Sankirtan at the Santana Show
Dear Prabhus,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to to Srila Prabhupada.
When I saw the advertisement that Carlos Santana was coming to play in the Rio Grande Valley it was hard not to get tickets for the concert and distribute books.
My wife and I began the journey by frying up a batch of curd and cauliflower samosas in golden ghee, offering them to Pancha Tattva, and placing them in a red-riding hood type basket. Arriving at the parking lot in dhoti, sari, and tilak, we took the basket of samosas to the stage entrance of the amphitheater. The stage door was locked and the fellow watching it was of no assistance. I thought, "Krishna, a little help here please," and out of the door popped Mr. Santana's personal Security Guard. His name was Sean and he gratefully accepted the basket of Krishna prasadam. He said that they were all hungry and he would take it straight to Santana.
Feeling quite elated that the prasadam delivery went so well we headed into the lot to do sankirtan. The first people we approached were two gentleman that had bright blue and green clothing, preparing to go into the show. They bought a "Bhagavad Gita" and a "Viaje Facil de Otros Planetas" for $20. We met a couple from Edinburg that had just pulled up and they bought a Gita as well. Two middle age ladies came walking by and both bought "Viaje Facil de Otros Planetas."
Feeling encouraged we approached a pickup truck with some fellows getting ready to go in. The one gentleman looked over the "Bhagavad Gita" and exclaimed, "This is Awesome!" and gave a nice donation. Next was a man from the Philippines whose wife was already towards the building putting him into a rush. I surprised him by talking in Tagalog I had learned in Manila and he accepted a "Bhagavad Gita" and gave a handful of change. As we walked away he ran after us to give another $5 that he found in his pocket. In a short time many fortunate souls had bought Srila Prabhupada's books giving them the opportunity to hear Krsna playing His flute. The best music.
During the performance Carlos Santana proclaimed that he was a "Spiritual Courier with a message. The message is that God is full of love and compassion. There is not exactly such thing as 'sin' as much as what we really have are errors that need to be corrected." Then he sang a song about "Reaching a Higher place by the Mercy of Grace."
I was impressed that Carlos was such a spiritual ponderer and concluded that he needs to get one of Prabhupada's books this evening. We came out of the front of the building and headed over to Santana's Tour Bus. Krishna's help came again with Sean the Security Guard stepping out of the bus at just that moment. He said the veggie pies were great. I gave him a "Perfection of Yoga," and a "Viaje Facil de Otros Planetas." and offered that the Yoga one is for you and the Spanish one for Mr. Santana. Sean gratefully accepted the books. He bowed a bit and with folded pranam palms and said "I will give it to him right away." Sri Rangavati dasi and I drove home very satisfied from our night out.
I hope this meets you well.
Your servant,
Mishra Bhagavan Dasa
