Here is the report on the Book Distribution efforts of last weekend.
Saturday March 5, 2011 @ Remington Road Sunnyvale, CA
The Remington Company started as a firm that manufactured rifles. It took them almost half a century to add a book-related item to their product catalog, when in 1873 they added the Remington typewriter! Who hasn’t heard of the Remington Typewriters, and who hasn’t heard of the winding Remington Road, Sunnyvale, in sunny California? And most importantly, who doesn’t know the outcome when apartments along the Remington are raided by HG Vaisesika Prabhu in his MSF attack against Maya, which is the only way to achieve harmony?
People move from watching gun fights on the television, to reading books by Srila Prabhupada.
His army came on elephants (sports vehicles), horses (four door sedans) & rathas (prams). It included veterans like:
Srivas Pandit Prabhu, Krsna Dharma Prabhu, Sri-Krsna Purushottama Prabhu, Padarvinda Prabhu, Sunny Prabhu, Srinivas Prabhu, Kumar Allamraju Prabhu, Shailesh Prabhu, Kishore Prabhu, Nilesh Prabhu, Malini Mtj, Gandharvika Mtj, Kameshwari Mtj, Sushma Mtj, Neelam Mtj, & Poojah Mtj
Joining them were the modern-day Abhimanyu’s who have heard about book distribution since they were in their mother’s womb:
Master Advaita, Master Rahul, Baby Harish, Baby Gaura, Baby Gitapriya and Baby Dhriti
(My apologies if I missed anyone)
The chakravyuha (phlanx) was simple. At Apricot apartments, Vaiseika Prabhu took the right turn and some devotees followed him. Always having the urge to follow my Guru Maharaja, I wanted to go that way too, but Sri-Krsna Purushottama Prabhu asked me to go in the other direction, since that is how the Master had planned the attack. Obediently I turned left and found Sunny Prabhu talking to a young man. I joined them, and he turned out to be a college student, Madhu Dasari from San Francisco. He is doing is MBA in Cupertino, had come to visit his friends the night before, missed the train and stayed over. He was walking out of the apartment complex to go meet another friend, and instead of taking a right turn he took a left and this is how he met Sunny Prabhu. He was very hesitant in the beginning to talk to us. His first question was, “Are you preaching about some formless God?” He relaxed when we said, “No.” As Sunny Prabhu explained Krishna Consciousness to him and what we were doing and why, his interest grew more and more, till he accepted my invitation to join us on book distribution. Our army just got stronger!
Madhu Pr expertly knocked from door to door, and if the doors opened he had his speech ready. His enthusiasm was catching. Madhu was reluctant to leave when his friend who was supposed to pick him up called. As we exchanged addresses, he remarked that the friend he was waiting for was also named Shraddha, and that just by taking a turn in the opposite direction he came across a different Shraddha! The Lords’s ways are always so interesting. Madhu Dasari Prabhu now resides in our Contacts Database.
It is always a mystery as to who will open the door when we knock. When Sunny Prabhu knocked, the door was answered by a pompous middle-aged American. He said, “So you have something to tell me. How about I say something to you?” I could see a chakravyuh inside the chakravyuh. Sunny Prabhu was Patience Personified as he humbly said, “We are here to hear you.” Not expecting this, and at a loss to say something the man mumbled something about different religious faiths. As the words came out of his mouth, we all could see that he himself was not convinced of what he was saying. Then Sunny Prabhu boldly asked him, “Is there something you have to say about us?” Caught in his own net, the man had no choice, but to say, “You are good souls and I deeply appreciate what you are doing.” Jaya!
As if this was not war enough, the next door was opened by a lady from Pakistan! Being very sure of being shooed away, I was pleasantly surprised that Ayesha had such fine feelings for India, and respect for all religions. She took the book and gave some money, as Madhu Dasari watched in amazement. No one says no to Sunny Prabhu J
In a war there are all kinds of operators. Some make noise and some are silent operators. Padarvinda Prabhu falls in the latter category. His modus operandi is to quietly move from door to door, spread Krsna Consciousness, give the books, and when it is time for him to leave, quietly hand over the Laxmi and any remaining books. Super efficient!
While the rest of the troop was attacking the Apricot Apartments from the other end, we moved to the complex next door - Lincoln Apartments, only to find that it has restricted entry. One door was magically left open for us to invade. And invade we did, Sunny Prabhu, Srinivas Prabhu and I. Srinivas Prabhu is very methodical. He attacks from one end of the corridor leaving the other end to us. His weapons are his charming smile and sincerity of purpose. When we met in the middle, I saw him selling the Bhagavad-gita not only to the householder but to a visitor as well. That requires a lot of convincing power for sure and Srinivas Prabhu is loaded with it.
When Nilesh Prabhu called to let us know that it was time for a lunch break, it was good timing, since we were running out of books and it was a good opportunity to catch up with others, and enjoy the delicious prasadam prepared by our Annapurna- Hansapriya Mtj and brought over by Krsna Dharma Prabhu who was busy with a product release at work, yet made some time to be with us. Sushma mtj brought some delicious rice and methi malai from home. Thanks! Thoughts of food always make me smile, more so this time when I saw that the delicious corn cake was creatively packed by Priya Mataji in brown bags with a smiley face drawn on each. Such attention to details to make the troops feel happy! Wow!
I was very surprised to see Gandharvika Mtj who had been nursing a sick family the whole week out on book distribution! Not only that, medicines and their drowsy effects could not tie down her daughter Poojah Mtj to home. That day she not only taught me how to brave illnesses, but also the importance of using time gainfully. While I was busy slowly savoring the prasadam during the lunch break, she borrowed my beads to do some rounds of chanting! Bravo!
Invigorated by the prasadam, we all went towards the Lincoln Apartments, the apartment complex with its locks and buzzers. There is not much that can stop Vaisesika Prabhu when he is out on book distribution, neither rain, nor snow, neither sunshine nor locks. I was floored as I watched the Master Book Distributor make use of just two words on the intercom: Rama and Ji, to convince someone to throw caution to the wind, and come down personally to open the door to a total stranger! What an amazing display of spiritual strength. What happened next is anyone’s guess. People happily took books and generously gave donations.
The next stop was Remington Grove and Kameshwari Mtj is witness, there are some hedges there that would remind one of the groves of Vrindavana! Here I had the good fortune of accompanying Kumar Allamraju Prabhu. Though we both work for Oracle, we hardly share anything at work. So it was a very pleasant experience to go out on book distribution with a colleague from work. When we knocked at a door, it was opened by a lady who would talk in nothing but whispers, since she had just put her child to sleep. It was hilarious to see Kumar Prabhu whispering back saying that since he understood the importance of the situation, he would not take much of her time, and would just give her the books, and leave quickly after she had given the donation. He left her with no choice! I think in war in the good old times there used to be a rule of fighting only with equals – horseman to horseman, elephant rider to elephant rider, chariot rider to chariot rider. I will have to ask our super knowledgeable resident pandit, and my Siksha Guru Srivas Pandit Prabhu if there was a scriptural rule of fighting a whisper with another whisper J
Sri-Krsna Purushottam Prabhu did it yet again. Met with a muslim householder who said he would not donate for the Bhagavad-gita. So Sri-Krsna Purushottam Prabhu told him to donate just like that, and he did J
We came across a lady from Nepal, her name was Mandira! She does not know how to read English, but took the small book pack and said her husband would read to her. She gave us $11. There was this couple who would not keep the Bhagavad-gita at home since the wife said that the rule is: if you get a Bhagavad-gita, then you must read it daily. He was very much interested in coming to the temple though, and was waiting for last 10 years to hear about it.
Towards the end of the day I was able to briefly pair up with the Book Distribution Queens of the season, Malini and Kameshwari Mtjs. Just as meticulous people do not leave any stone unturned, these two do not leave any door un-knocked! It was late in the day and there were a few blocks left, we were tired and little Advaita wanted to go buy shoes. But all this did not daunt them. Shailesh Prabhu came our rescue, took Advaita away so we could concentrate. They instilled energy back into us by their enthusiasm and we covered the remaining blocks and were able to give away books and collect some decent Laxmi. Here are some GNABs and words of wisdom they shared with me:
When faced with householders who ask you how much to donate, it is always good to start with a high figure, that way even if they come half-way through the cost of the book is covered. Malini mtj had this interesting encounter with what I would call a 'ying-yang' couple. The husband sattvik, and the wife bordering on the tamsik. They refused to take the Bhagavad-gita saying that they were avid readers, but the Bhagavad-gita was not yet on their schedule. Malini Mtj told them that this was a book for life. When the conversation went on back and forth for 10 minutes, Malini Mtj tried the attack from another angle, and requested them for a donation of a petty $1. The husband was willing but the wife stopped him. Just when Malini Mtj was thinking that the Bad had won over the Good, little troopers in the form of Advaita and Gitapriya came in running, saying they wanted to use the lady’s bathroom. This diverted the wife’s attention, and enabled the husband to smuggle out a $20 bill and give it away! The Good finally won!!
In Kameshwari Mtjs’ own words:
- One person I met said that he did not want books, because he did not like ISKCON. I asked him, “Why?” and he denied to discuss anything and refused to visit the temple. Very politely, I said that he might not like ISKCON, but no one can deny how important is to have a copy of Bhagavad-gita. He thought for a moment, and took the book and gave $5 in donation!
- “One Indian lady I met said that she was having some evil spirit experiences and looked concerned. She asked what she could do for protection. I suggested chanting Mahamantra and told her the glories of Mahamantra, and showed her the Bhagavad-gita which she could read for protection. She said that she had the Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Srila Prabhupada . She got it at Diwali Mela, Sunnyvale temple (ISV table during Diwali) and to my amazement she recited one shloka from the Gita which she said she always chants for protection. I looked up in BG and the shloka was 11.36 'sthane hrikesa tava prakirtya..' where Arjuna after seeing the Universal Form, prays to Krishna saying how His form is dear to devotees, but demons are actually afraid of His form and they flee here and there. That lady and I read the verse, translation and purport, and we had wonderful discussion on how demons are afraid of the Lord, and how He always gives fearlessness to His devotees. She said she will also add the Mahamantra to her daily prayers and looked satisfied. She already had BG, Krishna book and small books, and she said she will visit the temple soon.
Clearly the scope of the weekend war had widened. The troops were now fighting evil spirits too!
In this war against ignorance, some participated from beginning to end, some joined for a smaller time, each doing their own bit. I was able to spend time with some but not all. I am sure those I missed going out with have many interesting stories to tell as well.
As the skies darkened we stopped and left for home. I was thinking that even in the Mahabharata the armies did not fight after the sun went down J. Actually there was no need, because for many the prayer: asato ma sadgamaya, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya was answered. For the residents of Remington Road, their fight with their own demons had already begun.
Sunday March 6, 2011 @ 101 Station Apartments, Sunnyvale, CA
Sri Krsna Purushottam reported that he and Ruchir Pandit Prabhus ventured out again on Sunday, and distributed books at the Station Apartment.
Books – Saturday and Sunday
Book | Count | Points |
50 packs of 4 | 200 | 200 |
99 packs of 3 | 297 | 297 |
BG Hard bound | 45 | 45 |
BG Soft bound | 5 | 5 |
Krsna Books | 24 | 24 |
Spanish books | 4 | 4 |
Chinese books | 2 | 20 |
Total | 595 |
Hari Bol!
Ys,
Shraddha-devi Dasi
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