What comes around goes around
by Vijaya Dasa
While distributing on the mall in Moscow, Acala Dasa, the regional Sankirtan Minister for Russia, approached a woman and offered her a book. He explained some of the contents, and she enthusiatically took it. Seeing her enthusiasm he invited her to the temple, and a few weeks later she visited. By coincidence, she arrived on the day the devotees were holding a book distribution seminar. Seeing her come as a result of having received a book, Acala Dasa praised her sincerity: "Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita, 'Out of many thousands of people, one may inquire into the Absolute Truth.' " Speaking to the devotees he added, "Here we have this nice woman coming to inquire about the Absolute Truth. She is not ordinary." The woman was touched by Acala's kind words and stayed for the entire seminar.
A year later Acala was on a plane to India. He was seated next to a woman who, after a few moments, asked, "Do you remember me?" He looked at her and said, "No, I am sorry, I don't."
"You gave me a book in Moscow. I then visited your temple and you spoke some kind words about me. After reading that book and associating with devotees, I myself have become a devotee. I am on my way to the Mayapur festival." Acala then remembered her and was pleased to know that she had become a devotee.
After the Mayapur festival this same woman was on a train to Vrindavan. There she met another Russian devotee, whose service it was to do book distribution in India. This devotee offered to teach the woman how to distribute books. Because she knew of the importance of book distribution from hearing about it on her first visit to the temple, she accepted some lessons from him. She had such a nice experience on the train disributing Prabhupada's books that when she returned to Russia she continued to distribute them. She is now a full-time book distributor in Russia.
