A Gift Forever

………. - The above distribution included a Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita as a marriage gift to one of my close and longtime friends, Balaji, in Dallas. Though not involved in ISKCON, he is a sort of a pious person (atleast he used to be..;) ) and knew about Srimad Bhagavatam. He said he was extremely happy to receive them, specifically the Srimad Bhagavatam. He told me that he felt like he has received a lifetime worth of wonderful reading material and that he will start visiting ISKCON temple in Dallas. Knowing him, I am sure that he will take upto serious Krishna consciousness very soon and probably will be drowning his wife as well in the transcedental devotional service to Lord Krishna. Infact, he told me that he is very pleased that I am seriously participating in ISKCON spiritual activities...:-)……… Vijay

Let's leave everyone with a good impression.

On Dec. 26 i met a nice Indian gentleman at our SF Harinama. He said that he was a devotee of Krishna his whole life and now he was facing some hard times. He had lost his job and had no where to sleep. He said that he was losing his faith. We were standing at the book table when he asked, "What can you tell me? I don't know what to do." He asked if he could stay at our Temple, but i explained that it is very small and there may not be any room. I really did not know what to do, but somehow i could not let him leave without some words of encouragement. I gave him 2 small books, an ISO and a Civ + Trans, and i told him that if you have Krishna then you have everything. I could tell that he had a renewed sense of hope when he took the books. I gave him my personal phone number and told him that if you get into trouble please call me and i will come and get you and bring you to my apartment. A few days later he called and said he was staying at a friends house for a few days. He told me that he had graduated with a Hotel and Restaurant Managament degree from India and was desperate to send money back to his family. I sent an email to my friend Michelle who is the owner of an award winning restaurant here in the city. Now he has a job interview on Monday. I could tell by the timbre of his voice that his faith in God is renewed by his experience with the devotees. We really made a difference in his life. He was so happy to see the devotees on Harinama. Every time we go on book distribution, we eradicate ignorance and bring auspiciousness to everyone we connect with. My whole life all i wanted to do is help people. This Sankirtan movement is the best way to really help....in fact it is the only way to help people. As Vaisesika Prabhu has said," Let's leave everyone with a good impression. Everyone we meet should feel that they have met a spiritual person." Let us not be afraid to go the extra distance to make our preaching more personal. Sometimes just giving someone your phone number can really encourage them to get reconnected to Krsna Consciousness. We should approach everyone with an open heart, ready to do what is necessary to help. Those who are receptive will appreciate your effort. Everyone is looking for Krishna everywhere. All Glories to the Sankirtan Devotees!!!

Ys, ……Bhakta Jorge

Door to Door -- house preaching

: we went to door-door for a while, met very interested people, and spent very good time for preaching.

we have met one indian family, they were very happy to see us, invited us to their home, we started preaching about Krishna for 1 hr at their home, and they were very impressed about Krishna Consciousness, and there is a good singer in their family, he has sung one good devotional song too :), then later his friends arrived, and his friends have invited us to their home, we went to his friend's family too, there is a one more good singer too :) , also she sang very melodious song of Krishna.

Both families took Bhagavad Gita, and it was wonderful experience , preaching at their door-step, and they became very close friends in a short frame.

they were impressed with dynamic preaching of Vijaya Mataji.

Ys

Bharath

A Hippies (or Happies) Realization

Stephen was an interesting guy who had no money and seemed to be an aging hippie. He was wearing a comical headband studded with three-inch horns, as if to declare his eccentricity. He wanted to talk a lot and obviously was not going to take a book, so I was a little uneasy at the prospect of him taking up my time, but I was surprised at his realizations. He said it was obvious that bhakti was the way to know Krishna, because when Krishna had displayed a fraction of His majesty to Arjuna by showing the Universal Form, Arjuna became unsteady and frightened, but became peaceful again by seeing Krishna in his original beautiful form. "We are not meant to know Krishna's unlimited power and majesty", he said, "but we can approach Him through pure love and know His beauty." Stephen told me that he was on the Hawaian Island of Kauai and was a follower of a yogi named "Sai" before "Sai" surrendered to Srila Prabhupada and became "Siddhasvarup Ananda." He told me that it was an incredible experience to be in the presence of such a fully illuminated being as Siddhaswarup. By speaking to Stephen I developed an urge to meet Siddhaswarup, whom I have never seen.................

Akruranath Das

Doing the way HG Vaisesika Pr does ! ;)

Doing the way HG Vaisesika Pr does ! ;)

To qualify a person .....

Two young school boys were nearing the harinam & i read on one of the boys shirt

saying " I am the President of America"

So i went to him & shook hands with him saying " Hello Mr Barack Obama"

Pointing to his shirt he started laughing . Then i showed him Chant & be happy

explaining him the spiritually potent name(Krishna & Rama) from ancient indian wisdom

which delivers our mind & reduces stress.He took the book but he said he could not

donate as all his money has gone in the stimulus package :)

The other boy donated & i gave him a book too.

But HG Vaisesika Pr does this type of qualifying people every time.

It took for me more than a year to TRY. ………….. Ys Vrajendra kumar das

If u r not ur body then where are YOU ??

A young teen indian boy stood by the table suddenly & i asked him what is ur name.

He replied " Caitanya" I became instantly happy & showed him Caitanya MahaPrabhu Photo.

Then i explained him about bhagavad gita & the concept of soul.I asked him holding his hand

" what is this "

He replied " This is my hand "

Then i pointed at his nose & he said " This is my nose"

then i pointed to his eyes & he said " this is my eyes"

& Then i asked the billion dollar question " THEN where are YOU ??"

He started laughing & then i showed him the soul transmigration picture & explained him " we not this body but the soul within

the body" I was so happy explaining him because he was simply grasping every concept with good understanding like a Sponge

Later he told me that he is reading Harry Potter So i told him i have here every book on philosophy & only one story book

ie: Krishna Book & showing him i tried to convince him to take it but he said his mother won't buy

seeing his eagerness i said " then cry to her to buy it as you do for a chocolate" .

He then went to his mother & they seemed to have a discussion

Later as they were getting into the car his eyes met mine & it said that he wanted the book but mother is not listening.

So i took the Krishna Book & went to her & said " Your child like this book " & i explained it containing Krishna pastimes showing the pictures in it .

She said " Oh we have Bhagavad gita " i said this is bhagavatam the stories of Dhruva, prahalad & narshima comes from these

Then she immediately bought the book & i put the book in his hand & he smiled & wisked into the car saying

" I am going to read it right away"

I suddenly felt jealous about him because he accepted the Absolute Truth so easily & at such a young age.

But i am happy to be an instrument in connecting Caitanya With Lord Caitanya.

Ys

Vrajendra Kumar das

AAHOA Annual Motel Convention

Team MotelGita woul like to present the summary about the AAHOA Annual Convention held at Chicago.

Trade Show Date : 17 and 18 June 2010.

Devotees Attended : H G Akruranath prabhu, H G Ghadi Prabhu (Prabhupada Disciple from Florida), Rohininandan Prabhu, Dilip patel prabhu, Jitendra Prabhu, Milan

Total orders Recd : 10,000 Books (Approx)

Inquiries (Need follow up to convert leads into orders) : 6000 Books.(approx)

1. Due to great contacts and efforts from DilipBhai, the AAHOA booth, that has a retail price tag of $4500 was made available to us completely free. Last year we paid $2500 for the same thing. The Chairman of AAHOA , Mr Tarun Patel, personally came down to talk to us and thanked us for the good work we were doing. On behalf of AAHOA he assured us all support possible.The treasurer already confirmed our free booth for the year 2011 as well!

2. H G Ghadi prabhu came for the convention from Florida.He was not aware of our participation and booth at the convention. We too had no clue that anyone from Florida wanted to distribute books to Motel. Nityananda Pran prabhu told me about him on phone a couple of days prior to the trip. He than joined the bandwagon and became a part of 'Team MotelGita'.

3. The number of visitors at the convention this time was a little dissapointment. Maybe the weak economy, coupled with low real estate prices has now shown it's affect on the hospitality industry. Not sure. But neverthless, this was a great platform to make new contacts, espescially as this our first ever convention in the Mid West. This was also a good platform to strengthen our relationship with AAHOA.

4. As expected many moteliers have placed orders.Many moteliers with multiple proerties have palced order for only few motels (rather than all motels) as they still want to 'try it out a little' before going 'full scale'. Thus, if we execute the orders well and in a timely manner, we can get many more orders from the same people for their other motels.

5. Many AAHOA Directors came forward and helped us in our efforts to create contacts with other Moteleirs and directors. Rohininandan Prabhu was able to meet many directors of the East coast region. He actively persued the long term vision plan for Team MotelGita.

6. I met a person named Kantibhai Patel.I explained the program to him. He listened to it very attentively and then told me he has NO motels. But he very charged up by this idea. He was actually a Loan broker in the Motel industry and he started calling few of his motelier friends around. He literally 'Ordered' them (sweetly) to place orders. Within fifteen minutees, Jitendra Pr and myself got orders for around 10 motels (approx 500 books) due to Kantibhai. He is a local to Chicago and the plans are to introduce him to Nityananda Pran Prabhu (Temple President Chicago ISKCON) to see if he can take it up further. Kantibhai was so charged up that he committed to help place books in 100 motels in Chicago!

7. Many people from Press and publications were interested in interviewing us and getting more detils about the project. Sahara TV interviewed Ghadi Prabhu and the small clip will aired on Sahara TV. They will mail me the dates. Gujarat Garvi( A Gujarati Newspaper Magazine) has tied up with Akruranatha Pr for an article which they will publish once it is made available to them. Another request for an interview was recd by from ... and that will be held live at San Jose temple sometimes soon.

7. I would take this opportunity to thank ISKCON Chicago for their wonderful help! It would NOT have been easy without the huge stamping exercise conducted by H G Jitendriya Prabhu and his team of Devotees from Chicago.The accomodation was arranged at the temple and the love and concern shown by the temple president was very touching! He even arranged to deliver stumptous LUNCH Prasadam all the way at the convention on both days.The Mangal Aratis and the morning program added to our already wonderful 'Chicago Yatra'.

7. There are many more GNABs and I would request all attendees to send an email. H G Akrurantha Pr has very kindly agreed to send a detailed report to press , publications and of course to all of us.

More details on the orders to follows.

Thanks and regards,

Ys,

Milan

A Preacher pleases Krishna

One person asked me : Some hindus complain that our hindu religion is not a preaching religion. But still why these ISKCON people engage in evangelistic activities.
What is your explanation? I explained him that in Bhagavad-Gita 18th chapter, Krishna says that who preach His glories are more dear to me than any one else. Also Lord Caitanya has asked every Indian to preach the message of Krishna to every one and every where. But the so called hindus just use the name of Bhagavad-Gita to suit their propaganda but they do not want or follow what Krishna says. He was satisfied.………

Bhakta K

A gift for many lifetimes

1. I have a friend named Nagaraj who lives in NC, i have already sent him Bhagavatam some time ago. I was thinking how could i give one more set to him. I knew that he got a sister and she lives in MN. I have asked him " Have you ever given gifts to your sister ?" , he replied that " i have gifted many electronic items, clothes..etc ". then i said that these gifts might have been brought some kind of happiness for limitted time, but that happiness does not last for long. Later i have asked him that "Have you ever given gift which makes your sister life perfect and makes happy forever in this life , and next life, and many life times too ....?", he got confused , and he said " does the gift really exists ?".
Later i have told him about Srimad Bhagavatam, and gave a brief description about Narada's previous birth, and Ajamila. He was astonished..how powerful devotinal service is and lot activities , and how it elevates our consciousness from mode of ignorance to vasudeva platform.
If you gift Srimad Bhagavatam to your sister, you get purified a lot by giving, and also your sister life too..if you read daily..Janma karma ca medivya evam...tyaktva deham punarjanma.. as Krishna promised..no more life for both of you...
he said that "she has ever expected such kind of a gift from me" ...he is very happy to gift Srimad Bhagavatam to his sister……
Bharath

Simply try distributing Books

1) I saw young teen boys & girls walking away & I was thinking that they won't buy the book
but then i felt "Lets Try Anyway" & they bought the book
But when i was trying hard to distribute books to some person thinking that they shall buy it .
They just refused.
A lesson learnt --- Donot think who would take the book or who won't !
Simply try to Distribute to everyone whoever comes ur way
2) When i was distributing books in LA nagar sankirtan at Venice beach (Prabhupad festival)
I looked at HG Parthsarathi Pr who is a strong spiritual warrior , a great book distributor
& i told him " This place is so tough to distribute books. People here are so materialistic & uninterested for spiritual life"
He replied strongly "You are not distributing .You are not stopping people.How will the books go ?"
Then i started stopping people whoever came my way , trying hard & harder.
Prabhupada said " Ours is a Thankless JOB."
When shall i give up desire for prestige & respect ??
When shall i understand Prabhupadas above statement?
Ys
Vrajendra kumar das