Blog
Continued from the Vrndavana book distribution seminar
by Vacaspati das My spiritual master asked me to distribute books, but I have no arms, I lost them in the army. I can't hold books, nor can I hold money. I tell the people that I have some very interesting books, but I can't show you, you'll have to take them out of the bag on my back. Then when they want the book I tell them which pocket to put the money in. I get my inspiration from other devotees. Just like a person may have a diasease if he gets to close to someone else he may spread the diasease to them, so similarly by...
read moreHare Krishna
"There is no doubt about it, to distribute books is our most important activity. The temple is a place not for eating and sleeping, but as a base from which we send out our soldiers to fight with Maya. Fight with Maya means to drop thousand and millions of books into the lap of the conditioned souls. Just like during war time the bombs are raining from the sky like anything… "His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (11-14-02) Dear Prabhus and Matajis Could you mercifully give some advice on book distribution...
read morePrabhupada Quote
The highest perfectional work of charity is to give people in general immunity from the anxieties of material existence. This can be done only by performing activities in devotional service to the Lord. Such knowledge is incomparable. Cultivation of the knowledge in the Vedas, performance of sacrifice, and distribution of munificent charities all together cannot form even a part of the immunity from the pangs of material existence that is gained from devotional service. SB 3.7.41,...
read moreBhakta Andrew from North carolina
Swierzno, Poland Last week, a new bhakta named Andrew came from America to join His Holiness Indradyumna Maharaja's festival of India tour in Poland. He told us about how he became a devotee. He used to work in an organic bakery in North Carolina. One day, he had a discussion with a Rastafari fellow. As they spoke about different spiritual topics, this rastafari asked Andrew, "Do you know anything about Krishna?" Andrew replied, "no." This triggered his interest. The next day, he went to the library of his university,...
read moreAn interview with Radhanatha Prabhu
While visiting the ISKCON center in Kansas City, Missouri (the locals call it "misery"), I had the good fortune of associating with one of the greatest inspirations in ISKCON, Radhanatha Prabhu. He joined in 1975, in Philadelphia, and shortly after joining he contracted a disease that put him in crutches and then a wheel chair. Last year he had his legs amputated. Despite all this, he has been enthusiastically distributing books for the past twenty-eight years! I'm a big fan of his, so I decided to interview him. Vijaya Dasa:...
read moreBBT Presentation
Dear Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! A couple of days ago the BBT Trustees did a presentation in the temple room in Los Angeles after their semi-annual meeting. At this presentation, organized by Brahma Muhurta Prabhu of the North European BBT, a number of devotees spoke about book distribution. Gopal Krsna Maharaja related that in 1977 Prabhupada told the devotees, "As long as my books are being distributed, I won't die." Maharaja pointed that in India, before coming to the West,...
read moreFinland
Dear Vijay Prabhu!PAMHO. I just came from Finland where I was visiting Tattvadava Prabhu (the president), and the sankirtan devotees. The geographical isolation of Finland forces the local devotees to depend on Srila Prabhupada with whatever devotion they can offer. By nature the Finish people are known to be very tough. The climate, the isolation and also their genetic background makes them ideal survivors under any conditions. As this nature is dovetailed with Krsna, they are able to manifest incredible steadiness and determination. The...
read moreUtsaha in the better half
Not to be left behind, the mataji's spearheaded by MadhuPriya Mataji were some of the most active book-distributors during the last marathon. On many occasions, scenting an opportunity, they grabbed the initiative from their better halves and not surprisingly have awe-inspiring stories to narrate. Madhu Priya Mataji had a simple and effective formula. She would always carry Bhagavad-Gita with her each time she stepped out of her house. Coming down and going up the elevator to her 10th floor residence, she never lost a chance to preach and...
read moreGopa Vrndapal talks with Prabhupada about Book Distribution
I remember in Vrindavan, there were just a few book distributors that got an audience with Srila Prabhupada to discuss this very topic of book distribution with him. I remember some of the questions that were posed, and I remember the answers explicitly. One thing I asked was about the quality of our preaching and our book distribution. I suggested that there was one problem that people often said that the only time they see us is when we're trying to give them some of our books, that they don't see us other than in that situation....
read moreThe Glories of Bhagavad Gita
While visiting Bombay a devotee named Rupa Raghunatha Prabhu a diciple of Rahanatha Maharaja, related this story to me. He was going store to store when I went into a place where about ten men were having a business meeting, usually when there's such a meeting it's very difficult to interest anyone in taking a book. This time however, as soon as one of the men, who was the director, saw me with the Bhagavad Gita's he invited me in and glorifed the Bhagavad Gita very nicely, suggesting that all of the men in the meeting purchase a...
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