Krsna, they say You Distribute the Books
*Sankirtan, Bosnia, during war time, 1994.* I had been trying to distribute a book for a whole day. I was exhausted, fried and lacking inspiration. I didn't know what to do. People were closing their doors in my face, throwing me out of their firms, shops… what a nice opportunity for purification! By Krsna's mercy I somehow remembered a sankirtan instruction: "Krsna distributes the books!" So I thought, completely fried: "Krsna, they say that you distribute books. I can’t distribute them, You please...
read moreKrsna’s Mystical Hand at Work
Yesterday morning, a young couple visited the temple up on the hill here in Kalamunda, in Perth, Australia. I talked to them and showed them the Gita. I mentioned that the book explains all aspects of life, not least the types of food that are best to eat. I opened the book to find the reference, and by Krsna's mercy the verses were right there on the first page we turned to. We discussed for a while the benefits of a vegetarian diet. The young man's name was Mitra. I closed the book and then at a later point in our discussion opened...
read moreSankirtan in Detroit, some of my first Sankirtan adventures
It was my fortune that that I got a chance to spend the week of Gaura Purnima under the shelter of Srila Gurudeva Sankarshan Das Adhikari and Srimati Gurumataji Vishnupriya Devi Dasi in Austin, Texas. I was even more fortunate to have accompanied Srimati Gurumataji on book distribution, her enthusiasm was contagious and I had made up my mind that when I return to Detroit I will go on book distribution at least once a week. So when I got back, I was making plans to solicit shopkeepers in my area to setup a book table once per week, however...
read moreDon’t be Caught out Here without some of those Sweets
Completely sweet. Reminds me of the time I was stopped by a policeman while distributing books in Daley Plaza in Chicago. He said "What's in the bag?" My heart rate went up and I thought I was going to be harassed and told to move on. Then this big burly cop asked "Got any of those sweets?" Turns out he had received some prasadam sweets at the Chicago Ratha yatra and had never forgotten the taste. I did have some excellent mangal aroti burfy in my lunch bag. I gave it to the cop who immediately popped it into his...
read moreA Message From Beyond
While we were in New Plymouth the other day to run a few errands, Syama-gauri and I thought we'd try selling a few Gitas to a small quasi-spiritual book store in town, which also specializes in crystals, magic potions, fairy statues and incense sticks. A few weeks back, Syama-gauri had by chance meet one of the staff who worked there, and mentioned in passing that we had the Bhagavad-gita and other books from the East, and the store might like to buy some from us to display on their shelves. They showed some interest, and so we'd been...
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