Sweet encounters at Ohlone College (in Fremont, Claifornia)
It was a very sweet experience distributing books at Ohlone College. One student was so happy and excited to have found our meditation books that she took them and gave a good donation. The donation she gave was meant to be used for buying her college textbooks. Instead, she was glad to use the money for getting the "best education." She emphasized the need for this education in the world today. (She is the sincere student in the attached photo.) One student who had came to the table was just flipping through the books and...
read moreClad Muslim Women take Bhagavad-gita
Bhakta Shyam's work hours are quite intense during the week, but on weekends he still joins us for book distribution. We were distributing in a city in Tamil Nadu next to the main bus stand. We put our book table there. Three Muslims wearing burqas, apparently a mother and two daughters, passed Syama, and he held up a Bhagavad-gita for them to see. They passed him, but after about five steps the mother turned around and approached him with the other two following her. She asked whether it is OK if they buy a copy of Bhagavad-gita from...
read moreTranscendental bartering
Recently, I needed to get the guru-parampara photograph framed for our home altar. Because of its peculiar shape, the photo required customized framing. I located a framing company in Perth and drove to their showroom. The clerk attending me, David, was friendly and talkative. And he recognized Srila Prabhupada and mentioned having previously seen him. I told him that he is the founder-acarya of the Hare Krishna movement. David has some interest in spirituality and had read a bit of multiple philosophies. We chatted a while, and then he had...
read moreTormented mother reconnects with Krsna
I was on traveling Sankirtan with Sevaka Vatsala Prabhu during the recent Prabhupada marathon. One morning we had planned to visit two country towns in Waikato, New Zealand, that rarely get done. Given that some driving was involved, we were hoping to get off to an early start. Unfortunately, that very morning, our gas cooker started to acting up leading to considerable delays in cooking breakfast / lunch. After dropping off Sevaka in Matamata, I was caught in two minds; should I travel on another 30 minutes to Morrinsville or jump out and...
read moreSankirtan Story By Titiksava Karunika Das
We had rented a house in Santa Cruz, CA. About 6 or 7 Brahmacaris trying to start a preaching center. I guess it was about 1981. Some of us were doing prasadam distribution and some were selling incense. I was one of the guys selling incense. I remember it was pretty tough and usually I couldn’t collect much. One day I approached a young couple and tried to distribute something. You know the line “we’re passing these out today and just asking a donation” The man said “could you use a car”? I said...
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