a few brahmacärés, were
interviewed, and there was a discussion of basic philosophy. Çrématé Tulasé Devé was in the studio,
and we performed some bhajans. The interviewer was excellent—asking nice questions, eating
and glorifying prasädam, participating in street harinäma in devotional clothing, etc.
Since that program aired, we have met many people while distributing books and prasädam
who have a very positive feeling toward us because of it. They’ll say things like “Of course I must
support you; you’re such nice people.” Or “I thought you were a sect where children cannot meet
their parents, but now I know you are so nice.” Or even “You stand behind your words: you live
as you teach.”
We have now increased our distribution in devotional clothing. Before we were not so much
into it, thinking that results would decrease. But we’ve discovered that even more books and
prasädam are going out and people are generally respectful to us and positive when we wear dhoté
and tilaka.
Of course, we can’t always expect such positive TV coverage everywhere, but the point is that
living up to our standards pays dividends.
* * *
Parameçvara Däsa
We leave people with an impression whether they take a book or not.

Çréla Prabhupäda once said, “First ISKCON, then temple, then individual.” For ISKCON’s
long-term success, it’s critical that we leave everyone we meet with a good impression. I visit many
places where book distributors have been before, and the contrast between those places where
they’ve been rude and inconsiderate and those where they’ve been kind and considerate is like the
difference between night and day. I really notice the difference.
* * *
Rädhä-Gopénätha Mandir Saìkértana
Muräri Gupta Däsa reports: November 26 will always bring back memories of the horrifying attack
on Mumbai in 2007. On the anniversary of the attack, many peace programs were organized at the
various places where the attacks took place. Early that morning the phone rang in the reception
office of the Çré Çré Rädhä-Gopénätha Mandir in Chowpatty.
“Is any devotee coming to Nariman point?” a lady asked. “There are many groups here offering
prayers and kértanas.”
256
Soon a bunch of devotees reached there, only to find that the program was over and the VIPs
had left after lighting the customary lamps. But there was still a small crowd there, and devotees
sold a few books.
Another group went to the Taj and met with a similar response. But a bigger crowd was
expected in the evening.
At 5pm five devotees decided to visit the Taj. Fearing security restrictions, they decided to
take only a pair of karatälas and Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. The Taj was crowded with thousands
of people. Students dressed in white and wearing black armbands came and offered their pledges.
One man stood with a banner that read “free hugs” and hugged anyone who came to him. Various
groups shouted slogans praising India and criticizing Pakistan. Some read poems. In this vast
ocean of humanity there were just five devotees—two distributing books and three doing kértana.
But they soon created a sensation. Four rows of onlookers circled around them and began to
clap and sing the mahä-mantra. As a Muslim family passed by, the three-year-old boy in the family,
wearing a traditional cap, long kürtä, and pyjama, stopped and began to smile at the devotees. His
mother released his hand, and he rushed in front of the crowd and began to clap. Then Kalavink
Prabhu gently pulled the boy and began to dance with him. This was sensational! The media went
berserk. Scores of cameras started flashing, and media figures, camera men, and photographers
all vied to get the best view of the grand unifying act: a Muslim boy dancing with a Hare Kåñëa
on the anniversary of a brutal act of terrorism. Then one devotee passed a Bhagavad-gétä to the
boy, and he raised it above his head and began to dance. The crowd roared and loudly applauded.
Soon TV channels made a beeline for the devotees and interviewed three of them: “What is your
message?” asked one reporter.
Saïjaya Prabhu recited the entire mahä-mantra and said, “Chanting the names of God is the
ultimate peace formula. It clears the pollution in the heart, which is the reason why people hate
and attack each other.”
“Do you have any message for the relatives of the victims?”
“Yes. If all of us present here pray together for them, they will surely get tremendous peace
and benefit.”
The book distributors distributed around 25 books. When the devotees finally decided to leave,
they came upon a group of about 40-50 soldiers marching toward them. On seeing the devotees,
the soldier leading the troops halted, but instead of his regular commands he raised his hands and
loudly shouted, “Hare Kåñëa!” In unison the troops responded, “Hare Kåñëa!” And then they all
chanted the full Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra.
The devotees were euphoric.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
This is an incident that happened with Bhakta Rahul Prabhu. Rahul is a lawyer with master’s
degree in law and legislation. He is a member of brahmacäré training group in the Chowpatty
temple.
One day he was distributing books with his partner in a textile mill. At around 10 a.m., when
all the workers were busy in the mill, a supervisor came and looked at the books. He liked the set
and said, “I have fifty people under me in the training center. Why don’t you come and make a
presentation to them?”
Rahul took a few sets with him and went to the training center. Another person was giving a
lecture there. He waited for ten minutes, and then he was given a chance to speak.
He began with oà ajïäna-timirändhasya. Nobody was listening; they were all chatting with
257
each other. This turned him off—or rather on! Rahul had been a keen debater in his school and
college days, and he decided to use his oratory skills. He began with a poem he had presented
during a competition at the time of his graduation. The poem was called “Sparrow.” I will try to
translate it from Hindi.
You may call it courage, patience, or agony.

Close to a pond someone set a building on fire.
Chaos prevailed all over.
Some people poured water on the fire;
Others rescued the trapped victims.
Everyone did what he could.
Seeing a sparrow on a tree branch sprinkling water from its beak,

A crow sitting on the same tree spoke up:
“O dear sister, what are you doing?
Trying to break a mountain with the blows of a leaf?
The water from your beak won’t extinguish even a tiny spark.”
The little sparrow answered,

“Dear brother, you speak the truth—
I know the scant capacity of my beak.
But I also know this:
The day the history of this incident is written,
My name will be not among those who set the fire
But among those who put it out.”
[Now he had their attention.]
Like this our founder-äcärya has made history in this world

By spreading the message of Kåñëa consciousness.
At seventy, with just forty rupees in hand,
He went to Americain a cargo ship,
Suffering two heart attacks on the trip.
Always keeping in mind the instruction of his guru,
He went to West and wrote eighty books.
Today we are offering some to you.
Then he showed the books to the assembled men. Out of fifty men, twenty took sets.
* * *
Tära Däsa
Having a respectful and kind mood toward others is essential for getting Kåñëa’s mercy.
Practicing seeing others as souls and seeing Kåñëa within everyone frees us from bad qualities and
tendencies. A devotee likes people. They are Kåñëa’s children and are very dear to him.
Kåñëa’s hand is in everything. He dictates the activities of everyone we encounter. Are we not
258
pleased with his arrangement?
Have a long-term vision of saìkértana. Leave everyone with a positive and unpressured
feeling, and later one of the people you’ve met might feel inspired to reciprocate with Kåñëa’s
representative.
The frontline saìkértana devotees are instrumental in forming people’s opinions of Kåñëa and
his movement, for good or bad.
* * *
Térthakära Däsa
Going door to door in Slovakia, I rang a bell and a lady in her mid fifties answered. She was
very friendly and told me she knew Eastern philosophy but had enough books. Then she brought
out two photos of Sai Baba. I was on the verge of telling her he’s a rascal and a cheater, but I
checked the impulse and instead handed her a book and asked for a donation. Within I was telling
myself that if she read the book Çréla Prabhupäda would explain much better than I could that Sai
Baba is a cheater.
To my surprise she accepted the book and gave me twenty euros, five times more than I’d
asked. I thanked her, bid her farewell, and continued to a higher floor. After a few seconds she
caught up with me and gave me another twenty euros, saying the first donation wasn’t enough. I
visited her a week later at her job and gave her a Mother Gaìgä DVD, for which gave me another
very nice donation.
Sometimes it’s better to remain positive and leave the preaching to Çréla Prabhupäda.
* * *
Vijaya Däsa
“The results show that there is no limit to our book distribution. Our books are qualified to be
distributed unlimitedly.”—Çréla Prabhupäda, in a letter written on January 18, 1976
This is an interesting statement by Çréla Prabhupäda. This was written almost four three ago,
and now there are more than six million books being distributed every year. He also said, “There
will always be costumers for these books.” With these encouraging words, we should continue
distributing books throughout the world. It used to be said that the sun never sets on the British
Empire. Well, the sun has set on the British Empire, and now it is no more. But book distribution
is such a success that the sun actually never does set on the book distributors. Throughout the
twenty-four hours of every day, every seven seconds or so (as calculated by the North European
BBT), somewhere on the planet a book is being distributed.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
While I was distributing books at the University of Georgia, a student came to my table.
“How are you?” I asked.
“Excellent!”
“Oh, very good, then you’ll appreciate the Bhagavad-gétä. It teaches the art of inner happiness.
259
Although you’re excellent now, there’s always room for improvement. A wise man once said, “If
you don’t learn something new every day about life, then you’ve wasted that day.”
“I agree.”
I then asked for a donation, and he gave with enthusiasm.
Just before he left he asked, “Do you think this book will help me? I’m going through some
major problems in my life, and I don’t really know what to do.”
“Oh, yes, this book has helped millions. I’m sure it will help you as well.”
He then smiled and thanked me.
Now he has an opportunity to become truly excellent.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
We should always display our best character when distributing books because we represent Çréla
Prabhupäda and Çré Kåñëa when we interact with the public. So many people will say, “No, I’m not
interested.” We have to learn how to accept those no’s without being disturbed. As Kåñëa says in
the Bhagavad-gétä (5.20), “A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor
laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and
who knows the science of God, is already situated in transcendence.”
The best example I can think of in this regard is Vaiçeñika Prabhu. When someone says no to
him he says, “Well, thank you anyway for stopping and giving me your time. It’s been an honor
meeting you. I hope you have a wonderful day.” He doesn’t just say this mechanically, but he
sincerely means it. He told me that people have come back to him after hearing him be so polite
and given a donation and taken books.
Çréla Prabhupäda said a devotee is a perfect gentleman. Passion is not the force; it’s a disturbance.
If we try to force them to take books, the interaction just becomes an exchange of egos. When
there is attachment, it becomes bitter. Attachment is OK if we’re attached to pleasing Kåñëa. In
that case we’re also detached from the result, because we understand that Kåñëa is in control.
* * *
Viçvambhara Däsa
If the person is not ready to receive the book, we shouldn’t force him. Whether favorable or
not, the person will get purified first by looking at the devotee. If someone insults a devotee or
swears at him, the devotee should be tolerant. Next time, by the mercy of Kåñëa, the person may
meet another devotee and become favorably disposed. He may have darçana of the book but not
take it. And the next time he may touch the book but not purchase it. And the next time, when
sufficiently purified by the previous encounters, he may purchase the book. A book distributor
understands that all these incidents are part of saìkértana; they gradually uplift the nondevotee to
the point of being ready to receive the mercyand buy the book. If we realize this, we will always
leave people with a good impression.
* * *
Yogéndra Däsa
260
Once in a small Swedish town I had a mystical experience while distributing hardbound Çrémad-
Bhägavatam volumes on the sidewalk outside a post office. A lady with a retarded daughter passed
by, and the young girl grabbed the book I offered the mother. Despite the mother’s repeated
entreaties, the girl adamantly refused to give me back the book. The mother had little choice but
to ask me the price. I gave it to her for the minimum BBT price.
A little later I spotted a gentleman some distance away walking briskly toward me with a book
in his hand. Expecting trouble, I greeted him politely. He was enraged, loudly claiming I had
cheated his wife and demanding his money back. He also complained that “This book isn’t even
in Swedish!” In fact, it was in Swedish—excluding the Sanskrit, of course. I calmly assured him I
would return his money, but before I did I said, “Please, just look at any page in the book and see
if it’s in Swedish or not.” He consented and randomly opened the Third Canto volume in his hand
to chapter 11, text 31. Then he read the (Swedish) translation:
My dear King, just consider what I have said to you, which will act as medicinal treatment
upon disease. Control your anger, for anger is the foremost enemy on the path of spiritual
realization. I wish all good fortune for you. Please follow my instructions.
He closed the book, put it under his arm, and walked away, taking with him the advice of
Sväyambhuva Manu to Dhruva Mahäräja.
* * *
Bhakta Rock
I was standing in Union Square park, in downtown San Francisco, with a little box of books.
There was an art festival going on, so I slipped in and out of the park so the security wouldn’t
bother me.
At around 10:30 a.m. I noticed a very familiar face walking through the show with his family.
It was Robin Williams, a leading American actor and comedian. To get his attention creatively,
I fanned out the books I had in my hand and waved them near his face as he walked toward me.
Startled, he smiled at me. “Quickly,” I said, “tell me what you see.”
“Books—but that’s not what you’re going to say, right?”
“True. What I am showing you is the key to the past, present, and future. And with this key,
you can dissolve all anxiety.”
“You have good improvisational skills. You should be an evangelist.”
“Nah, I’m just here to be your friend. I’m a huge fan of your work and was really impressed
with What Dreams May Come. It had a real cool vibe, and I appreciated its depth. Did you enjoy
doing it?”
“Yes. It made me start to see the world in a different way.”
“Well, this is the next step, my friend. I have the feeling that making that movie made you
thirsty for more.” I then showed him five books: Beyond Birth and Death, The Higher Taste, A
Second Chance, the Bhagavad-gétä, and Your Ever Well-Wisher. He was fascinated by the pictures
and wanted to know how much the books were.
“Whatever you think they’re worth,” I said. “I personally don’t put a price tag on transcendence,
so I don’t know. Just go with what your heart tells you.”
Apparently he liked my answer, because he then said, “I appreciate your honesty. You have a
261
real genuine quality about you, so I’ll take what you’ve got.”
I handed him the five books and he gave me a fifty dollar bill. I thanked him for his interest
and he said, “Thank you. Hopefully, this will get me some good karma. Say a couple of mantras
for me, okay?”
As he shook my hand I said to him, “That’s what my life is about, so I’ll say some for you too.”
End Chapter Twelve: Positive Preaching
262
Chapter Thirteen
Reflections and Realizations
In the beginning of our Society, devotees didn’t know of the importance of book distribution.
They had no idea what it was about. Then gradually Çréla Prabhupäda planted within the hearts
of his disciples the desire to disseminate transcendental knowledge to the people. It wasn’t long
before the devotees took book distribution to heart, and thus millions of pieces of literature
were distributed throughout the world. Now decades later, many of those devotees are still
distributing books. This chapter contains their realizations, along with the realizations of the
second- and even third-generation book distributors.
* * *
Çréla Prabhupäda Letter
I am very glad to hear how the book distribution is increasing more and more. This is our
greatest weapon. The more the books are distributed, the more the ignorance of the Age of Kali
will be smashed. The world is feeling the weight of this Hare Krishna Movement, especially in
your country [USA]. We have to increase this book distribution work more and more to firmly
establish this Movement, which is the only hope for the suffering living entities. [Letter to
Balavanta, 23 November 1976]
Çréla Prabhupäda-lélämåta (excerpt)
Prabhupäda, Haàsadüta, and Giriräja visited the king of Indore and invited him to become a
life member, but the king declined. The devotees were disappointed, and in the car on the way
back to Gétä Bhavan, Haàsadüta asked Prabhupäda, “Did I say the right thing about the
books?”
“My books are like gold,” Prabhupäda replied. “It doesn’t matter what you say about them.
One who knows the value, he will purchase.”
* * *
His Holiness Bhakti Chäru Swami
We should try our best to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. However, just to distribute a
book to someone is not enough. The person also needs to be inspired to read it, and for this it is
very important that our personal dealings and behavior be exemplary. People have to respect us
in order to respect our philosophy. It is most important to remember that while we are preaching
we must be sincere so that people realize we care about them. People are not stupid. They
understand what is what. If we are more interested in their money than their souls, our
263
objectives will not be accomplished. That is why our preaching should be positive. We want to
distribute as many books as we possibly can, but we should not do this just for the sake of money
or numbers. We should distribute the books with the understanding that it is preaching.
* * *
His Holiness Bhakti Vikäsa Swami
We may sometimes hear that at one point Çréla Prabhupäda wanted that ISKCON stop
expanding and that we should, as he put it, “boil the milk”:
Now I want that we shall concentrate on making our devotees Krishna conscious and
ourselves becoming Krishna conscious, and not be so much concerned with expanding
ourselves widely but without any spiritual content. Just like boiling the milk, it becomes
thicker and sweeter. Now do like that, boil the milk. [Letter to Rüpänuga, 9 May 1972]
There are courses through which devotees learn çästra, at the MIHE or VIHE, etc. These are
very Kåñëa conscious programs. And one who is feeling blissful studying the çästra in one of
these programs may think, “Okay, this çästra study is the most important activity at this time,
whereas book distribution is not relevant anymore. It was there to start the movement up, and
that is maybe why Çréla Prabhupäda stressed it at that particular time.”
But the fact is that there are many, many quotes by Çréla Prabhupäda after 1972 where he
expresses his great pleasure in hearing the results of book distribution, which is indeed an
activity of expansion. For example, in 1974 Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Regarding book sales
figures, please endeavor in this way. This is the only solace of my life. When I hear that my
books are selling so nicely, I become energetic like a young man.”
In 1977, when Çréla Prabhupäda was about to leave this world, as he lay on his departure bed
he would ask Tamäl Krishna Mahäräja to read the monthly international book distribution
newsletter. Not only would he ask him to read the general scores, but he would ask him to read
every name of every devotee, along with the number of books that each devotee sold—small,
medium, large, and mahä-big. He wanted to hear the entire list. Not just the top ten distributors,
but the entire list. Tamäl Krishna took a long time to do this, and Çréla Prabhupäda was
relishing. So nobody can say that book distribution was only for the beginning and that later it
did not remain relevant. Çréla Prabhupäda consistently showed, from the very beginning to the
very end, that book distribution pleased him very much.
Çréla Prabhupäda told us time and time again, “Please distribute books,” “By distributing
books you are giving me so much pleasure,” “By distributing books we will change society.”
These instructions were relevant in the past, they are relevant today, and they will be relevant in
the future. One very interesting quote from Çréla Prabhupäda in this regard is as follows. In
November 1975 he wrote to Bhakti Tértha Mahäräja: “Everyone will want our books. We will
always have customers. This is Caitanya Mahäprabhu's mercy.” If we reflect on this instruction,
we will realize that the real mercy of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu is that there will always be
people to buy Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. We will never run out of customers. Kåñëa Himself, the
Supreme Lord, will somehow or other personally arrange for people to always be interested in
264
Chapter 13: Reflections and Realizations
Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.

Another very nice letter in this connection is as follows:
Therefore this rumor that within a few years there will be police repression and people
will have no more money to buy books and sankirtana will stop is completely bogus.
Whoever told you that is a rascal, saying it in my name. I never said that. Rather
sankirtana movement will expand, continuing so long as we are sincere. When I came in
the beginning I began to expand it and it is now going on and there is no question of it
stopping. Therefore go on with your lifetime plans making secure in distributing of books.
There is no cessation. This movement is eternal. [Letter to Govinda Dasa, 8 May 1974]
There will always be customers. Even if people do not want the books, the Paramätmä will
inspire them. One time in America, at a book table, an old man approached the book distributor
and asked him, “Do you have the Bhagavad-gétä?”
“Yes, sir,” the devotee replied.
“Let me see it.” He took the book in his hand, turned it around, saw Çréla Prabhupäda’s
picture, and said, “Yes, I’ll buy this one.”
“Why, sir?” the devotee asked.
Pointing to Çréla Prabhupäda’s picture, the man replied, “This man has been coming to me in
dreams for years and telling me, ‘Buy my Bhagavad-gétä, buy my Bhagavad-gétä.’ When I saw
you dressed in the same color as him, I thought that maybe you would have his Bhagavad-gétä.
Now I’ve found it.”
So this may be an extreme example, but it helps prove that there will always be customers for
Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. The Paramätmä is in charge. When He decides a certain soul needs a
book, He will make all sorts of arrangements for that to happen.
_______________________________________
Is distributing Çréla Prabhupäda’s books just a leftover from the past? Is it relevant in
ISKCON today? For the answer, look to Çréla Prabhupäda’s words and look all around. Çréla
Prabhupäda was very clear that he wanted distribution of his books to continue.
“So please, I beg you, continue distributing my books in this way and Kåñëa will pour His
blessings upon you all.”
Çréla Prabhupäda begged us to distribute his books. And why? Look all around you.
Everyone is full of intense suffering. Sinful life is so normal, so gross, that the world is in a
horrible situation. Really, the only hope is Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
How can we understand that? Just open the books and read them to experience their
transcendental power, which cuts through illusion and reaches through multiple layers of
ignorance to reach the soul.
Çréla Prabhupäda said:
There is no comparison. There is no literature throughout the universe like Çrémad-

Bhägavatam. There is no comparison. There is no competition. Every word is for the
good of the human society. Every word, each and every word. Therefore we stress so
much in the book distribution. Somehow or other, if the book goes in one’s hand, he will
265
be benefited. At least he will see, “Oh, they have taken so much price. Let me see what is
there.” If he reads one çloka, his life will be success. If he reads one çloka, one word. This
is such nice thing. Therefore we are stressing so much, “Please distribute book, distribute
book, distribute book.” A greater mådaìga. We are chanting, playing our mådaìga. It is
heard within this room or little more. But this mådaìga will go home to home, country to
country, community to community, this mådaìga.
It’s really up to Çréla Prabhupäda’s dedicated followers to “do the needful.” Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books are the only hope for afflicted humanity. Somehow we have to bring this
transcendental nectar-relief.
So don’t moan, don’t groan, just pick up your beadbags, pick up your bookbags, chant Hare
Kåñëa and get out there, praying for the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Çréla Prabhupäda to
become an instrument in distributing Their mercy everywhere, to everyone all over the world,
without discrimination.
_______________________________________
Mäyä always gives us some excuse not to go out and distribute books. In summer it’s too hot,
in winter too cold, in the monsoon season too wet. In the meantime people are going to hell.
I was recently told that some devotees in Croatia say it is better to distribute books other
than Çréla Prabhupäda’s because people cannot understand the latter.
My response: This is faithlessness, i.e., atheism. Çréla Prabhupäda’s books are nondifferent
from Kåñëa. Çréla Prabhupäda’s books are full of transcendental potency, by which Kåñëa reveals
Himself to persons who read them. There is abundant evidence of this worldwide every day.
Don’t expect any mercy from Çréla Prabhupäda or Kåñëa if under some pretext you make
propaganda to stop distributing Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
_______________________________________
Three principles for success: Everything everywhere is performed in terms of three

principles: jïäna, bala, and kriyä—knowledge, strength, and activity. In every field, all three of
these must be present for an endeavor to succeed. Therefore, if one wants success in anything,
one must be backed by these three principles.
_______________________________________
Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura used to say, “If you have life, you can preach.”
What does that mean? “Life” means if you have conviction in Kåñëa consciousness. Preaching is
not a stereotyped thing. You can’t preach in a formal way. Preaching happens when one’s heart
is full of Kåñëa consciousness and it bubbles over. Someone who is hearing about Kåñëa and
thinking about Kåñëa—then naturally he not only wants to share his Kåñëa consciousness with
others but he must do so. He cannot but preach. Someone who is in Kåñëa consciousness cannot
but chant Hare Kåñëa—he can’t stop chanting Hare Kåñëa. One kind of chanting is doing it
266
formally: “Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa. I have to chant my rounds. Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare. When
is it gonna be finished?” Another kind of chanting is not coming from the tongue or lips but from
the heart—automatically “Hare Kåñëa.” When one has got the life of Kåñëa consciousness, when
one is feeling the bliss of Kåñëa consciousness, then he must preach; you can’t stop him from
preaching. So that begins with sädhana, faith, conviction—all these things will give us strength
and infuse us with the feeling that we must preach Kåñëa consciousness.
_______________________________________
Summer, 1986. I was alone, a tiny soul in orange on the grimy streets of central London.
“What,” I suddenly thought, “if I had to come here by myself? What if there were no temple, no
devotees, and no worldwide movement? What if I were the only one who knew about Kåñëa and
I had to preach single-handedly? Could I do anything?” I pondered the possibility for a second
before being slammed with reality: “No!” I continued to walk the cold uncaring streets, my heart
marveling in new-found appreciation of Çréla Prabhupäda.
_______________________________________
In some of his earliest days in New York, before he had any movement, Çréla Prabhupäda
produced some flyers on which was printed the mahä-mantra—Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa
Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare. A young man named
Robert Nelson, who was helping Çréla Prabhupäda, recalled how Prabhupäda handed him one of
these flyers: “When Swamiji handed me this flyer, he had a smile on his face as if he were
handing me the whole world.” Robert didn’t realize that Çréla Prabhupäda was giving him
something far more valuable than the whole world, something beyond the world. He was giving
him Kåñëa in the form of the Holy Names.
Çréla Prabhupäda went on to write so many books. The message in those books is to chant
Hare Kåñëa. Whenever a book is distributed, the recipient is given more than the whole world:
he is given the information by which he can get out of this world. Even if you had the whole
world, it would just be another big entanglement. But the knowledge in Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books can take us beyond this material world.
What happens on book distribution is extremely profound. People’s lives today are not
profound; they are extremely shallow. The whole ethos of modern life is extremely shallow.
People watch TV, go to the movies, drink, have girlfriends and boyfriends—very shallow.
Society based on sense gratification is very shallow. There is no deep thinking. Even if there is
so-called thinking, it is just intellectual life based on sense gratification. We can see the result:
people become sophisticated cats and dogs. But those who receive Çréla Prabhupäda’s books get
the profound knowledge by which they can transcend birth and death and return to Kåñëa.
_______________________________________
267
Devotees themselves must always remain aware of the profundity—the depth—of Kåñëa
Consciousness. And naturally if devotees are aware of how wonderful Kåñëa consciousness is,
how meaningful it is, how there is actually nothing in this material world that has any meaning—
how everything is anartha, meaningless, and that the real artha, the only meaning of life, is to
understand Kåñëa—if devotees understand this, they will be very eager to distribute Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books. These books give people a chance to understand Kåñëa. Otherwise they
have no such opportunity. They won’t get knowledge of Kåñëa from their parents, from the
educational system, from the TV, from the people they associate with. But these books give
people the opportunity, for maybe the only time in their lives, to make their lives meaningful.
Devotees should always be aware of this when they are distributing books. It is not that we
are salesmen. Even the result is not very important. Of course, we want the devotees to
distribute many books, but the real success is not a matter of book scores. It is a matter of
desiring that everyone we meet take a book, knowing that only this and nothing else in their life
is of any value. Their whole life is a complete zero. If they take a book, then only can they
properly utilize their human form of life, get free from birth and death, and come to Kåñëa.
Generally, we can’t directly say to people, “I know what’s right, and your life is completely
wrong.”
If they feel we are taking a superior position, they won’t feel like taking a book. Especially
people in the Western countries are strongly repelled by proselytizing. They say, “You’re trying
to convert me! I have my own religion!” We’re actually trying to convert people from material
life to spiritual life, but they’re in mäyä so we can’t tell them that.
Because modern life is based on gross sense gratification, people lead very shallow lives. Still,
some can appreciate that devotees are profound, that being offered one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books is not something ordinary. Naturally, devotees should communicate that this is something
very deep, very real, very meaningful. The devotees and the books that the devotees are offering
are not of this world. They are not part of the way of life that people are used to, in which the
dealings are very superficial, in which one person deals with another simply for the sake of sense
gratification. But devotees are different from everyone else because they are not offering
anything for their sense gratification. Devotees actually have nothing to get from the person they
approach, because we’re not taking the person’s money for our sense gratification but for
devotional service. People can feel this. Otherwise, why should they take these books? As soon
as they open the book, they understand, “This is not something for my sense gratification.”
They can understand that these books are something different and better than every other
book they’ve read. They can understand this from the devotee offering the book to them. The
devotee himself is very profound; he is not like any other person they’ve ever met. Of course, we
cannot preach the entire Bhagavad-gétä to everyone we meet, but just by the devotee’s
demeanor—even though he’s speaking what would seem to be ordinary words—“Hi, how are
you? Where are you coming from?”—still, there is something in the devotee that touches the
person and makes him think, “This is something very special.”
The devotee himself must be feeling this. Otherwise, how can he go on distributing books day
after day? It is because we have faith in these books, a faith which makes us think, “People need
these books.” We’re convinced that these books are changing people’s lives. With this faith and
conviction that people require these books, with such compassion based on knowledge, we can
go on and will go on and must go on distributing these books more and more and more.
268
* * *
His Holiness Bér Krishna Goswami
While I was in Mäyäpur in 1975, a leading Venezuelan book distributor came. I wanted to
introduce him to Çréla Prabhupäda, so I took him up to Prabhupäda’s darçana room. Several
devotees were showing him pictures of temples that had recently opened. Prabhupäda was
politely acknowledging the reports, graciously looking at the pictures. When I had the
opportunity, I said, “Çréla Prabhupäda, this devotee has distributed ten thousand copies of your
Bhagavad-gétä in Venezuela.”
Prabhupäda’s eyes opened wide. “Really?” he said, looking at the devotee. Prabhupäda then
pointed at the devotee and said, “He has the mercy of Kåñëa!”
The other devotees were a little taken aback that Prabhupäda was more pleased by this
report than theirs. Prabhupäda could sense their discouragement and said to them, “You also
have the mercy of Kåñëa. In Våndävana there are the cowherd boys, Kåñëa’s mother and father,
and the gopés, and all of them are dear to Kåñëa, but of all the devotees the gopés are special.
Similarly, in our Society there are so many types of service a devotee can do, but the book
distributors are special.”
* * *
Distributing Çréla Prabhupäda’s books is the most effective means for spreading Kåñëa
consciousness. No one can deny that. We have the chance to personally intervene in people’s
lives and start them on the path to relief from all their suffering—just by getting them to take a
book. Reducing people’s suffering by giving them Kåñëa consciousness is an eternal
compassionate act of Lord Caitanya’s. In Australia Prabhupäda once said that if a person just
takes a book in his or her hand and simply appreciates it—“Oh, this is a nice book”—and they
don’t even buy it, that appreciation is enough to give them a human form of life in their next
birth. I couldn’t believe it! I played the tape over and over again, saying, “What!?” This is an
extraordinary point to remember. You are not just selling books; you are completely intervening
in someone’s chain of repeated births and death. You are totally being an instrument in
adjusting their karma and changing the whole future of their life.
_______________________________________
Based on book distribution, we can do so many other things. The core of book distribution
has to be there, and then we’ll see how Kåñëa unfolds everything else. Where there is organized
yajïa as the äcäryas desired, there is Kåñëa. We are fortunate to take part of this organized yajïa
and in this way make spiritual advancement. A little sacrifice is required, that’s all. A little
sacrifice to be part of the great sacrifice. By doing the yajïa, we please Kåñëa. The saìkértana
devotees are trying to please Kåñëa’s senses; this should be their thought during the day. They
are making a sacrifice to directly give pleasure to the Supreme Lord as His dear devotee Çréla
269
Prabhupäda instructed. That’s what it means to be a devotee. If one is in engaged in this way,
going out on saìkértana, surely Kåñëa will reciprocate.
Even if this service is done mechanically, there is benefit. I know that sometimes devotees
say, “You know, they just mechanically distribute the books; they just give the books out.” But
the fact is that even if it is done mechanically there is great benefit. Now, how great is that? Not
that one should think, “Oh, they are doing it mechanically; therefore we should stop.” No. If you
are doing it mechanically, very good, but we hope that you will go deeper and deeper. But not
that “You are doing it mechanically, so stop the service!” If that is all you are able to do, that’s
all right. For example, if you just chant your rounds mechanically, do we tell you to stop? Do we
say, “You are chanting mechanically; stop your rounds!” Do we say that? No. We say, “Go on
chanting, and gradually, by your attempt to chant, you will become more and more devotional.”
It’s the same thing with book distribution. If you are doing it mechanically, it is very good
that you are trying to do something. Now go on, and gradually, by hearing and doing the service,
you will get into deeper levels of book distribution.
So we glorify all levels of the service, even the mechanical level. But at the same time, of
course, we are always urging the devotees: “Go deeper, go deeper.” Unless you hear, you won’t
get that inspiration to go deeper. The serious distributors of Lord Caitanya’s mercy are always
eager to hear because they want insights into how to go deeper and deeper into the saìkértana
ocean. So this is our heritage. This is what Çréla Prabhupäda has given us. This is our family
business. And we do it because Çréla Prabhupäda wanted it. When people get a book, you don’t
know what the result is going to be. They are getting Kåñëa in their hand, and how Kåñëa will act
is a mystery—you will not be able to see it all immediately. So it requires some love and
dedication—“Even though I can’t see the complete result of this activity, I am doing it to please
Kåñëa.”
_______________________________________
One should pray to the Deities, beg them for the sincerity needed to distribute this
information. Kåñëa will reciprocate with such a devotee. It is not that waves of devotees go on
saìkértana and get no realization. But one has to know how to ask for the realization. One has to
know how to beg for it. Beg Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityänanda: “This is the most confidential
activity I can be doing, yet sometimes I don’t see it like that, so please raise my vision and
perceptions.” Then, if one is fortunate and begs sincerely, Kåñëa will give one a glimpse of what
is really happening, just a glimpse into the ocean of saìkértana, and throughout one’s life it won’t
be forgotten.
For two years in the early 70’s I did saìkértana seven days a week in New York, and I
couldn’t do anything. I would do a few books here and a few books there, very small. They used
to call me “the hard-luck kid.” I was even a party leader. I was trying hard, but I just couldn’t get
any results. Then one marathon, at the start, I prayed to the Deities because for two years I had
not been able to do any big books. That was the supreme goal back then—to be able to do a
Bhägavatam volume or a Gétä—and I was just doing small books, paperback Kåñëa book
trilogies. So I prayed to the Deities: “Please. It’s two years now. I’m begging you, just give me a
chance.”
I’ll never forget it.
270
I went out to a shopping-center parking lot and said, “OK, I’m just going to do like the big
guys do, the airport distributors—Tripuräri, Svaväsa, all the others. As soon as I drive into the
parking lot, I’m just going to open the trunk of the car and pull out the big books, and whoever is
right near, I’m going to approach them, without even loading up my book bag. So I did that: the
first person took hardcover book, and so did the second person and the third person. By the time
an hour or two had passed, I had done fifteen hardcover books. I was just trembling in ecstasy
because I knew this wasn’t me!! After two years, seven days a week, doing nothing, there was no
way I was going to think I was the doer. I never forgot this realization all my life.
I remember Bhågupati and another devotee coming up to me and asking “What’s going on?
What’s come over you? What’s happened?” because here you have somebody who was just
doing a few little magazines and small books a day for two years, and all of a sudden I
distributed so many hardcover books. When I got back to the temple the saìkértana leader—
Romapäda Prabhu, he was a brahmacäré then—he was astonished: “What’s going on?!”
I said, “I prayed for the mercy and He gave it.”
This can happen to anyone. You should not think that you’re totally bound by your
circumstances and it will always be the same thing. Make some kind of endeavor to go to a
higher level for Kåñëa. Beg for His help in your service. This is the meaning of bhakti-yoga: to
engage our senses to satisfy the master of the senses. And the master of the senses says, “No one
is more dear to Me—nor will there ever be one more dear to Me—than one who distributes My
glories.” So we have to take it from the top; we take it from Kåñëa.
_______________________________________
Most devotees who have put aside book distribution will admit, “The best years of my life
were when I was distributing books.” Why? Because they were fully absorbed in distributing
Lord Caitanya’s glories with austerity. It’s important to understand that Kåñëa consciousness
involves austerity. There is just no way around it. You can package it this way or that way, but
sooner or later you have to accept that to advance in bhakti you have to voluntarily accept
inconvenience for Kåñëa’s pleasure, and then the Lord reciprocates with you.
This is something every sincere devotee knows: “Oh, now Kåñëa is reciprocating with me.” If
you distribute books, you definitely feel, “Yes! I am involved in the mainstream of Kåñëa
consciousness.” The mainstream of Kåñëa consciousness is not what people make it out to be; it
is what Lord Caitanya and His representatives make it out to be. This is a very essential point if
you are going to survive in book distribution. The mainstream of Kåñëa consciousness is what
the äcäryas make it out to be, not what the people in general make it out to be. If you try to
define your Kåñëa consciousness according to what people in general think, you’re not going to
go back to Godhead. Therefore we look at what the äcäryas say; we take our precepts there; we
look at Prabhupäda’s example; we look at what Prabhupäda asked us to do.
Everyone knows how Prabhupäda came to America with just a little bit of money in his
pocket but with two hundred of his three-volume Bhägavatam sets. He said, “I wasn’t worried
because I had those two hundred sets with me.” So he set the example. We also should not worry
and should just go on distributing the mercy of Lord Caitanya in the form of these
transcendental literatures.
271
* * *
His Holiness Giriräja Swami
Conditioned souls in the material world are faced with two questions: How do we live while
we are here in this world? What do we do after we leave the present body?
The Bhagavad-gétä (3.10) explains:
saha-yajïäù prajäù såñövä puroväca prajäpatiù

anena prasaviñyadhvam eña vo ’stv iñöa-käma-dhuk
“In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and
demigods, along with sacrifices for Viñëu, and blessed them by saying, ‘Be thou happy by this
yajïa [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living
happily and achieving liberation.’”
The material world is like a prison house in which the conditioned souls are bound by the
repetition of birth and death. The goal of human life is to become free from this repetition of
birth and death and go back home, back to Godhead. In order to help the conditioned souls, the
Lord has provided for the performance of sacrifice. Actually, to become elevated one must
perform sacrifice.
The Vedic literatures explain that there are four different yugas, or ages, that repeat in cycles
like the four seasons, and different types of sacrifice, or different methods of worship, are
recommended in each age. The first is Satya-yuga, in which meditation is recommended. The
next is Tretä-yuga, in which Vedic yajïas are recommended. Then the next is Dväpara-yuga, in
which temple worship is recommended. And in the present age, Kali-yuga, the recommended
method is saìkértana-yajïa.
kåñëa-varëaà tviñäkåñëaà säìgopäìgästra-pärñadam

yajïaiù saìkértana-präyair yajanti hi su-medhasaù
“In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform the saìkértana-yajïa to worship the incarnation
of Godhead who constantly sings the name of Kåñëa. Although His complexion is not blackish,
He is Kåñëa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential
companions.” (Çrémad-Bhägavatam 11.5.32) This verse refers to Çré Kåñëa Caitanya, the
incarnation of Kåñëa for Kali-yuga.
What is saìkértana? Kértana means to glorify the Lord. In the Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé explains that within the category of kértana, which is one of the nine primary
processes of devotional service, there are different subdivisions. There is the glorification of
Kåñëa’s name, which is näma-saìkértana; the glorification of Kåñëa’s form, rüpa-kértana; the
glorification of Kåñëa’s qualities, guëa-kértana; and the glorification of Kåñëa’s pastimes, lélä-
kértana. They all come under the category of kértana. And the prefix san means complete. So
saìkértana means “complete glorification,” or glorification of every aspect of Kåñëa: His names,
His forms, His qualities, His pastimes, and so on. Complete kértana, saìkértana, also means that
everyone should participate—not just me or you or him or her alone—but that we should all
272
come together to glorify Kåñëa. That makes the glorification more complete, and so it is called
saìkértana.
We also use the term saìkértana to refer to the distribution of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, the
distribution of transcendental literature. Çréla Prabhupäda’s books contain complete
explanations of Kåñëa—His name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, and everything else
about Him. So book distribution is complete glorification of Lord Kåñëa. Çréla Prabhupäda is
speaking about Kåñëa and Kåñëa consciousness, which is kértanam, and those who read his books
are hearing or reading, which is çravaëam. The two go together: çravaëam kértanam.
We must consider all those people out there who are not coming to the temple. How will
they hear the glories of Kåñëa? Thus we go on book distribution, saìkértana. That makes the
participation in the kértana more complete, because people who don’t even know about bhakti-
yoga, who don’t even know about the Bhagavad-gétä, who don’t even know about Lord Kåñëa,
can take part in the glorification of Kåñëa by accepting a book, giving a contribution, and reading
the book. Reading is also hearing: çravaëam. Çravaëam kértanam.
Saìkértana is most important for all of us. Why? What will be the result if we participate in
the saìkértana-yajïa? The first benefit is that we will live happily in the world. Everyone wants
to live happily in the world, but they don’t know how. Here the Bhagavad-gétä explains how—by
yajïa—which in Kali-yuga means saìkértana-yajïa.
According to Bhagavad-gétä 3.10, such yajïa will make us prosperous and happy, and on top
of all that it will grant us liberation. As long as we are in a physical body, as long as we are in the
material world, we have to suffer repeated birth and death. “As sure as death.” And if we live
long enough, old age. Thus the Bhagavad-gétä advises, janma-måtyu-jarä-vyädhi-duùkha-
doñänudarçanam. We should be conscious of these four miseries: birth, death, old age, and
disease. Everyone suffers from these miseries. By performance of saìkértana-yajïa we can
escape them—forever.
As with other types of saìkértana, the distribution of transcendental literature is also joyful.
It pleases Viñëu, Kåñëa, and when Kåñëa is pleased, we naturally feel joyful. So we should
distribute more books, hear about Kåñëa more, speak about Kåñëa more, and chant more. In
other words, we should increase our service to Kåñëa. In this way we can enjoy life here and in
the end go back home, back to Godhead.
So we should engage in saìkértana-yajïa. It is the all-auspicious welfare work for the world—
the best thing to do for ourselves, our families, our friends, the community, the nation, and the
planet. It is the best way to please Viñëu, Kåñëa, and to attain liberation and go back home, back
to Godhead.
* * *
His Holiness Hridayänanda Däsa Goswami
Our understanding of the books and our understanding of the importance of the books is
inseparable from our understanding of Çréla Prabhupäda. We are convinced, for good reasons,
that Prabhupäda is truly present in his books. Therefore the importance of the books is closely
related to the importance of Çréla Prabhupäda.
We can make some general observations about how the role of book distribution or
literature distribution has historically changed societies. Before the American Revolutionary
War there was wide distribution of revolutionary pamphlets. And the distribution of these
273
pamphlets was considered one of the most important forces in bringing people to a particular
consciousness in which they were willing to risk their lives and take strong action to achieve a
certain goal. We certainly find the same thing before the American Civil War, with the
antislavery movement. There was literature distribution—not necessarily by people with shaved
heads, but there was literature distribution. And it actually had a very powerful effect in bringing
about a certain state of consciousness that led to the Civil War. Another example is the
Communist movement, which was very much a literary movement in a sense. A lot of the spread
of Communism was based on distribution of literature.
Çréla Prabhupäda knew this. In other words, Çréla Prabhupäda knew that his books have the
special potency to change people’s consciousness radically. The general principle is that the
distribution of literature is a fundamental component of any attempt to bring about significant
change in a society or in the whole world. And the fact that widespread distribution of literature
is an important component of all significant social events and movements was something
Prabhupäda was aware of. The proof he was aware of this is that he often compared what he was
doing to some of these earlier movements, but of course with the understanding that his books
will actually bring about the real good for the world. So Prabhupäda knew these things about the
effect of literature distribution. In fact, not only is literature fundamental for effecting change
but also for maintaining what you have.
So if we look at civilizations that actually flourished, that are successful historically, we will
find there is some powerful document or book on which the civilization is based, not only for
maintaining the culture and the civilization but for expanding it, for effecting change in the
world. For example, this whole experiment of American democracy, which is still an experiment,
is based on documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Prabhupäda knew all these things. In addition to being a pure devotee from the spiritual
world, he was a learned gentleman. He certainly knew all these things and talked about these
things very openly—that distributing literature is a well-known proven strategy for bringing
about significant change in the world.
_______________________________________
We have our spiritual understanding that Çréla Prabhupäda’s books are nondifferent from
him and therefore also nondifferent from Kåñëa. One may say that this is a very mystical thing,
but it is not. Even with mundane authors, such as Karl Marx, for example, it’s commonly
accepted that he put his most important ideas in his books. Whatever he was about, whatever he
thought he understood, he put into those books. So in the same way Çréla Prabhupäda said, “I
have put everything into my books.” It is not that Prabhupäda had some other ideas he was
hiding from us. For example, Prabhupäda never said, “I have much more to teach, but you
cannot bear to hear it.” Rather, Prabhupäda said the opposite: “I have put everything into my
books.”
So even in an ordinary sense people in general think they are communing with or having
some type of intimate association with another person by reading that person’s book. So what to
speak of the case of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, in which he explicitly and openly tells us the very
best things that can be known, namely knowledge of Kåñëa. And then of course there is the fact
that on the spiritual platform everything is absolute, meaning that Kåñëa is not different from
274
His name and fame, and certainly in Prabhupäda’s books we will find nothing but the name and
fame of Kåñëa. So to say that Prabhupäda is present in his books is to say that Kåñëa is present
there.
How does that come about? What does it mean to say that because Kåñëa is not different
from His name and fame, He is present in Çréla Prabhupäda’s books? In a similar vein,
Prabhupäda taught us that in the Bhagavad-gétä when Kåñëa says “I am the taste in water,” for
example, we should try to understand how Kåñëa is the taste in water, and we should also try to
understand how Kåñëa is nondifferent from His name, fame, entourage, abode, paraphernalia,
and so on. So what does that mean— “nondifferent”? Kåñëa is everywhere, but we have to know
how to experience that. For example, there is electricity in buildings, but if you want to plug in
an appliance, you have to have the proper connection. Even though there are electrical wires
and there is in fact electricity available within the building, unless you have the proper
connection you can’t access the electricity. If you have an appliance with a European plug, for
instance, and you try to plug it in in the USA, it’s not going to work.
So Kåñëa is everywhere, but unless we have the proper connection we cannot access Kåñëa.
And of course that word “connection” in Sanskrit is yoga. So wherever Kåñëa’s name and fame
are present, wherever people are chanting Kåñëa’s name and fame, such as Çréla Prabhupäda’s
chanting of Kåñëa’s name and fame in his books, in that situation Kåñëa actually becomes
accessed. That’s the connection—you actually gain access to Kåñëa. This connection is not based
on some mechanical technique but is based ultimately on Kåñëa’s will. Kåñëa has chosen to make
Himself present wherever His names and glories are being sincerely chanted. And so we can
speak philosophically about how it happens, but ultimately it happens because Kåñëa has
decided that it would happen in that way.
Çréla Prabhupäda would give the example that if someone is speaking about you, your ears
perk up. If you walk into a room and people are talking about you, you really want to know what
they’re saying. So if you talk about Kåñëa, Kåñëa is there. If you distribute books about Him, He
is there. In the Padma Puräëa He says, nähaà tiñöhämi vaikuëöhe yoginäà hådayeñu vä/ yatra
gäyanti mad-bhaktäù tatra tiñöhämi närada: “I am not in Vaikuëöha or the hearts of the yogés, but
I am wherever My devotees are spreading My glories.”
As we distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, something most significant is taking place. These
books are in fact Kåñëa—when you distribute books you’re putting Kåñëa in people’s hands.
When Lord Caitanya was born, all the neighbors came, and many demigods also came, disguised
in many different ways, and they would all hold little baby Nimäi. This is a very advanced form
of devotional service—to hold the Lord in your hands—and yet this tremendously advanced
form of devotional service is available to everyone who receives one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books. We can actually give Kåñëa to people—they can actually hold Kåñëa in their hands. We
know that if someone peeks into the temple room and sees the Deity of Kåñëa, there is
tremendous benefit. In the same way, since Kåñëa is not different from books about Him, if
someone just takes a peek at one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, they are making great spiritual
advancement. Therefore Prabhupäda said, “If someone simply touches the book, they make
advancement.” Why? Because it is actually a glorious act of devotional service to hold Kåñëa in
your hand. If someone reads one word, that is glorious. Why? Because they have actually gotten
Kåñëa’s darçana. Even if someone just opens one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and reads the
word the, it is still Kåñëa because it is absolute. The book is a spiritual object—it is sacred.
Somehow Kåñëa has invested His potencies in all of this.
275
_______________________________________
One should be humble, but at the same time one should recognize the incredible
opportunities Çréla Prabhupäda is offering us to represent him in a very significant way. It
reminds me of a phrase from the Bible inscribed on the philosophy building, Emerson Hall, at
Harvard University. I’m sure it’s a tremendous embarrassment to the current occupants of that
building, who are often atheistic with a vengeance. The inscription is a question addressed to
God: “What is man that Thou art mindful of him?” In other words, who are we that someone as
great as God even bothers to think about us? So just like a proud father and a proud mother see
so many great qualities in their children, Prabhupäda was in every sense a loving father who saw
so much good in his disciples and encouraged them and exalted them and praised them and
pushed them forward and inspired them to do more than they could ever imagine they could do.
We cannot become a tired old corporation that is much more concerned about the dangers of
someone doing something wrong than with seizing the opportunity to do something right. So we
have to move forward.
One way we manifest humility is by letting Kåñëa do through us what He wants to do through
us. In other words, Kåñëa wants to spread this movement. Kåñëa wants to bless this planet. And
so to be humble is to let Kåñëa do His work through us. As Kåñëa told Arjuna, nimitta-mätraà
bhava savya-säcin: “O Savya-säcé, Arjuna, just be My instrument.” That’s true humility. True
humility doesn’t mean that I think, “Well, I can’t do anything, so I won’t do anything.” True
humility means that I offer myself as a willing instrument to God so that His will can manifest
through me. That’s real humility. And the will of Kåñëa is that the people of this world hear
about Him.
_______________________________________
There was a time when we had a consciousness within ISKCON that we as a society had a
sacred responsibility toward Çréla Prabhupäda to distribute his books. We didn’t think so much
that it is the duty of the brahmacärés or the brahmacäriëés. We felt that it is simply the duty of
our community; it was the duty of the movement to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Now
that was a happy situation back then because most of the members of ISKCON were very young.
So we were actually enthusiastic to get out there. Plus we were very, very convinced about Çréla
Prabhupäda.
Now we have the graying of ISKCON. ISKCON has become older in the sense that the
average age is much older than it was before. And there is a natural tendency in societies all over
the world that young people study and also do service for their teachers. As they get older, they
develop their own families—they become concerned with money and taking care of their family
and so on. And in older age, they again become religious. So as ISKCON has gotten older, we
have seen that the sense of feeling responsible for distributing books is not so much there. What
ISKCON needs is to recapture the sense or the conviction that it is the duty of the society to
distribute books.
Obviously, ISKCON is a diverse society: there are all kinds of devotees, and there are all
kinds of functions that need to be done. And ISKCON will only become more and more diverse
276
as time goes on. But alongside that diversity, which is actually a strength of ISKCON and not a
weakness, there must be a feeling of responsibility within ISKCON as a society, both among
temple devotees and congregational members, to distribute the knowledge Çréla Prabhupäda
gave us in his books.
Long ago we had a movement, but it wasn’t exactly a society in the sense of being mature or
having different social structures and so on. It was a movement but not yet a mature society. But
now we cannot simply become a society but not a movement. A movement means you are
moving. And the movement Prabhupäda wanted was preaching, and the most important
preaching was book distribution.
We should think about how ISKCON as a society can be mobilized in such a way that all of
us feel a personal sense of responsibility that book distribution flourish and increase. If everyone
does at least something, the result will be huge. Somehow or other all of that diversity in our
society should be mobilized so that whether someone is a graphic artist or a truck driver or a
dentist or a philosophy professor, whether one cuts potatoes in the kitchen or personally goes
out and sells books—whatever one does, one shares that sense of responsibility for the well-
being of the distribution of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
* * *
His Holiness Jayädvaita Swami
I was doing some research about the days in America when Çréla Prabhupäda had begun his
preaching and was trying to publish his books. It was 1966, and some young men had come to
him and begun to take to Kåñëa consciousness. They had only the barest ideas of the philosophy.
But the Swami was wonderful, prasädam was great, and chanting got you higher than LSD. And
by hearing the transcendental sound of the Bhägavatam and the holy name, delivered in the line
of pure devotees, these new American followers were becoming purified. Çréla Prabhupäda, as
he had prayed to Kåñëa on the ship, was acting as Kåñëa’s servant, and now, through Çréla
Prabhupäda, Kåñëa was unfolding a strange and wonderful drama.
In a little storefront on the Lower East Side, in the midst of hippie dropout acidheads, in the
East Coast venue for America’s 1960s freak show and psychedelic zoo, Çréla Prabhupäda was
preaching Kåñëa’s message of pure devotional service—Jhärikhaëòa revisited! Creatures who’d
been living like animals were chanting Hare Kåñëa and dancing.
There was kértana, there were lectures, and there was prasädam, but where were the books?
He had the three-volume sets, reddish brown, of his original Bhägavatam. He had Easy Journey
to Other Planets, a small booklet with a pale-green cover, brought over with the Bhägavatams
from India. And with his usual persistence, determination, and faith in the words of his Guru,
Çréla Prabhupäda was working on more.
As his new followers turned on with the mahä-mantra and tuned in to Kåñëa consciousness,
Çréla Prabhupäda was writing Bhagavad-gétä As It Is. On a vintage typewriter placed atop a
yellow tin suitcase that served as a desk, Çréla Prabhupäda, in his apartment one flight up in the
back, typed with two fingers at night. During the day, whenever he wasn’t leading kértana, or
giving class, or cooking and serving prasädam with his own hands to his new recruits, or
preaching to them, or meeting new people, or writing letters, or honoring prasädam, or accepting
his astonishingly few hours of rest, he was dealing with yet another crisis in the one little
277
storefront that constituted his International Society.

And if anyone were to ask, in his closet lay a bundle of manuscripts wrapped in saffron cloth,
the next canto of the Bhägavatam.
Those were the days when $100 was nearly all ISKCON had. And Çréla Prabhupäda went up
to Long Island with Gargamuni and for $150 bought two old mimeograph machines. (Asking
price: $150 apiece.) Back to Godhead! Gargamuni became the first printer, a professor-turned-
seeker and a freelance writer for comic books became the first editors, and a hundred copies of
BTG, cranked out on the greasy old machines, joined The East Village Other and the acid-is-the-
answer underground papers in the East Village head shops.
Meanwhile, Çréla Prabhupäda kept typing, and one day Gargamuni, looking in a shop
window, saw a dictaphone. He didn’t know what it was, but it looked like something maybe the
Swami could use. Gargamuni bought it on the spot. He brought it back and presented it to Çréla
Prabhupäda and started to explain how to use it (the man in the shop had taken an hour or so to
explain all those buttons). But somehow Çréla Prabhupäda already knew. And now he began
writing his books by dictating.
But who could transcribe? No one. Brahmänanda tried. Hayagréva tried. Others tried. But
the work was tedious, Prabhupäda’s accent was hard to follow, everyone had other things to do.
And the work started piling up.
And then Neal showed up, a college student from Antioch on a work-study program, ready
to live with a religious group for some time and study it while doing some service.
“Can you type?” a devotee asked him.
“Sure.”
“We have all this dictation . . . ”
“Oh, I do that sort of thing at college.”
Bingo!
Prabhupäda wanted the Bhagavad-gétä published. Getting the book edited was another saga.
Çréla Prabhupäda wrote to Räyaräma, “Howard wants to do it but he has no time to finish it or
to type it. You are also engaged in various ways, and I do not know how to make it ready. Both
you and Howard want to edit it but nobody takes charge to finish the job quickly say within a
month.”
But meanwhile he had Brahmänanda looking for a publisher.
Allen Ginsberg’s publishers weren’t interested. Brahmänanda wrote to others, and, publisher
after publisher, they all turned him down.
And then one day a letter came from someone at the Macmillan Company, asking to buy
some books. Çréla Prabhupäda told Brahmänanda, “Deliver them personally. And tell him we
have a Bhagavad-gétä to publish.” Which is how Brahmänanda wound up in an office at
Macmillan, face to face with nobody, a mere clerk in the accounting department, a clerk who had
sent that letter only to buy books for himself.
And while Brahmänanda sat there, utterly frustrated, suddenly the chief editor walked in.
The chief editor!? Mr. Wade. Brahmänanda said, “We have a Bhagavad-gétä to publish.”
“A Bhagavad-gétä? We need a Bhagavad-gétä. Can you bring it tomorrow? We’ll publish it.”
Sight unseen!
Shortly thereafter, Çréla Prabhupäda had a stroke and went back to India. But, “Although I
am practically on the path of death, still I cannot forget about my publications.”
Soon Çréla Prabhupäda was back in America, and then Bhagavad-gétä As It Is was in print,
then Teachings of Lord Caitanya. And the story goes on from there, the story of Çréla
278
Prabhupäda’s determination and persistence, his vision, his steadfast faith in the words of his
spiritual master: “Print books.” It becomes the story of thousands of books sitting at Second
Avenue, no one able to sell them, and then the story of a few copies miraculously sold, and then
hundreds and thousands and millions. The story becomes a wealth of stories, stories of Çréla
Prabhupäda’s followers, books in hand, getting books out to people, tens of thousands of people,
millions of people, all over the world, the books working their wonder, bringing people to the
lotus feet of Kåñëa and His devotees.
In 1972 Çréla Prabhupäda wrote to me personally: “These books and magazines are our most
important propaganda weapons to defeat the ignorance of maya’s army, and the more we
produce such literature and sell them profusely all over the world, the more we shall deliver the
world from the suicide course.” Many remember such instructions from Çréla Prabhupäda, and,
along with his personal example, they inspire us always.
_______________________________________
[From a class given in New York City]
I was traveling with another devotee from New Jersey to New York City on a train when a
Muslim man sat down next to me. After awhile he turned to me and asked what my religion was.
That started a whole conversation about God and spiritual life, and he was very interested.
When I travel I always like to carry books with me for people like this. So I and the devotee
traveling with me were trying to find where we had put them. Finally we found a Perfection of
Yoga, and I gave it to him. He asked if he could give something for it and gave a very nice
donation. It was very enlivening to see someone of another faith so interested in what we have to
offer. . . .
Earlier in the year I was in South Africa. While there I asked a devotee how he had joined.
He told this story:
When I was very young my father visited France, and while waiting in the airport in Paris
for his plane back to our home in the Congo, he saw a Bhagavad-gétä As It Is on a table.
Someone had apparently left it there. It was there for a long time, so at last he picked it
up and started reading it. No one came looking for the book, so he took it with him on the
flight. He found it very interesting.
Later, whenever he was home he would often quote from the Bhagavad-gétä, saying
“Kåñëa says this” and “Kåñëa says that.” I began thinking, “Who is Kåñëa?”
When I grew up and was on a visit to South Africa, I met some devotees distributing
books, and they told me about Kåñëa. I put the two together and said, “My father knows
all about Kåñëa!” They invited me to the temple and I really liked it. Eventually I joined.
My father is also a devotee and chants sixteen rounds.
There is a saying in India: “There is a name on every grain of rice.” Similarly, there is a name on
every book that goes out, and only Kåñëa knows whose hand it is going to end up in, just as only
Kåñëa knows to whom every grain of rice will go.
279
* * *
His Holiness Jayapatäka Swami
We’ve heard so many saìkértana pastimes about how a book goes from one hand to the next
to the next to the next, and in various ways reaches a receptive reader. Çréla Prabhupäda knew
that if the books went out, sooner or later somebody would read them, and if anybody reads one
of his books, they will start to become awakened.
Book distribution is something every devotee should do. I won’t say at one point in their
spiritual life they should do it, but actually throughout our entire devotional lives we should
always remain book distributors. We should carry a few books with us every day so that
whenever we meet somebody interested in Kåñëa consciousness we can give them a book. To
explain Kåñëa consciousness in any depth takes a long time, but if somebody gets a book, it’s as
if you’re giving them (depending on which book) a hundred to a thousand hours of
Prabhupäda’s preaching!
We should distribute books to colleagues at work, to neighbors, to friends. If you keep a
book in your purse when you go to the grocery store, if you meet somebody who says, “Oh, are
you a Hare Kåñëa?” you can respond to their interest substantially. So always have a book ready
to give a curious person.
We calculate that we have about 500 thousand to a million active congregational members. If
every one of them would distribute a book a day, then that would be up to 365 million books in a
year. Right now (2016) we have distributed about 520 million books and magazines since Çréla
Prabhupäda founded ISKCON in 1966. Practically speaking, we could double it in less than two
year’s if everybody distributed a book a day.
There are so many opportunities where we have failed to present Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
We should take advantage of every opportunity and not let a single opportunity slip through our
fingers.
* * *
His Holiness Kavicandra Swami
When there is a large natural disaster—a hurricane, flood, earthquake, tsunami—thousands

of people respond to help the victims. So many work without sleep. I wish we could all feel such
urgency to distribute books. The greatest disaster is to forget Kåñëa. Çréla Prabhupäda must have
seen how everyone bereft of Kåñëa consciousness is suffering and in great need of help.
Therefore he was able to do so much to spread Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s mission. Everyone
is going to be kicked out of the their home (the body), and without Kåñëa consciousness their
destination will not be a pleasant one.
“When, oh when will that day be mine, when kindness to all beings will be appearing, with
free heart forget myself comforting, Bhaktivinoda in all humility prays, ‘Now I will set out to
preach Your order sublime.’ When, oh when will that day be mine?”
* * *
280
His Holiness Niraïjana Swami
One should glean the depth and wisdom that is contained within Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
When we devote our lives to studying them, we see how Çréla Prabhupäda has given everything
within his books. Certainly this gives us a greater inspiration to give them to others. When we
have something very valuable, and when we appreciate its value, we want very much for others
to experience it.
_______________________________________
There is an expression I often think of, namely “a necessity of life.” We often tend to think
that the meaning of “a necessity of life” is something that sustains life in the body, such as food,
water, shelter, or air. But life is eternal, i.e., it exists outside and beyond the body, and so we
need to ask ourselves, What is the real necessity of life? Çréla Prabhupäda would say that
preaching, especially book distribution, gave him life. He showed by his own example that this is
what sustained his life. It is what he was so much absorbed in. It was his mission to give us
transcendental wisdom in the form of Bhagavad-gétä, Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Caitanya-caritämåta,
and his other books. He wanted us to study these books ourselves, realize their contents, and
then go out and distribute them so that others could become similarly fortunate and appreciate
the great value of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. This is life.
If we ask ourselves what is the real necessity of our lives as devotees, we will see that it is
spreading the message of Kåñëa consciousness, especially through book distribution. We come to
life when we remember how dear Çréla Prabhupäda’s books were to him, when we see pictures of
his radiant smile when he would see a newly printed volume of his Çrémad-Bhägavatam, when
we see him smile from ear to ear when he would hear the stories of devotees going out to
distribute his books, and when he would hear the results.
The simple conclusion: Pleasing Çréla Prabhupäda is our “necessity of life,” and distributing
his books is the best way to do it.
His Holiness Rädhänätha Swami
Our life is centered around Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. By reading them, by distributing them,
by preaching from them, by living by them, we can attract the most intimate attention of Çré
Gauräìga Mahäprabhu, and our lives are perfect. So it is very pleasing to see how devotees have
made great endeavors in this book distribution program. It is pleasing because we know it is
what Prabhupäda wants, and we see how, when we make Prabhupäda’s desire our desire, we
become blissful. We become empowered, and the most congenial form of spiritual intimacy is
created among ourselves. So, whoever we may be, wherever we may be, we can all be a part of
this divine mission. This Kåñëa consciousness movement is designed so that we are all extending
ourselves for the sake of preaching, for the sake of helping others become better devotees, and if
we just work together in this way, so many wonderful things will be manifested through our
endeavors. This is Kåñëa’s promise, and this is the perfection of our lives.
Çréla Prabhupäda’s mission is an organic whole, and we must consider and regard every part
281
of that whole. Çréla Prabhupäda established temples. Çréla Prabhupäda established äçramas and
farm communities. He also personally taught the proper behavior of Vaiñëavas toward Kåñëa,
toward one another, and toward the people in general, and in this way he gave us a culture.
Prabhupäda’s books point the way to that culture. And we who live by those books and that
culture must provide a Kåñëa conscious spiritual environment in which devotees can live and feel
protected.
_______________________________________
The devotees are going out each day to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. This is such a
wonderful, wonderful service. To give a person medical assistance is good because it gives the
person relief from the body for some time, but to give a person the mercy of Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu, as Çréla Prabhupäda has revealed to the world through his books, is to give the
person the opportunity to enter into the spiritual world. It is to give a person the only real
solution to his problems of life, Kåñëa consciousness. So those who perform this work with
sincere compassion are performing the greatest welfare activity in all creation, and what you give
through Çréla Prabhupäda’s books should also be exemplified. In this Age of Kali, the chanting
of the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra is the most sublime means of purification of the heart. This is
the conclusion of all the writings of the great saints. Let us distribute these books with great
enthusiasm, and let us show the world how wonderful and joyful life can be when we chant the
Holy Name in the association of devotees.
* * *
Wherever I distributed books—Montreal, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, or Chicago—and with

whomever I distributed, there reigned an overriding, common, almost incessant conversation
about Çréla Prabhupäda’s desire for his books to be sold. During morning prasädam, on the way
to our spot, at interludes while distributing, on the way back to the temple, in the shower, and as
we lay in our sleeping bags waiting to fall asleep, we would share with each other what we
understood were Prabhupäda’s desires and instructions on book distribution, and how we could
realize them. We would also discuss our own realizations on the subject. We slept, ate, and lived
the order of Prabhupäda, in the very way that every morning we sing cittete kariyä aikya. It was
samädhi.
We spoke of how Çréla Prabhupäda had received the instruction to print books, how he was
the living Vyäsadeva, how he wanted his books in every home in the world, how the books
would change people’s lives, and how they would bring about a worldwide revolution. We felt
we were Prabhupäda’s personal servants, his instruments in his cause, and we discussed how
pleasing our work was to His Divine Grace. We were like Prabhupäda’s Special Forces, his
commandos. Although we knew that in exchange for sacrificing our youth to sell books
Prabhupäda would take us back to Godhead, we often talked about how in the next life we
would rather continue selling books in this world or in another world.
I often had a favorite vision of my next life in Vaikuëöha. I imagined that I would take birth
with a body that never tired and could carry a full set of Bhägavatams, on a planet that was like
282
an airport, where people were always arriving, where they always had lots of money, and where
they always bought books. I envisaged that under those conditions I would always do what
Prabhupäda liked best and would swim in the bliss and unshakable conviction that resulted from
serving his väëé, because while distributing books we would taste the association of Prabhupäda
in a way that was even more intimate than when we were in his physical presence.
Çréla Prabhupäda knew of our intense meditation on his every word. He encouraged us both
by spoken instructions and by messages through the heart, reinforcing our dedication to serving
his mission in a very special way. As we were absorbed in thoughts of him, Prabhupäda was
absorbed in thoughts of us. And that wonderful exchange gave us great strength to continue our
difficult service.
Today, as it was forty years ago and as it will be a thousand years from now, ISKCON
devotees can live with the mission of Çréla Prabhupäda by printing and distributing his books. In
that way they will taste the unparalleled mellows of saìkértana-rasa. They need only be careful
not to get in the way.
_______________________________________
Late in 1989, while visiting Hungary and preparing devotees for their first Prabhupäda
marathon, I had a very vivid dream. In the dream I was with Lord Balaräma, who said to me,
“Let’s go see what Kåñëa is doing.” We entered a very ornate room, where Kåñëa was resting
upon a beautiful bed. Balaräma sat beside Kåñëa and woke Him up, and then Kåñëa sat up on
the side of the bed, His lotus feet on the ground. He was dressed just like a cowherd boy. In my
dream I offered daëòavats while saying prayers, and then I knelt before Kåñëa, looking up at
Him. Kåñëa pointed at me with His forefinger. He was smiling but was also a little stern, so as to
impress upon me the importance of His words. He said, “Just translate and distribute books
about Me, and that will be better worship of Me than any prayers. By that one activity, other
projects will develop and be maintained.” It was a very clear message, one that is etched in my
heart along with many such instructions from Çréla Prabhupäda. I believe the instruction is for all
leaders and all devotees of this Kåñëa consciousness movement. If your lives rotate around this
principle, everything will “develop and be maintained.”
_______________________________________
Although I had been in contact with devotees for some years, it wasn’t until early 1973 that I
read a letter by Çréla Prabhupäda which made me realize that Kåñëa consciousness had a mission
I wanted to be part of.
Before joining ISKCON I would come to the Montreal temple for Sunday feasts, and
sometimes during the week. On one occasion, when there was hardly anyone at the temple, I
read a letter from Prabhupäda that had been posted on the bulletin board shortly after the first
(three-day) Christmas Marathon. Here are some excerpts:
With great happiness I have read the amount of books sold during three-day period,
December 22–24, 1972. It is scarcely believable that more than 17,100 books could have
283
been sold by one temple in three days! People can see that our boys and girls, devotees,
are so much sincere and serious to distribute the message of Krsna consciousness, they
are at once struck by seeing them and therefore they appreciate and purchase. So I am so
much pleased upon all of the boys and girls in Los Angeles and all over the world who are
understanding and appreciating this unique quality of our transcendental literature and
voluntarily they are going out to distribute despite all circumstances of difficulty. By this
effort alone they are assured to go back to home, back to Godhead. In order to change
this materialistic society and prevent them from gliding to hell, first thing is to educate
them. All decent men want to give service to humanity; only thing is they do not have
information really what is that service. By giving people knowledge, jnana, that is the
highest service to humanity. In this way everyone who hears our message gets the
opportunity to fulfill his actual position as human being and become delivered from the
clutches of maya. Selling books to give everyone access to the Absolute Truth is the real
understanding of desire to serve humanity.
I read the letter carefully. It struck me deeply. Kåñëa consciousness was more than a religion.
It was a living missionary activity. Its mission was to give people a chance for liberation. And the
best way to do that was to give them Prabhupäda’s books, through which they would be
educated about the path to liberation. I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life: Be
happy and make others happy through Kåñëa consciousness. I now had a mission in life. As soon
as I realized that, I decided to join the temple.
In the following years and decades I would remember the day in front of the bulletin board. I
would remember what Prabhupäda said: There would be difficulties in spreading Kåñëa
consciousness, but it was the best gift to humanity, and I and all others who dedicated ourselves
to that mission would go back to Godhead. Those words have always given me great strength.
They continue to do so.
_______________________________________
No other religion can give the crystal-clear picture of the Absolute Truth that we can.
Nothing can compare. And honest people of all faiths will agree. This is our real contribution to
society: the Truth. And our responsibility is to live by the Truth, to be the personifications of the
Truth.
Preaching means to plant the seed of bhakti. When and how it sprouts and grows we do not
know. That’s unique to each individual. But grow it will. And for every seed we sow, we advance
closer to Kåñëa. We endear ourselves to Him in a way that He cannot repay (na päraye ’ham).
That is Kåñëa’s statement. Therefore saìkértana devotees pave their own way to the spiritual
world, and thus they are always happy and hopeful.
The saìkértana-yajïa is the austerity we perform to attract Kåñëa’s attention. Without
austerity, there can be no success in devotion. The gopés already have prema, and we are aspiring
for it. How determined we must be! We keep that determination by strict practice of sädhana
and by following the principles. Get your strength from the Holy Name. In the temple, on the
street, at the airport. It is our constant shelter, guide, and friend. Everything is in the Name.
284
Çréla Prabhupäda’s books give prema. The more books we distribute, the more people will
get prema, and as a result we will get prema. Continue to make your prema saìkértana worship in
the temple of your heart.
The çästra says, “One cannot spread the Lord’s holy name without being empowered by
Him.” The more we surrender to His service, the more we are empowered. It is not a material
thing. Ordinary people cannot work so hard, in such difficulty, with such big results, for no pay.
This kind of work is “transcendental samädhi.” The choice to be empowered, to be in samädhi,
is ours. With full faith in Lord Gaura’s ability to empower us, we must fully surrender to this
service and keep our backs to illusion. Then we can do anything, anything at all!! It is a matter of
pure desire. Try to remain fully focused, and let us “do something wonderful.” The secret? Try
not to get in the way.
For many years I distributed the paperback Kåñëa book trilogy. During the day we sold
books, during prasädam we talked of the books, and at night we dreamt of book distribution.
Even when we fell asleep during japa it was into a reverie of book distribution. Book distribution
became our constant meditation, day and night. It was our samädhi.
In Montreal the brahmacäré äçrama was in the book warehouse. We lived and slept there. To
have some privacy I built an igloo out of Kåñëa book boxes and literally slept inside Kåñëa book.
One night as I lay in my igloo on the floor (beds were mäyä), I became overwhelmed with
happiness. Kåñëa book was Kåñëa, and like a baby in its mother’s lap, I was resting in Kåñëa’s
lap. Book distribution was such a simple, happy life, and one, as Prabhupäda had told us, by
which we were guaranteed to go back to Godhead. What else was there to do?
We would rise early, stay in the temple room from the start of maìgala-ärati until the end of
class, take prasädam, and be out the door by 9 am. I commuted downtown by bus, and every day
I carried three boxes of sixty books each, totaling 40kgs. (We hadn’t thought of book trolleys
yet.) By the time I arrived at my spot I was exhausted and perspiring, but as soon as I opened the
boxes and put a trilogy into a person’s hand—“Sir! Please check this out!”—Kåñëa book gave me
the strength to start a new day.
In short, we ate, slept, and lived books. By that life we felt an unassailable connection with
Çréla Prabhupäda, Lord Caitanya, and Kåñëa. We knew that book distribution was the safest
place to be. And it remains so even today.
_______________________________________
Love means to serve another without the desire for personal gain, desiring nothing in return.
Saìkértana is the school for love.
Devotees who distribute books for Lord Caitanya should know that they are doing the
highest service. Because they are His representatives, the Lord takes all responsibility to
maintain and protect such preachers, and He blesses them with the greatest gift—love for
Himself. Therefore we have nothing else to do but our duty, and to do our best. Everything else
we leave in Lord Gaura’s hands. That is pure faith in Him.
People have no idea what religion is. To them the concept of selfless loving service is
incomprehensible. They mostly worship God for selfish ends—wealth, peace, happiness. But
when they see that we serve out of love, sincere people are impressed.
Don’t ask Kåñëa for wealth, freedom from suffering, or even happiness as payment for your
service. Just ask for more service. That is pure devotion. The vibration from devotees with such
285
devotion will change the hearts of the greatest materialist. That is preaching. That is our
revolution.
We are not beggars. We are givers. We give people the opportunity to serve by donating, we
give them transcendental knowledge, we give them the holy name, prasädam, association, and
hope in a hopeless world. Only out of humility do devotees approach nondevotees to give all
these treasures to them.
And when we approach, we do so with a straw in our mouth. We may flatter people: “You
are so cultured, so intelligent, so broad-minded. Being all these things, I know that you are one
of the few people who will appreciate this book. And being detached as you are, you can give a
donation and take a book. I know you can do it—because you are special.”
Let’s preach with strength and energy. Not half-heartedly, not reluctantly, not even with
modest enthusiasm, but with strength!! We owe everything to Prabhupäda, so let us try to repay
that debt in the way he requested.
* * *
His Holiness Tamäl Krishna Goswami
I said, “Çréla Prabhupäda, this is the perfect reciprocation: You are working so hard day and
night to write these books, and all the devotees are working hard day and night to distribute
them.”
Prabhupäda said, “I am writing the drama, and they are playing on the stage.”
* * *
His Holiness Bhaktisiddhänta Swami
After a home program in Dunedin, New Zealand—a town that is, to say the least, off the
beaten path—one gentleman remarked, “Well, this is all well and good, but where do we go
from here?” This question really struck me and has stayed with me. When we distribute a book,
this question should also arise within our minds. Why be satisfied with the initial contact and just
leave it at that? Do we have plans to follow up with those whom we meet (at least in some way),
or are we satisfied with the routine hit and run?
The topmost luxury is to witness a group setting that develops in response to book
distribution, where a variety of people who’ve received books have a space to come to in order
to assimilate the books. In such a scenario one can delightfully observe people making tangible
spiritual progress. When book distributors adopt this long-term vision of sustained care for the
conditioned souls who receive books, saìkértana naturally becomes a lifetime affair.
How to develop such a program? One simple idea thought of by Balaräma Däsa of New
Dvärakä is a contact card. He works at a main Nissan car dealership in LA, which sells a car to
35% of the people who visit their lot. Among the 65% who come and go, 50% will eventually
come back and buy a car because they filled out a form so the dealership could stay in touch with
them. By this additional effort, a huge number of the “walk-outs” were transformed into sales.
Could you imagine if our devotees in the field would make that little extra effort and have
the interested people give us their contact info on the spot so we could initiate a follow-up
program? We could then send them details about more books, or invite them to the temple, or
286
notify them of available seminars, home programs, etc. If each distributor filled out only three
cards a day, and then the info was entered into a computer database, after a year we might have
maybe a thousand contacts. Then year after year the names would add up. Let’s say only one
percent respond to the invitations or newsletters. You will still have a minimum of ten persons
per devotee each year. Depending on the size of your saìkértana outreach team, you will be able
to stay in touch with many persons and capitalize on valuable nurturing without much expense.
Balaräma Däsa is a retired twelve-year book distributor. He figures that if he had recorded
his contacts in this way he would now have between 7,000 and 14,000 names, what to speak of
the list that the existing fifteen saìkértana devotees could have gotten in that period. Just ask the
congregational preaching coordinator at your temple how many names are on the database and
then take a deep breath as you realize the importance of follow-up.
If the materialists can employ such long-term follow-up to avoid losing potential sales, then
what about our position as Lord Caitanya’s gardeners? How many interesting exchanges have
you had over the years on the front lines? Can you imagine what would happen if after receiving
the seed of the book the recipient would have received, say, a lively invitation that would act as
the watering process? Here is the beginning to the ultimate sale—the making of a devotee
through the medium of transcendental horticulture.
* * *
Bhågupati Däsa (ACBSP)
On book distribution you can really see how Kåñëa is completely in control, and you never
know what’s going to happen next. Distributing books makes you a candidate to receive a lot of
mercy from Kåñëa, especially if you’ve had good sädhana that morning. Book distribution is not
a matter of our material expertise. Rather, book distribution is about trying our best and letting
Kåñëa do the rest.
I was doing door to door in south central L.A., one of the poorer, tougher neighborhoods in
town. The street I was on was really run down and neglected. As I entered a convenience store, I
saw a middle-aged Asian man smiling at me from behind a one-inch-thick slab of bullet-proof
glass. After exchanging greetings, I slipped a Bhagavad-gétä underneath the glass for him to look
at. To my surprise he responded by saying, “I have books like this.”
“What do mean,” I asked.
He then brought out a bag containing six of Çréla Prabhupäda’s small books. “I got these at a
temple in Culver City. Funny—I was thinking about the temple just before you walked in.”
“Kåñëa is in our hearts,” I told him. “We’re not independent in our thinking and activities. As
the Supersoul within our hearts, He’s inspiring and directing both of us. It looks like I’ve been
sent here to give you some association and an opportunity to do some service.” He seemed to
like how that sounded.
“You know,” he said, “I regularly give these small books to my customers.” Right then one
came in and I got to see him in action. He handed two small books to the customer and told him
that if he didn’t like them he could give them to a friend or a library, because they’re books of
spiritual wisdom and it would be disrespectful to throw them away.
When the opportunity presented itself, I asked him, “Do you need more books?” and
showed him what I had in my book bag. He took all the small books I had and gave a very
287
generous donation.
As I was leaving, he said, “You know, I chant Hare Kåñëa while driving. When I retire in five
or ten years, I’d like to live in a community of devotees. Can you recommend one?”
The following week I returned to his store with japa beads and a beadbag, thinking he might
like to start chanting on beads. He already had a set, which he had purchased from Govinda’s
boutique, but he hadn’t used them because he preferred to chant slower. He did, however, take
another stack of small books and gave another generous donation.
Çréla Prabhupäda once said there’s a devotee on every street corner. We should never
underestimate the potency of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and Lord Caitanya’s saìkértana
movement. Not only is my Asian friend a devotee, but he’s also a book distributor. Only Kåñëa
knows how many hidden book distributors there are in the world.
_______________________________________
Some of the effects of book distribution are yet to manifest. What is happening is that the
distribution of so many books—millions and millions since the late 60’s—is raising the spiritual
consciousness of human society as a whole. Eventually, at some point, we will see some dramatic
changes in how human society conducts its affairs. Book distribution will be responsible for that.
Imagine you have a pot of water on the stove and you light a flame under it. After thirty
seconds you won’t see anything—it will look exactly the same as it did at the beginning. After
one minute of heat you still won’t see anything. After two minutes you may still not see
anything. But after three or four minutes you’ll see some bubbles on the inside of the pot. And
after five minutes or so it will suddenly break into a boil. Thirty seconds before the water boiled,
it looked like ordinary cold water. The water had to absorb all that heat, and at a certain point,
when it reached the critical temperature, BOOM, it broke into a full boil. But thirty seconds
before that you would not have been able to recognize it as very hot water. At that point it
would have been foolish to say, “Oh, the fire is not having any effect on the water.” It may
superficially appear that nothing is happening and that the water is not getting warmer, but it is
factually becoming increasingly hot, to the point where it eventually breaks into a boil at 212
degrees Fahrenheit.
Similarly, the books are having their effect. It appears as if nothing is really happening as a
result of book distribution. No nations are declaring themselves to be Kåñëa conscious states.
But it is having its effect. The more the books go out, the more the effect is building up, just as
the longer you leave the pot of water on the stove, the hotter the water becomes. If the books
keep going out, going out, going out by the hundreds and thousands and millions, a point will
come at which something dramatic happens, just like water starting to boil when it reaches the
boiling point. If the books keep going out in big quantities, as has been happening, a point is
going to come at which everybody will say, “Oh! I guess this book distribution really is all that it
was cracked up to be.” But until that happens, the tendency is to think, “Oh, nothing is really
happening. Look, we’ve distributed so many millions of books but human society remains the
same.”
But this is the same as saying that the heating water on the stove is not getting hotter because
we haven’t seen it come to the boiling point yet. Only a fool would say that. But an intelligent
person, one who has common sense, knows that at every second the water is coming closer to the
288
boiling point.
In the same way, if the books keep going out in large quantities, as was Çréla Prabhupäda’s
desire, at every second human society will come closer to some dramatic positive transformation.
And what is that? The fulfillment of Lord Caitanya’s prediction that His name will be heard in
every town and village. Therefore we should be very confident that if we just keep pushing on
this movement by distributing books, Kåñëa consciousness will spread to every town and village.
As Çréla Prabhupäda put it, “Print and distribute as many books in as many languages as
possible, and the Kåñëa consciousness movement will automatically spread.”
_______________________________________
The one thing that inspires me most to continue distributing books is the transcendental
reciprocation that one experiences as a result of trying to surrender to the service. This comes
primarily in the form of results beyond one’s expectations. That I interpret as help from Çréla
Prabhupäda, Lord Caitanya, and Kåñëa, and increased taste for chanting, on occasion.
When you try to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books sincerely, you experience how you’re
being helped by the internal potency of the Lord. Some of my best days on book distribution
started off really tough. By persevering we invoke the compassion of our spiritual master and the
Lord upon us, and then by Their causeless mercy They enlighten the general populace from
within to be favorable. Then all sorts wonderful and amazing things happen. People you never
imagined would even stop not only stop but enthusiastically take books and give nice donations.
You can clearly understand that this is Kåñëa’s mercy upon you and the people you’re engaging,
and you feel very grateful that you’re being allowed to have a glimpse of what devotional service
can be like.
_______________________________________
There is a sentence in the Bhagavad-gétä that inspires my very much whenever I read it:
“When Kåñëa wants to do something, simply by His willing, everything is performed so perfectly
that one cannot imagine how it is being done.” Sometimes we want to perform some service,
such as distributing books, and it may be difficult, but if we are sincere then Kåñëa will help in an
amazing way, as book distributors experience all the time. We could take a picture of all the
devotees distributing books and use this sentence as the caption.
* * *
In Kali-yuga there are no çruti-dharas—whatever people hear goes in one ear and out the
other. Therefore we need books. And we have the best books, books that can purify anyone who
reads them.
289
Saìkértana helps us come to the point of understanding why we came to the Kåñëa
consciousness movement: To become a devotee, and then to help others become devotees.
Kåñëa is so pleased with those who spread this knowledge that He gives them a higher and
higher taste for Kåñëa consciousness.
_______________________________________
Enthusiasm to distribute books is the life-giving energy one receives from Lord Caitanya,
which is so easily available when one distributes. Instantly one will be enthused to leave the
mental platform, because to be successful one has to give up one’s artificial impersonal nature
and open one’s heart to the conditioned souls while offering them Çréla Prabhupäda’s most
precious gifts. A book distributor doesn’t just give out the books; he gives himself as well.
Not only does Çréla Prabhupäda’s statement “Books are the basis” define our philosophical
basis, but it also defines the basis of ISKCON. Çréla Prabhupäda wanted the temples to be
constructed on the basis of book distribution (and of course with general donations as well). He
wanted our lives to be based on his books.
I don’t think Çréla Prabhupäda’s focus on book distribution was meant for a particular time;
rather, he meant it to be the focus of his society for all time. This doesn’t mean that every
devotee will stand on the street every day with a book bag. It means that every devotee should
keep the idea of book distribution as a priority and try to help in any way possible to see that
books are distributed. I firmly believe that if this “book distribution culture” would be
reestablished in ISKCON, we could avoid so many problems we face today.
_______________________________________
When Çréla Prabhupäda heard statements such as “It’s not respectable to go out and try to
convince people to take books; therefore we should do it another way,” he would say, “Show us
a better way.” Then, of course, the devotee would have nothing to say. Çréla Prabhupäda totally
opposed this kind of mentality. He was well aware of the shortcomings of his book distributors,
but instead of preaching to a few selected “intellectuals,” he chose a way to introduce his books
into society in the most massive way possible. This offensive type of argumentation is powered
by a fear that we will not be respected. Did Çréla Prabhupäda offer a “respectable” view of our
Society when he chanted surrounded by the still somewhat mentally deranged hippies in New
York City? Hardly. But by book distribution and harinäma saìkértana he made these hippies
into happies, and many of them have become very respected personalities. This kind of
argumentation—trying to make book distribution temporary—is mediocre and powered by
kaniñöha adhikäré mentality in the name of respectability and academic advancement.
But of course, Çréla Prabhupäda was also ecstatic to see the Library Party introduce his books
into academic circles in colleges and universities. Why should the one exclude the other? By the
above-mentioned argumentation, book distribution doesn’t become “respectable” but stops
altogether, as history has taught us. This is surely not what Çréla Prabhupäda wanted. But of
course, his books should be distributed without agitating the public.
290
* * *
Saìkértana—book distribution and harinäma—is where “the rubber meets the road,” so to
speak, in our collective efforts to share what we have all been given by His Divine Grace Çréla
Prabhupäda. That is where our philosophy ceases to be mere doctrine and becomes realized
action. His Divine Grace Çréla Prabhupäda considered each and every soul on the planet to be
absolutely significant, and this realization was a direct result of his knowing our eternal
connection to the Lord Himself.
Çréla Prabhupäda took most seriously the task of transforming our unfortunate condition to
one of absolute good fortune. He did this one soul at a time. Each of us was individually made
eternally fortunate by Çréla Prabhupäda. There is a wonderful parable I have always loved that
illustrates Çréla Prabhupäda’s tenacious determination to make Kåñëa consciousness available to
as many souls as possible.
One morning an old man was walking on the shore of the vast ocean. He was hobbled and
crooked, and his breathing was labored. He looked up and noted that thousands of
starfish, large and small, had been stranded on the beach by the outgoing tide. They were
too far from the roiling waves to save themselves and faced suffocation and intense heat
from the sun’s rays as it rose in the sky. He began to bend over slowly and painfully and
pick up one starfish at time, walk to the shore, and hurl it back into the safety of the cool
waves. A ten-year-old boy spied the old-timer and studied his actions for some time. In
due course he approached the old man, who was so absorbed in the task at hand that he
failed to register the presence of the boy.
“Hey, mister, what are you doing?” the boy queried.
The old man noted the look of incredulity upon the boy’s face and said, “What does it
look like I’m doing? I’m returning these starfish to the sea before they all die on the
shore!”
The boy looked up the beach and saw stranded starfish as far as he could see.
“Hmppf!” puffed the lad. “Old man, I don’t want to discourage you, but did you
happen to see just how many of these critters there are out here?”
“What’s yer point, young fella?” asked the old timer as he looked the lad up and
down.
“Well, do you really think you’re gonna make a difference?”
The old man looked at the boy with a twinkle in his eye as he slowly bent over with a
groan and picked up a big starfish. He paused to gather his strength and then slowly
walked to the shore and hurled the starfish out to sea as far as he could. Then he walked
back to the boy, who was still staring in disbelief at the efforts of the old man.
“Well,” the old man said, smiling wryly, “I sure made a difference for that one, didn’t
I!”
The boy smiled, nodded his head in agreement, and then joined the old man in his
efforts.
291
Çréla Prabhupäda has arranged for all the “stranded starfish” of this godforsaken material
world to be given the golden opportunity of Kåñëa consciousness within the mission of Lord
Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Çréla Prabhupäda showed the example and set about saving us all—
individually, one at a time. Each of us has our own beautiful recollection of how we found the
shelter of Lord Kåñëa, Çréla Prabhupäda, and his devotees. This shelter remains fully available to
any sincere soul, and thousands are experiencing this shelter all over the world, daily. Anyone
can participate, like that young lad who took to helping the old man rescue as many starfish as
possible. One just needs to roll up his or her sleeves and dive into the task full bore and help
Çréla Prabhupäda in his efforts to make a difference in the lives of as many souls as possible.
Can’t you practically see His Divine Grace, with a twinkle in his beautiful gaze, chuckling with
delight as his books pass from our humble hands to those of the suffering souls gasping and
suffocating in this world of ignorance and fear?
When we’re on saìkértana, let’s all keep our eyes fixed on the individual standing directly in
front of us. Let’s “make a difference for that one.” Then let’s move to the next person and again
“make a difference for that one.” Then at the end of each day we can tally up all those
individuals for whom we made a difference and offer those results to His Divine Grace Çréla
Prabhupäda, knowing how much he will delight in our efforts.
Remember: you too can help make a difference for at least one soul. Let nothing prevent
you from making that difference. If you can’t go out personally, offer your time, your money, or
your assistance to the men and women who are going out. Trust me, you will make a difference,
even if for only one soul. And remember, once upon a time, in the not-too-distant past, that one
soul was you!
* * *
Sureça Däsa (ACBSP)
Most days on saìkértana were not miracle days. There were, of course, philosophical miracles
every day. Any time someone asked a question or presented an argument or objection I couldn’t
answer, I wouldn’t rest until I researched Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and found the proper
response. The same questions tended to come up again and again, so even if I wasn’t prepared
for one person, I would be ready for the next.
For example, one woman challenged, “I don’t believe in God; I believe in infinity.”
“If you believe in infinity,” I answered, “then you must include God; otherwise you are
making a limitation on infinity.” She thought about it for a minute and then bought a Bhagavad-
gétä. I became more and more confident from regularly reading Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. I
especially found that repeating his messages word for word was extremely powerful and
convincing.
One evening I was selling books at the back of Tower Records, on Sunset Blvd. in
Hollywood. It was pretty late and dark, maybe 8 or 9 o’clock. I stopped a strikingly beautiful
woman and showed her a Kåñëa book. She liked the pictures, so to make a little conversation
before asking her to buy one, I asked what kind of work she did. She replied that she was a
prostitute. I was taken aback. I had been a brahmacäré for four years by that time, and to be
honest I’d felt a deep sense of loneliness much of the time. And here I was, speaking with a
beautiful prostitute in a dark and rather quiet place! I thought about the humor of the situation,
and how Lord Kåñëa might be testing me. I said an internal prayer, “Lord Kåñëa, I don’t wish to
292
entertain any other desire at this time except that You allow this person to purchase this Kåñëa
book. Please fulfill my desire.” The woman bought Kåñëa book and went on her way. I didn’t
think much more about it. I had done my duty, and I went on too.
* * *
Svaväsa Däsa (ACBSP)
I joined in Denver, Colorado. I was a bhakta for about two months, and then they decided
that I was too much trouble in the temple. So they sent me out on the streets to distribute books.
In those days we used to do book distribution in dhotés, with shaved heads. We used to go door
to door. I remember we were so poor in those days that although there were eight of us we had
only six winter jackets; we couldn’t buy any more. So we had to share these jackets among all of
us. I was put in charge of the jackets, and also of the boots. We didn’t have enough money to buy
enough boots—we only had four pair for the eight of us.
But despite all these difficulties, book distribution was actually great fun; it was ecstatic. We
would go out in cold weather, below zero, with snow up to your knees, but we were ecstatic
because we knew Çréla Prabhupäda wanted the books distributed. That was the difference. It’s
not that we fully understood what we were doing, but we were doing it because Çréla Prabhupäda
wanted it. And because he wanted it, we thought it was the right thing to do. When you’re
twenty-one years old, your idea of right and wrong is kind of mixed up. But we were sure that
Çréla Prabhupäda really knew what was going on, and we really and thoroughly believed him,
and so when we were able to distribute some books we felt successful.
What does it mean to be successful? There are a lot of definitions of success out there these
days. Often people think that success means making a lot of money or acquiring a lot of power.
But there is another definition of success: progress in pursuit of a worthy goal. Then you are
satisfied. That brings you joy.
So we felt successful because we felt joy and satisfaction in working to fulfill Çréla
Prabhupäda’s desire that his books be widely distributed. We felt successful; we felt empowered.
We were poor as anything, but we felt successful. We didn’t have any money or power. We were
laughed at, ridiculed, and spat upon. But when we came home and were with the other devotees,
we felt really successful and happy. If we endeavor to serve, if we focus on the service, or if we
just try our best to do the service, that is success. And what is that? We know that Çréla
Prabhupäda and Kåñëa are pleased by our endeavor.
* * *
When someone receives a book, they receive permanent value. Everyone is trying to get
permanent value; otherwise they wouldn’t be working so hard. Everyone is working hard—
driving somewhere, studying to get a degree—to make some money. Why? Because they think
they’ll get some permanent value out of that activity. Otherwise they wouldn’t do it. So Çréla
Prabhupäda writes:
293
In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.27), the Lord demands that whatever one may do in one’s daily
activities, such as worship, sacrifice, and offering charity, all the results should be offered
to Him only. This offering of the results of pious acts unto the Supreme Lord is a sign of
devotional service to the Lord and is of permanent value, whereas enjoying the same
results for oneself is only temporary. Anything done on account of the Lord is a
permanent asset and accumulates in the form of unseen piety for gradual promotion to
the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord. These undetected pious activities will one
day result in full-fledged devotional service by the grace of the Supreme Lord. Therefore,
any pious act done on account of the Supreme Lord is also recommended here for those
who are not pure devotees. [Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.9.13, purport]
So anything done in connection with Kåñëa as an act of devotional service is permanent. This
means when we go to distribute books, when we go to introduce people to Kåñëa consciousness,
to the Holy Name, by distributing books, that interaction is completely transcendental, and
people get permanent value every time they see or touch a book. Every time they meet a
devotee they get some benefit, and that benefit is incalculable if they have some appreciation for
the book or for the devotee, and even greater is their benefit if they offer a donation from their
heart. “Let me give something,” they think. “It’s a good idea; I like what this person is doing.”
That person’s spiritual benefit and progress are off the chart! It’s indescribable how much good
fortune comes to a person who comes in contact with one of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
In the above-quoted purport Çréla Prabhupäda says that any bit of devotional service done
produces permanent benefit, which accumulates until one eventually comes to the stage of full-
fledged devotional service by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So this book
distribution is such that we are taking the greatest treasure, the greatest object of permanent
value, and introducing it to people, offering them the greatest benefit they can get in this life.
And everyone is looking for this. Actually this is what everyone is seeking: They are going here
and there, searching, hankering for some permanent value in life, and we are offering them the
real thing.
_______________________________________
When I go out on book distribution, I find it vital to remember just how powerful these
books are and how anyone who comes in contact with them will be permanently benefited. In
this regard, Çréla Prabhupäda said in Våndävana in 1976:
Suppose you are going to distribute books. But what is the idea? “It is Kåñëa’s book; it
must be distributed.” So Kåñëa is remembered there. At the same time, because it is
Kåñëa’ book, if somebody purchases, if he pays something, he’ll look at it, something,
that, “What this nonsense has written? Let me see.” Then he will get some idea. If he
reads one line, he comes hundred times forward to Kåñëa consciousness. This is the idea. .
. . Svalpam apy asya dharmasya träyate mahato bhayät. This is preaching.
_______________________________________
294
Those who have tried book distribution know for themselves that Kåñëa awards an unusually
sweet taste to anyone who makes even a small effort to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
Indeed, Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu writes in His Çikñäñöaka prayers: pratipadaà
pürëämåtäsvädanam: “At every step, this saìkértana process will give you a full taste of the
nectar for which you are always anxious.”
But among the myriad wonderful ways in which one can broadcast the glories of the Holy
Names, there is something utterly unique and special about distributing Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books. Confirming this, Jayanti Rädhikä Däsé of ISKCON San Diego recently wrote to us about
Mrs. Prakasha, a long-time member of ISKCON who this year went on book distribution for the
first time. Jayanti Rädhikä wrote, “Mrs. Prakasha told me, ‘Doing this makes me feel like a real
devotee; for the first time I feel truly connected to what Çréla Prabhupäda wants us to do.’”
Jayanti continued: “Mrs. Prakasha had determined that she would come out for two hours; but
when her two hours were up, she didn’t want to leave.”
In a similar letter, senior devotee and veteran book distributor Rägätmikä Däsé of Alachua,
Florida, expressed her realizations about getting back out on book distribution after a long
hiatus. She wrote: “Well, needless to say, it all came back—the sweetest taste I had ever
experienced in my life, from giving Çréla Prabhupäda’s books to a conditioned soul. By
Prabhupäda’s grace, I felt I never wanted to stop. You reminded me that Çréla Prabhupäda
wanted us to take over ‘the family business’—book distribution.”
There can be no doubt that book distribution is pleasing to Çréla Prabhupäda, and anyone
who takes it up is doing, in Prabhupäda’s words, “great service.” Consider how Çréla Prabhupäda
dedicated his life to his translations and purports, regularly rising before midnight to speak his
divine realizations into a Dictaphone while everyone else was sleeping. Then in hundreds of
lectures and letters, Çréla Prabhupäda implored his followers to print and distribute his books
profusely to the masses.
_______________________________________
If we want to distribute books, we have to overcome the mind. Indriyäëi paräëy ähur
indriyebhyaù paraà manaù/ manasas tu parä buddhir yo buddheù paratas tu saù. The senses are
the lowest, and above the senses is the mind. Above the mind is the intelligence, and above the
intelligence is the soul. It gets subtler and subtler the higher we go. We have to take shelter of
the higher position and go above the senses and the mind to the intelligence. We need to
develop our intelligence in Kåñëa consciousness by studying Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
This is our technique—strong sädhana. Our main process for developing our intelligence is to
take as our life and soul—above all other activities, whatever they may be—our japa. It has to be
our japa; otherwise we can’t get out of this material world. It is impossible without the Holy
Name. It is impossible without taking shelter of japa. You have to take shelter of the Name. You
have to become most dedicated to chanting the Names—Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa,
Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare. That means regulated japa like
anything. And the minimum is sixteen rounds. Minimum!
Your shrine should be your bead-bag. You should build a shrine around your bead-bag. Your
bead-bag should be your main source of inspiration for your whole spiritual life. You have to
take your beads, and you have to concentrate your mind, and you have to hear the Names—you
295
have to hear “Hare Kåñëa”—and you have to do that every single day. This is the way to rise
above the mind and come to the position of developing your finer intelligence, to come to the
position of understanding that “I’m not my body,” that we have a relationship with Kåñëa, and
that our real self-interest is in taking shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at every
moment. If we have that understanding, then we’ll also have the impetus to go out on book
distribution, because, as Kåñëa says in the Bhagavad-gétä, ätmaupamyena sarvatra samaà paçyati
yo ’rjuna: The true yogi compares his own self to others. So, if he is suffering, he looks at others
and thinks, “Oh, these people are suffering too.” If you are becoming self-realized, if you are
tasting something higher, you’ll see what is your actual position in this world and you’ll say,
“Whoa, look at these people! They don’t even know that they’re not their bodies! I have to save
them! This is my duty. I have to give them the Bhagavad-gétä. I have to give them a chance.”
_______________________________________
Seven Steps to Success for Book Distributors
1. If we practice, we’ll become expert at it. Practice makes perfect.
2. Cultivate the desire to distribute.
3. Read Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
4. Chant the Hare Kåñëa mantra with attention.
5. Take shelter of the Holy Names; in between speaking to people, chant.
6. Depend on Kåñëa for the results.
7. Be organized—take it seriously.
_______________________________________
Devotees who read and then distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books are performing the highest
welfare work. Those engaged in this service—and those engaged in encouraging others to
engage in it—are certainly privileged.
At a Prabhupäda Festival in New Dvärakä, His Grace Kåñëa-känti Prabhu recounted a story
emphasizing Çréla Prabhupäda’s strong desire that we remain focused on distributing his books.
Kåñëa-känti told how at the devotee recording studio called Golden Avatar he had produced
a recording of a devotional song, which he made into a vinyl phonographic record. Kåñëa-känti
and Karandhara Prabhu, the GBC in LA at the time, took the record to Çréla Prabhupäda and
296
played it for him. After listening, Çréla Prabhupäda asked what they intended to do with it.
Kåñëa-känti told him they had been thinking it would be nice to mass produce the record so that
the devotees could sell it to the public the way they were selling incense to produce revenue.
Çréla Prabhupäda said, “This is all right, as long as it doesn’t diminish book distribution by
even this much.” Upon saying this, Çréla Prabhupäda held up his hand and pinched together his
thumb and index finger, leaving not even enough space for the light of day to pass through. He
then repeated his statement and gesture.
Kåñëa-känti said that after seeing and hearing Çréla Prabhupäda’s dramatic instruction, he
and Karandhara left the room and never talked about the record again.
_______________________________________
While reading the Çrémad-Bhägavatam I came across this very nice purport (SB 4.22.47):
Great personalities of the material world are very eager to render welfare service to
human society, but actually no one can render better service than one who distributes the
knowledge of spiritual realization in relation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
All living entities are within the clutches of the illusory energy. Forgetting their real
identity, they hover in material existence, transmigrating from one body to another in
search of a peaceful life. Since these living entities have very little knowledge of self-
realization, they are not getting any relief, although they are very anxious to attain peace
of mind and some substantial happiness. Saintly persons like the Kumäras, Närada,
Prahläda, Janaka, Çukadeva Gosvämé, and Kapiladeva, as well as the followers of such
authorities as the Vaiñëava äcäryas and their servants, can render a valuable service to
humanity by disseminating knowledge of the relationship between the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and the living entity. Such knowledge is the perfect benediction
for humanity.
Knowledge of Kåñëa is such a great gift that it is impossible to repay the benefactor.
Therefore Påthu Mahäräja requested the Kumäras to be satisfied by their own benevolent
activities in delivering souls from the clutches of mäyä. The King saw that there was no
other way to satisfy them for their exalted activities. The word vinoda-pätram can be
divided into two words, vinä and uda-pätram, or can be understood as one word, vinoda-
pätram, which means “joker.” A joker’s activities simply arouse laughter, and a person
who tries to repay the spiritual master or teacher of the transcendental message of Kåñëa
becomes a laughingstock just like a joker because it is not possible to repay such a debt.
The best friend and benefactor of all people is one who awakens humanity to its original
Kåñëa consciousness.
I especially appreciate that Påthu Mahäräja requested the Kumäras to be satisfied by their
own benevolent activities because the gifts they are distributing are so valuable that the
recipients cannot possibly repay them. (When I ask for a donation for a book, I often say, “Sir,
we won’t sell these books because they are too valuable—they are spiritual books—so we just
take a donation. Give the most you can.”)
297
A profound sense of gratitude awakened by associating with Çréla Prabhupäda through his
books should be our impetus for distributing them to others. Moreover, the activity of
distributing Çréla Prabhupäda’s books is its own reward. By that activity one gains the mercy of
Çréla Prabhupäda and subsequently the mercy of Kåñëa; and knowledge of the Lord and
detachment from matter then become concomitant benefits.
_______________________________________
While in Japan, I had the great fortune to go out on harinäma saìkértana in Tokyo. One
evening at the temple we formed a party of five and went to a major train station, where we set
up to chant on a sidewalk just outside the station. Three of us formed the chanting party, while
the other two set up a little book table in front of us. These two, His Holiness Kavicandra
Swami and His Grace Nitäi Gauracandra Prabhu, stood by as part of the chanting party but were
poised to scan the faces of each passerby for any sign of interest in the chanting.
Each time the streetlight at the end of our block turned green, it let loose hundreds of
pedestrians heading home from work. The Japanese have a tendency to keep to themselves in
public, so even while our little kértana party belted out the mahä-mantra to various catchy tunes,
most of the commuters walked past us as if they hadn’t heard a thing. Among every throng,
however, there were always a few who couldn’t help but look over to see what the tumult was all
about. The looks could come from anyone: A businessman throwing a quick, curious glance, a
mother and child stopping briefly to smile, or a purple-haired student who would suddenly give
up walking to gawk with wide-open mouth and eyes.
Upon seeing even the slightest glimmer of attraction (or sign of recognition) from a person
in the crowd, Kavicandra Swami or Nitäi Gauracandra Prabhu would spring to the side of that
fortunate soul to offer him or her books and prasädam. This was amazingly effective, as most
would end up buying a book; many even stayed to listen to the kértana.
The day after this experience, our traveling party was reading Çrémad-Bhägavatam together
when we came upon a verse in chapter 3 of the Eighth Canto, called “Gajendra’s Prayers of
Surrender.” In his prayers Gajendra sings, muktäya bhüri-karuëäya namo ’layäya: “I offer my
obeisances to the Lord, who is untouched by the contamination of material nature, who is
unlimitedly merciful, and who is never inattentive or idle for the purpose of my deliverance.” In
other words, the Lord is always our well-wisher and is always seeking ways to deliver us.
Hearing this I, thought, “Then what is my problem? If the Lord is trying incessantly to deliver
me, why am I still stuck in the material world?”
Then I remembered the vacant expressions on some of the faces of the people who passed by
our saìkértana party. How expert they were at averting their eyes, minds, and hearts so as to
ignore the loud, blissful chanting! I also remembered the eagle-eyed devotees vigilantly scanning
the crowds, looking for any opportunity to impart wisdom and mercy.
These remembrances I then related to my own condition: The Lord has been tirelessly
endeavoring since time immemorial to get my attention, impart soothing instructions, and give
me good tidings from my real home in the spiritual world. Unfortunately, I’ve been expert at
ignoring Him.
298
Saìkértana is directly the Lord’s work. When we trouble ourselves to go out to distribute
books, we are aligning perfectly with the Lord’s mission, helping Him as He calls out to the
conditioned souls: “Jéva jago! Jéva jago! Please awaken and come home to Me!”
_______________________________________
Çréla Prabhupäda made our lives exciting. He pushed us, and he was definitely not
accustomed to thinking small. In thinking of what my life was like in the movement while Çréla
Prabhupäda walked the planet, I often recall a famous quotation from Helen Keller: “Life is
either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
Life with Çréla Prabhupäda was and still is a daring adventure.
After arriving in America, at times Çréla Prabhupäda barely had enough money to pay his
rent. Even during these lean financial times, he wasn’t at all poor. He carried the most valuable
currency of all: absolute faith in the words of his guru and Kåñëa. He took every risk for Kåñëa.
He was fearless at all times.
Because of this fearlessness, when his first young followers met Çréla Prabhupäda they
became emboldened, and with little or no worldly training they went out to change the world on
Kåñëa’s behalf. And they did. They were convinced that by following the order of their guru they
would not fail. They were correct!
Çréla Prabhupäda’s “boys and girls” traveled the world, meeting dignitaries and rock stars,
opening temples, making hit albums, organizing festivals, and publishing and distributing
millions of magazines and books.
In 1975 the BBT was moving too slowly to keep up with Çréla Prabhupäda’s translating. The
manuscripts for the Caitanya-caritämåta had been sitting for some time without being published.
Then on a morning walk at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, surrounded by senior devotees and
the heads of the BBT, Çréla Prabhupäda suddenly said that he wanted all seventeen volumes of
Caitanya-caritämåta published within two months.
Until that time, the BBT had been able to publish only one book every four months. Now
Çréla Prabhupäda was ordering that all seventeen be finished in two months! The head of the
American BBT, Rämeçvara Däsa, shocked upon hearing Çréla Prabhupäda’s order, replied,
“Çréla Prabhupäda, that’s impossible.”
Upon hearing this, Çréla Prabhupäda suddenly stopped walking. He planted his cane in the
sand and said, “Impossible is a word found in a fool’s dictionary.” The devotees were practically
speechless.
But as Çréla Prabhupäda’s order began to sink in, Rämeçvara and the other devotees began to
feverishly plan how to execute it. With this, the famous Caitanya-caritämåta marathon began.
For the next two months the devotees worked practically without sleeping or eating to publish
the seventeen volumes in just two months. After two months of marathon, they went to
maìgala-ärati with tears in their eyes, feeling the mercy of the pure devotee, Çréla Prabhupäda.
At Bhagavad-gétä 3.15 Lord Kåñëa says, “The all-pervading Transcendence is eternally
situated in acts of sacrifice.” Human life is meant not for working hard for bodily maintenance
but for reawakening our eternal relationship with the Lord and then going back to Godhead. All
this can be achieved by acts of divine sacrifice.
299
The best sacrifice is to please the pure devotee. Fortunately for us, we’ve been given that
chance. Çréla Prabhupäda has left us with as much service as we like—if we like. It is entirely up
to us. Let us be bold in his service.
_______________________________________
Saìkértana is the yuga-dharma and brings good fortune to all. There is no doubt about it: the
performance of saìkértana is the panacea for all the problems of the world.
All our earthly problems are due to ignorance of our eternal spiritual nature.
Rüpa Goswami says that those who hear the saìkértana party even once immediately become
washed of sins and gain an inkling of their spiritual identity. And as we’ve already seen, people
who are especially fortunate also eagerly join our saìkértana party upon seeing and hearing it.
Furthermore, Çréla Prabhupäda made it clear to us that books like Çrémad-Bhägavatam and
Bhagavad-gétä are written kértana. Those who receive these books and read one word become
eternally benefited.
Distribution of books is saìkértana. When we distribute transcendental literature, people
take it home to read and share with others. These books last for decades and are slowly
infiltrating homes, libraries, schools, and motels and becoming popular, as is the practice of
bhakti-yoga.
Every despot in the world knows that books change people’s lives. This is why historically a
dictator’s first order of business after assuming power is to censor written material, sometimes
even burning books. When I visited Vietnam I quickly became acquainted with the Communist
policy prohibiting the distribution of literature not sanctioned by the government.
Çréla Prabhupada’s powerful books are the basis of our ISKCON movement. Çrémad-
Bhägavatam, an incarnation of Kåñëa, is revolutionary and will eternally benefit all who read it.
Prasädam distribution is similarly potent. People everywhere appreciate receiving tasty food
given out of friendship and love. Distribution of kåñëa-prasädam creates goodwill, and the
recipients make permanent spiritual advancement just by accepting it. No matter one’s present
condition—human, animal, lowly insect—a soul who accepts prasädam gets benefit.
In the Gétä Kåñëa often lauds those who do good to others. For instance, at Bhagavad-gétä
5.25 Kåñëa says, “Those who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings achieve
liberation in the Supreme.” And at Gétä 16.2 Kåñëa says dayä bhüteñu, showing mercy to other
living entities, is one of the primary divine qualities. And again, at Gétä 11.55, Kåñëa says that
those who are “friendly to every living being” certainly come to Him. Regarding this last
statement, Çréla Prabhupäda comments:
A Kåñëa conscious person knows that if a man is suffering it is due to his forgetfulness of
his eternal relationship with Kåñëa. Therefore, the highest benefit one can render to
human society is relieving one’s neighbor from all material problems. In such a way, a
pure devotee is engaged in the service of the Lord. Now, we can imagine how merciful
Kåñëa is to those engaged in His service, risking everything for Him. Therefore it is
certain that such persons must reach the supreme planet after leaving the body.
300
By Kåñëa’s mercy, those who perform saìkértana gain clarity and spiritual health. They
quickly become spiritually advanced and find an inner fulfillment that is not available anywhere
else in the universe.
Kåñëa is a wish-fulfilling tree. He gives everyone what they desire. As we perform saìkértana,
Kåñëa personally clears our hearts and minds, allowing us to desire our highest benefit in life.
Indeed, those who perform saìkértana live with Kåñëa constantly. And as Saïjaya says at
Bhagavad-gétä 18.78, for such persons there is always opulence, victory, extraordinary power,
and morality.
Those who perform saìkértana to please the transcendental senses of the Lord never tire of
it, nor are they restricted in their ability to perform saìkértana. As they desire to increase the
saìkértana-yajïa by spreading it all over the world, Kåñëa gives them facility. Such persons
factually swim in an ever-expanding ocean of happiness (änandämbudhi-vardhanam).
So let us focus on saving one living entity at a time, beginning with ourselves. As we do so, let
us continue refining and increasing our practice of saìkértana, investing in new tools, inviting
new members to join, employing everything at our disposal for increasing this yajïa.
* * *
Daivéçakti Devé Däsé (ACBSP)
In 1970, when Çré Kåñëa allowed me to realize He exists, my first reaction was that I need to
tell the world about Him. This was before I met the devotees, so I could not figure out how to
tell everyone I met about Kåñëa. Soon Kåñëa led me to His devotees, and I understood that by
distributing Prabhupäda’s books I could help other suffering living entities come to Kåñëa
consciousness. Since then I have been trying to distribute Prabhupäda’s books to educate people
about Kåñëa.
What inspires me to distribute is the instructions received from Çréla Prabhupäda and my
love for Prabhupäda’s books. Also, a strong and consistent prayer to help people become Kåñëa
conscious. Books are the basis of understanding Kåñëa consciousness and advancing on the path
back to Kåñëa. Reading Prabhupäda’s books is like taking medicine. It cures us of the material
disease, which keeps us trapped in this material world. If we have something wonderful that can
cure the world of misery, then naturally we would like to share it with the rest of humanity. That
is the essence of book distribution.
Many times Prabhupäda said we should dedicate our life to distributing books. To do that we
have to read the books and try to understand them. Then we’ll naturally be inspired to distribute
the knowledge within them. We shouldn’t degrade ourselves to a competitive mentality when it
comes to book distribution. Always see the person we are speaking with as a suffering living
entity whom Kåñëa has sent to us. We should try our best to help each person we speak with.
Never think fruitively; such a mentality will destroy our enthusiasm and compassion. Don’t just
distribute books, but sincerely try to help others come closer to Kåñëa. If you find someone
interested, spend some time with them and get some contact information. The more we want to
help people, the more people Kåñëa will send to us who are open to being helped. Don’t be
afraid to try new ideas. Be brave, be strong, and be sure that Kåñëa is guiding you. If you are not
inspired in what you are doing, you won’t be able to inspire others. You must love what you are
doing for Kåñëa; otherwise, something is wrong. Prabhupäda once told some devotees who were
301
trying to force me to do something I was not willing to do: “Force does not work. You cannot
force.” So if you want to distribute books throughout your life, love what you are doing and do it
voluntarily, not because you are being forced to do it.
* * *
Çréla Prabhupäda wanted us to dedicate our lives to distributing the mercy of Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu. To do that we have to cultivate the desire to distribute the mercy. It is a lifelong
cultivation. Giving Kåñëa is an eternal service, so why not give much of your lifetime or all of it
to book distribution? We need to associate with those who distribute books and encourage book
distribution, and also with devotees in general who enliven us in Kåñëa consciousness. We need
to continue with strong sädhana and make Çréla Prabhupäda’s books the basis of our lives—
hearing from them and serving the book bhägavata and person bhägavata, praying for the mercy
to distribute, and keeping the book Deities in our hearts.
The distribution of Çrémad-Bhägavatam and Bhagavad-gétä are eternal services. It is our
family business. Books are the basis, always. Çréla Prabhupäda said that there will always be
customers for our books. He himself went out and personally distributed, so certainly this is
respectable and glorious, now and always. Çréla Prabhupäda wrote to his disciples that the books
and magazines are our most important propaganda weapons to defeat ignorance and that the
more we produce literature and sell it all over the world, the more the world will be delivered
from its “suicide course.” He wrote that it is the most important preaching work, and he thanked
us for helping him. He lives forever in his instructions, and so we keep on distributing.
_______________________________________
I started distributing books in 1973. My topmost inspiration has been Çréla Prabhupäda—his
books, his väëé, his life. “Distribute books, distribute books, distribute books.” Çréla
Prabhupäda’s purports are such an inspiration. His desire to expand this mission inspires me to
distribute such great treasures in book form; share the wealth. Just meditating upon the benefit
the souls receive is special inspiration. People are suffering, and this knowledge will save them.
To be an instrument in this mission is very inspiring. Great inspiration also comes from the
association of book distributors and devotees in general. Of course, all of us get inspiration from
our beloved Deities. Keeping Them in our hearts during the day inspires book distribution and
all of our services.
_______________________________________
Çréla Prabhupäda’s love and mercy, the holy names, and the association of devotees are what
inspire me to continue distributing.
302
We are on a mission, and souls are suffering; we have the medicine, and the need is urgent—
urgent for us to continue for our own purification as well.
Devotional service is eternal. In the spiritual world everyone shares Kåñëa, so we practice to
do the same here.
It is inspiring to taste the nectar of book distribution and see the conditioned souls get the
mercy. Inspiration also comes from the blessings of the paramparä, from those who continue to
distribute, and from enthusiastic devotees. In the USA Çréla Prabhupäda started at age seventy.
His desire to see his books distributed widely is the major inspiration behind book distribution,
and we can pray to receive that inspirational mercy from Çréla Prabhupäda.
Guru-Gauräìga are also the inspiration. Deities in our temple and all around the world give
inspiration.
All souls are looking for Kåñëa, for genuine loving exchanges. Book distribution is part of
that exchange, where souls connect with Kåñëa and the distributor.
To distribute Kåñëa consciousness is a natural activity of the soul. We understand how
pleasing it is to Çréla Prabhupäda and the paramparä.
Nothing is more important than to develop love for Kåñëa and to share it.
Book distribution is nondifferent from the nine processes of devotional service. It is a
complete devotional-service package that anyone can do. It just takes the desire and the mercy
to cultivate the desire.
* * *
Änakadundubhi Däsa
Book distribution is lots of fun, a never-ending adventure, always full of bliss, even in the
most difficult times. I know I will never be able to repay Çréla Prabhupäda for the precious gift
he gave me, so I am trying to fulfill his first desire: “If you really want to please me, distribute my
books.” I plan to go out for the rest of this life, depending on the mercy of Lord Caitanya, Çréla
Prabhupäda, and all the Vaiñëavas.
Book distribution is a continuous reminder of how miserable material life is and how true the
words are in Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. It is a pure spiritual activity that purifies us more than
any other service. We see how Kåñëa is always present and is arranging all the situations, and
ultimately how He is the real doer and we are just the recipients of His mercy, tools that He
kindly chooses to use. Our faith in book distribution grows stronger and stronger every day. It is
the only way to save the world!
* * *
Änanda Vidyä Däsa
It is amazing that even one book is distributed. It is a miracle that one person gives a
donation to buy these books. What are these people who buy books doing? They are taking
money they would use for sense gratification and purchasing a book that will basically chastise
them. Indeed, the books are telling them that they are doing everything wrong, that they should
give up their bad habits, and that they should completely change their lives. If they knew what
303
they were getting, they probably wouldn’t give a donation. But because the books are
attractive—Kåñëa is all-attractive—so many people are inspired to take a book, and they
experience the bliss of Kåñëa consciousness right there at the saìkértana spot, right there in the
shopping mall. Why? Because they are associating with a devotee, they are surrendering to the
devotee, they are giving a donation, they are doing devotional service right there, and they are
getting Kåñëa. It’s as if they are coming in front of the Deity in the temple and giving a donation
or offering obeisances. It is just as potent. Just as Kåñëa is nondifferent from his Deity form,
Kåñëa is nondifferent from His books. People are coming in contact with Kåñëa directly.
Book distribution is such a direct way to preach. A conditioned soul is completely wrapped
up in ignorance; he couldn’t be further away from Kåñëa if he tried. He is completely in the
ignorance of material illusion, and suddenly Kåñëa is right there before him. All of a sudden he
has the opportunity to associate with a devotee, to please a devotee. It is stated that without the
mercy of a devotee one cannot understand Kåñëa, one cannot understand this philosophy. So by
pleasing the saìkértana devotee—just by being nice to him and surrendering to what he says and
giving a donation to him and just making friends with that devotee and pleasing him—Kåñëa is
pleased, and thus He makes it possible that the person will be able to understand the book.
It is a wonderful mission Çréla Prabhupäda has given us. In this age, not so many people are
coming to the temples. The temples are there, and they are an important aspect of the preaching.
But so many people will never come to a temple. So what to do? We bring Kåñëa to them; we
bring the temple to them. In the Caitanya-caritämåta we read how Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu
gave up the company of the goddess of fortune, namely his wife Viñëupriyä, as well as His happy
home and His loving mother, and out of His great mercy He ran after the conditioned souls to
give them love of Kåñëa. So that is practically what the saìkértana movement is: we are running
after the conditioned souls to give them Kåñëa. We are not waiting for them to come to the
temple. We are arranging it so that all they have to do is reach into their wallet and give a
donation, and they’ve made the connection. We try to stop them as nicely as we can, but
ultimately Kåñëa stops them. Then we engage them in some quick conversation, make friends
with them, and show them a book. The book is right there in their hand. We say our mantra, and
we come to the critical point: “Now please take this book and give a donation.” We cannot force
them. As the saying goes in America, “You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t make
him drink.” So we arrange the whole situation for this conditioned soul to connect with Kåñëa.
But that one point—taking a book and giving a donation—depends on his free will: he can
decide whether to surrender to Kåñëa or not.
_______________________________________
This mission is really the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityänanda. It is said that to get
the mercy of Rädhä and Kåñëa, one has to approach Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu. But to get the
mercy of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, one has to get the mercy of Lord Nityänanda. And, one step
further, Çréla Prabhupäda said that to get the mercy of Lord Nityänanda, one has to approach
Jagäi and Mädhäi. That is the mood. We are approaching the Jagäis and Mädhäis in the mood of
being representatives of Lord Nityänanda, on the order of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu:
yäre dekha, täre kaha ‘kåñëa’-upadeça
304
ämära äjïäya guru haïä tära’ ei deça
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu said, “On My order, you go out and become a guru by presenting the
instructions of Kåñëa.” Which means presenting the Bhagavad-gétä, Kåñëa’s personal
instructions, and Çrémad-Bhägavatam, which consists of instructions by Kåñëa and Kåñëa’s
devotees about Kåñëa and devotional service. But it is all absolute, kåñëa-upadeça, and to present
these instructions is the order of Çré Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
He also gave that order to Lord Nityänanda and Haridäsa Öhäkura. One day He told them,
“Now go door to door and beg alms like mendicants, but don’t ask for anything except that they
chant the names of Kåñëa.”
So they accepted the order of Çré Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It was difficult. The pious people
naturally fell at their feet. Nityänanda and Haridäsa would ask them to chant, and the pious
people would naturally take it up—“Yes, yes, we will chant.” But the rascals would blaspheme
them and criticize them and throw things at them and try to get them in trouble in different
ways. So they had to face so many problems. But it was the order of Lord Caitanya, so they had
to do it.
But the problems are the mercy. That is why Kåñëa says, na ca tasmän manuñyeñu kaçcin me
priya-kåttamaù: “The preachers are most dear to Me.” Why? Because the preachers take so
many risks. There are so many austerities they have to undergo, and out of compassion they
tolerate (titikñavaù käruëikäù). They tolerate so many problematic situations to give mercy. And
therefore Kåñëa is so pleased with those who take up this mission.
* * *
Hrémän Kåñëa Däsa
Çréla Prabhupäda’s books are the Deities, the saìkértana spot is our altar, and selling the
books is our püjä. This is the real Deity worship—on the reality altar, where we see it all happen
before our eyes. In this püjä we can’t hide behind the curtain of pretense, because you have to
deal with all your anarthas directly! I can imagine so many things—“I’m such a humble devotee,
I’m so this, I’m so that.” But how humble are you when someone on the street argues with you
to your face and then tells you to go to hell? On the street Kåñëa will directly show us all the
envy, greed, lust, and pride in our hearts, and we’re left gagging for his mercy. “Kåñëa! Please
save me!” We are forced to cry out like this, and this is the perfection. Kåñëa will make us
depend on Him.
* * *
Jayänanda Däsa
One day I noticed that my saìkértana partner was having an exceptionally huge day while I
was struggling like crazy. At one point I also noticed that his book cart was running out. So I
took it to the van to reload it for him. When I came back he was kind of upset that I would serve
him like that.
Then he said he was thinking of taking a break and getting some fruit, but he didn’t want to
stop distributing because the books were flying out. So I said, “Okay, keep distributing. I’ll buy
305
you some fruit.” Before he could protest I was on my way to the store. I came back ten minutes
later and he’d distributed 23 more books! Of course I praised him like anything, but he became
really annoyed and said something like, “If somebody loves me only because I get a big result, I
don’t appreciate that love. The real thing is to always try to be a servant, even if that service is
insignificant, like buying a banana for your friend.”
He was convinced that I distributed those books by buying him a banana (and an apple), and
I was convinced that he distributed so many books because he had such a nice understanding of
Kåñëa consciousness. He did 146 books that day. I did 28.
* * *
In between people I try to think of Kåñëa’s form or lotus feet or chant Hare Kåñëa.
Saìkértana really facilitates this type of meditation. There is an ecstatic festival in the temple of
the mind waiting for you on saìkértana. When you come home to do Deity worship, it means a
lot to you. I think every saìkértana devotee should have the privilege of doing Deity worship. It
enriches the saìkértana experience, and vice-versa.
_______________________________________
Prabhupäda said every devotee should learn the art of book distribution. Did he say anything
half-heartedly? No. He knew what it would do for us, how it would test us, how it would increase
our faith, and how it would sharpen our preaching skills. Properly done, book distribution fosters
selflessness. Everyone knows that the really long-time, steady book distributors are some of the
most self-sacrificing and humble devotees in our society.
_______________________________________
Caution! Beware! Reading quotes from “If You Want to Please Me . . .” or “Distribute Books,
Distribute Books, Distribute Books” can put a person in an altered state of awareness. And if
you read them out loud, others may become similarly affected.
A devotee read the following words aloud to a gathering of devotees:
There is no doubt about it; to distribute books is our most important activity. The temple
is a place not for eating and sleeping, but as a base from which we send out our soldiers to
fight with maya. “Fight with maya” means to drop thousands and millions of books into
the laps of the conditioned souls. Just like during the war time the bombs are raining from
the sky like anything. [Çréla Prabhupäda letter to Rämeçvara, 3 August 1973]
Everyone was a little struck just by the sound of it. Why do these old words sound like some
fresh poetry? It is only a paragraph taken from a letter written by Çréla Prabhupäda in 1973. It
does not rhyme, it has no meter, and it refers to bombing!
306
Çréla Prabhupäda surely saw the weaknesses of us Westerners, with our opulence, influence,
and just plain misplaced aggression. He knew we needed more than a mild temple life to make
us satisfied. His words “Just like in war time the bombs are raining from the sky like anything”
capture and engage our imagination.
Movements other than the saìkértana movement simply cannot engage the spiritual energy in
the hearts of mankind so completely. For example, the New Age Movement has many persons
practicing yoga, eating organic diets, and following various regimens for self-improvement. How
very powerful it has been over the last so many years! Modern people’s strong desire for a
quality lifestyle leads them to place their faith in elaborate seminars, retreats, study, association,
crystals, and candles.
They get an improved sense of well-being. They may learn for the first time that they are
something other than their mind. They may start to consider healthier choices when they fill
their stomachs. They try yoga äsanas and breathing to cut down on the stress caused by their
career and poor relationships.
Devotees know their newfound information is old wine in a new bottle. If they are something
other than their material mind, as they may discover, then what is the identity of the soul? If
going organic is their new fascination, how can they learn that their food should be an offering to
God? A sequence of äsanas and breathing is a good cure for a headache, but without knowing
the Yogeçvara, it is all sadly lacking. Prabhupäda explains in the Bhagavad-gétä, “Without Kåñëa
consciousness they do not even know what are the causes for material happiness.” And so the
New Age continues, but because it has no all-encompassing engagement such as devotional
service and the distribution of Kåñëa conscious information, its disciples remain self-improved
but stuck on self-improvement.
Being full of contradictions, all forms of religion but bhägavata-dharma work under
conceptions of fruitive results and distinctions of “you and I” and “yours and mine.” The
followers of Çrémad-Bhägavatam have no such consciousness. They are all Kåñëa
conscious, thinking that they are Kåñëa’s and Kåñëa is theirs. ” [Çrémad-Bhägavatam
6.16.41, translation]
We were born in an age of popular innovations such as fast food (cow slaughter) and nuclear
weapons (human slaughter). We need deeper purification than we even know. Çréla Prabhupäda
could see exactly what we needed. He was a book distributor himself, and he understood its
potential for engaging us. In fact, he invented it. He traveled all over India distributing Çrémad-
Bhägavatam, and then he came to America and distributed here.
“‘Fight with mäyä’ means to drop thousands and millions of books into the laps of the
conditioned souls.” He could understand that book distribution would engage us in a way that
we would be physically, actively, and very sincerely approaching others who have the same
contamination as ourselves. That is perhaps the single most truly beautiful and addicting quality
of book distribution: the more you work for others, the more it works on you. It puts you in an
altered state of awareness. If you are truly out there for the purpose of benefiting the people you
meet, if that is actually your pleasure, your happiness, and your meditation, you are the luckiest
person in the world, and Kåñëa is in your hand.
* * *
Madhumaìgala Däsa
307
At the Somerset West shopping mall I stopped a young man coming toward me. He seemed
to be in deep thought. I said to him, “Hey, smile. You look so serious. What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know what Christmas present to buy,” he replied.
“I have just the present you need,” I said. “Follow me.” I showed him a complete set of the
books I had with me. He looked at them with great interest. “Unfortunately,” he said, “I can’t
afford the whole lot. I’m a student, you know.”
“That’s okay. You can take half. Who are the books for?”
“My girlfriend. A family member of hers has just died, and these books are just what she
needs.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you. She will most definitely get great benefit from reading these
books. Have you read any books by Çréla Prabhupäda before?”
“No, but my mother once told me she had met a traveling monk who showed her similar
books.” Çréla Prabhupäda’s books are the greatest gift to human society.
After he took the books and left, I thought of something I’d read in the Caitanya-
caritämåta (Ädi 7.20–21):
The characteristics of Kåñëa are understood to be a storehouse of transcendental love.

Although that storehouse of love certainly came with Kåñëa when He was present, it was
sealed. But when Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu came with His associates of the Païca-tattva,
they broke the seal and plundered the storehouse to taste transcendental love of Kåñëa.
The more they tasted it, the more their thirst for it grew.
So when we are giving out Çréla Prabhupäda’s books to so many fortunate spirit souls, we are
helping Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu distribute the treasure love of God, which is the greatest
gift and the perfection of life.
_______________________________________
I was relishing the nectar of distributing books. About an hour before we were to leave our
spot, a security guard came and asked me to leave. At that point I was distributing books at a
very rapid pace.
What to do? I had to comply with the guard’s request. Where was I to go? All the
surrounding shops were starting to close for the night.
Then I saw a McDonald’s across the street. By the mercy of Guru and Kåñëa I noticed the
queue of cars at the takeout driveway. “That’s it!” I thought. “They’re all lined up and fired up
to get their Big Macs, and while they’re waiting I’ll give them a Big Book.”
I started at the end of the queue and handed the driver a book: “Here, check this out. Have a
look.” Gradually I made my way to the front. Then I returned to the end of the queue and
collected the donations. I did this again and again.
All glories to Çréla Prabhupäda, by whose mercy the patient customers on their way to a
hellish existence were taking books, getting purified, and beginning their journey back home,
back to Godhead! Çréla Prabhupäda said we must think of ways and means to distribute books.
308
* * *
Nanda Däsa
I was having a hard time distributing books for a couple of days, and I couldn’t figure out
why. I checked my e-mail after the two-day struggle and found a letter from Omaha, Nebraska,
USA. Who do I know from Omaha?
As I read on, I gradually recollected the person writing me.
Several months earlier, while distributing books in Kansas City, I had met a man from “The
Street Ministry.” The Street Ministry is a group of Christian preachers who wander around
downtown areas in America telling people about Jesus. Generally we avoid such militant
Christian preachers. But I had made friends with one of them after meeting with him several
times. I had even invited him to the Rüpänuga Vedic College in Kansas City for the Sunday
Feast program.
Eventually he came to a Sunday Feast along with a bunch of his friends. During their visit
they were so grateful for the experience that they insisted on personally thanking me by sending
me some photographs they had taken during the kértanas, lecture, prasädam feast, etc. Hence the
email.
I had a realization about why I had been having a hard time distributing books the last couple
of days. Why I wasn’t able to taste the sweetness of Kåñëa consciousness and give it to others. I
had become impersonal. “Absolute is sentient, thou hast proved/ Impersonal calamity thou hast
removed.”
I had a personal relationship with this preacher that had led to both of us moving a step
forward in spiritual lives: The preacher got prasädam; I got a personal realization. Isn’t it the
most amazing thing that sometimes when we take up devotional life we have to learn how to
become personal again?
Before receiving transcendental knowledge, our personal relationships were based on various
layers of extended selfishness. But when we first learn renunciation, that selfishness so easily
translates into impersonalism.
I didn’t realize that people I met were individual persons with an individual approach to
God. People are on different levels and can take only as much as their level allows. I had
forgotten about the preacher who wrote to me. But when I remembered how personal he was, it
struck me how impersonal I had become.
So now I wanted to be a person with persons.
I replied to the email and left the temple with renewed vigor and push. After all, once you
get a taste for book distribution, it’s difficult to stop, despite the difficulties involved.
* * *
Navéna Nérada Dasa
I met a simple man, your ordinary 9-to-5 worker, in a chemical company in Basel,
Switzerland. He was not really interested in the topics I tried to explain to him. But he had a
great fortune: in his company worked a really nice devotee. He preached to the workers, brought
them prasädam cakes, and also distributed books. The worker I met was very impressed with this
309
devotee, telling me that he worked the hardest, that he was the best at his job, and that he
helped other workers too.
Now, this man was by no means a philosopher, but because he was so impressed by the good
example of that devotee, he understood that Kåñëa consciousness is something extraordinary.
And he happily bought three books.
So, whoever you are, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing, if your character is first
class you can convince people about Kåñëa consciousness just by your example. That is actual
preaching. It is not easy to convince someone simply by words, especially if one is not an expert
speaker. It takes both äcära and pracära, perfect behavior and perfect speaking.
* * *
Nayana Raïjana Däsa
In our war against Mäyä we have to utilize our complete arsenal. Back to Godhead magazine
is a single bullet, while a subscription to BTG sent out monthly through the mail is like
automatic fire. Then there are the paperback books—each one like a grenade. They are more
likely than magazines to remain in a person’s home.
Then we have the heavy artillery, shells fired one by one or in short salvos. These are the
hardbound books. They cause permanent damage as they plummet into people’s homes.
Sometimes they lay latent for many years, waiting to explode as soon as they’re pulled down
from a bookshelf.
But then there is the brahmästra, the nuclear warhead—the Full Set! This is no ordinary
weapon, for it can deliver the final blow against Mäyä and end the war. The Full Set solidifies
Kåñëa consciousness in the purchaser’s life, leading the person to become a life member or a
fully initiated devotee.
To be effective, the Full Set brahmästra must be strategically armed. ISKCON must have
distributors trained in the art of launching this devastating weapon into the homes of the
fortunate. These soldiers, although expert in all types of warfare, will take advantage of any
opportunity to deliver a Full Set. As Mäyä retreats, more and more of these opportunities will
arise.
As Çréla Prabhupäda said, every temple is a base from which to send out our soldiers to battle
Mäyä, and so each temple should have at least one devotee trained in launching the Full-Set
brahmästra.
It’s not necessary to decrease any other program, but we should just add this powerful
weapon to our arsenal. As Çréla Prabhupäda said, ‘‘We will always have customers for our
books.’’
* * *
Parameçvara Däsa
I had an interesting dream while taking a fifteen-minute nap while on book distribution at a
concert. I dreamt I was in a temple somewhere, and I saw the mürti of Çréla Prabhupäda on the
vyäsäsana. Out of affection I touched Prabhupäda’s shoulder, and the mürti came to life! It was
310
of course very moving for me to see this. So I thought that the best thing to do was ask
Prabhupäda if there was anything I could do for him. All of a sudden the temple room was filled
with a lot of people moving about, and Prabhupäda asked me, “Could you stop someone and
bring him here? I want to preach.”
I tried to stop someone but I couldn’t, so I said to Prabhupäda: “Prabhupäda, I’m not able to
stop anyone. Maybe we could find someone who is standing still.”
So he got up from the vyäsäsana, and we began walking together to find someone for him to
preach to. One fellow saw me and said, “Oh, you’re the book guy. I want that Science of Self-
Realization.”
I said “OK” and gave him the SSR, and he gave three dollars for it. Then I told him, “There’s
this amazing spiritual master who wants to speak to you. He’s the author of the book.”
Prabhupäda was right there. Then the fellow opened the book, and Prabhupäda was gone in an
instant, the dream broke, and I woke up.
I learned from this dream the truth of Çréla Prabhupäda’s statement that “I am in my books.”
I really realized it after this dream. Prabhupäda and I were looking for someone for him to
preach to, but as soon as the guy opened the book, Prabhupäda disappeared, indicating that he is
preaching to people through his books.
* * *
Rädhikä-ramaëa Däsa
While on saìkértana at one of the night-life spots in Tokyo, I saw a mafia guy. He was
standing with a group of his bodyguards and groupies. Later I found out he was the owner of one
of the major nightclubs in that area and a big player in the black market. I approached him
despite the objections and obstructions of his entourage. He looked at me trustfully and directed
everyone to let me through to show him the books. I felt quite insecure, but I really tried to give
it my best shot. It was an intense moment, having to face my own shortcomings. Could he sense
my lack of sincerity? Although he took all the books I showed him and gave a nice donation, I
still felt a little disappointed with myself. I analyzed the whole exchange again and again— how
the worm of false ego had bitten me and infected my dealings with him.
I continued distributing for awhile, but because of guilty feelings I just had to go up to him
and tell him, “You know, I’m not pure. There is lust, pride, envy, and greed in me. But these
books are pure; please keep them and read them.” Because this honest attempt touched his
heart, he became very respectful. We built up a very trusting relationship, and every time I met
him he always invited me to go for dinner at his nightclub, and I had to explain that I couldn’t
because I’m a monk.
A few months later I saw him in a florist’s shop, so I waved at him. As I approached him a
bunch of his bodyguards and other vultures tried to stop me, but he called them off—“Hey, he’s
my buddy!”—and he hugged me. He gave me a big donation, grabbed a bunch of books from my
stack, said, “I’ve just got to read these books,” and walked away. It was a very quick exchange,
but I felt Kåñëa giving both of us His mercy. I felt very happy, and when you’re happy on
saìkértana all the people become happy with you and the books just fly out in ecstasy.
I got the realization that it is very important to be introspective, that I should always try to
increase my awareness of the people’s individual natures, that I should respect the people and
311
deal with them honestly, and that I should ultimately be more and more Kåñëa conscious with
every person I meet.
* * *
Tära Däsa
I strongly suspect that my life is more than half over. When it’s time to check out, the Lord
will tally my efforts. I’m not proud to say that I’ll come up deficient on many counts. At least I
want Him to know that I tried to do some good for others. I’m counting on His statement that
there is no one more dear to Him than those who try to share His message with others. It’s a
very enticing offer! We become most dear to Kåñëa by giving His message to others. It’s an open
secret how to conquer Kåñëa’s heart. God is revealing His mind: “Share My instructions and
you’ll win Me over.” That’s inspiring! At the end of this life, whatever regrets I have, I’m sure I
won’t regret the efforts I made to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. There is no better way to
use this brief life than to help others become Kåñëa conscious.
_______________________________________
To do book distribution long term, you have to find your rhythm. We all have different
capacities. I could never stick with the standard saìkértana schedule. I’m an afternoon person.
That’s when I get my strength. So I adjusted my schedule to suit my nature.
Put pressure on the mind, but not too much. It’s like a rubber band. You can stretch it to a
certain degree, but beyond that it will break. Don’t live in the comfort zone, but don’t live in the
burnout zone either. Find your balance.
Having said that, sticking with saìkértana often just requires stubbornness. When you feel no
inclination, stubbornly push on with the process of giving Kåñëa to others. To avoid burnout,
take a Kåñëa conscious break and absorb yourself in hearing and chanting.
_______________________________________
Sharing Kåñëa with others is the life force of the movement and the highest form of charity.
The gopés confirm this by declaring that the emissaries of Kåñëa are the most munificent welfare
workers. Influenced by the lower modes, we may imagine saìkértana to be an activity for getting
something from the public. This is a strange notion. The sheltered servants of God are trying to
get something from the unfortunate forgetful souls! Rather, we should always remind ourselves
that we are trying to be an instrument of Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s giving mission. When this
consciousness is prominent, everyone becomes satisfied. For the conditioned souls it is a novel
experience—meeting a stranger who unselfishly wants to give them something. They tend to
value the book more because they remember the encounter as special.
* * *
312
Väsudeva Datta Däsa
While doing saìkértana in Japan, I wanted to call my mother in Europe, who is very
favorable, but I had some difficulty getting a connection. So I called some technical service for
help. A young man answered. I tried to explain the problem to him, but he kept saying that my
card was not offering me a live operator. I asked him to explain why the day before I had
connected to America without any problem but now I couldn’t get Europe. He became very
angry and started berating me: “You fool! Shut up! I can’t believe you’re so stupid!” I was
shocked. I couldn’t believe that someone who was supposed to help customers would speak so
harshly without any reason.
By some inconceivable mercy I stayed cool and even felt a little sorry for the technician
because he was so frustrated. Usually I would have yelled back at him, as I had often done with
riksha-wäläs in India who had tried to cheat me. But this time I thought, “Why should I spoil my
consciousness with this man?”
So I gave up trying to call my mother and went to do saìkértana at the Shinjuku station,
which is known to be a difficult spot. But by the mercy of Guru and Caitanya Mahäprabhu,
practically all the people I approached were very friendly, and I sold fifty books in three hours.
Every saìkértana devotee, after a bad day, tries to figure out what went wrong—“Did I
commit some offense? Did I overeat?”—so that he can avoid the mistake in the future and
improve. And after a good day he’ll try to figure out what he did right—good rounds, sevä,
tapasya—so he can repeat it.
I tried to figure out why I got some mercy. My rounds were, as usual, nothing special. But
then I remembered the nasty guy on the phone whom I had tolerated.
Then I got a realization. Usually I play the submissive, surrendered soul in front of my guru
or some other senior devotee, but with ordinary devotees I’m arrogant, and what to speak of
“the karmés.” This time I saw that Kåñëa appreciates tolerance and humility even before an
“insignificant” unhappy telephone operator. He can test our tolerance through such a person. To
be gentle with such people is difficult, and even more so with young devotees, but if we tolerate
in this way Kåñëa reciprocates and makes us more effective preachers.
* * *
Vijaya Däsa
After an enlivening six-week college tour in the western United States, Jaya Gauräìga Däsa
and I decided we would leave Salt Lake City after a half day of book distribution and go to Las
Vegas (Sin City), spend the night, and then go back to LA. This would break the trip in half so
we wouldn’t have to drive as much at one stretch.
As we entered Las Vegas we decided to take an exit where we could find a place to park the
van and rest for the night. While exiting we unexpectedly saw a sign reading “Southern Nevada
Community College.” Seeing that, I said to Jaya Gauräìga, “Looks like Kåñëa wants us to
distribute books here tomorrow rather than go straight back to LA.”
The next morning we drove to the school to have a look. It turned out that Southern Nevada
313
Community College was a small school—and there were fifteen Christians distributing Gideon
Bibles on the campus quad! Still, it turned out to be a really nice campus for book distribution,
with many students taking Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. Jaya Gauräìga and I wondered how long it
had been since book distributors had been there. Most likely many, many years.
While distributing I couldn’t help but notice that the Bible distributors were quite elderly. So
I asked a few of them how old they were. One said he was 78, another 69, and another 75. I
commended them for their sincerity in doing what they were doing in their senior years. One of
them said, “What better way could we spend our senior years than in glorifying God?” He was
81!
I thought these elderly men should be an inspiration for some of us to also distribute
Prabhupäda’s books into our elderly years.
A short time before Prabhupäda left this world, he instructed the devotees, “You serve
Kåñëa throughout this life, then when you get old you can come here to Våndävana and retire.”
Tamäl Krishna Mahäräja then said, “But Prabhupäda, you never came here to retire, so we
won’t either.”
Prabhupäda was pleased with that reply and smiled.
_______________________________________
While reading the Çrémad-Bhägavatam I came across a verse spoken by King Rantideva that
spelled out the mood of a great devotee: “I do not pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
for the eight perfections of mystic yoga, nor for salvation from repeated birth and death. I want
only to stay among all living entities and suffer all distresses on their behalf, so that they may be
freed from suffering.” (SB 9.21.12) Of course, very few can achieve this highly elevated state of
consciousness, but Rantideva is a glorious example of compassion that we can appreciate and
strive to emulate.
Difficulties will undoubtedly arise when we try to preach Kåñëa consciousness. Sometimes
members of other religious groups harass us. Sometimes it’s too cold or too hot. Sometimes our
ego is complaining, or our mind is screaming at us: “No! This is too much!” But if despite all the
difficulties we stay out with the conditioned souls, suffering all types of distress for their benefit
so that they can become free of suffering, then how much pleased Kåñëa will be! How much
benefit the conditioned souls will receive! And how much we will advance!
Kåñëa has a problem—us conditioned souls. And when real religion becomes too much
eclipsed and irreligion too predominant, He comes here to solve the problem. If we perform the
austerity of trying to help Kåñëa solve this problem, then how much pleased He is! Everyone has
to do something, so why not help Kåñëa solve this problem of forgetfulness of the conditioned
souls? He says that there is no one more dear to Him than one who preaches the message of
Bhagavad-gétä, and that there will never be anyone more dear.
Sometimes a devotee will go out to distribute books with a fruitive mentality, hoping to get
some name and fame for being a successful book distributor. This desire for name, fame, and
adoration is subtle—one may not even notice it—so we have to be introspective and examine
our motives. When we see the impurities, we need to pray to Kåñëa for purification. He is known
as bhäva-grähé janärdana: He sees our real intention.
314
We have to go out with a humble desire to let everyone know about Kåñëa. This humility is
the key to being successful on saìkértana. Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura says, “When will I, with a
humble heart, go out to spread the teachings of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu.” Humility is the
crown jewel of devotional service, and it doesn’t come easily in Kali-yuga. It’s something we
have to work on and pray for, and the more we do book distribution, the more we become
humbled. Once in a letter to Hridayänanda Mahäräja and Satsvarüpa Mahäräja, Çréla
Prabhupäda said, “If you are not tolerant and humble, you will not be able to preach Kåñëa
consciousness.”
_______________________________________
For Çréla Prabhupäda, printing transcendental literature was his life and soul. He printing
Back to Godhead magazine and then the First Canto of the Bhägavatam when he had practically
no money. In the early 60’s there was a man in Delhi who would print on Prabhupäda’s promise
that he would get the money due him. But sometimes the money wouldn’t come, and the man
would have to tell Prabhupäda that he couldn’t print without some payment. Prabhupäda would
then preach to him and the printer would do another print run. Prabhupäda had practically no
money.
When Çréla Prabhupäda started the Kåñëa consciousness movement in America, the devotees
didn’t know how important printing was to him until he hammered it into their heads. Then they
understood. On July 15, 1975, at an interview in Berkley, Çréla Prabhupäda was asked, “What
will happen to the movement when you die?” His answer came back immediately: “I will never
die.” All the guests and devotees cheered, and Prabhupäda continued, “I will live on in my
books.”
Çréla Prabhupäda knew his time was limited, so he felt the urgency to quickly spread Kåñëa
consciousness everywhere. This is the mood of a pure devotee: he wants to see everyone happily
engaged in Kåñëa consciousness; he is para-duùkha-duùkhé—he feels pain upon seeing the
suffering of the conditioned souls. He himself feels the happiness of being Kåñëa conscious and
wants to share it with others. He’s an ocean of compassion, giving himself fully for the
advancement of human society so that everyone can be happy.
By setting up the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Çréla Prabhupäda expected his devotees in the
press to cooperate fully to perform the essential task of publishing his books. When his books
didn’t come out fast enough, he felt disturbed and knew the devotees weren’t cooperating fully.
He famously said in 1977, shortly before his departure, “Your love for me will be shown by how
you cooperate with one another after I am gone.” So it is very clear that cooperation is one of
the most important ways to please Prabhupäda. A symptom of love is that one acts in a way that
is pleasing to the beloved. That action is cooperation. One may ask, “Cooperate for what?” As
soon as the world cooperate is used, there is a goal in mind, and people have to cooperate with
one another to reach that goal. Prabhupäda established many goals in ISKCON. He wanted us
to spread Kåñëa consciousness all over the world, a royal goal. He also wanted us to at least
maintain the standard of Deity worship he established, but ideally he wanted us to increase the
standard. He wanted successful farm projects with varëäçrama-dharma established. He had more
goals, but these are what he most emphasized. Because he didn’t get a chance to establish
varëäçrama, he said, “Fifty percent is left unfinished.”
315
But book distribution was clearly something he wanted to continue for the spiritual
advancement of human society. This is something that we as members of ISKCON can without
doubt engage in together and know that Prabhupäda is pleased. So this is something we should
cooperate with each other to accomplish, to show our love for Çréla Prabhupäda.
_______________________________________
By going out on book distribution, you risk losing your false ego. Therefore the false ego
protests, telling you not to go on book distribution. The false ego doesn’t want to die, so it
complains, vehemently. By going out on book distribution the real ego comes alive—that “I am
the eternal servant of Kåñëa”— and the dirty false ego dies.
Çréla Prabhupäda said a brähmaëa is one who leaves an area cleaner than it was when he
arrived. We’ve come into this world of so much contamination, and we are also dirty with so
much contamination in our hearts—lust, greed, anger, false ego, etc. So we should make a very
sincere effort to become clean ourselves and also help others become clean. Then we will be real
brähmaëas, because when we leave this world we will be clean and some of the people we’ve
come in contact with will also be cleaner. The advantage of book distribution is that while we’re
distributing we’re getting purified and other people are getting books, giving them a chance to
also get cleansed.
_______________________________________
Çréla Prabhupäda wanted everyone in our society to learn the art of book distribution. Why
did he stress it so much? Because he knew that his books would change people’s hearts and bring
them happiness. He said that even if someone touches a book he benefits, what to speak of
reading it. Prabhupäda said if a person reads even one line or one word his life will be successful.
A devotee is para-duùkha-duùkhé: he dislikes seeing others suffer. This world is a place of
suffering, as Kåñëa says in the Bhagavad-gétä. When we give people books, we’re giving them an
opportunity to be relieved of all suffering and enter an ocean of bliss. In the Caitanya-caritämåta
(Madhya 19.137) Lord Caitanya tells Rüpa Gosvämé, “The ocean of the transcendental mellows
of devotional service is so big that no one can estimate its length and breadth. However, just to
help you taste it, I am describing but one drop.” So all the instructions Rüpa Gosvämé received
from Lord Caitanya were just a drop from the ocean of the nectar of devotion to Çré Kåñëa.
Similar, each book we distribute is a drop of Lord Caitanya’s mercy. We want to distribute tens
of millions of these drops and flood the world with the Lord’s mercy.
_______________________________________
Çréla Prabhupäda once said, “If you want to be inspired to distribute books, you should chant
the Ñaò-gosvämy Añöakam, because it is in the mood of preaching.
316
The first statement of the añöakam explains how the Six Gosvämés very enthusiastically
chanted the holy name. Once a devotee asked Çréla Prabhupäda, “Prabhupäda, how can we be
enthusiastic on book distribution?”
Çréla Prabhupäda replied, “Chant your sixteen rounds uninterrupted.” In other words, if you
get up and chant some rounds before maìgala-ärati and the rest after maìgala-ärati, that is also
uninterrupted because during maìgala-ärati we are also chanting. But we should not have
rounds left during the day. Rounds chanted in the morning are so much better than when we
chant them after breakfast or in the afternoon. This is because the brähma-muhürta is the most
auspicious time of the day. Çréla Prabhupäda went even further and said, “It is better that you
chant all your rounds before maìgala-ärati.”
That’s a little tough for most. The point is that early chanting is the best chanting. You’ll hear
your rounds best in the early morning because at that time of the day, when nothing else is
happening, it is easier to focus . But right after breakfast things get busy.
The Six Gosvämés chanted so nicely because they had a taste for Kåñëa consciousness. They
were very popular among the gentle and the ruffians because they saw the soul and the
Supersoul in everyone. This is why they were so enthusiastic to preach Kåñëa consciousness.
When we are distributing books, it’s impossible to approach everyone we see. So we
approach those who look more inclined to take a book instead of those who don’t, but if there’s
only one person to approach and they don’t look inclined, then try anyway. Sometimes amazing
things happen. I remember one time in the airport—it was very slow. A businessman came
toward me wearing a suit that looked like it cost maybe a thousand dollars. He appeared to be a
very hardcore businessman, the type of person we generally don’t approach. I thought, “Well,
he’s the only one here right now, so let’s give him a try.” So I stopped him, spoke to him, and
showed him the Bhagavad-gétä. He said, “You know, I’m completely into this! It’s amazing that
you picked me!” He took the Gétä and gave a very nice donation. It was amazing. He was so
nice. So you never know who will take a book.
Another time I was at a college campus sitting behind a table displaying the books. An old
janitor came by, rolling his trash bucket. He saw the books and asked me, “What’s that all
about?”
“Yoga, meditation, philosophy,” I replied “It gives inner peace.”
“All right, sounds good.”
He gave a donation, took the Bhagavad-gétä, put it in a plastic bag to protect it from the
trash, and put it in his trash can. I would never have spoken to him. That’s the nice thing about
doing a book table: So many types of people come to the table that saìkértana devotees usually
don’t approach.
_______________________________________
Lord Çiva and Pärvaté went to a village dressed as ordinary village people. While they were
walking around, a beggar came and asked for a donation. Lord Çiva said he didn’t have anything,
but Pärvaté told him he should give something. He ended up giving him a watermelon. The
beggar was not very satisfied, however, because he didn’t like watermelon, but he took it
anyway, thinking he could get something for it in the village. He found someone who would give
a few cents for it, and then he went on his way. When the person who bought the watermelon cut
317
it open, he was surprised to find that it was filled with priceless jewels. The beggar who received
the melon didn’t know its great value, so he effectively just gave it away.
This is the situation we find when we distribute books. People receive these great treasures of
knowledge, but because they don’t know how priceless they are they give them to someone else
or throw them away or keep them in their house for years and years but never read them. As far
as possible we should try to help them understand how important the books are so that they
don’t make the same mistake the beggar made.
_______________________________________
Wherever we distribute books, that place becomes a sacrificial arena. When there is an
initiation ceremony, the fire yajïa is considered the mouth of Viñëu and the area around the fire
a sacrificial arena. Book distribution is a yajïa, and wherever the devotees distribute is the
sacrificial arena. By this sacrifice we are purifying the atmosphere of the world.
The result of the book-distribution sacrifice performed over the last few decades is that
millions of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books now reside in people’s homes all over the world and the
people in those homes are getting purified. Prabhupäda said that his books are worshipable
Deities, and as I’ve traveled around the world I’ve sometimes seen his books on the altar in our
temples, especially during the Prabhupäda Marathon.
Millions of people are reading millions of books on this planet—books on science,
geography, and history, books on art, music, and architecture, novels, exposés, and poetry books,
etc.—but the result of all this reading is that the people continue their material existence. Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books, however, give clear information about the soul, about Kåñëa, about our
relationship with Kåñëa, about devotional service, and ultimately about love of Kåñëa. This is the
difference between Prabhupäda’s books and the countless other books throughout the world. At
Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.5.11 Süta Gosvämé tells the sages at Naimiñäraëya: “Those words which
do not describe the glories of the Lord, who alone can sanctify the atmosphere of the whole
universe, are considered by saintly persons to be like unto a place of pilgrimage for crows. Since
the all-perfect persons are inhabitants of the transcendental abode, they do not derive any
pleasure there. On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the
transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is
a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in
the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even
though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly
honest.”
This is a movement designed to turn crows into swans. The best way to do it is to get the
books into the hands of the people. Then Kåñëa does His magic. Just as our lives completely
changed by our reading Çréla Prabhupäda’s books, the life of anyone who reads his books today
will be completely transformed. If it could happen to us, why can’t it happen to the people
receiving Prabhupäda’s books today? The fact is that their lives are changed. We may not see it,
but Kåñëa does. This is one of the big reasons I go out: I know that some people will have their
lives changed for the better by receiving Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
At Bhagavad-gétä 4.38 Kåñëa says, “In this world there is nothing so sublime and pure as
transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism. And one who
318
has become accomplished in the practice of devotional service enjoys this knowledge within
himself in due course of time.” This is the difference between Çréla Prabhupäda’s books and
other books: his books purify a person simply by their reading them. Or, as Prabhupäda said,
“By touching them they get purified.”
Another benefit of book distribution is that it helps us remember Kåñëa. As servants of guru
and Kåñëa, we want to mold our life in such a way that we are always thinking of Kåñëa. The
service of book distribution is most conducive to constant remembrance of Kåñëa. How could a
saìkértana devotee forget Kåñëa when he or she is carrying books about Kåñëa, showing books
about Kåñëa, and explaining different aspects of Kåñëa to the people he or she encounters? And
when things get difficult, the distributor prays to Kåñëa. Saìkértana devotees will often chant
Hare Kåñëa all day to keep themselves in the right frame of mind. Or they will chant various
verses, which help them in the same way. One verse I chant quite often on sankirtana is
Bhagavad-gétä 13.23:
upadrañöänumantä ca bhartä bhoktä maheçvaraù

paramätmeti cäpy ukto dehe ’smin puruñaù paraù
“Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme
proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.” I find
that this verse helps me remember that Kåñëa is the controller and that He is always with us in
all circumstances. It helps me depend on Him more.
Sometimes I chant this verse constantly, as in japa, because it places me in the right frame of
mind. We may try our best to distribute books, but ultimately Kåñëa is in control.
Suppose a saìkértana devotee is trying to convince someone to take a book and the person
resists. Then the devotee tries harder, thinking, “I’m going to convince this person to take a
book.” Then the person he’s trying to convince becomes even more determined not to take the
book because he senses the devotee’s false ego. Next, because of attachment, the devotee
becomes angry and the atmosphere becomes even more polluted.
To avoid such scenarios, it’s essential to always remember that ultimately Kåñëa is in control.
Only then can we be peaceful on book distribution. It’s not easy to get free of this attachment to
the result. Çréla Prabhupäda once said, “There are two things that go very deep in the heart:
attachment to the result and sex desire.” Book distribution helps us become free of both, and
therefore the saìkértana-yajïa and Kåñëa consciousness go well together. Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta
Sarasvaté once said, “In the morning one should beat the mind with a shoe a hundred times, and
in the evening with a broomstick a hundred times.” On saìkértana we have to also beat the mind.
The mind may become attracted to the opposite sex or attached to the result, or so many other
things can distract us. Then we have to beat it with our intelligence to get it back on track, the
track of pleasing Kåñëa by giving Him to others in the form of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
To distribute books successfully one has to have good sädhana—rising early in the morning,
chanting attentively, reading Çréla Prabhupäda’s books attentively, etc. Then when we go out on
book distribution we are so spiritually surcharged that we can approach people with the
realization that they are kindred souls who have simply forgotten our common father, Kåñëa.
Done with this understanding, book distribution is the most ecstatic service—going from soul to
soul offering them the most valuable medicine to cure the disease of birth and death.
Many appreciate us. Quite often people who take a book tell me, “Thank you for coming out
here and doing this.” What devotee wouldn’t get a boost from such reciprocation? We should
319
also be grateful to have the opportunity to engage in this service. We should always remember
we’re not just distributing books: we’re distributing the most profound knowledge on the planet.
As we learn at the beginning of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, the Vedic literature is like a tree and
the Bhägavatam is its ripened fruit (nigama-kalpa-taror galitaà phalam). When we go on book
distribution we are distributing the most valuable fruits of Vedic wisdom. We want to deliver
these fruits to every home on the planet.
_______________________________________
I was distributing in the airport and it was becoming very frustrating—no one would take a
book. Then I started to chant a verse that usually comes to mind during these times:
tat te ’nukampäà su-samékñamäëo

bhuïjäna evätma-kåtaà vipäkam
håd-väg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jéveta yo mukti-pade sa däya-bhäk
Çréla Prabhupäda’s explanation of this verse, Çrémad-Bhägavatam 10.14.8, is found in the purport
of Çrémad-Bhägavatam 4.6.46:
The meaning of this verse is that when a devotee is in a calamitous condition he takes it as
a benediction of the Supreme Lord and takes responsibility himself for his past misdeeds.
In such a condition, he offers still more devotional service and is not disturbed. One who
lives in such a disposition of mind, engaged in devotional service, is the most eligible
candidate for promotion to the spiritual world. In other words, such a devotee’s claim for
promotion to the spiritual world is assured in all circumstances.
After meditating on this verse, I realized what my problem was: “I’m too attached to the
result.” But fortunately, Kåñëa humbled me. Then I began to pray to Kåñëa to help me become
attached to just trying to please Him. Immediately I felt enlivened by this meditation. Thus, a
few minutes later I met a man from Malaysia named Shiva who expressed great joy upon seeing
the Bhagavad-gétä I presented to him. Then he told me his story. Twelve years earlier he had
visited the ISKCON temple in Kuala Lumpur and was very happy to speak to the devotees there
and experience the nice atmosphere. That night Çréla Prabhupäda came to him in a dream.
Prabhupäda told him to hand him his beads, and he did. Prabhupäda then chanted one round on
his beads, handed them back to Shiva, and said, “Now chant Hare Kåñëa.”
Since that time Shiva has chanted Hare Kåñëa on his beads every day. He also purchased
some books from me to add to his collection (he already had the Çrémad-Bhägavatam and
several other books by Çréla Prabhupäda). After this transcendental experience, practically every
person I spoke to took a book. Kåñëa is very kind—He knows how to wake us up.
I highly recommend that all devotees learn the tat te ’nukampäm verse. As Çréla Prabhupäda
päda writes in The Nectar of Devotion: “This statement of Çrémad-Bhägavatam should be the
guide of all devotees.”
320
_______________________________________
If we want to distribute books, we should pray to the Deities: “Please give me sincerity.
Please give me Your mercy so I can give this mercy out to others.” This is the mood we should
have. If we have the mercy of Kåñëa, then His mercy will go out in the form of Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books. But if we don’t have His mercy, then how can we go out steadily?
We should pray to Tulasé Devé. She is such a dear servant of Kåñëa. She always makes
arrangements for Kåñëa’s pastimes. That is her service in the spiritual world. She wants all the
suffering souls in the material world to go back to the spiritual world. So if we pray to Tulasé
Devé, then she will give her mercy and arrange for the glories of Kåñëa to be heard in this world
also.
We should pray to Çréla Prabhupäda during guru-püjä: “Please help me continue what you
have started: book distribution.” We have to be beggars, praying for the mercy. And Kåñëa very
much wants to give His mercy. But we have to want it. And what is in the way? Sense
gratification—poison for the soul. It is just a disturbance to our actual happiness. As Çréla
Prabhupäda says in his purport to Bhagavad-gétä 3.39, “While one enjoys sense gratification, it
may be that there is some feeling of happiness, but actually that so-called feeling of happiness is
the ultimate enemy of the sense enjoyer.” Why? Because it takes us away from actual happiness.
But book distribution is the real pleasure of the soul, because helping the conditioned souls get
closer to Kåñëa pleases Him the most. We should pray to Kåñëa for His mercy so we can
distribute books steadily.
_______________________________________
When Çréla Prabhupäda was asked about the secret of his success in spreading Kåñëa
consciousness all over the world in just twelve years, he said, “I have presented Kåñëa as He is.”
Kåñëa is all-attractive; so if Kåñëa is presented as He is, then people will be attracted. If we go
out and preach, understanding our position, understanding Kåñëa’s position, and understanding
the position of everyone we meet, then people will be attracted. Our position is that we are
servants of Kåñëa. So if we go out on saìkértana with that mood and just try to please Kåñëa by
distributing books, then people will feel that purity and sincerity and will want to reciprocate. So
the main point is that we have to try to please Kåñëa, and if we do, then people will reciprocate.
We have to pray to Kåñëa, pray very sincerely to be His instrument: nimitta-mätraà bhava
savya-säcin. We can’t do anything on our own, because we’re not the doers. But one thing we
can do is pray to be Kåñëa’s instrument. One devotee prayed to Kåñëa this way: “Please, Kåñëa,
don’t let me get in Your way as You spread this movement. Please give me at least enough
purity to keep me from getting in Your way. Please allow the sincere people to take books.
Please don’t let my false ego and insincerity get in the way of people accepting Your mercy.” It’s
a nice prayer. Sometimes our ego and material desires actually get in the way of people getting
the mercy of Kåñëa. How sad. We are out there trying to preach Kåñëa consciousness, but we
have some material desire. Because of that impurity, people don’t receive the mercy. But if we
321
are good instruments, if we are sincere, then even people who aren’t searching for Kåñëa, or
even searching for some higher understanding of life—even they will take the mercy.
_______________________________________
The Çrémad-Bhägavatam says that in the present age people in general are short-lived, lazy,
misguided, unlucky, and, above all, always disturbed. In such an all-encompassing degraded
atmosphere, to find someone willing to take up Kåñëa consciousness seriously is very, very rare.
But we have to soldier on. We know Kåñëa wants us to distribute books that glorify Him, so we
do it. As Prabhupäda says in one conversation:
Pradyumna: What if people don’t want to hear our message?

Çréla Prabhupäda: People might not understand our message, but Kåñëa will be pleased,
and that is our mission. They thought Jesus Christ’s mission was stopped. They killed him.
But his mission was attained. He preached three years only, but so many followers. He
pleased Kåñëa. We must not be disappointed that no one is hearing Kåñëa consciousness.
We will say it to the moon and stars and all directions. We will cry in the wilderness, bolo
kåñëa, bhaja kåñëa, koro kåñëa-çikñä: “Chant Kåñëa’s name, worship Kåñëa, follow Kåñëa’s
instructions!” Because Kåñëa is everywhere, He will hear us. We want to get a certificate
from Kåñëa that “This man has done something for Me.” Not popularity. If a pack of
asses says you are good, what is that? We have to please Kåñëa’s senses with purified
senses.
We are trying to shine a light in the darkness. The saìkértana devotees are torch-bearers in
the darkness of Kali-yuga, giving light to the blind in this dark world. The torches are
Prabhupäda’s books. All over the world the light of Kåñëa consciousness is touching people’s
hearts. We see a little of it, but Kåñëa sees all of it, and He’s pleased. Prabhupäda said, “If they
read one line they are going one hundred times toward Kåñëa.” Practically every day I meet
people who have read some of Prabhupäda’s books and are appreciating them.
Purity is the force. Let’s pray to have the mood of the great king Rantideva, who said, “I do
not want liberation or mystic perfections. I only want to stay among all living entities and suffer
all distresses on their behalf so that they may be freed from all suffering.” People are suffering
because of a lack of Kåñëa consciousness. By the mercy of Çréla Prabhupäda we have the cure for
the disease of material existence. By reading Prabhupäda’s books they can become healthy
again.
_______________________________________
In the Bhagavad-gétä Kåñëa says, “A faithful person who is dedicated to transcendental

knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having
achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.” What does it mean to be dedicated to
knowledge? Kåñëa says we have to have faith in the knowledge. Another thing is that if someone
322
is dedicated to something or someone, he wants to serve that person or object of affection. For
instance, people who are dedicated to their country want to serve the country, people who are
dedicated to their family want to serve the family, and people who are dedicated to a company
want to serve the company. To be dedicated is a part of love: if you love someone, you’re
naturally dedicated to that person. So to be dedicated to knowledge means to have faith in the
knowledge and to serve the knowledge, and the way to serve the knowledge is to distribute it to
others so they can also benefit from it. Another way to be dedicated to knowledge is to regularly
hear it. A devotee wants to hear only that knowledge which is in relation to Kåñëa. That is the
sign of real dedication.
* * *
Caitanya-lélä Devé Däsé
Saìkértana means complete concentration on the lotus feet of Kåñëa and our guru. For me it
is the only way to connect closely to my spiritual master and Çréla Prabhupäda. The pleasure that
we give to the spiritual master while doing this ecstatic service enters deep into one’s heart and
produces the thought “I want to do this forever!” When the spiritual master is satisfied, we
become empowered to do anything. If we’re really sincere, there is no end to this mystical,
transcendental exchange. Saìkértana is the way to understand that Kåñëa is a person. In this way
our faith will grow, we will always remain enthusiastic and surrendered to our mission, and we
can go deeper and deeper into the ocean of book distribution.
* * *
Himavaté Devé Däsé (Czech)
One day I distributed a few books on a street in Prague. Then I headed back to the temple on
a completely full metro train. I was reading a book, and after some time I noticed that everyone
had left the carriage except the woman sitting next to me. I immediately thought of something
Kadamba Känana Swami had related during a class—how he had met a devotee when he was a
karmé. That devotee had been sitting next to him on a bus but didn’t say anything to him.
Mahäräja said, “Because that devotee didn’t talk to me, I wasted a lot of time till my next
meeting with devotees.”
So, I thought, I must address this woman. As it turned out, she was really interested in the
books and took several of them.
Moral of the story: “Whomever you meet, tell them about Kåñëa consciousness and try to
give them a book.”
* * *
Anonymous
323
I visited the Kabbalah [mystic Judaism] Learning Center in Tel Aviv, Israel. Jewish folks are
known as intelligent businessmen, and these people are no exception. Their scripture is called
the Zohar (23 volumes), and they place great stress on it.
The first thing I noticed when reaching the top of the stairs was the many boxes of the sets of
books. Many arrangements were made to make the visitor aware of the books. I was and still am
thinking that we should be much more enthusiastic in promoting the full set of Çrémad-
Bhägavatam volumes. But generally, at most temples it is not easy to find a full set.
Recently at the Chowpatti temple in Mumbai I decided to promote full sets at the Sunday
Feast. By the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu, three guests went home with full sets.
In 1977 I personally witnessed how enthusiastic our Çréla Prabhupäda was to have full sets of
his books distributed. I don’t think that outside of India we are doing enough, and I pray that we
can increase the sales.
_______________________________________
In Mäyäpur, during a meeting of Bhakti Chäru Swami with his disciples, a devotee from
Zurich asked why book distribution is sometimes so difficult. Mahäräja replied, “It is difficult
right now because people don’t yet understand the value of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books. But the
day will come when people will understand their value, and then people will line up to buy Çréla
Prabhupäda’s books.” He added, “You are doing the pioneering work.” He gave an example:
“Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for the pioneers who founded the United
States of America? They went through so many difficulties. But due to their efforts, America is
such a prosperous country today. Similarly, through your present efforts and difficulties, Kåñëa
consciousness is being established. You are actually paving the way for others. Think of the early
Christians. They went through so many difficulties. Many of them gave their lives. They lived
underground in the catacombs. They were thrown to the lions. But because of their hard work,
Christianity spread all over the world. The pioneering job is always difficult, but the pioneers will
be glorified in due course of time.”
_______________________________________
If you are living and working outside the temple community, you probably perform many
daily activities like going to the bank, grocery store, or gas station, or driving your kids around.
When these activities are done in Kåñëa consciousness, they are not mundane. But how to
maintain this Kåñëa consciousness with all the distractions and responsibilities of family life?
Even äçrama residents sometimes have to run errands that seem mundane. One thing that
helps me think of Kåñëa when I run errands is to bring along a few of Çréla Prabhupäda’s books
to distribute on behalf of Çästra Däna.
For example, a few weeks ago I had to go to the bank. I thought, “What a chore! How
boring!” Then I remembered that the bank is on a street full of nail and hair salons and coffee
shops, ideal places for donations of Çästra Däna books. My consciousness at once changed. As I
drove to the bank I didn’t think about my transaction but about where and how to distribute the
324
books. The bank errand became incidental, while the book distribution became the main
objective, and the whole event became spiritualized, a service for Çréla Prabhupäda.
Anyone can distribute these Çästra Däna books. It doesn’t take much time, and it’s very
simple and ecstatic! It’s fulfilling because it’s helping our spiritual master with his mission, which
he worked so hard to accomplish. Individually we are not as empowered as he, but collectively, if
we each just distribute a few books a week, we can accomplish so much. Imagine if just twenty
devotees were to distribute one book a week while running some errand. That’s twenty more
books a week going out, and over a thousand a year. So please don’t think that it’s useless to
distribute just one book.
End Chapter Thirteen: Reflections and Realizations
325
Chapter Fourteen: Sädhana
Once on a morning walk Çréla Prabhupäda was talking with some book distributors. He
asked them if they were reading his books, and no one answered. He sternly said, “When the
people ask you about the contents of the book, what do you say? ‘Oh, I don’t know what the
book is about; I only distribute them.’ No, you have to read the books also.”
Then again, there is this famous statement by Çréla Prabhupäda from a letter: “What your
lecture will do for three minutes? But if he reads one page, his life may be turned.” Sometimes
devotees use this statement to try to justify not preaching to the people but just selling them
books. But the previous statement makes it clear that Çréla Prabhupäda wants us to read his
books so that we’ll know what to say when people ask about the books. In my early years of
book distribution I leaned more toward the “What your lecture will do for three minutes?”
statement. Even if someone asked about the books, I would just reply as briefly as possible and
concentrate on distribution.
Now when I distribute I try to strike a balance between the first statement and the second.
When I find someone sincerely inquiring about the books, I’ll spend ten to twenty minutes or
more speaking to the person. They practically always take a book and walk away saying, in
effect, “It’s been a very interesting conversation.” Sometimes they come to the temple. This
program is good for them and for us, because it gives us an opportunity to speak about Kåñëa to
people who’ve never heard of Him. Generally when we preach, we do so to devotees—
“preaching to the choir.” But speaking to nondevotees about Kåñëa consciousness can be
exhilarating; they’re often amazed at what we have to say.
Essentially, when we’re speaking to them we’re trying to bring them out of mäyä, but we
ourselves are to some degree also in mäyä. We want to bring them out of the ocean of material
existence, but if we aren’t good swimmers ourselves it will be difficult to save others from
drowning. So we have to read Prabhupäda’s books scrutinizingly and pray very sincerely to
Kåñëa to help us stay out of mäyä so that we can help save others from the ocean of birth and
death. Some of us aren’t very good swimmers—mäyä is still lurking in our heart—but
Prabhupäda is the best swimmer, so the main emphasis is always to have the person walk away
with one of his books, because he’s in his books. In fact, he called his purports his “emotional
ecstasies.”
Çrémad-Bhägavatam 11.20.17, spoken by Kåñëa to Uddhava, really expresses the urgency of
giving people a chance to get out of the ocean of birth and death:
Though automatically obtained by the laws of nature, the human body is a very rare
achievement that can award one all benefits in life. It is like a perfectly constructed boat
with the spiritual master as the captain and My instructions as favorable winds impelling
it on its course. If despite these advantages of human life one fails to cross the ocean of
material existence, I consider him the killer of his own soul.
Çréla Prabhupäda
This routine work, such as chanting, speaking, rising early, cleaning, cooking and offering
prasadam, arati, reading books—these activities are the backbone of our Society, and if we
327
The Treasure of the Båhat Mådanga
practice them nicely in a regulative manner, then our whole program will be successful. If we
become slack or neglect these things, then everything else we may try will fail. So it is very
important that you keep your standards very high in these activities, then your preaching will be
strong. Preaching is our real business, preaching and distributing books. If your preaching work
is strong, then your management of temple affairs will also become automatically very strong.
Just like if the head wills it, the hand will move. Preaching is like the head of our KC Society—if
the head is removed, the whole body dies. Managing is the hands, which work nicely if the head
is healthy. If the hands are removed, the body will not die, but it will be crippled. So preaching is
more important than management, but both must be there if the whole body is to operate nicely.
[Letter to Patita Uddhäraëa, 8 December 1971]
_______________________________________
So you haven’t got to make yourself very learned scholar [to distribute books]. Just like a
postal peon, he’s not necessarily very learned scholar or even a very literary man. His only
business is to take the envelope and put it in the right place. That’s all. Similarly, to spread this
Kåñëa consciousness, you haven’t got to become a very learned scholar or literary man. You
have simply to understand . . . Çravaëaà kértanam. You hear and spread this. People will be
happy. Akhila-bandha-muktaye. They will be liberated from all problems. It is so nice thing.
[Çrémad-Bhägavatam lecture, New Vrindavan, 16 June 1969]
_______________________________________
[Translation] Upon seeing the chanting and dancing of Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Lord
Nityänanda predicted that later there would be dancing and chanting in every village.
[Purport] This prediction of Çré Nityänanda Prabhu’s is applicable not only in India but also
all over the world. That is now happening by His grace. The members of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness are now traveling from one village to another in the Western
countries and are even carrying the Deity with them. These devotees distribute various
literatures all over the world. We hope that these devotees who are preaching the message of Çré
Caitanya Mahäprabhu will very seriously follow strictly in His footsteps. If they follow the rules
and regulations and chant sixteen rounds daily, their endeavor to preach the cult of Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu will certainly be successful. [Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä 7.82]
_______________________________________
The GBC member means they will see that in every temple these books are very thoroughly
being read and discussed and understood and applied in practical life. That is wanted, not to see
328
Chapter 14: Sädhana
the vouchers only: “How many books you have sold, and how many books are in the stock?”
That is secondary. You may keep vouchers . . . [But] if one is engaged in Kåñëa’s service, there is
no need of vouchers. . . . Everyone is doing his best. That’s all.
So we have to see that things are going on very nicely. So in that way the GBC members
should divide some zones and see very nicely that things are going on, that they are chanting
sixteen rounds, and temple management is going according to the routine work, and the books
are being thoroughly discussed, being read, understood practically. These things are required.
Now, suppose you go to sell some book and somebody says, “You have read this book? Can you
explain this verse?” then what you will say? You will say, “No. It is for you. It is not for me. I
have to take money from you. That’s all.” Is that very nice answer? [Class on Çrémad-
Bhägavatam, Melbourne, 5 April 1972]
_______________________________________
The book sales are very encouraging, increasing, increasing. It is very good news. Thank you,
I want this. Record selling is temporary. Even George Harrison’s record sales do not continue
for a long time. But a book sold becomes a permanent matter for enjoyment. We read the
scriptures again and again and it is still fresh. When there is time I go on reading my own books.
[Letter to Haàsadüta, 1 October 1974]
_______________________________________
I am very much stressing at this point that all of my students shall be very much conversant
with the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness, and that they should read our books very
diligently at least one or two hours daily and try to understand the subject matter from varieties
of angles. [Letter to Madhudviña, 16 June 1972]
_______________________________________
This is actually our successful propaganda. We want to distribute our literature and books
within as well as our prasadam, and injecting our Hare Krishna medicine within the ear. So,
reading of the literature and hearing of the chanting is the medicine, and prasadam is the diet.
So, if diet and medicine are properly administered the disease of maya will be cured. But the
physician must be always healthy. People may not say, [“Physician, heal thyself.”] That means
the preachers must be of highly elevated character, following strictly the rules and regulations
and chanting regularly in the temple. [Letter to Satsvarüpa, 27 June 1968]
* * *
329
His Holiness Bhakti Puruñottama Swami
In Mäyäpur we have a program where anybody who buys a Bhagavad-gétä is given a free
membership in the Bhagavad-gétä club. And anybody who buys a set of Çrémad-Bhägavatams is
enrolled in the Bhägavatam club. Once a year, in the spring when there are a fair number of
rooms free in the guesthouses, we invite people to come and take seminars over a four-day
weekend on the Gétä and similar seminars over another weekend on the Bhägavatam. We get
from four hundred to seven hundred people coming to attend each of these programs and
systematically study Çréla Prabhupäda’s books from morning to night, for eight hours. We go
deep into the philosophy.
This is just an example of how important it is to take the distribution of Çréla Prabhupäda’s
books seriously and encourage people to actually read and study the books. The people who
attend these seminars are often not members of the congregation, but after the seminars they
almost all become members.
* * *
Çréla Prabhupäda gave very specific instructions about how Kåñëa was to be satisfied. So if
there is going to be any success in book distribution, then we have to see if those instructions are
being followed. Çréla Prabhupada’s desire was that everyone would become absorbed in reading
and distributing his books.
_______________________________________
Book distribution is directly giving pleasure to Çréla Prabhupäda’s mission. We should take it
as bhakti—not just ordinary book sales but bhakti, which means that in doing this service you
have to depend on Kåñëa, your hearing and chanting have to be very sharp, your attention
before the Deities has to be very focused.
* * *
Bhågupati Däsa (ACBSP)
When a leading book distributor told Çréla Prabhupäda that sometimes when he traveled to
different temples he was asked to give class on book distribution technique, Çréla Prabhupäda
T
330
asked him how he responded. He said, “We tell them that first they have to study the books and
follow the regulative principles.”
Çréla Prabhupäda responded, “Yes, that is our only technique: To become very devout
followers of the rules and regulations.”
In other words, purity is the force, not technique. Just as a cook needs some recipes to
follow, a book distributor needs some things to say. But what’s most important is how sincerely
one is trying to follow the instructions of one’s spiritual master. Kåñëa is the ultimate
determining factor, always.
* * *
Strength results from any regulation, especially a spiritual one. By regulating one’s life, one
saves energy and becomes more able to control the ever-unsteady mind. I always remember how
during my fifteen years as a temple president saìkértana offered a wonderful opportunity for
peaceful sädhana. (I also remember what a troubled life a manager has to live.) By simplifying
our life and focusing on its essence, we become simply blissful, and people notice that when we
meet them on the street. Sädhana is the basis of saìkértana. Without it saìkértana gradually
wanes and eventually stops. Unfortunately, I have seen whole saìkértana parties vanish because
the devotees on the party neglected their sädhana. After all, we’re not on the level of
spontaneous bhakti.
* * *
Prabhupada taught us, “The main technique—no, the only technique—for book distribution
is your strict sädhana.”
You are tasting the name of Kåñëa, thinking that “This is real meditation”; you are chanting
Hare Kåñëa, chanting good japa, becoming accustomed to avoiding the ten offenses to the Holy
Name; and you are actually getting deeper and deeper appreciation that this is not a material
sound vibration. Simultaneously you are losing interest in the material world. At this point you
know from experience that this is the real process for this age. You can understand that. For this
you don’t need a certificate, and you don’t need a technique to distribute books other than this.
This understanding is what impels the devotee to go out to distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books.
That person can understand the necessity.
* * *
Daivé-çakti Devé Däsé (ACBSP)
331
Çréla Prabhupäda personally taught me about the importance of sädhana in relation to

success in Kåñëa consciousness. I try to chant and read for several hours before facing the world
each day, tasting the nectar of Kåñëa consciousness, for which we are always anxious. Then, filled
with that nectar, I begin a fresh day of book distribution. At the end of each day, exhausted but
blissful, I do more reading and chanting, attending the temple programs as much as possible.
Prabhupada gave us the sandwich program: Morning and evening program, with service in
between. Read Prabhupäda’s books and try to understand them. Then you will naturally be
inspired to distribute the knowledge within them.
* * *
Sädhana is the foundation. It nourishes us so we can distribute books with a purified

consciousness. Good sädhana means increased Kåñëa consciousness, which increases our desire
to act as Kåñëa’s instrument for engaging the conditioned souls in His service. The discipline of
bhakti-yoga must be practiced so that we become Kåñëa conscious and do the service with
devotion, and so that we are seen to be practicing what we preach.
As Çréla Prabhupäda wrote:
If someone has desired to distribute books all day he may do this, but he must always
follow the principles of rising early, chanting 16 rounds, etc. . . . All programs must go on,
but it is a fact that this book distribution program is very, very important.
* * *
Ambaréña Däsa (Russia)
The greatest inspiration every day is the chanting of the Holy Name. Çréla Prabhupäda gave
us this greatest jewel, and we have to serve the Holy Name with full attention. Reading the
Çrémad-Bhägavatam is another constant source of inspiration. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu heard
the accounts of Dhruva Mahäräja and Prahläda Mahäräja many times in the company of
Gadädhara Paëòita.
The morning program is meant for raising us to the spiritual platform. It’s very hard work to
distribute Çréla Prabhupäda’s books when you’re on the mental or bodily platform. We have to
use all the tools Çréla Prabhupäda gave us to raise our consciousness: maìgala-ärati, japa,
Çrémad-Bhägavatam class, prasädam. Kåñëa-çakti vinä nahe tära pravartana: We can preach only
when we are empowered.
* * *
332
Änakadundubhi Däsa
Sädhana is the backbone of book distribution. If we listen carefully to the Holy Names when
we chant our japa, and if we read Çréla Prabhupäda’s books carefully, we will be able to
distribute his books year after year. If we are intense in our sädhana, we have a chance to
become a top book distributor.
* * *
I remember Christmas Eve during the 1996 LA December marathon. His Grace Vijaya
Prabhu had decided to stay at the LA airport for as long as he needed to distribute a hundred
hardbound Bhagavad-gétäs. Sure enough, late at night he came back to the temple having
distributed that exact amount and having collected $1,140. Yajïa Puruña Prabhu asked him a
very important question, which I recall vividly: “So, Vijaya, what’s your secret? How have you
been able to distribute so many books for so many years?” Vijay Prabhu was silent and then
said, “It’s my guru’s [His Holiness Hridayänanda Maharaja’s] mercy.” He then added, “And
hearing. I have a thousand lecture tapes of Çréla Prabhupäda and five hundred of Hridayänanda
Mahäräja. The secret is hearing. I hear those lectures and I read Çrémad-Bhägavatam and
Bhagavad-gétä every day. So it’s not me, it’s sädhana. If I didn’t have good sädhana, I wouldn’t
be able to do anything.”
On a similar note, His Grace Bhågupati Prabhu often reminds the devotees just how
important it is to hear Çréla Prabhupäda’s lectures. If you examine his life, Bhågupati Prabhu is
always listening to a Prabhupäda lecture.
* * *
Hrémän Kåñëa
Everything comes from the Holy Name. Our preaching is just an expansion of our
chanting. Devotees should mold their lives around chanting excellent rounds. This is the
number-one priority. And reading Çréla Prabhupäda’s books every day gives us such enthusiasm
to continue and also our greatest reward. After I come home from a day’s book distribution and
sit down to read, all the purports just come to life.
* * *
Parameçvara Däsa
333
The stronger the sädhana, the better the book distributor. Since I’ve made it a must to rise
before 4:00 am, do a morning program, read Çréla Prabhupäda’s books at least an hour a day,
chant sixteen or more rounds, and follow the regulative principles, I’ve always been enthused to
distribute Prabhupada’s books.
If we truly take up Çréla Prabhupada’s full program, natural love for Kåñëa is awakened. Love
means doing something the beloved wants. Kåñëa wants these books distributed. Prabhupäda
said, “Book distribution is the most important activity.”
* * *
Tära Däsa
We give to ourselves through sädhana. Sädhana means filling up our hearts with Kåñëa. Then
we go out and give Kåñëa to others. Kåñëa consciousness is never a mechanical process. We try
to figure out formulas for how to smooth things out—“I’ll chant good rounds and then I’ll do big
on saìkértana.” Of course we should engage in our sädhana with maximum attention, but finally
we still have to fully depend on Kåñëa in all our activities.
* * *
Vijaya Däsa
Good sädhana is very advantageous for our becoming strong preachers. And to continue for
years with book distribution we have to be determined to keep our sädhana steady. The mind will
say so many things—it is so powerful. It will always say nonsense until we just get completely
absorbed; then there will be no room for its nonsense. Whatever the mind says, just let the
nonsense go. Because we know what is right and what is wrong, what is nectar and what is
nonsense that should just be kicked out. If we hear kåñëa-kathä nicely, then as soon as some
nonsense comes into our mind a red light will start flashing: “Danger! Mäyä has entered! Mäyä,
mäyä!” When a building catches fire the alarm goes off and everyone in the building is alerted to
the danger. Similarly, mäyä is a blazing fire (bhava-mahä-dävägni) that can burn up our
determination to serve Kåñëa. But if we’re sincere, Kåñëa’s rain of mercy will put out this fire.
What is Kåñëa’s rain of mercy? It’s the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra and guru-sevä.
The bhakti-yoga process enables us to control the mind and senses and engage them in the
service of Kåñëa. When one is distributing books, the mind is absorbed in approaching people,
preaching to them, showing them the books, and trying to convince them that the book will
benefit them. What better way is there to control the mind than to be thinking of how to give
Kåñëa to others? In one purport Prabhupäda writes (I’m paraphrasing), “The best way to control
the mind is to always be thinking of how to do good to others.” People in general don’t know
what is good for them. We didn’t know either, but from hearing and reading the literature given
to us by Kåñëa and Çréla Prabhupäda, now we know what is right and what is wrong.
Spiritual knowledge is what is most needed in society. Everyone needs guidance on how to
334
lead a pure life. Just as the body has needs, such as food, water, and shelter, so the soul also has
needs. Çréla Prabhupäda describes this in the following famous passage in Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(1.2.8):
The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material
bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered
walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete
freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead.
When we distribute books we’re giving the souls an opportunity to experience complete
freedom by loving the supreme lovable object, Lord Çré Kåñëa.
_______________________________________
Çréla Prabhupäda was so much into book distribution that when devotees would read the
saìkértana results to him he would often say, “Now double it!” To steadily increase book
distribution we have to regularly read Prabhupäda’s books. Prabhupäda said we should know his
books as a lawyer knows his law books. This means we have to study every day. There is a
beautiful verse Parékñit Mahäräja speaks to Çukadeva Gosvämé about the effects of hearing
Çrémad-Bhägavatam:
The sound incarnation of Lord Kåñëa, the Supreme Soul [i.e., the Çrémad-Bhägavatam],
enters into the heart of a self-realized devotee, sits on the lotus flower of his loving
relationship, and thus cleanses the dust of material association, such as lust, anger, and
hankering. Thus it acts like autumnal rains upon pools of muddy water. [Çrémad-
Bhägavatam 2.8.5]
Çréla Prabhupäda said that the way to become empowered to spread Kåñëa consciousness is
to be very strict devotees in terms of following the four regulative principles, chanting sixteen
rounds, and studying his books attentively. In fact, several times Çréla Prabhupäda chastised his
disciples because they were distributing his books but not reading them. It’s very important that
we read scrutinizingly, very carefully, with a desire to become purified and to understand Kåñëa.
If we take this very seriously, we will become Kåñëa conscious. Then when we approach people,
they’ll think, “There’s something valuable here. This person is special and is giving me
something that may help me become like him.” Strong sädhana will give us strength and purity.
Çréla Prabhupäda also wanted us to chant the holy names with attention. If we do this we will
be inspired to distribute his books. Our book distribution is a reflection of our sädhana. But
sometimes we see that some devotees go on book distribution without reading and without
chanting attentively but still have a good day. How is that? The answer is that momentum was
built up from previous days of good sädhana, but if such a devotee carries on without practicing
strict sädhana, it will be very difficult if not impossible to continue distributing books.
335
_______________________________________
If we want to distribute books, we have to follow what Çréla Prabhupäda set up in this society:
rise early, chant our rounds with sincerity, and read a minimum of one hour a day. The time has
to be found to hear and chant nicely. This gives the purity. You get inspired. The books are such
an inspiration. One bhakta told me he has read the Bhagavad-gétä many times. He chants sixteen
rounds a day though he’s not initiated. He hasn’t read any other books; he just reads the
Bhagavad-gétä over and over. He’s satisfied with that. I was impressed. Each time he reads he
gets more knowledge and realization—he gets uplifted. This is the power of the Bhagavad-gétä:
you get uplifted by hearing the message of Kåñëa explained by the pure devotee.
In one Gétä purport Çréla Prabhupäda says that Kåñëa is like a diamond and the pure devotee
is like gold; you put the two together and they look very beautiful. So Kåñëa and the pure
devotee are a very nice combination. Therefore if we take shelter of Kåñëa and of the
instructions of a pure devotee, we will become very attractive because of that connection. People
become attracted and want to hear what we have to say. Purity is the force. This is what inspires
people to exchange with us. But if we have some material motive, then people will see that,
because the face is the index of the mind. They can see the attachment on our face, and then
even if he is a nice person he will say, “No, no, no. I’m not interested. Sorry, I don’t have any
time.” But if you’re sincere, if you’re actually trying to please Kåñëa, then even people who are
in a hurry, who aren’t interested, will stop and listen to you and take a book.
I remember one guy in the Miami airport—he was running fast through the airport and I
called out to him: “Sir! Excuse me!” He couldn’t stop dead in his tracks because he was going so
fast, so he had to run in a big half circle and come back to me to hear what I had to tell him. I
showed him the book, said what we were doing, and he said, “Sure, this is great.” He gave
twenty dollars and continued running. So, not that I have any purity—I don’t—but even if
people are in a hurry, if we are a little sincere then they will stop, listen, and take the mercy of
Lord Gauräìga.
* * *
Viçvambhara Däsa
As we’ve all heard, “Purity is the force,” and purity comes from good sädhana. Rising early
in the morning is the secret of success for anything we do in our life. First we pray to the guru,
then we pray to Tulasé Devé, then we pray to Näma Prabhu, then we hear some kåñëa-kathä in
the association of devotees, and then we honor prasädam. These practices give energy to the
consciousness and body, as well as enthusiasm, determination, and purity of the mind. When we
read a little from the book we’re attempting to distribute, we become empowered. The books
are not just books: they’re nondifferent from Kåñëa. So we can also pray to the books to
empower us to distribute them.
Padampat Singhania was the man who was willing to build a Kåñëa temple in New York City
in 1966 but wasn’t able to transfer the money to the US. His family was so pious that if someone
didn’t go for darçana of the Deities, they would be fined. Çréla Prabhupäda said, “We also will
fine: if someone does not come to maìgala-ärati, then they have to go and sell one Kåñëa book.”
336
* * *
At kértana time you are hearing and chanting, when you read out loud you are hearing and
chanting, and when you chant japa you are hearing and chanting. Book distribution is yet
another ecstatic opportunity for hearing and chanting, only it is very interactive.
End Chapter Fourteen: Sädhana
337

Treasure of Brhat Mrd. Chaps - 1 14

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Treasure of Brhat Mrd. Chaps - 1 14

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Treasure of Brhat Mrd. Chaps - 1 14

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Treasure of the Bṛhat Mṛdaṅga

Spreading the Glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Through Book Distribution

© 2013 by Vijaya Dāsa

Note: for Table of Contents activate Bookmarks in PDF.

My dear Prabha Visnu,

Your ever well-wisher,

In his Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in the Concluding Words:

yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa

An Interview with Rādhānātha Prabhu

Vijaya Dāsa: What year did you start distributing books?

Śrila Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.2, purport

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.6, purport

A Vaiṣṇava is para-duḥkha-duḥkhī; in other words, he has no personal troubles, but he is very

When a person is advanced in spiritual consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he naturally becomes

[TRANSLATION:] If a living entity is developed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is merciful to others,

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 13.67, purport

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.9.12 purport

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 3.50–52

Comment by Vijaya Dāsa

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma

Comment by Vijaya Dāsa

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.31.19, purport

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.47, purport

[TRANSLATION:] “Any cruel person—be he a man, woman, or impotent eunuch—who is only

His Holiness Gour Govinda Swami

His Holiness Rādhānātha Swami

Maṇidhara Dāsa (ACBSP)

Praghoṣa Dāsa (ACBSP)

Vaiṣeśika Dāsa (ACBSP)

Daivīśakti-devī Dāsī (ACBSP)

Acyuta Gotra Dāsa

Ambarīṣa Dāsa (Russia)

Comment by Vijaya Dāsa

Jagadīśa Dāsa (Russia)

Madhumaṅgala Dāsa (South Africa)

Nitāi Rāma Dāsa

Vācaspati Dāsa (Russia)

Ahaitukī Bhakti-devī Dāsī

Comment by Vijaya Dāsa

Gokula-līlā Devī Dāsī

Karuṇā-dhāriṇī Devī Dāsī

Tulasī Devī Dāsī

Comment by Vijaya Dāsa

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.17.28) Lord Śiva says, nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati:

End of Chapter One—Book Distribution: the Pinnacle of Compassion

tapyante loka-tāpena sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ

His Holiness Bhakti-vijñāna Swami

His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami

Comment by Vijaya Dāsa

Miśra Bhagavān Dāsa (cont.)

Sureśvara Dāsa (ACBSP)

Udayānanda Dāsa (ACBSP)

Vaiśeṣika Dāsa (ACBSP)

Comment by Vijaya Dāsa

Braja Bihāri Dāsa (Chowpatti, India)

Kṛṣṇa Dāsa (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)

Comment by Vijaya Dāsa

Padma Locana Dāsa (Bali, Indonesia)