Book Distribution in Czech Republic
One summer day I began distributing the books of Srila Prabhupada at a square in a small south Czech Republic city. The third person I stopped was a lady and as I presented the books, I noticed an older man listening to us from a small distance. In our devotee-slang we call such people SPA (secret police agents), and because they are a disturbing element in book distribution, we try to avoid them. This man looked a bit crazy, due to his slow motion and special accent. He interrupted our conversation and asked how he could help me. Meanwhile the lady took the opportunity and left. A bit annoyed, I told him, I don’t need any help and asked him to go on with his business. The man was persistent though, and inquired what I was actually doing there. Judging by his ways and appearance I concluded he must be one of the musty, bored and curious old men who are more or less obstructions for a book distributor and take away his valuable time and determination. So I briefly replied that I am a Hare Krishna monk from Prague and today I am distributing books about God here. To my surprise he didn’t leave as I expected and further inquired about the books, so I told him that they are encyclopedias of spiritual wisdom and one costs 2.800 crowns (price for a book set in Czech, 16 books). Because he was a retired person who didn’t look that he could take even one of them, I was convinced that this mantra will work and he will leave.
Then he said, "I will gladly take one encyclopedia."
My jaw dropped. I started to wonder, "What is going on. Here is a soul, part of Krishna, who is very much eager for the books of Srila Prabhupada and the only obstacle is me. How absurd!" I felt terrible.
This man gave a donation of 1.000 crowns on the spot, without even seeing the books, and the rest he bought within one hour. I invited him into the van, where I showed him and gave him all our books and spent about forty minutes in pleasant and friendly talk. This man turned out to be a nice person, interested in spiritual things with deep understanding of our philosophy. He very much appreciated our traveling life and the sublime mission of Srila Prabhupada. It was the first time that I have distributed all our books to one person, and, overwhelmed by bliss, I promised myself that I will never again judge people on the street according to external appearance, but rather will try to convey the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya to all conditioned souls without distinction.
Panca Tattva Dasa
