Paying for Your Name
Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
One day while on Harinam with Amsterdams' Bhakta Matthew(now Madhu-Gopal dasa Brahmacari), we were approached by a group of about seven persons all wearing grey bandanas(cloth) around there foreheads and necks. These persons were in ecstasy encountering the harinam party. They explained that they were on a 'scavenger hunt'(groups of people with a list of unusual items and whatever group collects the most items wins). The group explained that we fulfilled about several needed objects on their list, ie. musical instrument, funny joke, drum, etc. We were not really moved by the whole thing like they were but we still listened to what they had to say.
They excitedly proprosed to us that we return with them to the hotel where they were staying. Mentioning a donation, we agreed, and chanted Hare Krishna on the walk to the hotel. There we entered one banquet room; empty except for ten tables lining the walls. We then went to another room, where we waited for the others in this contest to arrive with thier collected items. While waiting we discussed the donation from them and their desire for us to ecstaticly chant the holy names of Krishna.
When the other groups arrived, our group of about nine, two devotees and 7 business persons, entered the banquet room where the others had assembled. We chanted the holy names loudly accompanied by mrdnaga and cartelles. Simoutaniously one member of the group we were with handed out the cards with the HAre Krishna MAha Mantra on it. All the while persons laughed and then the same man who was passing out the cards for us recomended all the others gathered there to give a donation because of us being 'monks' as he said.
Before entering the room to expose 70 business persons to Krishna Consciousnes we received about $40 in donations given by the group we originally encountered on the street.
Then we blasted into the conference room sharing the holy name with assembled perons unexpecting the excitement. One of the members of the group of business persons who petitioned us to come for this engagenment was handing out the harinam flyers and telling everyone, 'Haribol, Haribol', in his own way. Then the same man was telling women and men to chant Hare Krishna, then started to solicit donations for us and simultaneously told them about our mission, answering any of their mind's questions. We then accepted about ten dollars in donations from various parties and one ten dollar donation from the only lady with our original group who brought us there.
Sankirtan lasted for about five minutes and then we distributed all the books we had brought with us for that day. Arrangements by Krishna before leaving the temple had us situated with about seven hard bound books and about five or so soft bound books. We distributed the hard bound books to the party we had arrived with and then the soft bound books to the others who had given one dollar or two while we all called out Krishna's holy names.
Leaving there was hard but we made it out and in the lobby we checked our situation, regrouped, gathered the life air about us and headed out of the lobby chanting Lord Krishna's holy names.
