By Chandni Raj
A seminar on book distribution was conducted for devotees at the New Mayapur temple, France. Vijaya Prabhu, ISKCON minister for book distribution, was the guest speaker at the seminar. Participants presented their questions on improving book distribution to him. The session was also attended by visiting devotees from Poland.
Devotees were excited to meet a highly experienced senior book distributor to whom they could address all their questions and receive guidance from. Various aspects of Sankirtan such as what clothes to wear during book distribution, handling opposition, addressing questions from followers of other religions, setting up book tables, facing failure during difficult days, juggling other services in the ashram along with Sankirtan, improving book distribution through digital technology and online preaching etc were discussed. Bhagavati Devi Dasi, one of the oldest devotees living in the New Mayapur village, shared her insights on the experience gained during decades of Sankirtan.
“It was wonderful to have our questions addressed by a seasoned book distributor like Vijaya Prabhu. This seminar addressed most of our doubts and hang-ups about being on the streets for Sankirtan,” said Ekanatha Das, a full-time Sankirtan devotee from Lyon Mahamantra Institute.” “We get upset when we try hard and people do not reciprocate. Association with someone like Vijay Prabhu who has dedicated his life to book distribution was a huge morale boost,” expressed Mais, a brahmachari serving the temple. Agustina, a new inmate at the New Mayapur ashram, who recently discovered Krishna consciousness, said, “It was a wonderful informative session for me, as Sankirtan is the new service I want to take up.” The enthusiasm of Vijaya Prabhu was contagious as devotees opened up, shared their difficulties and joys experienced during Sankirtan during the seminar.
“We are deeply grateful to Vijaya Prabhu for visiting our temple and conducting this seminar. Janananda Maharaja, our Guru Maharaja is deeply pleased when we do well on Sankirtan as book distribution is his life and soul,” said Locanananda Das, President, New Mayapur. “We send out one to three Sankirtan parties every week and it is necessary that these Sankirtan devotees receive expert guidance. Hence, we wish to receive more veteran book distributors like Vijaya Prabhu to come and inspire our Sankirtan team and thereby expand our efforts,” he added.
The session was recorded on video and shared on the New Mayapur youtube channel : http://www.dandavats.com/?p=108836
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