Sankirtan Stories
By Yadavendra Das
This morning, the second stop was a small shopping center with only two or three shops open for business. The question on my mind was whether to stop or not to stop. I decided to stop anyway. It was a Vietnamese area and from experience I know that Vietnamese people generally like to engage freely and liberally in the Sankirtan Movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This is indeed a great credit to the Vietnamese people. As I entered the beauty shop the whole family was present; that is the young mother, father and daughter. The father was holding the two-year-old daughter in his arms. As I asked for the donation he opened his daughter’s left hand, which was holding some small change and handed it over. As a gesture of reciprocation, I immediately placed a copy of “On the Way to Krishna” in her little hand, which she accepted and held firmly without hesitation. She then started to glance at the front cover, a reproduction of an exquisite painting of Krishna playing His flute in the forest along with a peacock and deer. I took leave and went to visit the other shops and when I came back some minutes later the little girl was still glancing at the picture of Krishna, undisturbed in her meditation. Chances are these events will make a lasting impression in her mind. The father then also chanted “Hare Krishna.” To me this was a direct and practical illustration of Srila Prabhupada words in the Purport on the Hare Krishna Mantra that anyone can take part in the cultivation of Krishna Consciousness without any previous qualification, even a child can take part…or even a dog ..
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