British Celebrities Get Prabhupada's Bhagavad Gita
I was fortunate to be invited to a function at which I accompanied my seniors Jai Nitai and Sachi Kisore Prabhus. The function was dedicated to a senior British lady named Jo Fillippou upon her being formally honored as a Member of the British Empire (something like Paul Mc Cartney's being knighted.) Somehow she knew our Jai Nitai Prabhu, so we were invited as well, but he didn't prepare a speech. Jai Nitai was formerly a major book distributor, so he asked me to take a box of Bhagavad Gitas. The party itself was quite boring, with various guests coming onto the stage and making their little offerings to Jo. It was like an improvised amateur talent show, with some of them singing, some dancing, etc.
Everything changed when some ladies went onstage and included in their performance the recitation of a few Sanskrit verses from the ninth chapter of the Gita. The sankirtan fire instantly lit up in my heart. The Paramatma fairly shouted, "Here's your chance!" The next moment I found myself out of the building, running toward the spot in the parking lot where our car was parked, with the box of books in the trunk. Retrieving the box with the twenty-six Gitas, I ran back into the building, my heart pumping as I prayed to the Lord to make further arrangements. What happened next was like a slow-motion dream.
I asked my seniors for blessings to perform the sankirtana-yajna. Then I approached the master of ceremonies to ask permission to go onstage and share my love and appreciation for Jo Fillippou by telling a bit about the book that was the source of the tremendously inspiring Sanskrit recitation by the previous group of ladies. Permission was granted and I went onstage and spoke some words glorifying the Gita -- followed by a moment of silence. The next moment I came down off the stage, all the while praying to the Lord. One by one all kinds of celebrities, including members of parliament and other honored guests, raised their hands, eager to get Srila Prabhupada's Gita. I distributed all twenty-six books within a minute, yet many hands were still up. The stage performance soon carried on, with me going between the rows in bliss, giving pieces of paper to collect "standing orders" from the rest of the inspired audience.
What an unforgettable feeling of being used as an instrument in Lord Caitanya's sankirtan movement!
Sankirtana Yajna ki jaya!
By Bhakta Alexey (London)
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