Blog
Sankirtan Stories
One of the many services of the internet I had another great day distributing Srila Prabhupada's books at West Virginia University in Morgantown, USA. I approached a young couple and said, "Please, my dear friends! I want you to see these books!" Upon taking them for inspection, the man said that he already had them. I was surprised and asked how they were acquired. He said that he had been searching for spiritual literature and that Srila Prabhupada's books were the best ones he had found. He bought them on Amazon. He had...
read moreSankirtan Stories for ISKCON Book Distribution
Shaman Ananda It was another wonderful day of trying to be an instrument of Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental book distribution. I was looking for the next recipient of Sri Caitanya’s mercy when a young man caught my eye. He looked like a South American shaman. I stopped him and offered a Bhagavad Gita As it is and Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1. Upon seeing the spiritual effulgence emanating from Prabhupada’s books he was visibly taken aback and excitedly said that he was just studying these books in his eastern philosophy class and...
read moreWell in that Case
by Ananta Nitai Das I was out in a very rich area of Dublin called "Howth" a seaside town, every house has a long driveway and a boat parked to the side to complete the status image. At one particular house a man answered the door, he looked at me and said "I'm not interested." I said, "Look, this is a book written by a multimillionaire who gave up everything to live under a tree and write spritual books for the upliftment of mankind! You may ask, why would someone do that? Would you like to find out?" The...
read moreAt a Train Station in Pune
Once I was distributing Srila Prabhupada's books in a railway station in Pune. By Prabhupada's mercy, many people responded nicely. But one railway officer shouted very loudly at me, asking whether I had permission to sell the books in the station. I didn't have permission, and I was very new to book distribution, so I became fearful and apologized to the officer. He angrily told me that I cannot sell books inside the station, but I didn't want to leave, because I was meeting many people in one place. I was totally confused...
read moreSpiritual Life Is Difficult, but Material Life Is Impossible
by Madhumangala Dasa (South Africa) One Sunday in Dar es Salaam, Bhakta Deepak suggested we go visit a friend of his who was a top executive at Pepsi Cola. "Maybe we could interest him in Prabhupada's books," Deepak said. "I preached to him before, but had no luck. Maybe you'll do better." When we arrived the executive invited us into his apartment as Deepak introduced me to him and his wife and daughter. When he mentioned that he was from Bengal, we began to discuss Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. At one point he began...
read moreGiriraja Swami’s advice to us
A few evenings ago, our traveling sankirtan entourage was blessed with the audience of His Holiness Giriraja Swami. This association was just like nectar as our four-week trek came to a close. First of all, I think I made spiritual advancement just by observing him and his movements. He gave us maha-prasad and then imparted transcendental knowledge into our hearts in the form of sankirtan instructions. The points I remembered are as follows: 1) Throughout the conversation, the sincere book distributor will earnestly pray to the Supersoul...
read moreA Change of Heart
It was a particularly challenging day for book distribution at North Carolina State University. Very few students seemed to have any care to even begin to consider the books I tried to show them. I prayed to Guru and Krishna for help, knowing that I am most likely at fault for being selfishly disposed. As my resolve weakened, I walked toward a science building where I thought I might take a break to read a little bit. My legs ached and the cold wind taunted my miserable acceptance of defeat. I prayed again to be blessed with the strength not...
read moreThe Nectar for which We Are Always Anxious
by Madhumangala Dasa (South Africa) This morning I was unable to get transport from the temple to my regular sankirtan spot, so I went to distribute books in an Indian area a couple of blocks from the temple. Lining one side of the road were many shops selling fruit, clothing, and spiritual paraphernalia. I approached an Indian gentleman and introduced myself. At once he asked, "How can I become a devotee of God? What must I do?" I said, "We're all devotees of God, but we've forgotten Him. We just have to revive our...
read moreA Satisfied Student
This letter was sent to Shastra krit das, a book distributor in Los Angeles. Dear Shastra, Thank you so much for your dedication in distributing books to many college campuses! I am not sure if you remember me because you encounter many students when handing out books, but we met at Citrus College and you gave me a copy of the Bhagvad Gita (last October or November, 2011). This book is one of the most precious in my life. It gives me motivation during difficult times and keeps me headstrong. Bhagvad Gita offers the best...
read moreReport from Malawi, Africa
(The author is Murari Dasa, who has been preaching practically alone for the last two years in one of the world's poorest countries.) Bhakta Ram has become very keen for any opportunity to distribute books, and so he joins me on weekend book distribution excursions. On the first weekend of March Bhakta Ram and I rode by car about four hours to the shore of Lake Malawi, to a town called Mangochi, the main holiday-resort town in this country. Bhakta Ram took one of his company cars and a driver. Since the following Monday was a holiday, it...
read more
