Nectar Story from Prabhupada Marathon 2009
Below is the most special exchange from the Prabhupada Marathon 2009.
Melissa: As a teenager I experimented with a book that a friend had, though when I was reading it I didn’t understand what was being said. There was a chant in the book and I can remember practicing this chant, and having an experience that I was floating as I was lying on my bed. I guess the interest waned, I don’t know, but today here I am chanting again and this time my heart is not seeking, it has found! My first chant with my japa mala was with my dear friend and teacher and sister, Gaura-Arati. We had meet through her service distributing Krishna books to passers by. It is strange because I was on my way to work and I saw her, and the book she had in her hand, it was so pretty and loving and as soon as my eyes saw it I wanted it. The pretty blue cover beckoned me but she was with some one talking. I waited a few moments but conscious of time I looked to see if there were any more Hare Krishna’s, there I saw Madhu puri she was approaching people in a car and I sensed they were not too receptive and I was correct, so I grabbed her attention before I would lose the opportunity for the pretty book that was captivating my heart. Books now gathered, my excitement grew. I received more than the blue book, they showed me the SB 1.1, BHagavad Gita, Your Ever Well Wisher & Perfect Escape. I got them all.
Fortunately the next day I got to see Gaura again and she showed me the Srimad Bhagavatam set…
Oh how my heart leapt, and I wanted them straight away, but I gulped when I realized the cost of them. Even with a payment option I was unable to get them in that moment. But I resolved in my heart I soon would have those books…
This is an email which Melissa sent to the GY email that she found on our website:
Hello! I am Melissa and I have just meet 3 of your lovely sisters here in Gisborne! I currently am devouring the books I have received and I am drawn more and more to Krishna and the path He has for me, I sometimes wonder at how all has unfolded if I am the one who is drawn or if it is He drawing close to me and becoming a real presence in my life. After my 1st time chanting (all by myself with out Gaura) I was sitting still at the end of the chant and my mind had little ideas dropped into it one was to keep my connection to the family at Gaura yoga and to contribute what I can in donation. I do not have much to share but I am very much compelled with in my heart to so I would like to establish an automatic payment with you which I think is the easiest form of payment, it would be weekly donation of a small amount. Would $5 or $10 be fitting?
Thank you for your time I shall look forward to hearing from you. Much love Melissa
Back to snippets from our email correspondence: I finished the book Perfect Escape and was blessed with so many insights. I need to have 4 sets of eyes because I want to read, Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam at once! I still have no desire for cigarettes or even a glass of wine! Which both were an 'end of the day' habit for me. I miss not one of them, and also we have had a very traditional 3 vege and meat diet and I can not bear the thought if it, even now thinking of all the flesh I have cooked, it makes me feel quite hollow.
After leaving Gisborne and seeing Melissa’s desire to contribute laxmi to GY, I emailed her suggesting she use the laxmi to put towards a Srimad Bhagavatam set. Part of her reply:
"I would love the full set of Srimad Bhagavatam, at this current time I am not able to get the money for it, however I am aiming for this to be a possibility for the new year. So do not go out of your way in travels to bring me the books, but we will stay in touch and I am going to get them, there was a reason why you had them on the street that day! I am nourished with what I am reading and I am just as blessed with the drops of the water for now as I soon will be blessed with the whole well! I promise you and myself I will get the whole set!"
Melissa is 36yrs old, has a 15yr old daughter and 17yr old son – this is how she signed of an email to me.
"From your dearest newest friend that has a fountain of love for you in her heart and if she was only responsible for herself would be with you right now chanting and distributing books!!!"
Then in the last week of the Christmas marathon I received a text from her saying “Guess what I got today? a cheque for $150, so I have a deposit for my SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM!!!”
She had been praying to Krishna to somehow get the laxmi to buy the books, then mysteriously she got a card and cheque from her Grandad who she hasn’t heard from for years, and she knew this was Krishna reciprocating with her eagerness to come closer to Him.
Deposit received, books were freighted, she now has the whole set of Srimad Bhagavatam and has increased to chanting 4 rounds everyday. She also has set-up a weekly donation of $10 for Gaura Yoga.
What has astounded me most is how she is so naturally applying the process to her life, and how ‘in-line’ with the Krishna conscious philosophy her realizations are. One last snippet from her, which shows how she already has the missionary spirit running through her consciousness: "Happy day to you. May every heart you meet today be touched by Lord Krishna. How blessed you are to be His hands and feet, taking hope to the lost."
She really is a special soul.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Your Servant,
Gaura Arati Dasi
