Presenting Krishna more directly
At Botany Downs town centre in Auckland, I stopped a mother with two young daughters. I started to ask my standard multiple-choice questions. The mom looked like she was being pulled down the street by rope, so I kept firing out the questions and bad jokes until I grabbed her attention.
She mentioned that she was very spiritual, but did not follow a religion. I replied that neither did I. I started presenting Krsna's nonsectarian teaching in the Bhagavad-gita. She still looked a bit skeptical, so I had not showed her through a book so far. I explained my situation as a monk, sharing this practical spiritual knowledge, not trying to make everyone a monk. She asked me to show her the books I had.
I quickly showed her the contents of the SSR. I moved on to the Krishna book, telling her that it was about Krishna's life, mixed with philosophy. She asked whether Krishna is like Buddha and Jesus.
That morning Hriman Krishna had given a very inspiring class, which included his realizations about distributing Krishna books. This had been his focus for the previous two weeks. Among many other things, he mentioned that Krishna had reciprocated with his efforts to present Krishna more directly and how this had added a new flavor to his book distribution. I thought I would give it a go.
I told the lady to check out the cover and see what it says: Krishna: the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As I showed her the picture of mother Yasoda looking into little Krishna's mouth, I briefly described the pastime and explained that Krishna was unlike Jesus and Buddha or people claiming to be God, e.g., Sai Baba. Krishna performed feats that were extraordinary. I showed her the picture of Govardhana-lila.
She decided to take the SSR, and gave the appropriate donation. I thought that since she was favorable and showed genuine interest, I would give her the Krishna book, too. I had received a donation from a couple of friendly Christians who didn't want a book, but liked me, so I could allow a book to go out free or cheaper. The lady gave an extra donation to cover the Krishna book.
Your servant,
Amani Gaurahari Dasa
