A Few Incidents During The Prabhupada Marathon
By Vijaya dasa
A Surprise
I approached a couple of middle-aged men and presented the Bhagavad-Gita to them. Immediately one of them said, “Cool, I’m into this.” As I showed him the book, I handed a Gita to the other man, who said, “I don’t think so,” and gave it back. Then I started showing both of them the illustrations. After my presentation, I handed a book to the one who was interested, but to my surprise he said, “You know, I probably won’t get around to reading it.” But to my bigger surprise, the one who had said he wasn’t interested said, “What you showed was interesting; how much do you want?” He gave a nice donation.
The Higher Taste
I distributed a Bhagavad-gita to a receptive person who gave a nice donation, so I gave him a “Higher Taste.” Two hours later he came back and said, “I’ve been reading ‘The Higher Taste’ for the past two hours. From this day I’ll never eat meat again!”
Christmas Presents
I handed a Bhagavad-Gita to a young man and showed him the illustrations. He said, “My father is into this kind of thing; I’ll give it to him as a Christmas present.” Then I gave him a “Higher Taste,” explaining that it had ninety recipes and a clear explanation of why we should be vegetarian. He said, “My mother is a vegetarian; I’ll give it to her as a Christmas present. You know, I’m glad I met you. I’ve done half my Christmas shopping just by meeting you.”
The Sanskrit Shirt
I was distributing on Melrose Avenue, a famous street in Los Angeles, when a middle-aged man pedaled by on his bicycle. From the corner of my eye I saw that his whole shirt was covered with Sanskrit writing, so I quickly turned around and called out, “Excuse me!” He stopped his bike and asked what I wanted. I showed him the Bhagavad-Gita and explained that it was written in the language printed on his shirt and that it’s spiritual wisdom. He was very excited and said, “You know, I’ve taken drugs for the past twenty years, but for the past sixty-five days I’ve been sober, and so many amazing things have been happening. This is another one. It’s not by chance that I’m meeting you. God is giving me so much direction.” He enthusiastically took the Bhagavad-Gita, and we exchanged phone numbers.
The Shoe
As I distributed on Melrose Avenue, I saw a man coming toward me pushing a baby carriage. His infant son kicked his feet in the air so hard so that a shoe flew off. The father didn’t notice. When he got a little closer, I told him that his son had lost a shoe. He went back and got it. When he reached me again I offered him the Bhagavad-Gita. Because I had helped him out, he courteously stopped and listened, but when he understood I was trying to sell him something he began shaking his head. But as I showed him the illustrations and explained them, he started showing interest he experienced a change of heart. When I finished, he said, “This is a great book; can I give you something for it?” He then gave a nice donation and went on his way with the instruction guide for life.
Your servant,
Vijaya dasa
