Dont Get in Krsna’s way
Dear Devotees
Me and my godbrother Yasodeva prabhu, the perfection of vaisnava dealings, were distributing in Parramata, Sydney ( Srila Prabhupada called this place pramada, because its full of crazies ).
I was off like a rocket. There was a lot of charity workers on the street so I was walking from one end of Church street to the other trying so hard to be the doer. Even with all my expertise nothing was happening. On my own I could hardly distribute even one book.
So I thought, "I'm just going to stand here in this spot under the rail bridge near Yasodeva and if Krsna wants he will send someone to take a book."
People were rushing by. I tried to stop a small Italian lady. She caught a glimpse of the book as she brushed me off. She must have got about ten meters away and turned around saying, " Is that Bhagavata Gita!?"…….. I said yes and she came running back. "Oh I've been looking for this book." She said that back in Italy her father had the Bhagavat Gita and when she was eight years old she was reading it and her father told her not to. I get the impression that it was because she was to young. She said "Ive been looking for it ever since, on the Internet, everywhere." She must have been about thirty years old now. She gave a nice donation and happily walked away reunited with her long lost friend Krsna. I was impressed and wondered what else Krsna had planned for the day.
Next there was a group of disabled persons driving by in there motorised wheel chairs with their caretakers walking with them. I decided not to try to stop the caretakers as I have in the past and they have always politely said no because they were to busy taking care of there dependents. So I was careful not to be noticed as I was glancing at one of the disabled persons trying to absorb the danger of taking birth again. As they walked and rolled past I was holding the Bhagavat Gita at ease with the back showing, in a way almost impossible to recognise. I looked back at them and one of the female caretakers turned around…. I thought she was going to get angry at me for looking at them. She came walking back to me looking at the book in my hand with the back showing not the cover. I was stunned when she said timidly "Is that Bhagavat Gita?" I said yes we are monks, while quickly revealing the cover. She said she had heard about it & had been searching for it while her dependents were rolling of in the distance. It was like Krsna was right there in her heart telling her to take the book. BG 15.15. She Thanked me and run back to her group.
Then while I was talking to some people an Indian man entered the circle and was eager to receive the mercy. The others left and I handed him a hard cover SSR. I had a polite conversation with him about practicing Krsna Consiouness in society today. He said he was a financier and his company had lost nine million dollars of investors money. Still he was so happy to meet a devotee he gave me fifty dollars and said "We need people like you to become politicians." He also gave me his business card but something tells me not to invest with him.
Now nearing the end of the day I was getting more books from my box under the tree and two favourable youths come over to express there appreciation of the books they had received a few weeks ago. So I was encouraging them when a Council Ranger appeared on the scene. "Whats going on?" he said. Thinking he was there to bust me, as they usually do, I just tried to make out that we were all friends talking and there was definitely no book selling going on. He politely waited as I invited the young bhaktas to our loft program. The Ranger got in on the conversation and said that he had got a call about some people flooding the street with flyer's. Relived I realised he wasn't after us he was after the six back packers in bright orange shirts with there city parking vouchers. All day they had been right next to us. With great vigilance I told him "yes they just moved down there. See you can't miss them." The ranger walked of on his business. After five minutes he came back happily asking " So what are you guys doing anyway? Are you the Hare Krsnas?" I said yes. He was in ecstasy reminiscing all his encounters with devotees over the years. He said he has become good friends with Shantiparayana prabhu. "Yeah tell Shanti you met Ranger Sam. He will remember me. Ive been to the temple for a feast. Yeah you guys are great!" This was a bit unusual for me but I just asked him why don't you take a book then. He claimed he wasn't a big reader. I said "then take a little one." He said he was a Muslim but he grew up in Australia, being taught that life was about making money not bowing down five times a day. I just smiled and asked for a donation and he gave what he had and insisted I say hello to Shanti prabhu from him. He said he is known as the Parra Ranger Sam so I called him the Power Ranger and we all laughed.
So the morel to this story is we can try so hard to be the doer but if we just stand back and let Krsna do His thing amazing things will happen.
Thank you for your Patience.
Your Servant,
Uddhava Dasa
