Blog
A Special Day for Book Distribution
Today in Watford (near Bhaktivedanta Manor), I met Hamza (holding the Bhagavad Gita in the attached photo) and Zayn, both of Pakistani descent, who follow Islam. We had a deep and heartfelt conversation about faith and purpose. I shared that today is Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance anniversary, a sacred occasion when we honour the extraordinary soul who translated the Bhagavad Gita and many other books, and at the age of 69, journeyed to the West to share God consciousness with the world. As I spoke about the Gita and the transformative...
read moreOn the front lines we experience the Mystical Magic of Krsna
Last year on the end of year marathon, I was with Gokul-lila and it was raining heavily and we were struggling to find a place to distribute books. We happened to drive past a Yogijis Indian Food shop and thought to stop and try to distribute a few Bhagavad gitas with the hope of meeting some nice Indians at least, because it was Gita-jayanti. We felt quite stuck with the rain and were just standing outside this shop, when Gokul-lila just thought to ask the owner if we can set up a table. They agreed and we stood there for a few hours and had...
read moreUnexpected mercy
Today in Edgware something truly extraordinary happened. Two sisters, Pramila and Kastur, were walking through the Broadwalk shopping mall, and by divine arrangement, when they exited, Niscinta Prabhu stopped Pramila and I stopped Kastur. Pramila shared a wonderful realisation. Just yesterday she had received the Bhaktivedanta Manor 2026 calendar in the post. As she was going through it she came across the section about the sacred month of Kartik, the most auspicious month of the year. She read about its glories and began wondering in her...
read moreHe just kept running into the Hare Krsna’s
We had a lot of Srimad Bhagavatam distribution leading up to Bhadra Purnima, but one story stuck in my head because of how an inspired young man had many small encounters with devotees that fanned his bhakti flame. A month or so ago I got a message saying that a gentleman named Damien had contacted the Hare Krishna Auckland Facebook page saying that he was interested in Srimad Bhagavatam. He had purchased some books from the temple foyer book table whilst visiting the temple and had seen a poster for Srimad Bhagavatam and wanted to purchase...
read moreBecoming a Sage, Page by Page
London: Today at Wembley Central, Sonia was standing with her shopping, completely mesmerised by the kirtan. I approached her, & she shared that she has been singing the Maha Mantra since childhood. At the age of 62, she continues to chant it, even at her workplace, where she said her colleagues joyfully join in. Sonia has a beautiful voice & began singing the mantra in our own melody, though she was too shy to sit & sing with the Sacred Street Party. I introduced her to the Bhagavad Gita and Chant and Be Happy, explaining that...
read moreNEW ZEALAND MARATHON TALES
During this winter’s book distribution marathon (yes, it’s winter down under!), Hriman Krishna and Nitai Jivana Prabhus distributed three Srimad-Bhagavatam sets. In Rotorua’s K-Mart car park, Hriman Krishna met a friend of the devotees who so much appreciates Srila Prabhupada’s books and followers (see picture attached) that she spontaneously gave $55; so he showed her the Srimad-Bhagavatam set and explained its value for material and spiritual education. Inspired, she made the down payment for the set and will...
read moreOFF-DUTY BOOK DISTRIBUTION
“Get books, show books, sell books” is a slogan from Vaisesika Prabhu, meaning we can all distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books if we do those three things. Even me. I am a reservoir of sinful activities, yet with a little effort Srila Prabhupada gets some use out of me on sankirtana. After hearing a great Sunday Feast lecture from Rtadhvaja Swami about the benefits of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, I went across the street to the laundromat to wash a load of clothes. I brought my book bag as it had a bunch of change in...
read moreAN INMATE PREACHER
Vaisesika Prabhu told me of a person who’s in jail for life but became an inspired devotee. Here’s his story: Before he went to jail, he was a violent skinhead, a white racist who killed people who weren’t white. He killed two people and was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole. While he was in prison he came in touch with ISKCON’s prison ministry. He loved the knowledge and got involved with the ministry. He started chanting 16 rounds a day and following the four regulative principles. Eventually...
read moreSAVED BY PRABHUPADA
In 1986 I stopped in Singapore with a devotee for a few days before attending the 500th anniversary of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s advent in Sridham Mayapur. We visited Govinda’s Boutique, a small shop that sold many items, including Srila Prabhupada’s books 📚 Walking around after visiting the boutique, we heard a big boom 💥 A multistory building had collapsed right around the corner. Hundreds of people were in the building when it came down. The Singapore army was brought in. Piece by piece they dug through the building....
read moreTHOSE GUYS WITH THE BOOKS
I was doing sankirtan on Auckland’s Queen Street when I stopped a guy who looked vaguely familiar. Turns out we’d met four years ago, and apparently I tried to give him a book back then. “Yeah, I almost took it,” he reflected, “but I wasn’t ready for the good stuff yet.” Then he surprised me: “It’s crazy seeing you because for the past two yers I’ve been trying to find you guys on Queen Street!” I laughed. We’re literally always on Queen Street. For a second I thought maybe he’d accidentally shifted timelines into some...
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