Sri Advaita Acarya’s Appearance Day Magic
On being dropped off in Hamilton city center in New Zealand by "The General" (Sriman Krishna Dasa Prabhu), I could immediately detect a very special atmosphere and felt unusually peaceful and confident. These feelings were further boosted by the minor austerity of the half-day fast. The whole day was magic, but there are four special exchanges I want to share with the devotees:
1) I stopped a very old man wearing a tartan hat. He was from Wales and of very cheerful disposition. After we indulged in a short glorification of Wales, he happily looked at a Bhagavad Gita and subsequently gave a $20 donation. He didn't want to take a Gita, preferring to travel light, so I offered him a copy of "Elevation to Krishna Consciousness." He slipped it into his small bag and cheerfully walked off, promising to read it.
2) I was passing a somewhat despondent-looking group of young people when suddenly a young boy called out, "Excuse me, excuse me! I read that small book ["Elevation to Krishna Consciousness"] you gave to my friend last week. It's amazing, and I tried the meditation techniques it suggests. They really work, brother, they really work!" His intense animation was in stark contrast to his friends' moroseness. I thanked him for reading the book and gave him an invitation card for our Tuesday Krishna Fests. He was clearly in ecstasy.
3) A little later a Maori youth ran up to me and asked, "Have you got a book on Lord Nrsimhadeva?" He explained that he had an Indian work colleague and had become very interested in Lord Nrsimhadeva after "lots of discussion about Hinduism." I showed him the brief description and small image of Lord Nrsimhadeva in the SB 1.1 and then invited him to attend a Krishna Fest, promising to give him my Lord Nrsimhadeva poster if he attended.
4) Later I hurried to stop an interesting-looking young man about to cycle off on his bike. Despite looking fairly grungy, he was somewhat bright and effulgent. After seeing the books he felt inspired to find an ATM, withdraw some money, return, and then give a nice donation D explaining that he would never normally do this. He took a Sri Isopanisad and made a further gesture of good will by giving me an expensive-looking chocolate bar. (NB- this has not been eaten . . . yet
I feel very fortunate to have been able to witness Sri Advaita's magical causeless mercy first hand. Working under such powerful, absolute authorities is extremely exciting, and I beg for the good will and blessings of the devotees to be able to continue.
All glories to Sri Advaita!
Aspiring to aspire to become your servant,
Bhakta Chi, Hamilton, NZ
