Fanning the Spark
I was in Bondi, Sydney, distributing books. I stopped a teenage boy. He looked very interested as I showed him Bhagavad Gita. He was very eager but was a little worried when I asked for a donation. I told him to give what he could. He dug out his wallet and had a few dollars in coins. I could tell he was eager for spiritual life and didn't want to sell him short. I gave him a Perfect Escape (small book by Devamrita Swami). I told him that this was a start off and if he liked this book then he should give me a call and I will give him some more books. I had a feeling that the book was meant for him, based on what we had talked about. As I wrote down my number for him I chuckled and told him that I wouldn't even be in the country in a couple weeks.
I was in Woy Woy, a suburb of Sydney, a couple weeks later. It was my last day of the mid year marathon. Tomorrow I was flying to Europe. I had just done my biggest day on books yesterday and today it had slowed down. I was praying for some nectar. While praying I received a mobile call from a mysterious number. The boy explained that his name was Mat and I had met him in Bondi. I had been stopping thousands of people in the last couple months but I could remember stopping him. He was the last person whom I gave out my number too. He was inspired by the book I had given him and wanted to meet up to talk about it. "I am flying out tomorrow afternoon so it will have to be then I said. He thought for a moment and agreed.
The next day I packed my things and set out to meet Mat. I could remember stopping Mat but I didn't quite remember which book I had given him at the time so I took a small bag of the basics. I barely recognised him in the crowd when I found him. We started talking about the book and he asked me if I had brought anymore. I asked him which book I given him and he pulled out the Perfect Escape. I was thrilled because I had a hard cover Gita and hard cover SSR so now he could take them both. He pulled out a $20 bill, a perfect double BBT cover for both books and so I gave them both to him. He told me he would show his friends his books also because he thought it was very important stuff. We strolled for about an hour and talked. I answered his many philosophical questions and tried to tell him all the basic stuff he needed to know. I was able to observe from this experience what Prabhupada meant when he wanted us all to become Gurus (even those as unqualified as myself). I bid farewell to Mat and prayed Maya wouldn't take him away. He was on the start of his spiritual journey and hopefully the end. I rushed back to the train station to head off to the airport. On my journey to the airport I bumped into Mat three more times?! We were heading somewhat in the same direction it seemed. It was an interesting experience and seemed rather mystical. I realized it was Krsna because Krsna is the supreme mystic.
Your servant,
Madhavendra Puri Dasa.
Love KRSNA!
