Sri Krishna says that no one is more dear to him than the one who preaches his message. I have tried preaching but there are too many arguments to be of any success. I was thinking of other ways that I can help connect people with Krishna.
1) I was planning of giving prasadam to friends, etc.
2) I was planning of learning a musical instrument and play it for other people's entertainment and kirtan.
Any one has any other ideas I can preach without getting into arguments, etc.
Replies
Thank you for your wonderful reply.
What is this statement Dean Prabhu? Completely out of context and targetting Maral mataji unnecessarily. Anuj prabhu is free to choose whatever he thinks is the right answer as per his circumstances.
You are advising what you think is right and she is advising what she thinks is right. This is a public forum and is there for taht purpose only.
Why do you object? What is wrong in her advice?
I have seen earlier also that you write in a derogatory manner to or about Maral mataji. Why are you attacking her for being a woman? Does Srimad Bhagavatam teach you that?
She is an inspiration to us for her service. If you so not like her for any personal reason, pls keep it to yourself. This is not like other social sites where abuse is the norm.
We are discussing Krsna here, there should be no room for dispute if Krsna is in the centre of discussion.
I hope I have made my point clear to you.
Haribol
His Holiness Radhanath Swami told in one of his lectures:
"we have to preach and when needed speak something"
So our actions preach more than we do it with our speech.
So please keep in first priority Your own spiritual progress when we take then only we can give.
Vaishnava seva then comes Nama ruchi
then we will be inspired to preach.
So this service to Vaishnavas is very essential.
Your servant,
One senior devotee told me that Krishna is pleased when we serve devotees and also when we try to share his message with others. I try to serve devotees by giving little donations, or chanting in front of Tulasi devi, Lord Shiva's deity or Lord Human's deity. Krishna's love is available through devotees.
I agree with your statement that actions speak more than words so I try to maintain good behavior.
There are many people who know nothing about Krishna so I try to do some help to them as it is somewhat more urgently needed.
I will try to maintain strong sadhna to be able to help myself and others.
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
To preach, you have to know yourself what is right and what is as per Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy. Please read, hear lectures, associate with devotees and render service more to get the philosophy firmed up in your own mind first.
The idea is not to win any argument, the idea is to purify yourself and at the same time fortify yourself. When you purify yourself by these methods and then preach, by dint of your purity, your words will reach the other person's heart. That is what Srila Prabhupada mentions in the Jaladuta Dairy - Akhila Jagat guru, vacana se amara, alankrita koribaar kshmata tomar - O lord of the universe, you have the power to make my words such that they appeal to these (western) people.
When you fortify yourself, then the philosophy of mayavadis and sahajiyas will not appeal to you and you will remain firm.
To answer your question, prasadam is an effective way to start preaching. Still if anyone asks you why prasadam and why not pure veg food, you should be able to answer. For that you need the base of philosophy.
Playing a musical instrument for kirtana is another way of preaching, but still like you said, that is ok for entertainment.
My idea is that for someone who wants to preach, he should know philosophy, otherwise the preaching may not be that effective. You dont have to be a walking encyclopedia, but you do need to know the basics.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi