Today I had an opportunity to meet a wannabe pastor of the baptist christian faith. In a week's time, he is leaving for Manila, Philippines. One thing that struck me is how the christians in general are so organized to preach the message of Jesus all over the world. Although I feel the religious system does not fully explain the complexity of creation, life, sustenance and destruction, still many christians travel and preach the word of Jesus.
In our brief conversation, I was sort of introduced to the doctrine of baptism. The baptist doctrine states that salvation can happen purely by the grace of Jesus Only. In their belief system, God's grace does not require one to behave in a saintly manner. In other words, as long as we strongly believe and adhere to Jesus, then, by His power and grace, one attains the Kingdom of God. So my question to the wannabe pastor was how does Baptism account for misbehavior or bad behavior of man? He said a true christian will imbibe the values of Christ within him and will act in accordance to Christ's will. He said although we may fall down multiple times in our life for our bad behavior, still we will be saved, as long as we believe in Jesus Christ. In simple terms, baptist doctrine stresses more on being "baptised" to become a "christian" than following a spiritual and saintly life. It is something like if a devotee in Krishna consciousness stress more on getting initiated (something like baptised) and not care so much about chanting 16 rounds or follow the four regulative principles etc. Initiation becomes meaningless if we are not following the instructions of the spiritual master. But in Baptism, they value being a baptised christian more than following proper spiritual codes and conduct.
My main purpose to connect with the wannabe pastor was to give him a Bhagavad Gita. I gave him the book and spoke few words about the Gita. I talked about reincarnation, karma, vegetarianism etc. Perhaps he may not read but I urged him to read the introduction and strongly recommended to give up meat eating especially cows.
All said and done, I wish him luck in his future as a pastor. But truth be told, if he goes beyond the surface of studying baptist doctines and actually connect with Jesus in a spiritual sense, then, I am confident he will be attracted to the message of Krishna given in the Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita is an advanced science about God and whoever is serious to know God beyond religious indoctrination will surely appreciate the philosophical presentation given by Krishna about Himself, the living beings and this world.
Hare Krishna
Showing posts with label sankirtan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sankirtan. Show all posts
Monday, June 3, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
December 2012 book distribution
As part of the December marathon, I tried to do my best in distributing some books. I went door knocking every weekend and tried to distribute. I distributed little over twenty books, out of which ten were Bhagavad Gitas which I thought was nice.
There was lukewarm response, one can say. I met some interesting people. I met two brothers from California who seemed interested and who even invited me to their house to discuss more. I also met a gentleman from Uzbekistan. He also invited me to speak about the Bhagavad Gita. Although a professed atheist, he patiently was asking questions in a non-challenging way and at the end donated generously. I met quite few indians who took Bhagavad Gitas, however none of them followed up to meet. I have given my emails to all people I distribute and hope Krishna inspires them to inquire more.
In this day and age, it is very difficult to practice spiritual life without a vibrant spiritual community. Where I live, such a community is lacking. Krishna consciousness is comprehensive in thought and logical in presentation. Although founded on the aspect of faith like other religions, still the aspect of faith is not blindly dealt within Krishna consciousness. Yet, I am surprised the general public is not so keen on understanding the logical presentation of transcendental thought. I can only say, therefore, that people are spiritual lazy and not seeking the "truth" actively. Our job is to find a seeker and also inspire the non-seekers to seek. I hope and pray some of the people who got the book will be inspired to inquire deeper.
Hare Krishna
There was lukewarm response, one can say. I met some interesting people. I met two brothers from California who seemed interested and who even invited me to their house to discuss more. I also met a gentleman from Uzbekistan. He also invited me to speak about the Bhagavad Gita. Although a professed atheist, he patiently was asking questions in a non-challenging way and at the end donated generously. I met quite few indians who took Bhagavad Gitas, however none of them followed up to meet. I have given my emails to all people I distribute and hope Krishna inspires them to inquire more.
In this day and age, it is very difficult to practice spiritual life without a vibrant spiritual community. Where I live, such a community is lacking. Krishna consciousness is comprehensive in thought and logical in presentation. Although founded on the aspect of faith like other religions, still the aspect of faith is not blindly dealt within Krishna consciousness. Yet, I am surprised the general public is not so keen on understanding the logical presentation of transcendental thought. I can only say, therefore, that people are spiritual lazy and not seeking the "truth" actively. Our job is to find a seeker and also inspire the non-seekers to seek. I hope and pray some of the people who got the book will be inspired to inquire deeper.
Hare Krishna
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Chappan bhog
I and my wife cooked up fifty six items for Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra. Technically this sort of offering is called "chappan bhog" meaning fifty six offerings. This is my first attempt and I pray the Lord accepted the offering. It took approximately 12 hours to cook and offer. At the end it was worth the effort. We also distributed the Prasad to few devotees here.
I distributed some books on Janmashtami day door knocking (mostly Indian families) and invited few of them for the program. I am hoping people get interested to discuss more about Krishna.
Below are some pictures.
Hare Krishna
I distributed some books on Janmashtami day door knocking (mostly Indian families) and invited few of them for the program. I am hoping people get interested to discuss more about Krishna.
Below are some pictures.
Hare Krishna
Monday, February 6, 2012
Book distribution 2012 - II
Lord Nityananda is the most munificent of incarnations. He is Lord Balaram Himself who manifested in Chaitanya Lila 500 years ago. From whatever little I understand without the blessings of Lord Nityananda, it is not possible to access the mercy of Lord Gauranga who is Krishna Himself. Besides, Lord Nityananda goes door to door blessing the most unfortunate souls caught up in this illusory world of happiness and instilling in them Krishna prem.
To put it in perspective to todays world. this causeless mercy from Lord Nityananda is transmitting through Srila Prabhupada who tirelessly is preaching the tattva of Gaurana Mahaprabhu. So through Srila Prabhupada from Nityananda prabhu, no doubt I have been given access to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra. For this reason of causeless compassion to unqualified people, I am attracted to Lord Chaitanya and His movement. Otherwise there is not much chance for me to understand spiritual subject matters.
The sankirtan movement will go on for the next 10,000 years, so the saintly people predict. I would like to humbly contribute to my best. So in this mood of gratitude towards Lord Nityananda and the saintly acharyas, I decided to distribute books today. Although I had this plan for sometime, i was not quite sure till the last minute. However, I finally decided to spend some time knocking on doors.
I have been saying in previous posts all along, in my last 5 or 6 attempts in door knocking, so far, my realization is that I am finding it difficult to convince people to take books. My implication is that perhaps they are mostly Christians or mostly worldly minded people who have no interest in spiritual life whatsoever. So I thought may be I will drive to an area where there may be Indians living. Even if they are not interested in Krishna, I figured I can sell some books and get some donations. So I drove my car in that direction and found an apartment (not secured) and entered.
I managed to distribute some books but not many though. I want to narrate a rather humorous moment. There is an old english idiom, don't judge the book by its cover. Yesterday, literally the person was judging the book by its cover. I knocked and a man from Africa opened. Before I could complete my opening line, he excused himself to leave. I persisted and asked him to take a book. With reluctance, the man took the book and was starring at it for few seconds and his face had the combined look of skepticism and cavil. The man could not understand what he was looking at. I laughed inside and found it humourous on how he was coming to grips with Krishna. In my brief moment of humour I forgot to explain about the book.The cover of the book had Krishna with the Gopis and the title was Bhakti Yoga- The Art of Eternal Love. After few seconds, he did his best to hide his emotions and returned the book.
Later I met a Catholic who does not practice her faith, a mother of two and currently pregnant expressed that she is not very interested. By Krishna's mercy I got to talk to her for few minutes and she shared her feelings about her current situation and that her father-in-law was in critical condition about to die in the hospital. She said she was expecting a phone anytime from her husband regarding her in-law. At that moment, I stressed on how important to understand spiritual knowledge and urged her to chant Hare Krishna even if she does not understand its meaning. I gave her a book and a card with the mantra on it. I insisted she chant this mantra to her in-law even if he was unconscious. So I asked her to repeat the mantra after me and she repeated it carefully and with focus. She gave me donation and said she will look into this. I finally left saying the mantra is very powerful and can help anyone chanting it.
My original hope was to meet an Indian who I thought perhaps I can invite to my house for further discussions. Although most of the Indians in the US have no desire for spiritual life, still they are relatively more pious and may understand the science of Krishna. I figured the odds are less. As I was walking on the pavement to enter a building, I saw two Indians carrying grocery bags and entering the same building I was to enter. I did not think much of it, I just followed. By the time I entered, they disappeared, however I saw a door close. I guessed that door must be them. So I knocked in earnest and an Indian opened.
I showed one person (there were two) the Bhagavad Gita and discussed about the importance of cultivating spiritual life. The other room mate showed no interest. After about 15 mins of discussion, I found out he is from Maduari Tamilnadu and that his parents worship Vishnu. So naturally he was inclined to the Gita. He also gave me suggestions on where to go and whom to meet regarding further distribution. We exchanhged numbers and emails and am hoping to meet again next week for lunch. He seems to be interested in Krishna. However, time will tell. He took the Bhagavad Gita and gave me a big donation, I profusely thanked him and left saying we will meet again soon.
Although, overall I distributed few books, however, I thought my efforts paid off as I met these two souls. One catholic and one potential Krishna bhakta. With that thought, I drove back home.
Hare Krishna
To put it in perspective to todays world. this causeless mercy from Lord Nityananda is transmitting through Srila Prabhupada who tirelessly is preaching the tattva of Gaurana Mahaprabhu. So through Srila Prabhupada from Nityananda prabhu, no doubt I have been given access to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra. For this reason of causeless compassion to unqualified people, I am attracted to Lord Chaitanya and His movement. Otherwise there is not much chance for me to understand spiritual subject matters.
The sankirtan movement will go on for the next 10,000 years, so the saintly people predict. I would like to humbly contribute to my best. So in this mood of gratitude towards Lord Nityananda and the saintly acharyas, I decided to distribute books today. Although I had this plan for sometime, i was not quite sure till the last minute. However, I finally decided to spend some time knocking on doors.
I have been saying in previous posts all along, in my last 5 or 6 attempts in door knocking, so far, my realization is that I am finding it difficult to convince people to take books. My implication is that perhaps they are mostly Christians or mostly worldly minded people who have no interest in spiritual life whatsoever. So I thought may be I will drive to an area where there may be Indians living. Even if they are not interested in Krishna, I figured I can sell some books and get some donations. So I drove my car in that direction and found an apartment (not secured) and entered.
I managed to distribute some books but not many though. I want to narrate a rather humorous moment. There is an old english idiom, don't judge the book by its cover. Yesterday, literally the person was judging the book by its cover. I knocked and a man from Africa opened. Before I could complete my opening line, he excused himself to leave. I persisted and asked him to take a book. With reluctance, the man took the book and was starring at it for few seconds and his face had the combined look of skepticism and cavil. The man could not understand what he was looking at. I laughed inside and found it humourous on how he was coming to grips with Krishna. In my brief moment of humour I forgot to explain about the book.The cover of the book had Krishna with the Gopis and the title was Bhakti Yoga- The Art of Eternal Love. After few seconds, he did his best to hide his emotions and returned the book.
Later I met a Catholic who does not practice her faith, a mother of two and currently pregnant expressed that she is not very interested. By Krishna's mercy I got to talk to her for few minutes and she shared her feelings about her current situation and that her father-in-law was in critical condition about to die in the hospital. She said she was expecting a phone anytime from her husband regarding her in-law. At that moment, I stressed on how important to understand spiritual knowledge and urged her to chant Hare Krishna even if she does not understand its meaning. I gave her a book and a card with the mantra on it. I insisted she chant this mantra to her in-law even if he was unconscious. So I asked her to repeat the mantra after me and she repeated it carefully and with focus. She gave me donation and said she will look into this. I finally left saying the mantra is very powerful and can help anyone chanting it.
My original hope was to meet an Indian who I thought perhaps I can invite to my house for further discussions. Although most of the Indians in the US have no desire for spiritual life, still they are relatively more pious and may understand the science of Krishna. I figured the odds are less. As I was walking on the pavement to enter a building, I saw two Indians carrying grocery bags and entering the same building I was to enter. I did not think much of it, I just followed. By the time I entered, they disappeared, however I saw a door close. I guessed that door must be them. So I knocked in earnest and an Indian opened.
I showed one person (there were two) the Bhagavad Gita and discussed about the importance of cultivating spiritual life. The other room mate showed no interest. After about 15 mins of discussion, I found out he is from Maduari Tamilnadu and that his parents worship Vishnu. So naturally he was inclined to the Gita. He also gave me suggestions on where to go and whom to meet regarding further distribution. We exchanhged numbers and emails and am hoping to meet again next week for lunch. He seems to be interested in Krishna. However, time will tell. He took the Bhagavad Gita and gave me a big donation, I profusely thanked him and left saying we will meet again soon.
Although, overall I distributed few books, however, I thought my efforts paid off as I met these two souls. One catholic and one potential Krishna bhakta. With that thought, I drove back home.
Hare Krishna
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Book distribution 2012 - I
This previous sunday, I and a devotee and his 3 year old daughter went to distribute books. The highlight for me was the 3 year old daughter and her unabashed desire to hand out books to strangers. Her enthusiasm to accompany us and distribute is a clear indication that she is a pure soul come to expand the mission of the Lord. Lucky are the father and mother of that girl!
Anyways, we knocked on a few doors and made our way through the afternoon. We collected some Lakshmi on behalf of the books. Although I felt it was a tough crowd, at the end of the day I think we managed to distribute few books and collect some Lakshmi.
I pray at the Lotus Feet of the Lord to give me desire to continue to distribute.
Hare Krishna
Anyways, we knocked on a few doors and made our way through the afternoon. We collected some Lakshmi on behalf of the books. Although I felt it was a tough crowd, at the end of the day I think we managed to distribute few books and collect some Lakshmi.
I pray at the Lotus Feet of the Lord to give me desire to continue to distribute.
Hare Krishna
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Book Distribution 2011 - IV
I went door knocking today although I will admit I was on an all-time low with my mind battling to muster the enthusiasm to distribute. I made a cold call to a person whom I thought would be interested in Krishna consciousness this afternoon, anyways the call did not go as per plan and to be honest I got a little hung up on that. My mind was thinking about that. Anyways the highlight of todays distribution is I distributed Bhagavad Gita flyers and cards. I also distributed Higher Taste recipe book which I found people very eager to take versus the regular books. After few more books (although not much donation) I went home.
In addition to knocking on doors, this time I also placed books in shops. Actually I believe the smart box can distribute more books than me door knocking. So I placed two smart boxes in cafetarias. In my estimation, in one or two weeks the books are distributed. So I ordered small books and placed them in smart boxes. I am thinking of putting these smart boxes in more shops...lets see how that goes.
One other reason I am writing my experience of book distribution is to document my attempts so when I look back I can see how much effort was put in and what I can do better. Documenting is a crucial aspect of story telling. People like to hear stories and be inspired. I may not document all my book distribution efforts but hoping that if I do continue book distribution regularly then I may document it periodically.
So far I would say If you are a type of person who likes to meet new people, then book distribution is for you. You may not distribute books but just meeting new people in my opinion is exciting. When I say meet I mean the chance to have a discussion with new people. The person may not be interested in the books but by connecting with the person one can actually have an impact.
With that, I would also say this would be my last post for the year. I wish all my readers (although not sure if there are loyal readers) a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012.
I hope and pray your New Year starts on a good note and continue that way and perhaps you go one step closer towards Krishna!
Hare Krishna
In addition to knocking on doors, this time I also placed books in shops. Actually I believe the smart box can distribute more books than me door knocking. So I placed two smart boxes in cafetarias. In my estimation, in one or two weeks the books are distributed. So I ordered small books and placed them in smart boxes. I am thinking of putting these smart boxes in more shops...lets see how that goes.
One other reason I am writing my experience of book distribution is to document my attempts so when I look back I can see how much effort was put in and what I can do better. Documenting is a crucial aspect of story telling. People like to hear stories and be inspired. I may not document all my book distribution efforts but hoping that if I do continue book distribution regularly then I may document it periodically.
So far I would say If you are a type of person who likes to meet new people, then book distribution is for you. You may not distribute books but just meeting new people in my opinion is exciting. When I say meet I mean the chance to have a discussion with new people. The person may not be interested in the books but by connecting with the person one can actually have an impact.
With that, I would also say this would be my last post for the year. I wish all my readers (although not sure if there are loyal readers) a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012.
I hope and pray your New Year starts on a good note and continue that way and perhaps you go one step closer towards Krishna!
Hare Krishna
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Book distribution 2011- III
I would say today was my best day in terms of the amount of books distributed and money collected. I collected more than $35 and distributed more around 10-15 books (not exactly sure how many). I may have knocked on at least 125 doors of which I could convince say 10 people to take the book. I met a whole variety of folks. I must say the residents of the buildings were probably of low-income category or perhaps less affluent is more apt. Most of the houses had dogs and I have fear of dogs. Although the dogs were not on leash, the owners were always careful to not allow the dogs in front.
I have said this in my previous posts, and I say again that most of the residents practice Christian faith and most likely not interested in Krishna Consciousness. So I started to talk to them about Jesus and that chanting Jesus Christ's names would benefit them spiritually. I made sure this is not a sectarian concept of religion. I met a muslim girl from Pakistan who donated money generously but was absolutely adamant to not accept the books. Somehow I requested her to accept the Beyond Illusion and Doubt book which was purely an interpretation on western philosophy. She reluctantly accepted it.
Anyways, I met many people but unfortunately my memory escapes me. I do remember one funny incident. I was distributing a book to an elderly African American lady. As I was explaining the philosophy, the sister of the lady came into the living room and she saw me. The lady to whom I was talking introduced me to her and turned and pointed to her sister the book and said this is Krishna. The sister looked at me with exasperation in her breath and loudly said "Krishna?"...and she nodded her head in disapproval on hearing Krishna and went back her into the room. I didn't know what to say and the lady who was talking to me said its ok. The lady gave me a nice donation and I left. It is interesting to see the impressions people have on other religions and especially Krishna.
Overall however, I would say the majority response was either a big fat no and some seemed recipient to spiritual life. I distributed all the books I carried but one book. After about 2 hours, I became tired and was getting dark, figured I will return. With that, I went back to my office and then to my house.
I have to say I am little pessimistic in terms of anything sustainable coming out of book distribution especially where I live because people are either religious or very materialistic. It is very hard for me to convince them in like 60 secs to take a book and at the same time perhaps read it and email me. Unless I meet someone who is also seeking spiritual knowledge and who is not attached to any current form religious system, then may be I will have chance to make an impression and make something sustainable out of it. For now, I pray Krishna to give me desire to distribute and also pray Krishna to send me the interested person.
We will never know! This unknown gives some hope!
Hare Krishna
I have said this in my previous posts, and I say again that most of the residents practice Christian faith and most likely not interested in Krishna Consciousness. So I started to talk to them about Jesus and that chanting Jesus Christ's names would benefit them spiritually. I made sure this is not a sectarian concept of religion. I met a muslim girl from Pakistan who donated money generously but was absolutely adamant to not accept the books. Somehow I requested her to accept the Beyond Illusion and Doubt book which was purely an interpretation on western philosophy. She reluctantly accepted it.
Anyways, I met many people but unfortunately my memory escapes me. I do remember one funny incident. I was distributing a book to an elderly African American lady. As I was explaining the philosophy, the sister of the lady came into the living room and she saw me. The lady to whom I was talking introduced me to her and turned and pointed to her sister the book and said this is Krishna. The sister looked at me with exasperation in her breath and loudly said "Krishna?"...and she nodded her head in disapproval on hearing Krishna and went back her into the room. I didn't know what to say and the lady who was talking to me said its ok. The lady gave me a nice donation and I left. It is interesting to see the impressions people have on other religions and especially Krishna.
Overall however, I would say the majority response was either a big fat no and some seemed recipient to spiritual life. I distributed all the books I carried but one book. After about 2 hours, I became tired and was getting dark, figured I will return. With that, I went back to my office and then to my house.
I have to say I am little pessimistic in terms of anything sustainable coming out of book distribution especially where I live because people are either religious or very materialistic. It is very hard for me to convince them in like 60 secs to take a book and at the same time perhaps read it and email me. Unless I meet someone who is also seeking spiritual knowledge and who is not attached to any current form religious system, then may be I will have chance to make an impression and make something sustainable out of it. For now, I pray Krishna to give me desire to distribute and also pray Krishna to send me the interested person.
We will never know! This unknown gives some hope!
Hare Krishna
Friday, December 23, 2011
Book Distrubution 2011 - II
I went door knocking again today. It was relatively a quiet day. I met few folks and distributed some books. I met a guy who knew about the Hare Krishnas. I gave him a book and he accepted it although he did not offer any donations. Then I met an inquisitive individual who asked many questions. Sadly though, after like 15 mins of explaining the philosophy he just took a brochure from me. I suspect he was a christian trying to be polite with me.
The highlight was I met a Catholic Christian who to my surprise had a very Krishna conscious mind set. In the beginning, she said I know I am not this body and mind and I am soul. She said how God is Supremely good and hence all of His creation also has His goodness. She believes that every individual finds his path towards God and that has their own realizations, so who are we to judge that? As humans she agreed that we have limited capacity to understand God's creation. She said that America is worshipping materialism and not God.
She also said, which I find interesting is, that Catholicism is the "fullest" form of religion than other paths. Its funny how every religious person thinks the same of their path. I went to a Masjid (mosque) last sunday to see if I could distribute any books, and the person I was conversing with was a devout muslim and he also said the same thing about Islam and Allah. As the Catholic lady was saying about the fullness of her religion, I thought the same about Krishna Consciousness. I guess we need that impetus to be attached to our own paths.
Anyways, the Catholic lady talked about other points that had spiritual (and not religious) connotation and I took leave expressing my pleasure to have met her. Honestly, I have been here for 8 years now and have not met an open minded Christian. Sorry if I offend any Christian, this however has been my experience so far. Either they are materialistic or too literal about the Bible to accept any other path as valid. This woman was a welcome exception and she gladly donated me her entire piggy bank which had a dollar and some chump change. Knocked on few other doors and drove back to my house.
I am hoping someone will be interested to discuss further about Krishna!
Hare Krishna
The highlight was I met a Catholic Christian who to my surprise had a very Krishna conscious mind set. In the beginning, she said I know I am not this body and mind and I am soul. She said how God is Supremely good and hence all of His creation also has His goodness. She believes that every individual finds his path towards God and that has their own realizations, so who are we to judge that? As humans she agreed that we have limited capacity to understand God's creation. She said that America is worshipping materialism and not God.
She also said, which I find interesting is, that Catholicism is the "fullest" form of religion than other paths. Its funny how every religious person thinks the same of their path. I went to a Masjid (mosque) last sunday to see if I could distribute any books, and the person I was conversing with was a devout muslim and he also said the same thing about Islam and Allah. As the Catholic lady was saying about the fullness of her religion, I thought the same about Krishna Consciousness. I guess we need that impetus to be attached to our own paths.
Anyways, the Catholic lady talked about other points that had spiritual (and not religious) connotation and I took leave expressing my pleasure to have met her. Honestly, I have been here for 8 years now and have not met an open minded Christian. Sorry if I offend any Christian, this however has been my experience so far. Either they are materialistic or too literal about the Bible to accept any other path as valid. This woman was a welcome exception and she gladly donated me her entire piggy bank which had a dollar and some chump change. Knocked on few other doors and drove back to my house.
I am hoping someone will be interested to discuss further about Krishna!
Hare Krishna
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Book distribution 2011
After 4 years pause, i decided to distribute books again going door to door. I am praying I have the patience and enthusiasm to continue. I will be honest, living in a place where there is absolutely no devotee or devotee association or for that matter remotely spiritual, I find it very difficult to motivate myself to knock on doors.
Another problem is at least 50% of the people here are conservative christians and it is practically difficult to get them to take a book. So I decided to go to a neighborhood which is partially affluent and less affluent. Initially I was skeptical if anyone would even open the door. But then I motivated myself by thinking I will simply do my duty and the leave the rest to Krishna. In other words, I would not be disturbed mentally.
I may have knocked on 30 to 35 doors in a span of 2 hours. Almost I would say 25 doors did not open although I could hear their tv playing. Some were genuinely not home. One house, I knocked and the dogs (two) started to bark loudly and I was praying the owners don't open the door! Foolish that I was, I got lost in the building layout and knocked again on the same door with the dogs. Thankfully, the owners were not there. I made a smooth exit.
I was happy to have met the people I did. I met an Imam (spiritual leader for Islamic religion), a catalina knight (a rare form of protestant christian), a californian woman open to new ideas, and a old poor woman who lived in a run-down neighborhood and who experienced psychotic and depressive behaviors. Of course I met many more who simply did not care and kept saying NO.
Of all the people I met, the Imam was the first person to invite me into his house, took a book, gave me water and was very sweet. He asked me to come to his mosque to pray which I said I will. I am planning to go tomorrow to his mosque. We exchanged pleasantries in arabic, actually I was showing off my arabic skills whatever little I remembered when I lived in Kuwait. To my surprise, he spoke in arabic when I said I know little arabic...thank God he asked me the one thing I know. So that was good.
Then I met the Catalina Knight. He I have to say was quite the character. He looked straight in my eye and asked "do you follow a particular religion?" and I gave a vague answer like yes and no. He invited me into his house and we must have discussed for at least 30 mins of his religion. He gave me the Bible and asked me to read it which I promptly did and he was talking about his belief etc. He was very proud of his army background from Scotland and that he does not watch tv, listen music and other mundane affairs. Yet there was a huge tv right in the middle of his house and to that he said he watches dvds. Anyways, however I could not help notice on his laptop screen, I saw porn windows flashing and other lewd pictures around the house. After about 30 mins, I decided to do my sales pitch. I was very nice to him that he decided to take a book and donat $1 for it. Happily taking the donation, I bid farewell. Just at that moment, funny enough, the Catalina Knight warned me against knocking on a door just above him and he said, that guy is an imam and that I should stay away from him. I have to say from the conversation with the Knight, there is lot of misconception about muslims and Islam. It is indeed unfortunate!! Anyways, I politely nodded my head not revealing that I already met him.
The best meeting and I would say worth my entire effort was the following two meetings. The californian mother was so open and happy to see me, she invited me into her house and we talked about for 20 mins. She gave her email and phone for us to meet again. Her husband was not home and she wanted to meet again as she said her husband has many questions. We talked about other stuff beyond Krishna and am hoping to meet her again. I gave her 3 books and she donated $2. She wished me luck in my door knocking and I moved from there.
Finally, as I was driving back, I decided to stop in an apartment building which housed society's derelicts such as the drunks, the drug addicts, mentally ill and other psychotic people of society. In fact, I have a friend (who also has mental issues) living in that building. Anyways, I could not get in as it was locked and as I was leaving, I met an older poor woman who was standing with her dog. The dog was totally out of control and was freaking me out. Somehow I maintained my wits and gave a book to the woman. She let me into the building and just as she was about to leave, I explained the nature of this book and its significance. She listened intently. Then I asked her that she should chant Hare Krishna. At first she could not grasp Krishna. I opened the book turned to a page with the mantra and asked her to repeat after me. She dutifully repeated and asked for the meaning. I briefly explained to her the philosophy and I assured her and promised her that this mantra is so powerful that all your desires will be fulfilled and that all your problems will be solved. I saw a sparkle in her eye when I said this. I insisted her to call me. I gave her my phone and email contact. I thought my trip was worth that this poor old woman was lucky to chant Krishna's holy names.
With that, I got into my car and back home. I was hungry and tired by the end of it. I am not sure how frequent I will continue book distribution but I pray Krishna gives me the desire to do so. I hope something more sustainable comes from book distribution. One thing, we never know who will take Krishna and who will not!!
Hare Krishna
Another problem is at least 50% of the people here are conservative christians and it is practically difficult to get them to take a book. So I decided to go to a neighborhood which is partially affluent and less affluent. Initially I was skeptical if anyone would even open the door. But then I motivated myself by thinking I will simply do my duty and the leave the rest to Krishna. In other words, I would not be disturbed mentally.
I may have knocked on 30 to 35 doors in a span of 2 hours. Almost I would say 25 doors did not open although I could hear their tv playing. Some were genuinely not home. One house, I knocked and the dogs (two) started to bark loudly and I was praying the owners don't open the door! Foolish that I was, I got lost in the building layout and knocked again on the same door with the dogs. Thankfully, the owners were not there. I made a smooth exit.
I was happy to have met the people I did. I met an Imam (spiritual leader for Islamic religion), a catalina knight (a rare form of protestant christian), a californian woman open to new ideas, and a old poor woman who lived in a run-down neighborhood and who experienced psychotic and depressive behaviors. Of course I met many more who simply did not care and kept saying NO.
Of all the people I met, the Imam was the first person to invite me into his house, took a book, gave me water and was very sweet. He asked me to come to his mosque to pray which I said I will. I am planning to go tomorrow to his mosque. We exchanged pleasantries in arabic, actually I was showing off my arabic skills whatever little I remembered when I lived in Kuwait. To my surprise, he spoke in arabic when I said I know little arabic...thank God he asked me the one thing I know. So that was good.
Then I met the Catalina Knight. He I have to say was quite the character. He looked straight in my eye and asked "do you follow a particular religion?" and I gave a vague answer like yes and no. He invited me into his house and we must have discussed for at least 30 mins of his religion. He gave me the Bible and asked me to read it which I promptly did and he was talking about his belief etc. He was very proud of his army background from Scotland and that he does not watch tv, listen music and other mundane affairs. Yet there was a huge tv right in the middle of his house and to that he said he watches dvds. Anyways, however I could not help notice on his laptop screen, I saw porn windows flashing and other lewd pictures around the house. After about 30 mins, I decided to do my sales pitch. I was very nice to him that he decided to take a book and donat $1 for it. Happily taking the donation, I bid farewell. Just at that moment, funny enough, the Catalina Knight warned me against knocking on a door just above him and he said, that guy is an imam and that I should stay away from him. I have to say from the conversation with the Knight, there is lot of misconception about muslims and Islam. It is indeed unfortunate!! Anyways, I politely nodded my head not revealing that I already met him.
The best meeting and I would say worth my entire effort was the following two meetings. The californian mother was so open and happy to see me, she invited me into her house and we talked about for 20 mins. She gave her email and phone for us to meet again. Her husband was not home and she wanted to meet again as she said her husband has many questions. We talked about other stuff beyond Krishna and am hoping to meet her again. I gave her 3 books and she donated $2. She wished me luck in my door knocking and I moved from there.
Finally, as I was driving back, I decided to stop in an apartment building which housed society's derelicts such as the drunks, the drug addicts, mentally ill and other psychotic people of society. In fact, I have a friend (who also has mental issues) living in that building. Anyways, I could not get in as it was locked and as I was leaving, I met an older poor woman who was standing with her dog. The dog was totally out of control and was freaking me out. Somehow I maintained my wits and gave a book to the woman. She let me into the building and just as she was about to leave, I explained the nature of this book and its significance. She listened intently. Then I asked her that she should chant Hare Krishna. At first she could not grasp Krishna. I opened the book turned to a page with the mantra and asked her to repeat after me. She dutifully repeated and asked for the meaning. I briefly explained to her the philosophy and I assured her and promised her that this mantra is so powerful that all your desires will be fulfilled and that all your problems will be solved. I saw a sparkle in her eye when I said this. I insisted her to call me. I gave her my phone and email contact. I thought my trip was worth that this poor old woman was lucky to chant Krishna's holy names.
With that, I got into my car and back home. I was hungry and tired by the end of it. I am not sure how frequent I will continue book distribution but I pray Krishna gives me the desire to do so. I hope something more sustainable comes from book distribution. One thing, we never know who will take Krishna and who will not!!
Hare Krishna
Monday, March 2, 2009
Unity Church presentation
On Feb 1 2009, I and my wife presented Krishna Conscious philosophy to Church members. My wife did the whole presentation (about 45-50mins). The whole event was very well recieved and all the Church members were attracted by the presentation and the books. We sold many books. We played Srila Prabhupada's chanting inside the Church and everyone heard him sing. We also (the whole church) sang at the end briefly so people get accustomed to the chanting. We made biscuits and cookies and distributed prasad. We made 9 big size posters from the Bhagavad Gita showing the concepts of the Gita visually. I think all in all they recieved the message well and understood the contents. Below are some pictures from the event and a newsletter from the Church.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Book distribution 2008
I was out of town for the better part of last week to a conference in Denver. I got the opportunity to visit ISKCON Denver and meet the deities and Srila Prabhupada. I was happy to have visited the temple.
This weekend was Narasimha Chaturdasi and was a special day for Vaishnavas around the world. It was this day (Sunday) that the Lord appeared as Half-man – Half-Lion incarnation to protect His beloved devotee Prahlad. We can learn so much from just this incarnation. Anyways, I thought as an offering to the Lord, I do some service. So I decided to go out on book distribution (on saturday). It has been some months since I went on book distribution knocking on doors.
The original plan was that my wife accompanies me and we both knock on doors and share the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. But due to some service to our deities, she stayed back and I went alone to knock on doors.
I live in a college town and since this is summer time, there were not that many people in their homes. However, I did manage to talk to a few and distribute the books. My last house was an Indian student (a married householder).
Initially, the person totally rejected the books and did not want to do anything with “religion” and another “belief” system. I sensed a deep sense of prejudice in his voice towards any religion. But I insisted, and soon I found out I was talking to another Richard Dawkins. He was arrogant, impudent and very proud of his scientific background and everything to do with science. If this is not enough, his wife (another scientist) joined the debate and it was two against one battle.
During the whole debate, he was insulting my beliefs, the concept of religion, and at one point openly derided Srila Prabhupada’s books. I still insisted. I did not take anything personal as my only goal was to somehow give him a book. Although, he insulted my intelligence and my abilities of discrimination, by God’s grace, I did not get angry at him.
We argued for more than an hour. I was standing at his doorstep for more than an hour and trying to convince him to take a book. This person barely allowed me to express my views and he kept banging in his theories very strongly. We touched so many points from definition of science, methods of scientific enquiry, theory of evolution, quantum physics, cellular functions, dinosaurs etc etc
I used all of Srila Prabhupada’s arguments (that I know) and he could not answer them…his constant reply was that science is “working on it” and we may find answers in 100 years. Although, he could not answer all the questions, he nevertheless was “pounding” me to the ground. My only goal was to give him the book but unfortunately after so much time I did not convince him.
I openly accepted defeat to pacify his ego and humbly requested to take the book for more insights into spiritual subject matter. He was too proud to take the book.
At one point, he challenged me saying “you convince me why the soul is eternal. If you convince me, I will take all your books”. I thought about the question and I replied “the soul is eternal just as why the salt is salty, sugar is sweet and fire has light and heat. Eternality is the property of the soul”. His response was sugar is sweet and the salt salty because of the atoms contained within the sugar and salt. I asked him why is it created like that?...of course, he thought that was not even a correct question?
Anyways…I finally decided to leave. At the end, he gave a victory speech basically undermining the process of religion and glorifying his “scientific” community and deriding all those who are “less informed” of true scientific knowledge (including myself). At the end, he wanted to throw me a bone and so he asked “ok…are you doing this (book distribution) for a sales account or for your resume account or for other purposes”…I thought may be I can give him the book if I showed I am interested in money. I said “I am doing this for my sales account”. So he asked me how much the books cost. I said anywhere from $1 to $5. He said the books are not worth that much money. I asked him (one last time), can you not even spare $1, he said no and finally I shook hands and left.
Over the two days, I was reflecting on this debate and pondering what I should learn from this conversation. I am happy that I learnt many things on how to answer more categorically and more objectively. I learnt that while presenting spiritual knowledge, we make many assumptions. But if I just made the conversation very clear and simple without too many details, then my message would have been easier to understand. I realize, looking back, I could have given different replies to the challenges he made.
At the end of the day, I am happy to have learnt something in the art of debate and argument and how it is very important to actually repeat the instructions of the Sampradaya and not our own mundane intelligence. The key I believe is to deliver this message as is and at the same time confidently and boldly (which I did not exhibit) and not worry too much about how the audience will receive it.
Our mission Srila Prabhupada says is to give the opportunity of Krishna Consciousness to as many people as possible and not be attached to success or failure, honor or dishonor, pleasure or pain. We surrender to our Guru, Parampara and the Lord and deliver the message as a postman without attaching ourselves to the results and without messing with the message. In other words, have faith in the words of Guru and not rely on our own mundane intelligence. Krishna sees our efforts and sincerity for at the end of the day, Krishna is the cause and the doer and not “I”. So the lessons i learnt are
These are the main things required for us to fulfill the order of guru and ultimately please Krishna. I pray to that Almighty Govinda to give me those attributes to engage in His service.
I also wish and pray that the householder and his wife understand the science of Krishna Consciousness and thank them for giving me an opportunity to serve my Guru maharaj, Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.
Hare Krishna
This weekend was Narasimha Chaturdasi and was a special day for Vaishnavas around the world. It was this day (Sunday) that the Lord appeared as Half-man – Half-Lion incarnation to protect His beloved devotee Prahlad. We can learn so much from just this incarnation. Anyways, I thought as an offering to the Lord, I do some service. So I decided to go out on book distribution (on saturday). It has been some months since I went on book distribution knocking on doors.
The original plan was that my wife accompanies me and we both knock on doors and share the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. But due to some service to our deities, she stayed back and I went alone to knock on doors.
I live in a college town and since this is summer time, there were not that many people in their homes. However, I did manage to talk to a few and distribute the books. My last house was an Indian student (a married householder).
Initially, the person totally rejected the books and did not want to do anything with “religion” and another “belief” system. I sensed a deep sense of prejudice in his voice towards any religion. But I insisted, and soon I found out I was talking to another Richard Dawkins. He was arrogant, impudent and very proud of his scientific background and everything to do with science. If this is not enough, his wife (another scientist) joined the debate and it was two against one battle.
During the whole debate, he was insulting my beliefs, the concept of religion, and at one point openly derided Srila Prabhupada’s books. I still insisted. I did not take anything personal as my only goal was to somehow give him a book. Although, he insulted my intelligence and my abilities of discrimination, by God’s grace, I did not get angry at him.
We argued for more than an hour. I was standing at his doorstep for more than an hour and trying to convince him to take a book. This person barely allowed me to express my views and he kept banging in his theories very strongly. We touched so many points from definition of science, methods of scientific enquiry, theory of evolution, quantum physics, cellular functions, dinosaurs etc etc
I used all of Srila Prabhupada’s arguments (that I know) and he could not answer them…his constant reply was that science is “working on it” and we may find answers in 100 years. Although, he could not answer all the questions, he nevertheless was “pounding” me to the ground. My only goal was to give him the book but unfortunately after so much time I did not convince him.
I openly accepted defeat to pacify his ego and humbly requested to take the book for more insights into spiritual subject matter. He was too proud to take the book.
At one point, he challenged me saying “you convince me why the soul is eternal. If you convince me, I will take all your books”. I thought about the question and I replied “the soul is eternal just as why the salt is salty, sugar is sweet and fire has light and heat. Eternality is the property of the soul”. His response was sugar is sweet and the salt salty because of the atoms contained within the sugar and salt. I asked him why is it created like that?...of course, he thought that was not even a correct question?
Anyways…I finally decided to leave. At the end, he gave a victory speech basically undermining the process of religion and glorifying his “scientific” community and deriding all those who are “less informed” of true scientific knowledge (including myself). At the end, he wanted to throw me a bone and so he asked “ok…are you doing this (book distribution) for a sales account or for your resume account or for other purposes”…I thought may be I can give him the book if I showed I am interested in money. I said “I am doing this for my sales account”. So he asked me how much the books cost. I said anywhere from $1 to $5. He said the books are not worth that much money. I asked him (one last time), can you not even spare $1, he said no and finally I shook hands and left.
Over the two days, I was reflecting on this debate and pondering what I should learn from this conversation. I am happy that I learnt many things on how to answer more categorically and more objectively. I learnt that while presenting spiritual knowledge, we make many assumptions. But if I just made the conversation very clear and simple without too many details, then my message would have been easier to understand. I realize, looking back, I could have given different replies to the challenges he made.
At the end of the day, I am happy to have learnt something in the art of debate and argument and how it is very important to actually repeat the instructions of the Sampradaya and not our own mundane intelligence. The key I believe is to deliver this message as is and at the same time confidently and boldly (which I did not exhibit) and not worry too much about how the audience will receive it.
Our mission Srila Prabhupada says is to give the opportunity of Krishna Consciousness to as many people as possible and not be attached to success or failure, honor or dishonor, pleasure or pain. We surrender to our Guru, Parampara and the Lord and deliver the message as a postman without attaching ourselves to the results and without messing with the message. In other words, have faith in the words of Guru and not rely on our own mundane intelligence. Krishna sees our efforts and sincerity for at the end of the day, Krishna is the cause and the doer and not “I”. So the lessons i learnt are
- surrender to Guru parampara (I mean i have to have faith in the strength of the parampara and its message and not on my own mundane intelligence and not worry too much about what people think about me)
- Humility of heart as the servant of the servant
- compassion to all living entities and
- desire for no honor/prestige for oneself
These are the main things required for us to fulfill the order of guru and ultimately please Krishna. I pray to that Almighty Govinda to give me those attributes to engage in His service.
I also wish and pray that the householder and his wife understand the science of Krishna Consciousness and thank them for giving me an opportunity to serve my Guru maharaj, Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.
Hare Krishna
Monday, April 28, 2008
8.00pm, Chattanooga time
As I was munching away my saltine fried French fries and veggies…I was saying “you are not this body…” I was not speaking to myself but to the chef who made me the vegetarian food. He was nice and accommodative.
Day 1 of my conference in Chattanooga, TN and it was 8.00 pm and I was scouring for vegetarian food. I was hungry and was preparing for a possible starvation that night. I already walked about 2miles and couldn’t find anything. Hence I finally decided to step into the hotel restaurant and check out my luck. I was greeted by a nice young woman. Before she could say anything more, I interjected saying, I am vegan and do not eat meat, eggs, and any dairy products. She was not sure if there was anything for me to eat. However, she advised I directly talk to the chef for he may “fix” something for me. Anyways, I sat next to chef work area (it was an open kitchen) and requested for something vegan. After some deliberations, I got French fries and overly salted veggies.
The chef was very inquisitive as he said he rarely sees vegans as customers and so he probed more into my meat free diet. As we discussed, we invariably ended up in philosophy, soul, body and God. I explained to him ch 2 of Bhagavad Gita where Krishna chastises Arjuna for his apparent weakness of heart based on bodily designations and his instructions on the eternal science of the soul. I repeated the essence of that chapter and argued with him based on Srila Prabhupada’s arguments. I was forceful at times but at the same time accommodating his arguments (I was practicing my tolerance factor, apparently it is non-existent to very low).
While he could not respond to my questions, he also was sticking to his argument as truth. Anyways, after a lively conversation for about 20 to 30 mins, he left for other engagements. But I was happy I talked about Krishna Consciousness and challenged his mundane intelligence. I don’t think I made any dent in his consciousness, but at the least I tried to question his assumptions of life and hence made him to think. He agreed with me and listened intensely on the explanation of soul, matter and supersoul. Finally, I ate about 40% of my food and left to my room.
I have sent him the “Science of Self- Realization” book along with a long letter from me again stressing the aspect of the soul, body and supersoul.
Srila Prabhupada said that just by seeing and touching a book, one gains sukriti (devotional credit), what to speak if one actually reads the book. So sending the book is sending the message of our parampara to one more lost soul who is aimlessly wandering in this universe.
Hope he takes this message seriously!
Hare Krishna
Day 1 of my conference in Chattanooga, TN and it was 8.00 pm and I was scouring for vegetarian food. I was hungry and was preparing for a possible starvation that night. I already walked about 2miles and couldn’t find anything. Hence I finally decided to step into the hotel restaurant and check out my luck. I was greeted by a nice young woman. Before she could say anything more, I interjected saying, I am vegan and do not eat meat, eggs, and any dairy products. She was not sure if there was anything for me to eat. However, she advised I directly talk to the chef for he may “fix” something for me. Anyways, I sat next to chef work area (it was an open kitchen) and requested for something vegan. After some deliberations, I got French fries and overly salted veggies.
The chef was very inquisitive as he said he rarely sees vegans as customers and so he probed more into my meat free diet. As we discussed, we invariably ended up in philosophy, soul, body and God. I explained to him ch 2 of Bhagavad Gita where Krishna chastises Arjuna for his apparent weakness of heart based on bodily designations and his instructions on the eternal science of the soul. I repeated the essence of that chapter and argued with him based on Srila Prabhupada’s arguments. I was forceful at times but at the same time accommodating his arguments (I was practicing my tolerance factor, apparently it is non-existent to very low).
While he could not respond to my questions, he also was sticking to his argument as truth. Anyways, after a lively conversation for about 20 to 30 mins, he left for other engagements. But I was happy I talked about Krishna Consciousness and challenged his mundane intelligence. I don’t think I made any dent in his consciousness, but at the least I tried to question his assumptions of life and hence made him to think. He agreed with me and listened intensely on the explanation of soul, matter and supersoul. Finally, I ate about 40% of my food and left to my room.
I have sent him the “Science of Self- Realization” book along with a long letter from me again stressing the aspect of the soul, body and supersoul.
Srila Prabhupada said that just by seeing and touching a book, one gains sukriti (devotional credit), what to speak if one actually reads the book. So sending the book is sending the message of our parampara to one more lost soul who is aimlessly wandering in this universe.
Hope he takes this message seriously!
Hare Krishna
Monday, April 21, 2008
my trip with a taxi driver
Last week, I was in Chattanooga city (state of Tennessee) for a conference. Chattanooga is approximately 850 miles south east from where I live (Ames, IA). The conference went ok with the usual stuff. What made the trip interesting was I got the opportunity to do some service.
I learnt from a taxi driver that Tennessee is part of the “Bible belt” in the US. The term “Bible belt” means Evangelical Protestantism (socially conservative) as being a dominant part of the culture. In plain terms, this area is where Christians are very dominant. Therefore, I could not find anything “vegetarian” to eat. A vegan restaurant very close to my conference center saved my trip. People in this part of the world like their cows so much that it ends up in their dinner plate more times than one…that’s right, the main food here is beef and beef products. Pretty depressing especially if one wants to eat alternative food. But the vegan restaurant really came to my rescue (although the soy based food upset my stomach and I still feel uncomfortable).
It was Ekadasi day and my trip was scheduled on that day. I fasted and travelled to Chattanooga for my conference. On the trip, I tried to engage my senses in Krishna’s pastimes and holy names. I cranked my mp3 player on and listened to the lecture and the kirtan. I took my Bhagavad Gita with me and managed to read a few slokas. I also chanted along the way. I tried as much as possible to absorb in Krishna so I do not feel the fatigue of the travel and fast. To my amazement, at the end of the day, around 10.00 pm Chattanooga time, I was alive (fortunately), and brisk at the same time. I could see my fellow passengers weary and tired.
Anyways, I headed out the airport for a taxi on my way to the hotel where my conference was to be held. The taxi driver was an African American male in his middle age and with his thick African American southern accent tried to strike a conversation with me. I could barely understand his accent and English but some how I managed. One time, he asked me “business or pleasure”…and I responded with silence. I could not understand his English. After about 1 min of awkward pause, I realized he was asking if I was in Chattanooga for business or for pleasure. We continued with our conversation and as I was immersed the whole day in hearing about Krishna, all that was in mind were topics about Krishna. So I asked him…is there a “Hare Krishna” temple in the hope that he would repeat the word “Hare Krishna”. To my amazement, the only word he understood was temple. I didn’t know if I wanted to continue the conversation. But somehow Krishna inspired me to talk more.
So I took this opportunity to probe his ignorance. I went like “how can you not know Hare Krishna….?” And I insinuated like Hare Krishna is a household word. I saw that he was feeling a little uncomfortable so I just plainly asked him if he has ever heard the Hare Krishna mantra before. He said “no” and I told the maha-mantra to him. I also told him that this mantra can solve all problems of life (social, economical and spiritual). He felt so happy to hear that he was eager to know the mantra and memorize it. He started to learn the mantra and repeated it a few times to get the pronunciation correct.
I, further, explained the meaning of the mantra and what Krishna and Rama means and who Krishna is and so forth. To my surprise, he was very eager to hear more. I stressed that he should chant the mantra at least 5 mins everyday and give it to his son and wife and his relatives. I stressed that chanting can solve all problems of life and will give us happiness.
I reached my destination and his enthusiasm peeked that he wanted to know the mantra by heart and hence requested me to write down the mantra. I wrote down the mantra for him and stressed that he has to chant everyday to solve all his problems. He was so grateful for my gesture that he was profusely thanking me for my kindness. He felt so grateful that he offered the return journey to the airport for free. I was happy because Krishna used me to help this sincere soul and that it was Ekadasi day that he started his chanting.
After three days, on my way back, I further explained the significance of the Holy name. I reached the airport and requested his address so I can send a book. He happily gave his home address and said he will be happy to read Srila Prabhupada book. I gave him my Krishna picture with the mantra on it as a souvenir and asked him to keep it at all times in his wallet as it can protect him from the dangers of this world.
He was happy and offered a free ride but I paid him anyways and promised to mail him the book. We parted and went our ways.
Krishna has his plans for saving sincere souls. From my conversations with him, I could see he was appreciative of Krishna and sincere in his approach towards God and for him God played a role in his life. I hope he continues to chant.
Hare Krishna
I learnt from a taxi driver that Tennessee is part of the “Bible belt” in the US. The term “Bible belt” means Evangelical Protestantism (socially conservative) as being a dominant part of the culture. In plain terms, this area is where Christians are very dominant. Therefore, I could not find anything “vegetarian” to eat. A vegan restaurant very close to my conference center saved my trip. People in this part of the world like their cows so much that it ends up in their dinner plate more times than one…that’s right, the main food here is beef and beef products. Pretty depressing especially if one wants to eat alternative food. But the vegan restaurant really came to my rescue (although the soy based food upset my stomach and I still feel uncomfortable).
It was Ekadasi day and my trip was scheduled on that day. I fasted and travelled to Chattanooga for my conference. On the trip, I tried to engage my senses in Krishna’s pastimes and holy names. I cranked my mp3 player on and listened to the lecture and the kirtan. I took my Bhagavad Gita with me and managed to read a few slokas. I also chanted along the way. I tried as much as possible to absorb in Krishna so I do not feel the fatigue of the travel and fast. To my amazement, at the end of the day, around 10.00 pm Chattanooga time, I was alive (fortunately), and brisk at the same time. I could see my fellow passengers weary and tired.
Anyways, I headed out the airport for a taxi on my way to the hotel where my conference was to be held. The taxi driver was an African American male in his middle age and with his thick African American southern accent tried to strike a conversation with me. I could barely understand his accent and English but some how I managed. One time, he asked me “business or pleasure”…and I responded with silence. I could not understand his English. After about 1 min of awkward pause, I realized he was asking if I was in Chattanooga for business or for pleasure. We continued with our conversation and as I was immersed the whole day in hearing about Krishna, all that was in mind were topics about Krishna. So I asked him…is there a “Hare Krishna” temple in the hope that he would repeat the word “Hare Krishna”. To my amazement, the only word he understood was temple. I didn’t know if I wanted to continue the conversation. But somehow Krishna inspired me to talk more.
So I took this opportunity to probe his ignorance. I went like “how can you not know Hare Krishna….?” And I insinuated like Hare Krishna is a household word. I saw that he was feeling a little uncomfortable so I just plainly asked him if he has ever heard the Hare Krishna mantra before. He said “no” and I told the maha-mantra to him. I also told him that this mantra can solve all problems of life (social, economical and spiritual). He felt so happy to hear that he was eager to know the mantra and memorize it. He started to learn the mantra and repeated it a few times to get the pronunciation correct.
I, further, explained the meaning of the mantra and what Krishna and Rama means and who Krishna is and so forth. To my surprise, he was very eager to hear more. I stressed that he should chant the mantra at least 5 mins everyday and give it to his son and wife and his relatives. I stressed that chanting can solve all problems of life and will give us happiness.
I reached my destination and his enthusiasm peeked that he wanted to know the mantra by heart and hence requested me to write down the mantra. I wrote down the mantra for him and stressed that he has to chant everyday to solve all his problems. He was so grateful for my gesture that he was profusely thanking me for my kindness. He felt so grateful that he offered the return journey to the airport for free. I was happy because Krishna used me to help this sincere soul and that it was Ekadasi day that he started his chanting.
After three days, on my way back, I further explained the significance of the Holy name. I reached the airport and requested his address so I can send a book. He happily gave his home address and said he will be happy to read Srila Prabhupada book. I gave him my Krishna picture with the mantra on it as a souvenir and asked him to keep it at all times in his wallet as it can protect him from the dangers of this world.
He was happy and offered a free ride but I paid him anyways and promised to mail him the book. We parted and went our ways.
Krishna has his plans for saving sincere souls. From my conversations with him, I could see he was appreciative of Krishna and sincere in his approach towards God and for him God played a role in his life. I hope he continues to chant.
Hare Krishna
Thursday, January 24, 2008
book distribution 2007
It was July 2007 or may be June my memory escapes me. I walked into a secured apartment building armed with Srila Prabhupada books. My mission was to distribute as many books as possible. I am no where close to being a professional book-distributor. I distribute whenever I muster the enthusiasm, energy and the courage to do so.
Anyways, on that day I did have the energy and I walked in to an apartment building. I knocked on several doors and got a warm response from many students as I live in a college town. While I thought I was done for the day, I thought I will knock on the last door and then call it quits. I walked up to the door and I saw a US Marine logo sticker on the main door. This raised my curiosity and also my doubts. I was thinking should I knock especially if there is a Marine in this house…as I was not sure how he or she would react. But since I went all the way up to his door, I decided to knock. However, by the time I reached his house, I ran out of most of the books I carried with me. But I had some small books.
So I knocked and a Marine soldier in army clothes and shaved head opened the door. He looked tired but had a cake piece in his hand. I showed him a book. I asked him if he was a Marine. He replied yes and said that he just returned from Iraq. His time in Iraq was difficult especially with the firing and bombs. I asked if he wanted any of the books I had with me.
He looked at the books and quizzically asked me a question. He said “I know there is one more book I have been looking for, do you have that book?” I probed in further and figured he was talking about Bhagavad Gita As it is. I said I just ran out of that book but I have it in my house?
The Marine thrusted a 10 dollar bill in my hand and said “go and bring the back, I will wait right here” I ran to my house which was very close and gave him the book. He invited me into his house and the first thing I saw was a Japanese Samurai sword elegantly placed on a sword holder. He started to talk about his interest in philosophy and his penchant of going to the Himalayas. He talked about his father and his interests. I opened the Gita and explained how this book is as much relevant in the city as in the Himalayas and is the way to higher spiritual realms. He was keenly taking interest in the book and the pictures. He said he will read it when he finds time.
I gave him my email and said goodbye. I was happy to have interacted with him. Although he had more interests in yoga and traveling to the Himalayas, he showed interest in the philosophy as well.
I am amazed how people are so interested in Srila Prabhupada books!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Hare Krishna
Anyways, on that day I did have the energy and I walked in to an apartment building. I knocked on several doors and got a warm response from many students as I live in a college town. While I thought I was done for the day, I thought I will knock on the last door and then call it quits. I walked up to the door and I saw a US Marine logo sticker on the main door. This raised my curiosity and also my doubts. I was thinking should I knock especially if there is a Marine in this house…as I was not sure how he or she would react. But since I went all the way up to his door, I decided to knock. However, by the time I reached his house, I ran out of most of the books I carried with me. But I had some small books.
So I knocked and a Marine soldier in army clothes and shaved head opened the door. He looked tired but had a cake piece in his hand. I showed him a book. I asked him if he was a Marine. He replied yes and said that he just returned from Iraq. His time in Iraq was difficult especially with the firing and bombs. I asked if he wanted any of the books I had with me.
He looked at the books and quizzically asked me a question. He said “I know there is one more book I have been looking for, do you have that book?” I probed in further and figured he was talking about Bhagavad Gita As it is. I said I just ran out of that book but I have it in my house?
The Marine thrusted a 10 dollar bill in my hand and said “go and bring the back, I will wait right here” I ran to my house which was very close and gave him the book. He invited me into his house and the first thing I saw was a Japanese Samurai sword elegantly placed on a sword holder. He started to talk about his interest in philosophy and his penchant of going to the Himalayas. He talked about his father and his interests. I opened the Gita and explained how this book is as much relevant in the city as in the Himalayas and is the way to higher spiritual realms. He was keenly taking interest in the book and the pictures. He said he will read it when he finds time.
I gave him my email and said goodbye. I was happy to have interacted with him. Although he had more interests in yoga and traveling to the Himalayas, he showed interest in the philosophy as well.
I am amazed how people are so interested in Srila Prabhupada books!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Hare Krishna
Monday, January 14, 2008
conversation with a Born-again Christian
I went out to lunch with a co-worker in Nov 2007. I did not want to originally post this, but then I thought why not. It was an interesting conversation.
Nov 8 2007
I am back from my Indian lunch...i ate as minimum as possible to not be rude. I followed the acintya beda abeda tattva- i ate but also did not eat...may be in my next post i will share how i did it...
Anyways the lunch i had was with a co-worker who is a born-again Christian...no possibility of talking Hare Krishna philosophy…so this time I decided to listen and enquire more. We talked on different points, and I couldn't resist the classic argument "Thou shalt not kill". He flat out replied that the commandment specifically refers to humans simply because elsewhere in the Bible he says Jesus condones meat eating. So I asked him a hypothetical question that if Jesus Christ was living now, would he condone meat eating from mass slaughter houses taking into consideration the amount of cruelty? His answer was Christ may not accept it but he will if it is not cruel. He continued saying that he was not so sure if animals are treated cruelly in slaughter houses and he said and I quote "I know cows are stunned and in a state of shock they slit its throat and I am ok with that". He thinks that is less pain. Then I asked him, if you raise a dog and I come along and kill it without pain, will you accept? His answer was if I raise my dog for food, I have no issues, but if I raise my dog as a pet, then I would object. He extended his analogy to the cows, cows are basically raised for food and nothing else and hence he is ok with it and nothing wrong in eating it.
His basic conditioning is animals (especially cows and pigs) are raised only for food and hence only meant to be eaten and there is no harm in it.
The reason I am writing this is because we live in a place where 90% of the people think like this. The only way to preach Krishna Conscious philosophy is if we understand how people here think. To me, I was surprised how one person can call himself very religious and be completely callous about slitting the throat of an animal. It is practically impossible to impress anybody beyond the bodily conception of life. The only way is somehow we should distribute Srila Prabhupada books and let him do the magic!
Hare Krishna
Nov 8 2007
I am back from my Indian lunch...i ate as minimum as possible to not be rude. I followed the acintya beda abeda tattva- i ate but also did not eat...may be in my next post i will share how i did it...
Anyways the lunch i had was with a co-worker who is a born-again Christian...no possibility of talking Hare Krishna philosophy…so this time I decided to listen and enquire more. We talked on different points, and I couldn't resist the classic argument "Thou shalt not kill". He flat out replied that the commandment specifically refers to humans simply because elsewhere in the Bible he says Jesus condones meat eating. So I asked him a hypothetical question that if Jesus Christ was living now, would he condone meat eating from mass slaughter houses taking into consideration the amount of cruelty? His answer was Christ may not accept it but he will if it is not cruel. He continued saying that he was not so sure if animals are treated cruelly in slaughter houses and he said and I quote "I know cows are stunned and in a state of shock they slit its throat and I am ok with that". He thinks that is less pain. Then I asked him, if you raise a dog and I come along and kill it without pain, will you accept? His answer was if I raise my dog for food, I have no issues, but if I raise my dog as a pet, then I would object. He extended his analogy to the cows, cows are basically raised for food and nothing else and hence he is ok with it and nothing wrong in eating it.
His basic conditioning is animals (especially cows and pigs) are raised only for food and hence only meant to be eaten and there is no harm in it.
The reason I am writing this is because we live in a place where 90% of the people think like this. The only way to preach Krishna Conscious philosophy is if we understand how people here think. To me, I was surprised how one person can call himself very religious and be completely callous about slitting the throat of an animal. It is practically impossible to impress anybody beyond the bodily conception of life. The only way is somehow we should distribute Srila Prabhupada books and let him do the magic!
Hare Krishna
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