Book distributionBuddhimanta started taking devotees on longer trips to these outlying cities. This concept of "travelling sankirtana" had proven very successful in America. Devotees, although having a morning program similar to that in the temple, found that they could dedicate more time and energy towards distributing books while travelling. Life on the road was simpler -- and adventurous.Hari-sauri:Around sunset, we pulled into a petrol station on the outskirts of Adelaide. I was asleep in the back of the van. Suddenly, Buddhimanta, in his typical way, slid open the side door and yelled "Hari-sauri! Get up! Get out of the van right now!" He put a hard-bound Bhagavad-gita in my hand and said, "Go sell this Bhagavad-gita to that man over there right now!"I had absolutely no idea what I was going to say or how I was going to do it. I walked over to the bearded man standing in thongs and shorts -- a bit of an old hippy type -- and said, "Are you the owner?" He told me that he wasn't. I said, "Oh -- anyway -- maybe you'd like to have a look at this!" I plunked the heavy book in his hands."Oh, okay, what's it about?"I told him a little about the philosophy, and then I asked him what he did."I'm a market gardener in the Adelaide Hills. I've got a little organic garden, and I grow vegetables.""Oh, really!" I said. At that point, I flipped the book open in his hands and to my utter amazement it opened on the page where Krsna says: "I am the sun and the moon and I give life to all of the vegetables." I was astonished because I'd never even read the verse before. I showed the man and he read a little and said: "Oh, far out! How much is it?" I told him, he gave me $5 and I danced all the way back to the van.Such incidents typified the spontaneous, exhilarating adventures of travelling sankirtana life.By April 1973, one month directly after Srila Prabhupada's visit, the book distribution boom was well underway. Whereas previous remittances to the BBT had been $1,000 or less per month, Madhudvisa was able to remit $5,000 for the month of April.Madhudvisa realised that drastic changes in preaching priorities were now afoot. Previously, the travelling bus program had toured Australian cities, distributing Back to Godhead magazines, prasadam, and chanting Hare Krsna. Yet bus travel was slow and cumbersome, and could only reach a relatively small number of people. Bus breakdowns were common and book distribution had been somewhat neglected. Now Buddhimanta was demonstrating that highly mobile, smaller parties could travel Australia and fulfil Srila Prabhupada's cherished desire that everyone in Australia should have at least one of his books. Buddhimanta's travel plans increased, and soon new Kombi vans were purchased.- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu
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