Without humility, we can succeed at nothing………
I distributed books in the upmarket Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. On the 3rd floor I met a young Indian man wearing neck beads.
I asked him where he got the beads, and he told me that they were Rudaksa beads and that he was a brahamana.
I told him that I was a traveling monk from South Africa and asked whether he was from Nairobi.
Yes, he said. He owned a travel agency in the mall. I showed him a selection of books, to which he replied that he has most of them. I suggested that he take books as gifts for his clients and friends.
He said that he was in a hurry, as he had to get to the bank, and asked me if I could wait ten minutes and then he would take a book for me. I waited for the ten minutes and afterwards I left.
Just before I was about to be picked up by my sankirtan partner from Canada, Bhakta Kevin, I went to his travel business, to see if he was there. Entering the store, I saw him in his office with a lady – it seemed as though they were having an interview.
I asked one of the assistants to find out the price of a one-way ticket to South Africa. Whilst the assistant was looking up the price on the internet, I began to speak to the assistant next to her. I began preaching to her and told her what I was doing in East Africa, to which she replied, "Cool".
Each time I would tell her something, she would reply "Cool".
I told her that the books I had were beyond cool. She took an SSR and gave nice donation. I told her that we should always see the good in others and should never criticize or find fault with others; otherwise, our false ego would get puffed up like a balloon.
She nodded in agreement.
I said to her, "You know what's going to happen after that. Someone, somewhere, someday will deflate one's ego balloon and force one to become humble. Without humility, we can succeed at nothing."
She nodded in agreement, and said, "That's really cool. Please repeat it, so I can write it down."
She took out a note book and began writing down what I had said. I told her more, and this time she said it was really cool. I wrote my email address in the book and told her that she was a good listener. She gave me her email address.
I asked whether she was from a Hindu family – no, she was a Muslim. I thanked her and said that I looked forward to hearing from her. As I left I told her about the great Muslim saint Haridas Thakura. Her eyes widened as she again replied "Cool".
As I left the travel agency, Bhakta Kevin appeared. As we were about to take the escalator down, the owner came from behind and apologized for not meeting me and gave me 1000 Kenyan shillings. I gave him a book and thanked him.
Srila Prabhupada. ki jay!
All glories to our preaching mission in service to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
Yours in the service of Lord Sri Krsna and His devotees,
Hare Krsna,
Madhumangala das
