Philosophy Means Searching for the Truth
Recently I was distributing in a shopping center in the Eastern part of Helsinki. It was a tough day, and later on I realized the reason it was so challenging was because I was trying to use different ‘tricks' to distribute and I was not really trying to surrender to Krishna.
I decided to take a break and listened to a class by Bhurijana Prabhu. It was an excellent and inspiring class which helped me to understand Krishna consciousness is truly the perfection of life.
I approached a lady and she took two books in no time. Then I got this feeling and realization about how unqualified I am to present Srila Prabhupada's books to anyone.
I saw a young man who seemed to be in his twenties trying to unlock his bicycle. As I approached him he said, "I have no time!"
"When will you have some time?"
"I am just not interested!" he said and seemed to really mean it.
"What are you interested in?" I asked. Surprisingly, he was put off guard enough so that I could hand him a copy of The Teachings of Queen Kunti.
He was then receptive, and we spoke for some time, while he mentioned that he was interested in the languages and cultures of the East. Upon hearing this I handed him a Bhagavad-gita.
"Even though most of the people today live below the level of their intelligence, we should not give up the attempt to present spiritual philosophy in an intelligent way." (This was something H. H. Bhakti-vikasa Swami had spoken the previous day when he was giving a class in Helsinki)
I said to the man, "Philosophy means searching for the truth which is beyond all manifestations. In this book it is said there is a truth behind everything, just as there is a string connecting the beads in this necklace." (I showed him my kanthi-mala) "You can see the beads but not the string."
The conversation ended with the man saying "I am really interested in these things, and I will most certainly read these books." Then he gave a nice donation and walked away with both books.
Sometimes it seems to me that we may get into a type of routine doing sankirtana where we can forget to present the wonders of Krishna consciousness as they are, and instead we may try different ‘techniques'. My encounter with this young man taught me how important it is to not neglect to address and appeal to the intellecutual aspects of the people we meet.
