A questionable character, concert mayhem and a prayer in the morning
1. You Never Know
Prabhupada Marathon 2010: One night at about 8 o'clock a sketchy-looking fellow called me over into the shadows of the Miami street side. He opened up his heart and told me about the problems he was facing in his life. He seemed slightly crazy or intoxicated. I considered ending the conversation when I thought it was going nowhere, but I decided to give him a little more time and condolence. After a few more minutes I insisted he take a book, telling him it would really help him. He gave me quite a large donation — so large, in fact, that I was able to give him a whole set of the books I was carrying. He expressed his deep appreciation as he stumbled off.
2. Relying on Krishna
Warp Tour, Summer 2011: One concert became so loud and frenetic that no one could hear me calling out to them to stop. So I tried taking shelter of all-attractive Sri Harinama. In desperation I abandoned all "hooks" and techniques and began simply yelling "Krishna! Krishna!" at people. Lo and behold, practically every person immediately stopped, as if hit by lightning, looked me straight in the eye, and inquisitively approached me. Amazing.
3. Hidden Mystics
Late Summer 2011, San Diego: I met a mother the other day who didn't express much interest in buying any books but was eager to tell me about her spiritual journey. My meditation on book distribution these days is in the mode of triage — I spend less time with goners and more time with those who may be saved. So by this standard I should probably have cut the conversation short, but there was something about her that convinced me to spend a few minutes speaking with her and hearing her story. She was raised a Christian but became interested in spiritual life, mainly Taoism, in her 40s. Her son, who was with her, was going through an agnostic phase. I briefly told her about my own journey to Krishna, and by the end of the conversation she decided to take a Bhagavad-gita and a Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1! As she took her books, she explained to me how just that morning she had prayed to God to reveal Himself to her and her son in truth, beyond any religious designation. Praise the Lord!
More to come soon, hopefully.
Jaya Srila Prabhupada!
Your servant,
Krishna Kumara dasa
