Battlefield Bhajans Vol. 30
written in Olympia, WA by Partha-sarathi Dasa
Dedicated to Srila Prabhupada and my dear God-brother HG Vibhu Caitanya and Tota Gopinatha Prabhus.
Thanksgiving at ISKCON Silicon Valley
Over one year ago, I made a promise to Mother Nirakula. The promise was that I would join her and her wonderful husband HG Vaisesika Prabhu for thanksgiving at their home. Iskcon Silicon Valley has become a second home to me. When I arrived I found out that Friday would be a harinam in San Franscico. For Thanksgiving, there was a small gathering of devotees. The prasadam was amazing, and never ending. For me it was really nice to spend the day absorbed in Krishna Katha with dear friends like Gauranga Kishore and Rasikananda Prabhus. In between courses of the meal, we had wonderful bhajans and read from Srimad Bhagavatam. Definiltly a wonderful way to observe this day. All the devotees met up on Friday and headed to the train station. The plan was to take some books on the train to the harinam spot in the city. For those that have never been to ISV, well… let's say they take fired up to a whole new level. To my amazement, the devotees packed up over one thousand books to bring on the train! They made a huge goal of distributing over 500 books in three hours. So here is a mental picture for you, ten devotees caring instruments, books, a chair, and also pushing carts of books. We get on the train and immediately the conductor gets mental. What are you guys doing! This is a safety hazard, you guys are on the wrong train. You have to get off at the next stop and move to the proper train car, and you have thirty-seconds to do so!
Now while the conductor is saying this devotees are distributing books on the train, the cart tipped over. It was a humorous site. So the stop came and we started grabbing everything, the books, the carts, instruments , etc. We made it somehow in thirty-seconds. Now on the other train immediately the conductor was like, what is going on with all of this. A devotee distributed a Bhagavad Gita to him and the conductor keeps saying, so this is the only book I need to learn enlightenment? The devotee is like yes, and he was totally satisfied. That was until he complained about low blood sugar and said we needed to give him some food before he makes us chant and dance. Someone gave him a prasadam sucker and he was pacified. Again through this funny scene devotees took the initiative to stat distributing books to the passengers. Of course the authorities told him to stop. As the devotee was putting the books away a young lady ran up and handed him a donation. I watched and thought, this is gonna be a great day!
We arrived in the city and I grabbed some books for the walk to the market place. Vaisesika Prabhu made jokes afterwards that I had my game face on. I managed to distribute a few books along the way, and the other devotees chanted along the way. We arrived at the spot and so many people were around. This was black Friday, the biggest shopping day and it showed.
Immediately the devotees took center stage in the mass of people and the whole day there was such a crowd there. Some devotees set up a book table, some worked the crowd. I grabbed a huge stack of books and ran into the crowd. I believe there were over twenty devotees present. One highlight was the dancing Nepalese devotee, he was dancing like a mad man. One man I approached was very interested in the Bhagavad Gita, but he had no money. He was talking out loud, really praising the book and a stranger standing next to him said, hey you want that book. I'll buy it for you. The man said it's Christmas season, time for giving. With that said, he gave a donation so the boy could have the book. The boy smiled and walked off starting to read the book straight away. I also observed Vaisesika Prabhu approaching different people, one of the best lines went like this:
Vaisesika Prabhu: Hey excuse me, its me Vaish! Random person: Oh, hey what's up?
It was so funny and it worked every time. As the devotees packed up, I looked around and was amazed at what an impact was made in that area that day. The final count was over 500 books in three and a half hours! This was a great day, and shows how if a congregation is determined enough they can do anything. They can push this movement further. I took mental notes about the systems they have put in place and will implement in my next service.
ya ida° parama° guhya°
mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati
bhakti° mayi para° kritva
mam evaisyaty asa°sayaº
For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. (BG18.68)
Prabhupada Marathon: Its marathon season, so we should motivate each other to go out for at least a half hour daily. It is not so hard to do. We must be determined. December is my favorite month on the year for this very reason. So far this marathon here are my scores: small 130 maha big hrd 15 big sft 10 magazines 50 While this is not much at all, every little bit helps to spread this message.
The Army canceled my trip to India due to the terrorist acts in Mumbai. But the good news is, they have decided to release me even earlier. The new date is 26 Jan 2009. This date is rapidly approaching. It is an exciting time and also causing some anxiety. But I know if I just preach, then everything will work out in the long run. I want to thank everyone again for all the prayers on my behalf and ask for one more. I am begging all to pray that I can use this chance to really develop my preaching and to really give my all to Srila Prabhupada. I beg for the blessings of the vaisnavas, that I am able to do some substantial service for Iskcon.
Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada
Partha Sarathi Dasa
