Cultivating the Reading Habit
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Ananta Koti Vaishnava Vrinda ki Jaya! I offer this nectar for the pleasure of all the Vaishnavas in this BDN group.
I was distributing books inside a train in the Secunderabad Railway Station. I showed a person some of Srila Prabhupada's books (SSR, JSD, BG). He immediately refused, saying, "I don't want one because I'm just not in the habit of reading. I never read any books." I insisted that he at least take a look at one of the books (SSR), but he continued to insist that he never reads books. So I just moved on to another person. As I explained to this new fellow the contents of "The Journey of Self-Discovery," all of a sudden the fellow who had refused to look at a book just a minute earlier came rushing over to me and excitedly asked, "So, what's in that book [the SSR]?" After I'd finished showing him the contents and pictures, he said, "Ok, I'll take it. I've just decided that I have to start reading books." I was just amazed at how fortunate this soul was to get the causeless mercy of Lord Krishna, who inspired him to start his reading habit with Srila Prabhupada's books!
Just then I noticed that the train had started to move, so I had to rush to the door. As I approached the exit I casually showed a JSD to a gentleman standing by the door and asked whether he would be interested. The train was gathering speed and I had to get off, but the fellow asked me to tell him about the book. After a very brief explanation he quickly asked me how much it was and took it . . . just in time for me to disembark safely, to the great relief of my sankirtan partner, who was anxiously waiting on the platform. His name is Bhakta Kanniappan, and this was his first day distributing at the railway station. He was so happy to be an instrument in distributing the mercy of Srila Prabhupada.
We seek the blessings of all the Vaishnavas so that we can continue serving the mission of Lord Caitanya, which is very dear to Srila Prabhupada.
Your humble servants,
Sridhara Srinivasa Das and Bhakta Kanniappan
