Krsna helps out
Recently, on a Sankirtan Saturday, Michael, Gopinath and I decided to distribute on K-road in Auckland.
Michael suggested catching a bus, since it costs only fifty cents. I felt compelled to pay for the tickets, so I jumped in first and pulled out my wallet. Unfortunately, there were no coins, and I gave twenty-dollar note to the bus driver. He frowned and asked for coins. I had to apologize. With a loud sigh he gave me change.
That day I was trying to stop people for some time, but was having no luck. Then a young man stopped: Dom. He was interested in yoga and meditation, and we spoke for some time about our books. Dom said that he would be happy to take a flyer and check out the books on the internet. He was just polite and did not want to spend money.
I said, "Yes, you should check out our Web site and come to our Sunday festival. In the meantime, take a small book with you."
Dom tried the defence "I only have notes, no coins, I'm afraid."
"I can give you change!" I said very confidently.
Dom had no choice but to walk away with Chant and Be Happy.
Some minutes later, a young lady stopped. She was favorable, but hurrying somewhere and also had nothing but twenty-dollar note. I assured her that this was no problem at all and found some change for her. So, she also walked away with Chant and Be Happy. Next time I will bring some coins with me. Krishna knows past, present, and future and always helps us from within our heart.
Your servant,
Ananta-naga Dasa
A comment by Vijaya Dasa:
From the beginning of my book distribution days, my sankirtan leader made sure the all the book distributors had what we called a "float," which was fifty dollars in small bills and change, just in case a person had only a big bill. We would retain this float day after day. As I travel around, I find that book distributors do not carry a float.
Every sankirtan devotee should carry one just in case you need it. How unfortunate it is when someone wants one of Srila Prabhupada's books but they don't receive one because we didn't have change. Nowadays I don't carry a $50 float, I carry a $90 float, and it has happened many times that the first or second person I speak to has only a $100 bill. We should be ready for this. In the story above, if the bus driver had not given him change, the persons who received a book may not have. In this case Krsna helped out, but we should use the good intelligence Krsna has given us and carry a float, this is common sense.
