One Day of Book Distribution on Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue is probably the most degraded Avenue in LA, but it is also the best place in LA to meet people receptive to Krsna consciousness.
It was a hot June day, so I found a place in the shade. To my surprise, the store I was working in front of was called "Maya." I looked into the window and saw it was a gift store. I saw some pictures of Siva and Ganesh, and sure enough there was one of Maya Devi herself. Before people would "go into Maya" I would distribute a book to them, and when they came "out of Maya" I was there distribute a book to them. There's a lot more Maya on Melrose Ave. than the Maya store, so I had to pray to Krsna for protection.
As I was distributing, I noticed someone looking into my box of books. So I went over to him and said, "I noticed you noticed what was in my box."
"Yes," he replied, "I noticed the Bhagavad-gita."
So I showed it to him and his brother, who was with him. He was very pleased with what he heard and what he saw in the pictures. So he gave a nice donation. He was waiting for his mother and nieces. So he knelt down and started reading the Gita out loud to his brother. I went over and listened. He asked me how to pronounce some of the words, and I helped him out. He couldn't wait tell he got home to read it, so he dove right into relishing the Gita. I got his e-mail, and we'll be in touch.
I approached one young man who said, "I got a book from you two years ago at UC Santa Barbara." I asked him if he read it. He said, "Yes, twice. I love it." I gave him the address to our temple; he didn't live far away. It's always nice to meet a satisfied customer.
I decided to try a little store to store. It's a new thing among the LA sankirtan devotees — a change of pace from the airport. I walked into one store and the owner said, "Hare Krsna!" It turned out he had been a devotee for about a year and mentioned a nice incident that had happened to him recently that made his faith a little stronger. The Prabhupada Festival was coming up, so a friend of his called him to let him know. Then he got so busy that he forgot about it. Then a day before the festival he was listening to his car radio, and "My Sweet Lord" started playing. He immediately remembered the festival and thanked Krsna for reminding him.
I approached one young man and he immediately said, "I have no time."
I said, "How about thirty seconds?"
As I was showing the Gita to him he said, "This is great. I've been on a search for the meaning of life for some time now, and this looks like it may have some of the answers I'm looking for."
I said, "You see? This is how fate works: you're searching for the meaning of life, and of all the people here, I approach you. This is no accident."
I started telling him about Krsna's instructions in the Gita. He said, "You know, in my mother's living room in Texas is a big picture of Krsna, but I never asked her about it."
I said, "Now you can learn about Him to your heart's content and tell your mother all about Him."
He thanked me for doing what I'm doing and for approaching him.
In the beginning he didn't want to speak to me, but he turned out to be the most receptive soul I met during the day. For all you sankirtan devotees out there, this is a great response when they say "No time": "How about thirty seconds?" Sometimes that's all you need to change his mood.
Your Servant,
Vijaya Das
