The Prabhupada Marathon
Haribol Prabhus!
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
We are all fortunate to be under the shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, chanting Hare Krsna, associating with devotees, taking prasada, and hearing the philosophy of Krsna consciousness and the Lord's pastimes. Srila Prabhupada said, "Our movement is to help everyone become fortunate."
"One who tries to relieve Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's anxiety for the fallen souls is certainly a most dear and confidential devotee of the Lord. When the Lord is unhappy because of the condition of the fallen souls, the devotee consoles Him, saying, "My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety." This is service. Everyone should adopt the cause of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to try to relieve Him from the anxiety He feels. This is actually service to the Lord."
–CC Antya 3.52, purport
To be in anxiety to relieve the anxiety of Lord Caitanya is simply bliss.
Krsna also says in the Bhagavad-gita, "If one does not perform sacrifice one cannot be happy in this world or this life what to speak of the next life." I was recently speaking to a devotee who used to do traveling sankirtan in the winter in Michigan. He said, "You know, Vijaya, it was very cold, very austere, but I was happy." And Prabhupada said to the teachers at the gurukula, "Teach the boys the joy of austerity."
It is the time of the year for the floodgates of the ocean of love of God to open wide.
Of course, the gates are open throughout the year, but December is when the gates open especially wide. The Prabhupada Marathon varies from ten days to six weeks, Vaisesika Prabhu and the devotees of Silcon Valley are very enthusiastic to give the mercy out, they started ten days ago!
During the marathon there will be "World Enlightenment Day" – this year it will be on December 13th, and the goal is to distribute one million books in one day.
We all have our comfort zones wherein there's little anxiety. But this is a time to get outside the comfort zone a little for Krsna and show kindness to conditioned souls who aren't as fortunate as us.
Prabhupada said, "Our mission is for everyone to be happy." Happiness is in Krsna consciousness. He also said, "You cannot repay me for what I've given you, because I've given you Krsna. But if you want to try, then distribute my books."
I know a lot of the devotees on the BDN conferance are working and doing so many other things and thus have little time to go out on book distribution, but December will become auspicious if everyone reading this (over 800 devotees) goes out for a minimum of 2 hours during the month. Most likely the only problems you'll face are some people saying, "No, thank you." And if you are in a cold climate you may have to tolerate some cold weather. Two hours is the minimum I beg from everyone. And if you're feeling you want to get more mercy from Gaura-Nitai then double, triple or quadruple that time.
Some stalwart sankirtan devotees will be out 10 or 12 hours a day during the whole month of December. Not everyone can do that; very few can. But everyone can do something. Do as much as you can. If we have a lot of people doing a little, that adds up to a lot. So please everyone reading this, do the minimum of two hours for the month. Prabhupada will be pleased. Even if you distribute only one book, that will make a difference to the soul who has been given the opportunity to hear about our dearmost Lord and friend, Krsna.
Some of you may have never distributed books and may be wondering how to do it. One thing you can do is go to "distributebooks.com" compiled by the great general of sankirtan, Vaisesika Prabhu. The section, "tips and techniques" will give the most information for beginners. If you still have some questions then don't hesitate to write me, and I'll see if I can help you along.
Your Servant,
Vijaya Dasa
