The Magic Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
I was distributing books in devotional cloth during the recent Ratha Yatra in Auckland, NZ.
This ecstatic festival was held as part of ISKCON's 50th anniversary celebration.
As the procession moved along Queen Street, the busiest central shopping street in Auckland, I stopped Peter.
Tall, young and confident, Peter studies English and history in Sydney and was visiting Auckland for the weekend.
I introduced myself as a monk and handed him the Bhagavad Gita.
"Ahhhh, Bhagavad Gita… this is amazing!" Peter immediately exclaimed.
Peter explained that although he is a "staunch atheist with absolutely no interest in becoming a Hare Krishna whatsoever", he regularly sees devotees in Sydney and has often been curious to know more about the lifestyle.
Peter was only staying for one night in Auckland.
After having arrived just an hour before we met, he had checked in at a central backpackers and gone to the lounge to relax.
Bored by what was on TV, he had glanced over to the bookshelf and immediately noticed a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.
What is interesting here is that about nine months ago, Bhakta Mukesh and I distributed Prabhupada's books to all the city center hostels, trying to display the books in prominent places on bookshelves.
Taking the book down, Peter appreciated the quality of the book and felt that it was a book he would definitely like to read one day.
Still, given that he was only in Auckland for the night, he decided to replace the book on the shelf and head out into town.
As he left the hostel, he ran straight into Lord Jagannath's cart festival, took darshan of the Lord and His devotees and absorbed the chanting of the Lord's Holy Names.
Minutes later we met!
So, Peter was more than happy to take a book to read and I was left to marvel at the extraordinary mercy of Lord Jagannath!
I love the way Lord Caitanya makes such perfect, expertly synchronized arrangements to facilitate conditioned souls receiving the mercy.
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Your servant,
Caitanya Vihara das
