Distribution from Chawpatti India
Prabodhananda Prabhu said, "This is the most disappointing day". We had been distributing books for more than two hours without anyone even looking at a single book, leave alone taking one. It was becoming more austere as temperatures soared in the summer heat of Mumbai. It was late afternoon and we were exhausted. We began praying intensely and desperately hoped our bags would lose some weight, for we had been pushing them through the dense crowd of passengers for quite a long time now. Just as we were planning to call it a day, Prabodhananda picked up a SSR and desperately ran towards two young men seated near the window. He just forcibly placed the books in their hands, and told them about the book. They didn't bother to even give him a second look, as they appeared to be absorbed in a conversation. Dejected at the miserable failure of his preaching skills, with one final burst of energy, he frantically turned the pages and pointed to them, a drawing of Srila Prabhupada inside. "Do You know who he is??. He is Srila Prabhupada" His voice was loud and clear now "He gave up his life for you and me. He is your real friend". What we couldn't do for so long, Srila Prabhupada did in a moment. As they saw Prabhupada's picture, immediately, they drew out money from their wallets and bought two copies, inquiring more about the 'swami'. It is Srila Prabhupada's intense desire and compassion to deliver the fallen souls that makes people take these books while we are nothing more than simple instruments. As this truth dawned on us, we regained our zest and a 'disappointing' afternoon ended in a most satisfying and ecstatic day of book distribution.
