Appreciation
I was childishly complaining within my mind to Krishna: “How come the books are going out and harinams are happening, but we are not shown any Krishna magic lately?”
During the last five minutes of sankirtana, a lady named Nancy, with a half-English, half-Glasgow accent watched the chanters with a pleasant smile.
I approached her, and she said, “When I was a child, we saw such chanting groups in the UK, and we always mocked and made fun of them. And now in my forties, today, I am standing here in Sydney and can do nothing but relish and appreciate the chanting. It feels so blissful to appreciate it.”
She requested me to say something about why we do it.
I provided my perspective: “Generally people are shifting from one external condition to the next with the hope of only a little pleasure, but we are focusing on elevating our consciousness. This chanting helps us stay at that level. Upliftment of character is not taken care of fully in ordinary religions.”
She responded, “I want to be like that.”
She told me that providence had just caused her to get fired at work, which made the thick matrix of illusion more apparent to her. This was attracting her more to chanting now. Attached is Nancy’s picture, with her girls.
Then Ian came along with his friend, a minister in a church. They were already involved in an intellectual debate. As soon as he saw Srila Prabhupada’s books, he started to glorify Prabhupada in very animated speech, like he had a hundred thousand mouths.
Remembering stories from his life in the 1970s, he said, “When the whole world was oblivious to the essence of spiritual paths, this elderly guru took on the momentous task of writing books, just to show everybody the path of offering oneself completely for the love of God.”
The minister-friend was speechless and promised to read a book. Attached is their picture.
For me, though I was childish, Gaura-Nitai warmly responded, showing how They gradually direct people onto Their path, exhibiting decades of patience.
Your servant,
Radhika Prasad Das
