Like the kirtana party, those who are engaged in preaching, distributing books and prasadam should understand the art of doing this kind of preaching. They should not get hung up or absorbed in one person, regardless of how receptive that person may appear to be. When street preaching, try not to be too obstructive to people who are passing by. With practice, you can develop the art of catching people's eye, letting them stop without feeling they've been corralled or waylaid by a trick.
Preachers should not get engaged in heated arguments with the confrontational types, and they shouldn't respond negatively to any kind of abusive statements. Before going out on the streets, preachers should be trained in how to handle the people and situations they're likely to be presented with. There are a lot of crazy people out there, and some of them are fairly deceptive.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted His followers to move all over the world to preach in every town and village. In the Caitanya-sampradaya those who strictly follow the principles of Lord Caitanya must travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, which is the same as preaching the words of Krsna--Bhagavad-gita--and Srimad-Bhagavatam. The more the devotees preach the principles of krsna-katha, the more people throughout the world will benefit.
Devotees like the great sage Narada, who travel all over to preach, are called gosthanandi. Narada Muni is always wandering throughout the universe just to create different types of devotees. Narada even made a hunter a devotee. He also made Dhruva Maharaja and Prahlada devotees. Actually, all devotees are indebted to the great sage Narada, for he has wandered both in heaven and in hell. A devotee of the Lord is not even afraid of hell. He goes to preach the glories of the Lord everywhere--even in hell--because there is no distinction between heaven and hell for a devotee.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 4:30:37
Book Distributors should always invite people to come to the Sunday feast. They usually carry Back To Godhead magazines, for which they request a donation. They might also carry one medium sized and one large book, perhaps carrying extras in a backpack, with a back-up supply of books nearby. The best approach is to talk to someone with the idea of first getting them to accept an invitation, second to accept a BTG, and if they're still interested, getting them to take a larger book. Unless you have a table with books, or similar arrangement, it's advisable to not be selling other items (like incense or stickers) during Harinam.
Don't try to give someone new the 'reader's digest' version of the philosophy while they're out on the street. Instead, tell them that all their questions will be answered in Srila Prabhupada's books, and encourage them to come to a Sunday program. You can also suggest they visit the HareKrsna.com website or other Krsna sites.
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