Overcoming our Fear of Book Distribution
By Bhakta Corey
Distributing books can be a bit intimidating, especially in the beginning. Fear of book distribution may cause us to think of many reasons why we can’t distribute books. This article will focus on identifying causes of that fear and my own struggle to overcome fear of book distribution.
What does distributing books mean? It generally means that you create an interaction with another human being and try to convince them why they should buy this book. Our own faith is tested in the process, how convinced we ourselves are, but by passing the test of preaching, our own faith in Krishna is strengthened tremendously.
People, especially westerners, are not used to having their space invaded. There are other methods of distributing books, some of which I have mentioned in a previous article here, but distributing books generally means talking to people one on one. The last thing that a person wants is to have to stop what they’re doing and listen to an unknown person, a stranger, preach to them or try to sell them something. It is an inconvenience for them, due to the impersonalistic culture we are raised in. In the process, our own space is invaded too, because they may ask questions that we may not feel comfortable answering, but it is our duty to because we are preachers.
We might also think that there are so many other things to do, and end up simply forgetting about book distribution altogether.
Trying to cultivate a sense of intense gratitude towards Srila Prabhupada has helped me in overcoming the fear of distributing books. Because that most magnanimous personality, Srila Prabhupada, took the trouble to leave Vrindavan and come to the hellish West, we all now have the opportunity to take the path back to Krishna, and many millions in the future will also get the same opportunity. Therefore, we are indebted to Srila Prabhupada. As far as I am concerned, I am simply Srila Prabhupada’s slave, having become enslaved by his infinite compassion and mercy.
When I read in Srila Prabhupada’s biographies about how strongly he wanted book distribution, naturally I want to make his desire the central focus on my existence. Although it is not possible to repay our debt to Srila Prabhupada, I want to try to do something to please Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada has said that book distribution pleases him very much. Being a more introverted individual, distributing books is not an easy thing for me to do, and yet I try to tolerate any personal inconvenience because I want to please Srila Prabhupada.
Seeing the reality of this modern society can also help us to want to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. People are suffering so much, and you cannot help but feel compassion for them because they do not know what the purpose of life is. Srila Prabhupada has given us this information, the goal of life and how to attain it, and we would be committing the greatest violence by not giving it to others. No other philosophy or religion clearly knows the goal of life, and if the devotees do not save them, then the whole world will go to hell. Understanding the importance of this transcendental knowledge forces us to acknowledge our duty to distribute it to mankind. With this kind of mindset, preaching is no longer an austerity, and in fact, it becomes an austerity to not preach.
Another thing that helps me overcome my fear of book distribution is to try to understand our own insignificance. We are just one tiny living entity situated in a material body among hundreds of trillions of living entities situated in different material bodies just on this one planet alone, which is only one planet out of millions, in one small universe out of trillions of material universes. All of these different living entities are thinking that their existences are the most important. The ant is thinking “I am the strongest ant! No one can defeat me!”, the human is thinking “I am the greatest! So much wealth I have today, and so much I will gain tomorrow!”, and the worm in stool is thinking “I am the best worm in stool! So much stool I have today, and so much stool I will gain tomorrow!”. In other words, our own life is completely insignificant. And to surrender this one life is not a very important thing, although it becomes the most important thing because that means that this will be our last life in material existence.
To conclude, my understanding is that to overcome the fear of distributing books we have to develop a serious desire to make real advancement in Krishna consciousness, and to constantly remember our eternal debt to Srila Prabhupada and act out of our gratitude towards him, and simply try to please Srila Prabhupada.
