How the Bhagavad Gita Connected Me to My Neighbour
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Please see below account and see if is fit to include in your broadcasts.
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
How the Bhagavad Gita connected me to my neighbour
Last night was hot and uncomfortable indoors, so I took my two-year-old son Vitthal Bhakta for a walk. I had my japa beads and was softly chanting, my son was tired and we had a leisurely stroll without any major interactions except when he wanted to pick up a stick and walk with it in his left hand.
We went around the block, I was chanting Hare Krishna, he was quietly observing, poking his stick here and there sometimes. We reached closer to home, my son, very tired by now, insisted on being picked up, and we passed the open door of my neighbour of nearly 5 years. We've had a few little interactions, but nothing beyond pleasantries, somehow or the other, one of us was always in a hurry. This day, he was somehow inspired to say "hold on, let me get these groceries inside", so we waited. He then asked me "say, are you a priest, a Hindu priest?".
I answered that yes, I was a Hare Krishna priest, specifically. He said "I am a Hindu, I am a bad Hindu though:. I said there was no such thing as a bad Hindu, and in fact, there was no such thing as a Hindu. He said "Anyway, I got one of your books", I asked him which one, he said "Bhagavad Gita As It Is", I encouraged him to read it, and asked him where he got his book from.
So told me about this lady from Assam, India, a sister of one of his aunts, who lost her 15-year-old son in an unfortunate accident with electricity. She was devastated, but found solace, he said "in your movement, your Hare Krishna movement". Turns out she is so fired up that she preaches and distributes Bhagavad Gitas, and there was recently a home program in a suburb of Toronto where these Gitas were distributed. Sounds like she is a really fired up preacher, and has received much reciprocation from Krishna in just 4 years starting with the tragedy of the death of her son.
We continued to talk, until it was time for me to put my son to bed. She shared a lot about himself, much more than in the last 5 years. Surely that Hare Krishna Kirtan, that wonderful preaching by that Mataji, the Bhagavad Gita sitting in his home had something to do with this – nothing else has changed after all. He said that the print on this edition was too small for his aging eyes, so he was going to get an electronic version so he could magnify it and read comfortably, he assured me that he would start this right after he got in the door.
I was marveling about this, here I am, a 'weekend warrior' book distributor, who spends much of his spare time distributing books, going to great lengths to stop people on the street, knocking on people's doors, and here was one ripe fruit, right outside my door, and I never approached him. But then I was reassured that Krishna had already taken care of him, leveraged his "Assam connection", and arranged for him to get His instructions through one of His dear servitors. A modern-day marketer couldn't do any better, in fact, they can learn from Krishna. Now it is my duty to stay in touch, invite him to the temple for festivals and programs, answer his questions, introduce him to the wonderful devotees in the community, figure out a way to get him actively engaged in the wonderful process of Krishna consciousness. That Mataji from Assam distributed the book, I get to be her servant in follow up. How wonderfully Krishna arranged all of this so tactfully.
So next time I am on the street, I will rest reassured that the ones we "lose" are not really lost, Krishna's got them all. And the ones we "get", who knows what plan Krishna has for them, surely it is a perfect plan arranged for them to come back to Him.
Please distribute more of Srila Prabhupada's books, this is surely one of the thousands of such experiences people are having each day, but not necessarily writing about.
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
Toronto, Canada
