A boy was cycling towards me. He was in his early twenties and wore a sleeveless T-shirt and white shorts. He was riding a sporty bicycle. And he wore bright Sri Vaishnava tilak. As he came nearby I showed him the books I had. He said he was interested in reading religious books and has lots of them at home. I explained to him the glories of the Karttik month and why he must read these books. He said he didn't have the cash to buy them at the moment and thought a bit. He then got a bright idea: he would help me sell the books. I agreed, but I first told him to offer a ghee lamp to Lord Damodar and then come to me. He agreed and when he came back to me he got another bright idea.
He said that he will go home and change to traditional dhoti-kurta dress and come. I immediately agreed and sure enough he came back dressed like a Vaishnava. I gave him a couple of small books and a Tamil BTG. As I was showing my books to others, I noticed that he wasn't showing the books and was simply holding them in his hand. I advised him to catch the attention of the people by showing the books. He said that he is waiting for the right man to come and then he will show the books. I told him that such a thing doesn't happen and the person whom you expect to buy the book will not buy and the person who you least expect to buy the books will come forward to buy. He didn't believe me.
The minutes passed by, and the few people he showed the books to had absolutely no interest in the books whatsoever. Ten minutes later an elderly gentleman approached me looking at the books. He appeared to be in his seventies and was wearing a tattered shirt over his dhoti. I showed him the books, and he asked me questions in crisp and clean English. He made a suggestion that ISKCON should have a library like the Ramakrishna Mission where people can read the books without having to buy them. I promised him that I will convey his suggestion to the temple president.
After a little while he was convinced he needed to buy a book and bought one. All the while the boy next to me was observing the exchange, and after the elderly gentleman left he said, "You were right. I never thought that this man would buy the book." He was now fired up, and soon a person came up and bought a BTG from him. He was really pleased that he was able to render some service.
Later on I saw him enthusiastically preach to other boys of his age. By that time it was 8.30 PM, and we all left for the Ashram on KR Koil St. to have dinner prasadam. The youth was happy to meet the devotees and promised to come again.
Earlier one man came to me and took a selection of small books. He said he wanted some other books but was not interested in the Bhagavad Gita as he already had one. We agreed that I would deliver the books to him at his office.
The next day I called him in the morning to ask him if it was OK to meet him and he said yes. Just before I left, he called me again to tell me to bring all the books I have so that he can tell his colleagues too about these wonderful books. I braved the heavy rain and traffic to reach his office in Egmore. There he took a Ramayan and the Krsna book and then called his colleagues. Some of them came forward to buy books. He then suggested I set up a book table for a few hours in the near future and that way everyone in the office will have an opportunity to buy the books. He also wanted a list of the books so that he can forward it to his colleagues in advance so that they will come prepared with the money.
I now understand why some book distributors want to distribute books all the time. The bliss of distributing books is different from the bliss experienced when serving in the temple or from any other service for that matter. I have now realised that spiritual bliss comes in many varieties and this is what makes practicing Krsna consciousness so sweet.
Ys
Sarvananda das]
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