Hare Krsna Dear Devotees,
Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabupada!
Ever wonder why the groom carries the bride over the threshold, or why the groom has a best man during the wedding celebrations? It is said that weddings of the old times often involved kidnapping, and so the carrying over the threshold is a symbolic representation for the stealing away of the girl, while the best man acted as a shield between the groom and the angry relatives of the bride!
When newly-wed Sri-Krsna Purushottam and his lovely wife Aparna-Laxmi crossed the threshold of Building 19 of the Heritage Apartments in Sunnyvale on Saturday April 9, 2011, the situation and reasons were very different! They both carried transcendental literature in their hands and were there to spread HDG Srila Prabhupada’s heritage. In the process Aparna-Laxmi Mtj stole the hearts of the kids of the block, to whom she taught the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra! There were no angry relatives; in fact she met someone from her hometown in Karnataka back in India. A weekend earlier, Sri-Krsna Purushottam Pr had met a gentleman in the parking lot while distributing books. It was a coincidence that he met him again, this time in his home. The gentleman was curious to know who this young girl by his side was, and was very impressed to learn that just three months after their wedding Sri-Krsna Purushottam Pr and Aparna-Laxmi Mtj were out distributing these great books! It was the first time Aprana Mtj was out on book distribution in the Bay Area, and the very first house where she knocked, she was invited in and was able to give away a book and collect Laxmi! The story repeated at every door. We have found our lucky mascot!
This Saturday I was able to pair up with most of the team members. It is always a pleasure observing Malini Mtj. When a door was opened just a crack by a young Chinese lad, she used that opportunity slip in the standard question, “Have you heard of stress?” and give him some jnana in the process. He was a tough cookie, and hesitated to take the book. So she encouraged him to learn the ancient ‘secret’ Mahamantra which was made available to the general masses just a few centuries ago. This had such a profound effect of him that when she turned to depart, we all heard him say, “Hare Krsna!” From there she went off in another direction, while I continued on with Sunny Prabhu in the other direction. Together we left no door un-knocked; up and down the stairs we went (a good exercise) and the experience was very positive. People were enthusiastic and willingly took books and gave donations. If they already had the books, they still gave a donation. Sunny Prabhu egged me to go talk to someone who was getting into his car to go away. It was a good suggestion, since I met Naveen from Vrindavan, who said he remembered going to the “Angraizon Ka Mandir “, ISKCON-Vrindavan, ever since he was a child. A vraja-vasi to the core, he took the Krsna book and gave $20 without our asking, and encouraged us to continue the good task of spreading Krsna Consciousness. Barely had I walked a few steps that I found Sunny Prabhu talking to Sanjay Shukla who I learned was from Navadweep . While we were talking to him, we were joined by Malini Mtj and Srinivas Prabhu, who were very excited since they had just met a person called Hari Krsna and another called Caitanya! In Malini Mtj’s words, “ If you chant Hare Krsna, then you will soon meet Caitanya in Navadweep.” “You can remain there or go to Vrindavan,” we chipped in! We just could not believe our good luck. In a small area of about 50 square feet, we came across such great names and and even managed to have them pose for some pictures! The sun was bright on this hot yet windy day, and the pictures came perfect.
"Always carry a bottle of water with you to beat the heat of a hot day", Sunny Prabhu advises me every time we go out on book distribution. But, Malini Mtj had no need for that. She was invited into the home by a very broad-minded and open Christian couple , who had heard of the Bhagavad-gita, but had not seen it. They offered some delicious and cool tango drink, and gave her $20 for the Gita! Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that going into someone’s house is like walking on a bed of sweet smelling roses, then hear this: When Malini Mtj was going door-to-door with Aparna-Laxmi Mtj, another householder invited them in. There was such a terrible stench coming from the house that it would put the stench from Kumbhakaran’s yawn to a shame! The lady took the small book pack, and was very apologetic since she could give only $10 for it. Bless her heart! While Malini Mtj was escaping from there, Aparna-Laxmi mtj innocently asked why she did not teach them the Mahamantra. The answer came fast, “You have to breathe my dear, to teach the maha-mantra!”
Shailesh Prabhu had a different advice to give to us. Never use Shabd-Bhedi Vaans (like King Dasharatha did)- i.e. you cannot judge correctly by just hearing. As he and Srinivas Prabhu knocked on a door they heard Telegu sounds coming from the TV inside. Thinking that the residents were wasting their time in watching useless stuff on TV, they were pleasantly surprised when they came to know that they were actually watching the Ramanyana! Not only did they take the Ramayana Book in Telegu, but they also gave $50 in donation! I was not with them, but I can vouch from my experience of pairing with them at other buildings that day, that they make a great case of how important the books are, how ISKCON is a non-profit organization and how neither we nor Krsna needs the Laxmi, and thus the residents are encouraged to get the transcendental literature, and also gain some sukriti by donating to the cause supported by the fine devotees at their door.
When I look back at Saturday when we all participated in the MSF of Encouragement, I remember a lot of laughter. When Ben Prabhu had met someone named Darshan, he smiled and thanked him for giving him his darshan! When he told us about it, we all fell laughing. Nilesh prabhu joked that all the doors he knocked at were never opened – very hard to believe that he had no darshan. It was a beautiful day and that was just one reason for the cheer all around. The residents we met were very positive and welcoming. That always helps with the mood. We also had something very good to look forward to at the end of the day: A late afternoon lunch prasadam! That always makes me very cheerful. We knew that prasadam lunch was cooked by Prana Gopi Mtj and her lovely family, so that itself gave us 50 happy points each. When it was time to eat, everyone was thrilled to honor the super delicious aloo parathas, home made fresh pickle and yogurt, along with a very healthy dessert: fruit. Thank You! Our thanks also to Elena Mtj who single handedly packed all the lunches. Looking forward to joining her one of these on book distribution events.
As I drove back home, Sunny Prabhu’s words rang in my ears, “You may write about GNABs regarding people met, laxmi collected or books distributed, but my best GNAB is that I got a chance to go out on book distribution with such an excellent team.” I couldn’t agree more.
The Team:
Prabhus: Sri-Krsna Purushottam, Sunny , Srinivas , Shailesh , Nilesh, Ben
Matajis: Kameshwari , Malini , Aparna-Laxmi , Shraddha
Kids: Advaita
My apologies if I missed anyone
Laxmi:
Laxmi $358.70 ( $348.70 given to Raxit Prabhu, $10 Kameshwari Mtj will give, I forgot to collect it from her)
Books
Title | Number | Points |
Bhagavad-gita | 14 | 14 |
Krishna Book | 5 | 5 |
Small books | 159 | 159 |
Farsi | 2 | 20 |
Chinese | 1 | 10 |
Total | 181 | 208 |
Hari Bol!
Ys
Shraddha-devi Dasi
