Srila Prabhupada ki jay!
After a day distributing books at the neuroscience conference at the San Diego Convention Center, I was on my way to catch the bus back to the temple. As I passed the Hilton Hotel, I saw a young man carrying a camera coming out of the entrance. I introduced myself and said, "Nice camera. I do a bit of street photography myself. The pictures I take give me higher realizations."
He told me he was from England and was visiting his sister in San Diego. It is said that the face is the index of the mind, and I could see something was disturbing him. He seemed a bit restless. I asked him if something was troubling him, and he looked at me and said, "Yes, there is. Do you mind if we sit and talk for a while?"
I sat down with him and preached to him and showed him a selection of books. "These books will be of great help to you," I told him. "Just by reading them you will become more peaceful." He told me he had an appointment to meet a lady whom he had never met before and was a bit uncertain whether or not to meet her. I gave him "Bhakti, the Art of Eternal Love" and told him to read it. He took the book and gave a nice donation. I gave him my email address and said, "I look forward to hearing from you; if there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to write me."
"So," he said, "do you think I shouldn't go and meet the lady? You think I should rather go back to my hotel room and read this book you gave me?"
"In my opinion that would be a much better idea," I said. I gave him a hug and told him, "I'm very proud of you. You're a very brave young man and a very special spirit soul — out of many millions, you're one of the very few who have inquired about higher knowledge. This is very rare in this materialistic world we live in."
The very next day I got a letter from him, and he has continued to write me.
Preaching gives me life.
Srila Prabhupada ki jay!
Yours in the service of Lord Sri Krsna and His devotees,
Madhumangala Dasa
