AN AGREEABLE ATHEIST
I was distributing books in downtown Mountain View, a mile from the ISV temple, when a man came to my table. I showed him the *Bhagavad-gita*, but he said, “Sorry, not interested, I’m an atheist.” “Well,” I said, “if you’re intelligent, you’re not an atheist.” “Oh, how is that?” “There’s billions of things you don’t know, right?” “True.” “So one of the billions of things you don’t know is whether God exists or not.”...
read moreREADY FOR KRSNA
A lady came near my table. She seemed shy at first, but when I was done speaking with someone else, she walked up and took three Russian books. Her name was Camilla, she was from Russia, and although she spoke perfect English, she naturally preferred her native Russian. When she asked about the best way to meditate, I told her mantra meditation. She took books and beads and was on her way to catch a flight back to her home in Florida. In case she had any questions, I gave her Dvijamani Prabhu’s phone number. Camilla said she would start...
read moreSUCCESS ON THE ITALIAN RIVIERA
RAPALLO, Italy—I rang an office bell, and a boy opened the door. I offered him a book on karma, but he said he wasn’t the owner, so I asked him to show the book to the owner and let me know what he said. In a situation like this, the person rarely takes a book, but I tried anyway. While I was waiting, I began to reciting the *Gita* verse starting *sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistho*, praying that the Lord in the person’s heart would inspire him. After a while the boy returned without the book but with a donation for it!...
read moreIt takes a village to raise a child
I had been cultivating Casey for a few weeks. I met him at an outreach event at Mission Bay, New Zealand. He was very appreciative of the spiritual atmosphere created by the kirtan and the questions he asked seemed indicative of a sincere soul searching for spiritual connection and knowledge. I asked him how he ended up here and he told me about 5 years ago while in Manila, Philippines, his hometown, he felt inspired to go to a local temple. It turned out to be an ISKCON temple and he met a monk outside and gave a donation for a Path of...
read moreA Holistic Connection
One afternoon in Cuneo, Italy, I met a boy in a holistic center who greeted me, but I was busy talking to other people and I couldn’t give him proper attention. The afternoon continued, and I finished my distribution in the town. It was already evening and time to leave for my apartment. As I’m about to leave, loading the trolley of books into my car, I see the same boy also get into his car and leave, passing right in front of me. So, I stop him and we start talking. He explains to me that he is taking courses on the...
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